Quote:
Originally Posted by
BLACKENEDPLAGUE 
Reply to first part - that sounds like gibberish, please dumb it down
second part - I realize I can't realistically get down to the lower frequencies without a huge amount of money, but are there any affordable solutions to at least getting closer than I am now?
Sorry, can't put it otherwise and still remain polite about it - allowing for the undamped resonance and sweeping every other ill effect but just sheer overload of everything down the chain under the rug, which is all and everything a subsonic filter is capable of doing, always puts me into red zone RPM/overdrive.
But still better than allowing all ill effects of resonance and not even removing sheer overload of everything by using a subsonic filter. Listening at high volume with vented speakers to the same music on LP and CD should definitely give you visual clues - woofers would dance totally out of tune and with MUCH higher amplitude than with CD - testimony to the undamped fundamental tonearm/cartridge combination resonance.
An affordable solution that does work is Shure Dynamic Stabilizer - or "brush" as more commonly referred to, first introduced on V 15 Type IV in 1978.
It is VERY effective, it will almost completely remove lateral resonance and still be quite effective with vertical one. Trouble is, it does not come free;
There are approx 10000 carbon fibre "hairs" making contact from about 4 mm before the stylus position on the vinyl to the stylus position - and you get combined "pre echo" recorded signal feedback from the surface of the record that is totally unrelated to the actual signal being traced by the stylus at the time. It can pass unnoticed with some kind of music, like loud pop/rock/whatever - but if you are listening to some high dynamic range recording, like say Mahler's symphonies, you will notice this when listening to some very quiet passage and carbon bristles are already tracing the next dynamic outburst. The effect ist most audible and disturbing on the JVC TRS 1007 Test Record - there are frequency response sweeps and as analog predates digital/computer times, each sweep is followed by silent groove recorded for the time needed for the chart recorder to return to the start position, in order to be able to draw the curve say for another channel to the same piece of paper ( the famous Bruel & Kjaer papers, like included with each Benz Micro Switzerland cart ). With normal cartridge or Shure operated with brush lifted up, it sounds normal; with Shure brush, you get peculiar toned down distant kind of sound when there should be nothing - the bristles are already tracing the next sweep, whereas stylus is still in the silent grooves. I have nicknamed this effect as Subway - as it does most resemble the sound of underground subway of Paris or London of incoming and outgoing trains.
For this reason, I try to avoid the brush as much as I can, but if the resonance is too much with given combination, I give in and use it.
Stax did a variation on the theme, It is CS-2 Air Damped Stabilizer for HIGH COMPLIANCE CARTRIDGES.http://www.audio-extasa.eu/popup_add_image.php?pID=1246 It mounts between the tonearm/headshell and ANY 1/2" mount cartridge and can ve adjusted so that its brisles ride as close to the stylus as possible. It is as effective as Shure's brush, with sligtly less bristle pre echo. Rare as hen's teeth, appropriately priced, but sporadically does surface on ebay.
Technics EPA 100, EPA 100MK2, EPA 250, EPA 500 , a couple of Denon arms, one Pioneer, an arm on Dual ( 714Q ) have Dynamic Antiresonator built into their counterweight - which CAN be precisely adjusted for the very cartridge in operation, using test record and ear (with some training/experience ) or the use of measuring instruments. Dynavector DV 505 and 507 are VERY effective at suppressing that Enemy of Analog # 1 - in fact, they are perhaps the only solution when it comes to ACCURATELY reproducing the most difficult LP to reproduce of them all, the http://www.popsike.com/THE-POWER-AND-GLORY-HOLZGRAF-DIRECT-TO-DISC-MK-REAL-MILLER-KREISEL-AUDIOPHILE/270915950996.html
http://avaxhome.ws/hraphile/Holzgraf_Power_and_Glory_Volume1_24_96.html
If there is ANY LF resonance, this awesome recording will reveal it - and Grado Dancers WILL all but jump the groove, so please do not use them ( a properly adjusted/matched Grado will do just fine ! ). But please take this seriously; recording cointains MUSIC recorded down to 8 Hz or so - you need large speakers/amplifiers and big enough ROOM to at least try to reproduce this awesome sound. Stax Lambda Pro/SRM1MK2 will do justice to this record - IF you take care of the record player LF resonance.
There were other viable solutions to the problem, like Dynamic Q Damping by Denon, Sony and JVC. Of all of the above, only Dynavector DV 707 is still in the production. The only other arm that is still acceptable regarding this made today are various incarnations of The Well Tempered Arm. - provided your records are reasonably flat or at least not with quick sharp warps, because it can not follow them due to very high degree of viscous damping without forcing the cantilever to completely take over all the burden.
HOWEVER - and that is a BIG however - things may not be so dark. There is a fair possibility that this
http://www.rauna.com/slides/cantusjpg.html may well prove to be well behaved as far as LF resonance ( and hopefully everything else ...) is concerned. A friend is eyeing this on my recommendation and if and when the thing comes under my scrutiny, will report on findings ASAP.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akm9PmGY31Q
There is an undisputed king of solutions to this problem, MUCH MALIGNED, particularly from the US sources. Although I certainly do have a link to the math behind it, proving that this thing is clever enough to adjust itself automatically to the parameters needed for each and every cartridge without any adjustments necessary on the part of the user, let's say that for all the bashing this superb but not exactly stellar executioned design got from English speaking world, FINDING IT WILL BE LEFT AS AN EXERCISE FOR THE READER. And absolutely forget finding it in English - does not exist.
Edited by analogsurviver - 1/25/13 at 2:04am
