Record care 2

Following on from the previous post ....

The stylus is the only thing which gets to the bottom of the groove in the record ... so playing an album, then cleaning the stylus will slowly clear the groove and make the crackles reduce, if not dissappear. The mistake a lot of people make is to use a brush to make the surface look clean which pushes all the debris into the groove again .... dust you can see isn't really causing any problems.

Stylus cleaners are a rare item nowadays. The best was the Audiotechnica AT637, which is no longer made (secondhand examples of this £17 accessory can be found on Ebay .. but expect a bidding frenzy to beyond £100 in some cases) The 637 was basically a closely packed carbon fibre brush mounted on a resonator, which vibrated at around 1Khz... the stylus was lowered on for a couple of minutes and quite effectively scrubbed clean. The kit came with a fluid, but this was a little too effective and could damage the tip. Other examples which work are the Clearaudio stylus brush ( a manual carbon fibre based brush )... and the Linn green paper ( very fine grade sand paper .. which it takes a steady hand and a bit of nerve to use ... but works well )

I must admit that I tend to just gently run my finger across the stylus after each play to remove built up dust ... and use my AT 637 every month or so ..... the AT removes the burnt on vinyl that can accumulate over time... the surface temperature at the tip is high enough to briefly melt the vinyl !!

http://www.cheshireaudio.co.uk/

Record care

Had another long conversation about record care with a customer today ... It was the usual question ... what do I use to clean my records? They are very dusty. The answer to this is dont! or at least don't do it unless you are prepared to do it properly and buy a decent record cleaning machine like the Keith Monks or the Clearaudio (available at Cheshire Audio :-) ) Most of the budget options, such as carbon brushes and cloths just push the dust into the bottom of the groove ... but unfortunatlely with vinyl, out of sight isn't out of mind. This just makes the noise worse and also can cause static which attracts more dust!

There are a few accessories which can improve the static issue. Goldring Exstatic sleeves work well ... they fit inside the paper sleeve of the record and inhibit static build up in the vinyl ( usually noticeable ,if present, as the record will lift off the record players felt mat when changing records )

Also, the classic Zerostat gun, which works extremely well! Pressing the trigger is a little like using one of  the devices used to light gas burners and ionises the air around the disc.

If the visible dust worries you ( it doesnt add noise at all by the way ) the Pixall roller cleaner is very effective. This is a sticky roller a little like a lint roller for clothes ... the sticky surface lifts all the visible dust from the surface ( not though the dust in the grooves )

The only device that reaches the bottom of the groove is the stylus .... cleaning this is another problem entirely .. but letting the stylus do the work and then cleaning it afterwards is the only way to keep you albums in good shape without spending a few hundred pounds!

http://www.cheshireaudio.co.uk/acatalog/Record_Care.html

Nordost Valhalla

We have for sale ... or will do when it comes in in a few days. A 2 x 2m Shotgun configuration Nordost Valhalla speaker cable which is terminated with spades. Very good condition and comes with box etc. New price of this is just under £6000. looking for offers over £2500

If you havent experienced Valhalla before then you are in for a revelation, nothing ( except they're top model Odin) comes close. Fairly system compatible too.

 .. Shotgun is 2 plugs at either end rather than 2 plugs at one and 4 at the other as shown in the stock picture

If you are interested email Philip on mail@cheshireaudio.co.uk

http://www.cheshireaudio.co.uk/acatalog/Nordost_Factory_terminated.html

Tom Evans Phonostages

We've long been fans of the Tom Evans range of phonostages ... from the MicroGroove right through to the Groove plus. Undeniably expensive items, but giants in the world of audio and very difficult to beat at any price.

All units can be ordered 'pre-tweeked' to work at the precise loading and level for your cartridge ... but dont think that this restricts you in the future ... Tom will quickly and efficiently re tweek the settings if you change cartridge. Recently TE have been offering a SRX mod to the higher end models to allow the customer to adjust things himself, which is great if you have a couple of cartridges, or like to experiment with loading.

The new MasterGroove

Recently we have heard news that Tom has developed a new model ABOVE the Groove Plus ... quite how anything can better that combination I have no idea, but we have a saying here ...'Tom is always right' and annoyingly it seems to hold true with every product he introduces!

http://www.cheshireaudio.co.uk/acatalog/Tome_Evans.html

Mains cables

A very easy upgrade for a system is to replace the mains lead. Generally the best place to start is at the source ( CD Turntable etc) though in some systems adding a better cable to the Pre or power amp may have a bigger benefit. On a source component the differences are usually in refinement and detail .... on and amplifier there is more sense of scale and dynamic. In both instances the musicality ( ability to 'connect' with the musician) is improved.

The whole concept is quite controversial and difficult to quantify, but the audible improvements are quite substantial. My guess is that the main reason for improvement is the filtering of RF noise which will lower the noise floor ... and hence give more detail and dynamic.

The best test is to try it for yourself .... give us a call

http://www.cheshireaudio.co.uk/acatalog/Main_Cables.html#

Philip

Trade in schemes

To try and make things easier for customers wanting to upgrade, we will always consider taking trade ins. Generally this has to be a cable for a cable or a cartridge for a cartridge ... but it's always worth asking if you have something interesting. Quite a few manufactures that we deal with have their own schemes, Lyra and Ortofon for example. But these are sometimes a bit restrictive if you want to switch brand.

Consequentially we can quite often have some secondhand items to sell ... we dont advertise these... so if you are on the look out for something, give us a call.

To buy something from the site with the price of a 'trade in' knocked off though, we would need to take details over the phone .... the 'gateway' system we use for site transactions is not flexible enough to cope with it ... one of the drawbacks of security I suppose. The bonus is that you get to speak to us in person...which we prefer anyway.

Trichord D300

Although we don't have any Hifi components on the site as such ( just accessories) we do occasionally get requests for amplifiers etc. One of our favourite power amps at the moment is the Trichord D300. Very small monoblock configuration and impressive power and drive the D300 is very clear, punchy and dynamic ... and happy with fairly difficult loads. We have partnered these with the Tom Evans Vibe pre amp and quite honestly would find it difficult to improve on!

The D300 are a 300w design with a class D output stage ... they replaced the much loved and respected Michell Alectos ( also a Trichord design) Although the Alecto is soon to reappear in a new upgraded form... hopefully we should have an example to try soon.

http://www.cheshireaudio.co.uk/

Philip