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My Dumb Question of the Day

I feel strongly that I should ask a dumb question every day. Audiogon's turn.

When I am playing an LP I clearly hear the music when the amp is off. I know that this is how the phonograph has worked from the beginning (the old wind up Victrola at my sister's house), but is this really a good thing. Would better more efficient coupling improve the signal to the cartridge, would better damping of the tonearm improve the signal, basically, is this accoustic phenomena less noticable on a really high end turntable.

I'm using a Clearaudio Champion with Aurum Beta S and RB300 arm.
jpharris
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Just remember, we only hear a small section of the spectrum. Who is to say that CDs don't also make sound when the laser displaces photons.

If a CD plays in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it really make sound? :)
newbee
4,093 posts
 
Elgordo, Would you believe that some one actually invented a lazer pickup for vinyl! Yep!! Obviously it didn't catch on. As to music coming from a pickup, I haven't heard this since I sold my old Sony (what ever model) many moon ago. As others have suggested its an equipment matching/set up failure when it occurs.
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
Gosh!!!

What 4 the JC sake R U talkin' about???

What kind of efficient transfer???

It's NOT sound waves are being transfered but mechanical waves of stylus induce electro-magnetic force emf across the coil of cartridge as per Faradeys' Law of electro magnetic induction. Hearing mechanical waves of stylus being transfered to the air is absolutely irrelevant to the conventional analogue reproduction.

Earlier in mechanical gromophones the mechanical vibrations of the needle were transfered acoustically through the brass horn. Well, nowdays we have better solutions than brass horns(again mr. Faradey comes very handy) and to "preserve" this "wasted" energy try to use microphones with all applied stuff such as mike amp or mike preamp input, mixer(the device that takes many input signals at the same time)... Gotta be those high sencitivity ones from recording studios next to the cartridge or simply you may use karaoke machine he..he..:-).
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
It's called "needle talk". They all do it. Just a guess, but I bet it comes from the compliant vinyl reacting to stylus forces. The stylus wouldn't have enough area to produce audible sound.
wlusk5fd8
20 posts
 
Hi Jpharris,

I'm a "newbie" to analog/turntables, but I think you are asking an intelligent question...at least based on the answer to your question that I found here:

http://www.turntablebasics.com/advice.html - Go down to the: "Choosing a cartridge: Stylus" section (very near the bottom of the page) to find your answer.

Wes
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