I was always fussy about my records. In the day; record shops exchanged records with Pops, Tics and Warps for the same record; No Problem. I live in Chicago. Music Direct was less than 10 minutes from my condo and they had the same policy in their early days. Don’t know how they handle this now.
So most of my records are flat. Used records do have some long warps or sudden edge warps. I have multiple pressings. Not really a big problem.
My new Technics 1200G, modded with Triplanar Classic SE tonearm handles these warps with ease. I believe Atmasphere was the one who explained it. The Triplanar bearings are in the plane of the record. One of the SME arms also features this setup. Seems to be working well for me. Also bass is tighter and more textured. Speed control brings the spatial qualities recorded in the grooves to a new level. Neither my LP12 or Kuzma can extract the info in the grooves the way the Technics/Triplanar rig can. Unless I hit a lottery; this will be my final rig.
Two other tweaks on the Technics; I use an Oracle hard acrylic platter mat and an HRS 315 gram record weight.
I have been pondering the purchase of an AFI Flat. German made record flattener with a difference. It not only flattens records. It has a Relax function that supposedly Relaxes the stresses in the vinyl incurred during the actual pressing process.
Users have reported results that equal that of US cleaning.
There is is no doubt in my mind; that flat records play and sound better. Just listen to One. Try a MoFi UHQR or a UD1S.
The Oracle mat and HRS weight are good for dealing with the resonances generated in the grooves. Start with Flat Records and I don’t think that you will need a ring anymore. IMHO.
Best to All on this Journey
So most of my records are flat. Used records do have some long warps or sudden edge warps. I have multiple pressings. Not really a big problem.
My new Technics 1200G, modded with Triplanar Classic SE tonearm handles these warps with ease. I believe Atmasphere was the one who explained it. The Triplanar bearings are in the plane of the record. One of the SME arms also features this setup. Seems to be working well for me. Also bass is tighter and more textured. Speed control brings the spatial qualities recorded in the grooves to a new level. Neither my LP12 or Kuzma can extract the info in the grooves the way the Technics/Triplanar rig can. Unless I hit a lottery; this will be my final rig.
Two other tweaks on the Technics; I use an Oracle hard acrylic platter mat and an HRS 315 gram record weight.
I have been pondering the purchase of an AFI Flat. German made record flattener with a difference. It not only flattens records. It has a Relax function that supposedly Relaxes the stresses in the vinyl incurred during the actual pressing process.
Users have reported results that equal that of US cleaning.
There is is no doubt in my mind; that flat records play and sound better. Just listen to One. Try a MoFi UHQR or a UD1S.
The Oracle mat and HRS weight are good for dealing with the resonances generated in the grooves. Start with Flat Records and I don’t think that you will need a ring anymore. IMHO.
Best to All on this Journey