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| Author |
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| 25 new of 74 responses total. |
md
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response 14 of 74:
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Apr 15 18:05 UTC 1999 |
Re stylus wear, I remember seeing very high power magnifications
of new and used styli years ago. The new ones had rounded tips
and the ones that needed replacing had wedge-shaped tips. You
might be able to discern the difference in a big enough magifier.
A badly worn stylus can tear your LPs up pretty good. Also, the
weight of the tone arm has to be adjusted to the lightest weight that
can track smoothly without skipping. This will make your styli and
your LPs last longer. (I have LPs that are pushing 50.) The actual
diamond part of the stylus is at the very tip and is the size of a grain
of sand. You need to inspect it from several angles at very high
magnification.
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davel
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response 15 of 74:
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Apr 16 11:19 UTC 1999 |
Sindi, use distilled water.
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rcurl
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response 16 of 74:
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Apr 16 17:33 UTC 1999 |
Incidentally (re #12), no net calcium is added to the water at
the treatment plant. Lime (Ca(OH)2) is used to precipitate
temporary hardness (Ca(HCO3)2), but the result is that there is
*much* less calcium in the water after treatment than before. There
is still a little.
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keesan
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response 17 of 74:
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Apr 18 16:03 UTC 1999 |
Thank you Rane. I will not worry about the water, but thanks Dave. Michael,
we spent two hours putting the best parts of two Dual turntables together for
one of our volunteers, and they decided that the wedge-shaped needle was
better because the rounded-tip one tended to skate and there must have been
something wrong with it. I will tell Jim. But I would think that the needle
is more likely to get blunted than sharpened, considering that the tip is what
contacts the vinyl. We really ought to know about these things if we sell
turntables. Jim has figured out how to weigh and adjust the arm. Would any
of you like to come in to Kiwanis and explain to us how to tell good from bad
turntables and needles? Hm, does the tip contact the vinyl or is it the
sides? How does this work?
Five versions of Dvorak's New World Symphony at Kiwanis. I take
records down in the cellar to listen to while we work there, as there is poor
radio reception when your ceiling is at ground level. Seems like one record
out of twenty at Kiwanis is Tijuana Brass. We had 40 minutes of rousing
marches around 2 am this morning, while finishing a couple computers.
What is the story about elliptical versus rounded needles?
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md
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response 18 of 74:
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Apr 18 17:53 UTC 1999 |
I am so over my head on that. I've always believed the
wedge-shaped needles were the worn-out ones.
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rcurl
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response 19 of 74:
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Apr 18 18:35 UTC 1999 |
The tip contacts and rides on the sides of the groove, so that the
groove can wiggle it back and forth, which is what stresses the
crystal and produces the piezoelectric signal that goes to the
amplifier. The needles therefore wear on their wides, making them
wedge shaped. This creates some sharp edges, which then begin shaving
vinyl off the grooves.
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krj
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response 20 of 74:
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Apr 19 16:23 UTC 1999 |
If I ran the world, I would separate out the LP tech-talk discussion from
the music & label discussion... :)
If I were Sindi, I would go buy a VPI 16.5 record washing machine; I think
they are still made for the audiophile market. Best record cleaner I
ever saw; the only problem was that it cost about $500, so I don't think
it fits into Sindi's lifestyle. I was about ready to buy one when the
compact disc came along and made the idea of a record washing machine
seem kind of irrelevant. Hi Fi Buys used to have one of these machines
and for a buck they would wash any LP you brought in, and I revived quite
a few dirty LPs this way; but Hi Fi Buys has been out of business for
years.
What I would recommend for the routine pre-play cleaning of LPs is a
carbon fiber brush. I just saw an LP dealer on the net who stocked them
as of a few weeks ago... I wonder where I bookmarked that page.
I will look for it. In the meantime, take a look at
http://www.nviclassical.com for all sorts of LP accessories,
including stocks of an out-of-print book on how to set up turntables.
I believe the old handheld Discwasher brushes are still in production.
I used those for many years and still find mine useful for attacking
a really messy record, because you can use more force with it than you
can with the carbon fiber brush.
Stylus geometry is kind of complicated, and I'm probably going to
mess this up. In the discussions above, the word "wedge" is being
used to describe two different things. One is a stylus which has
been designed to have a non-spherical shape, and the other is a
stylus which was once spherical but has been worn into a "wedge"
shape.
The stylii which were designed to be non-spherical were usually called
"elliptical" or "hyperelliptical." The spherical stylus would only
touch the walls of the record groove at two small points as the stylus
floated along in the groove; the elliptical designs were shaped to
increase the area of contact between stylus and groove, thus minimizing
wear. Stylus design was pretty much a function of price; my vague
memory was that $20-$30 would get a spherical stylus, $50-$100 an
elliptical, and $150 and up would be a hyperelliptical.
The rule of thumb was that a diamond phono stylus should be replaced
after 1000 hours of use. In the LP era, I would buy a new stylus every
12-18 months. Usually I could hear the stylus wear in the music as a
sort of harsh distortion in the high frequencies.
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krj
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response 21 of 74:
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Apr 19 17:28 UTC 1999 |
Found it! The Pickering carbon fiber record cleaning brush, CFB-80,
is offered for $10 from http://www.garage-a-records.com
I have never shopped with them, but I'd gamble $10 to get one of
those Pickering brushes. I have used one for most of a decade and
I recommend it. Garage-a-records also lists a "Hunt" brand carbon
fiber brush which costs $25 and looks interesting.
Another good investment would be the Discwasher SC-2 stylus brush.
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keesan
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response 22 of 74:
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May 2 14:58 UTC 1999 |
Thanks for all your suggestions, but I will stick with water and detergent
for a while, on my records, which cost me no more than 50 cents each. Blowing
the dust off first also helps. We sold the Dual turntable with the round
needle in it with a clean conscience. Running out of working phonos, the last
one someone wanted to buy, the diamond was no longer in it, they get knocked
off easily.
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keesan
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response 23 of 74:
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May 2 15:02 UTC 1999 |
Still sorting through duplicates. I chose in one case on the basis of
nationality (Russian Melodiya record company), in another case Mendelssohn's
Songs Without Words with two extra songs on it compared to the one I did not
keep, and then there was a piano concerto played by (a) Van Cliburn (no
mention of which orchestra) and (b) Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia
Symphony. On the first record you could hear the piano and little else.
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keesan
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response 24 of 74:
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May 3 01:34 UTC 1999 |
More choices:
Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Major, 'Heifetz plays...Sir Thomas Beecham
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Ruggiero Ricci violin, Mathhias Kuntszch
conductor, Philharmonica Hungarica Reinhard Peters Conductor; Louis Kaufman
violinist Otto Ackermann conductor Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra.
They all sound wonderful but I am leaning towards the Heifetz
Dvorak 16 Slavonic Dances: Antal Dorati Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra;
Dvorak Slovanske Tance Vaclav Neumann Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Rossini Overtures: Czech Philharmonic Gaetono Delogu
Six Favorite Overtures, E. G. Asensio and the English Chamber Orchestra
Faure Requiem: Paris Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra, Rene Leibowitz
Faure Requiem: Phillippe Caillard Chorale, The National Orchestra of the
Monte Carlo Opera, Louis Fremaux
Faure Requiem: Jocelyn Chamonin and George Abdoun soloists, Chorale des
Jeunesses Musicales de France, Orchestre des Concerts Colone, Louis Martini
(I could have made the choice easier by getting a tape of the performance that
I was once in). I have not heard of any of the above orchestra, have you?
Oops, one more Mendelssohn: Philharmonia Orchestra Leon Barzin. Which two
would you keep out of the four?
Handel Fireworks and Water Music: English Chamber Orchestra Johannes Somary,
or Eugene Ormandy and Philadelphia Orchestra or Vienna State Opera Orchestra
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony: Bruno Walter and the New York Philharmonic or
Netherlands Philharmonic under Walter Goehr.
This assumes they are all relatively unscratched.
Eugene Ormandy seems to do an excellent job conducting anything.
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md
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response 25 of 74:
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May 3 10:47 UTC 1999 |
My non-expert suggestions:
Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto: Heifetz-Beecham.
Dvorak Slavonic Dances: Neumann-Czech Philharmonic.
Rossini Overtures: Czech Philharmonic-Delogu.
Faure Requiem: Paris Philharmonic-Liebowitz.
Handel Fireworks and Water Music: Ormandy/Philadelphia.
Beethoven's Ninth: keep both.
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keesan
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response 26 of 74:
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May 3 13:29 UTC 1999 |
Thanks, I will listen to them all and try to hear what it is you prefer.
Which other orchestras and conductors are as consistenly good as Ormandy and
Philadelphia? I also liked Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, at least
their Vivaldi Four Seasons, an outstanding winner.
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keesan
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response 27 of 74:
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May 4 15:30 UTC 1999 |
I did like the Paris version of Faure best, but in order to fit it onto a 10"
record they omitted a few lines here and there (any line that was repeated
in the original was left out in their performance). Do modern composers time
their compositions to fit in 72 minutes (formerly 45 minutes)?
The Handel records were not quite the same either - Ormandy did abridged
versions of both Water and Fireworks music, then I had one complete Water
Music and one complete Fireworks with abridged Water. May keep them all.
The Musical Heritage Society performances seems to be technically correct but
lacking in interpretation. The Musical Masterpiece Society (Netherlands and
Paris Symphonies, etc.), though on 10" records and therefore at times a bit
abridged, are uniformly good, in my opinion.
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gracel
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response 28 of 74:
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May 4 17:57 UTC 1999 |
The Faure Requiem Monte Carlo version (at least, if this is the one that
won the Grand Prix du Disque) is the first one I ever heard and I've never
liked another performance as well. Especially the boy soprano. If you
decide against that one, may I have it?
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keesan
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response 29 of 74:
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May 4 19:43 UTC 1999 |
THere was something about a Grand Prix, you are welcome to this version.
I am currently comparing three versions of Beethoven's Ninth. I recall it
being very hard on the second altos (a long very high note that I could not
reach at all). First version is scratchy. Basic Library of the World's
Greatest Music (with yet another Barber of Seville on the reverse side).
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md
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response 30 of 74:
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May 5 11:14 UTC 1999 |
I've heard it said that many composers since 1950
have turned out 20- or 25-minute pieces that could
fit on one side of an LP.
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keesan
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response 31 of 74:
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May 5 19:05 UTC 1999 |
I just read that CDs were lengthened from 60 to 74 minutes because LPs are
37 minutes long per side. Did someone invent a longer LP by putting the
grooves closer together? (I think this is what happened when going from 78s
to 33s). Or is this just an error?
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davel
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response 32 of 74:
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May 6 01:01 UTC 1999 |
Certainly some LPs gained length by tighter grooving. I think it was a
change, but I'm not sure of that.
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krj
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response 33 of 74:
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May 12 18:00 UTC 1999 |
On CD length: The story was always reported that Akio Morita, the chairman
of Sony, decreed that the CD had to be long enough to record Beethoven's
9th Symphony on one disc. (Sony and Philips were the co-developers of
today's CD format.) The original CD standard called for a 72 minute
length. Some releases started pushing that limit up by packing the
tracks in a teensy bit more tightly and getting closer to the rim of
the disc; when 80-minute discs came out, we found that lots of players
would not make it through to the end of these discs. So the upper boundary
is now 78 minutes and change.
LPs: Yes, the grooves (and stylii) got much smaller with the transition
from 78 to LP; that's why the LPs were called "microgroove" recordings
for a while. 37 minutes may be a theoretical possibility for the length
of one LP side, but it was not a market practicality. In LPs, there would
always be a tradeoff between how loud (=how wide) the grooves were cut,
and how much time the LP could hold. I rarely saw LPs packing in more than
25 minutes per side and I doubt that I ever saw an LP with 30 minutes
on a side. I suspect some exist at that length, but they were very
rare.
(Oh, it's important how loud/wide the grooves are cut because the
signal needs to climb out of the vinyl surface noise with the LP.)
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orinoco
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response 34 of 74:
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Oct 27 21:00 UTC 1999 |
<nods> All the CDs I've seen that even come close to 70 minutes, the LP
version is on two records.
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keesan
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response 35 of 74:
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Dec 29 20:22 UTC 1999 |
At the library, I took a look at which companies are now putting out classical
CDs: Phillips, London, Deutsche Grammophon, Nonesuch, RCA Victor and CBS
(Columbia) are the only ones that I recognized. Are Angel/Seraphim,
Westminster, MHS and other record companies still in existence? Did they
merge or get bought out? Are there now fewer and larger companies or perhaps
more and smaller, now that anyone can make a CD?
Vox/Turnabout still around? Mercury? Oryx?
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dbratman
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response 36 of 74:
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Jan 3 18:23 UTC 2000 |
Some of those companies are, I think, gone, and new ones have arisen in
their place. Others are there under different guise. For instance,
what once was Columbia was bought by Sony, which is now using the Sony
name on some releases, and CBS on others, I think. Angel was only the
American imprint of EMI, which is still around.
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orinoco
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response 37 of 74:
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Jan 4 19:58 UTC 2000 |
In general, record labels are merging into a few big groups, rather like car
companies did a while back, although not to quite such an extreme degree.
I don't know much about classical labels, but I'd assume they're following
this general trend.
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davel
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response 38 of 74:
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Jan 7 00:28 UTC 2000 |
I fairly recently (I think) bought one or more CDs labeled as MHS. I bought
them through BMG, so they were also labeled as BMG; BMG always (or almost
always) does that.
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