GOODSOUND!GoodSound! "How To" Archives

Published May 15, 2004

 

How to Play a Record: Turntable Setup and Record Maintenance

In "How to Decide if a Turntable is Right for You," I explored considerations that a person should think about before buying a turntable. One of the things I said to consider was that turntables and records require much more maintenance than digital sources and software like CD players and CDs. In this essay, I explain what that extra maintenance is, so that prospective buyers have an even greater sense of what they’ll need to do.

The maintenance associated with turntables and records can be put into three categories: general maintenance, cartridge and tonearm setup and maintenance, and record cleaning and care. None of these requires special skills, but some of them require tools that you'll need to purchase.

There are two kinds of turntables: direct drive and belt-driven. Most audiophile turntables are belt-driven, while most DJ turntables are direct drive (for example, the DJ-standard Technics SL1200 is direct drive). While most of what I'll say below is applicable to both kinds of tables, I'm using a standard belt-driven turntable as my example.

General maintenance

There are two things to keep in mind when placing your new table: You want it to be level and free from vibrations. Since correct playback requires that the stylus hit the spinning platter continuously at the right angle, making sure the platter is level and isolated from external vibrations is crucial.

Once you've put the platter that the record will rest on onto the table, you'll want to use a level to make sure that the platter and table don't just look level but actually are level. Some turntables might come supplied with a small level for this, but if not, you can buy a level at your local home-improvement center for under $10 USD. Hopefully, you'll find that it is perfectly level right off the bat, but if not, don't go for a quick fix (e.g., putting a pack of playing cards under one leg of your audio rack). If your floor is not straight, you might want to consider an audio rack that has adjustable feet or spikes that would allow you to compensate for the uneven nature of the floor.

Once it is level, you'll want to make sure that it is free from vibration. Placing your turntable on the same shelf as your speakers or right next to the dance floor is not a good idea since the vibrations are likely to cause the stylus to jump or jiggle from its proper place. Placing your turntable on its own shelf in an audio rack will likely give you enough isolation from vibration, but you should have someone walk around the rack while you feel or listen for vibrations. (You don't want the record to skip every time you need to walk past your turntable on the way to the kitchen.) If it seems that you do need more isolation, you can consider using a product like Vibrapods ($6 each) to add an extra layer of isolation. (If you're a hockey player, you could try a couple of pucks under the table to serve much the same function.) Even more isolation could be achieved by using a specialized vibration-dampening platform or a turntable shelf that you can bolt directly into your wall studs. These extreme forms of vibration control won't be necessary for most people, however. Just keep in mind that you want it to be as free from vibration as possible, so keep it away from those things (speakers and subwoofers especially) that are likely to cause vibrations.

Cartridge and tonearm setup and maintenance

Your choice of cartridge will be determined by many things (e.g., price and system synergy), but you will first need to determine if you require a standard-mount cartridge or a P-mount cartridge. Your tonearm will determine which of these you need and also how many other adjustments you are able to make in setting up your table. Some tonearms don't allow for all of these adjustments, either for price or engineering considerations.

If your tonearm accepts P-mount cartridges, you'll have an easier time installing the cartridge -- the cartridge will fit into a socket on the tonearm, and you will then attach it with a screw. P-mount cartridges don't need any more adjustment than that, so you're ready to go.

Standard cartridges require more adjustment. Remember that these adjustments are attempts to get your stylus to hit the record at the right angle and with the right amount of force. We're going to go through a six-step procedure to get your cartridge ready. We'll begin by attaching your cartridge to the tonearm, and then move through several alignments to make sure you get the most out of it. Many of these adjustments could be made easier with the help of a test record like the Hi-Fi News Test Record ($39.99), but I'm going to proceed as if we don't have one.

Step 1: Connect the cartridge to the tonearm

While keeping in place any stylus guard that the cartridge has, use small needle-nosed pliers and connect the four wire connections from the tonearm to the cartridge. These should be color-coded. If not, you'll need to check your manufacturer's specifications. Once the wires are connected, you can screw the cartridge to the tonearm using the supplied screws and the two holes on the tonearm and on the cartridge. The holes may or may not be threaded, so you'll need to check exactly how your cartridge should be attached. It would be a good idea to tighten one side a little, then the other, and so on. Be careful to not over tighten, since at this point we just want the cartridge to be connected and roughly in place. Finally, remove any stylus guard before going to the next step.

Step 2: Set the tracking force

You should begin by setting the tracking force that acts as a counterbalance to the weight of the tonearm and cartridge. To do this, place the counterbalance weight onto the tonearm and adjust it until the tonearm floats freely, so that the stylus is located as it would be if it were playing a record. When you have it balanced like this, lock the tonearm into place on the arm rest and set the counterweight so that it reads "0." This will give you a rough guide to where to set the counterbalance weight based on your cartridge's specifications. Once you have set it using the markings of the counterbalance weight, you can double check your setting by using a stylus-force pressure gauge (Shure's $20 SFG-2 makes a good introductory gauge).

Step 3: Cartridge alignment

We need to make sure that the cartridge is aligned correctly on the tonearm before we go any further. For this step, your best bet is to get a cartridge alignment protractor. Your turntable or cartridge may very well have come with one, but you can get one for free as there is at least one available on the Internet that you can print out and use. Or else you can pay up to $50 or so to buy very nice ones. If you are going to be doing this a lot, one of the expensive ones is probably worth the money. These protractors will fit onto the spindle of your turntable and have two points at which you will place your stylus. The protractor will also have some lines around the points at which you put your stylus. Put your stylus on the first point and check to see that the sides of your cartridge are parallel to the lines on the protractor. If so, good. If not, note the discrepancy. Do this for the second stylus point on the protractor. If everything matches up, you're almost ready to move on to the next step. If there were discrepancies, you'll need to gently turn your cartridge in place until everything lines up correctly. Once everything is set, you can tighten the screws of the cartridge (again, do not over tighten -- these things are delicate) so it will stay in place. (Please note that if your cartridge is oddly shaped, this step will be much harder since it will be difficult to tell when the sides of the cartridge are aligned correctly.)

Step 4: Azimuth

Azimuth refers to the angle at which the stylus touches the record. We want the stylus to be perpendicular to the record, and there are a few ways to make sure that the stylus does this. The easiest method is to use a mirror and magnifying glass to check that the stylus is perpendicular to the record. Place a mirror under the stylus and gently lower the stylus onto the mirror. You can now look with the magnifying glass and see if in fact the stylus in the mirror is aligned with the actual stylus and see if it will hit the record as it should. A good test record will have a track that can help you set the azimuth so that it is correct.

Step 5: Tonearm height

If your tonearm allows you to set the height of the tonearm, you should do it now. Do the following: Without turning your turntable on, place a record on it, and place the tonearm near the center of the record. Look at the tonearm and turntable at eye level and see if the tonearm and turntable appear to be parallel. If so, then you are done. If not, adjust it according to your manufacturer's directions so that they are.

Step 6: Two final procedures

There are just a couple of final steps before you can play your records. First, set the anti-skating mechanism of your tonearm (the anti-skating weight compensates for the pull that the stylus will face as it moves inward). Since different tonearms do this differently, you'll need to check your manufacturer's directions. Like setting the azimuth, setting the anti-skating weight can be greatly helped by the use of a good test record. Finally, when you connect the turntable to your phono preamp, you'll notice that there are left and right RCA connectors, as well as a ground wire. Your preamp should have inputs for the RCA connectors and a screw where you can attach the ground wire. The ground wire is effective in eliminating hum, so don't just leave it hanging or forget about it.

In the future, you may want to pick up a stylus cleaner to keep your stylus as clean as possible. There are several versions of stylus cleaner on the market, but many of them involve a cleaning liquid and small applicator that you use to apply the fluid to the stylus. An interesting alternative is the Onzow Zerodust ($69) that is made from extremely soft plastic. With the Zerodust, you simply put the stylus onto it and lift it out after a few seconds. The dirt and build-up from your stylus will be left on the Zerodust.

Record cleaning and care

Once you've got your turntable set up and ready to play, you just have one final step: make sure your records are clean. Dirty records result in the "pops" and "clicks" that are stereotypically associated with using a turntable. These annoying sounds are not an essential part of playing records: A good, clean record avoids these distracting noises. There are several products available to help you clean your records, from cleaning fluid that costs just a few dollars to record-cleaning machines that cost hundreds of dollars. Here I'll concentrate on a budget-friendly way of cleaning records that does a good job.

Records can be cleaned using the Allsop Orbitrac 2 record-cleaner kit (around $40). The kit includes two one-ounce bottles of Allsop cleaning solution, two cleaning pads, a handle for the pads, a nonskid cleaning base, and a brush to clean the cleaning pads after use. To begin, you lay out the four pieces of the cleaning base to form a circle that you can lay your record on. Simply spray a little of the cleaning fluid onto the cleaning pad, place the small knob on the cleaning-pad handle into the spindle hole on the record, and rotate the cleaning pad around the record a few times. You may be surprised at how much dirt and grime comes off!

You don't need to use the Orbitrac every time you play a record, but you should do a pass along the record with a record brush every time. A brush is inexpensive (e.g., the AudioQuest brush is $20), but essential to good record cleaning. Just place your record on your turntable, start it spinning, and gently touch the record brush to the record as it rotates. When you lift the brush off, you may see a line of debris that the brush has caught on the record. You can clean the brush and repeat until there is no more noticeable dust. Then, drop the needle, sit back, and enjoy!

If you have been buying used records that have the original inner sleeves, it may be worth replacing them with new poly-lined sleeves to help keep the record clean. Depending on how old the record is, the inner sleeve could be disintegrating and falling apart. The debris will likely end up on your record and you'll need to clean it again. New sleeves are inexpensive: They run about $30 per hundred.

Conclusion

My hope is that a newcomer to turntables does not find the preceding overwhelming and go running back to his CD player or iPod. If that was your reaction, I hope you reread these guidelines. Certainly this is more work than popping a CD in the player and hitting Play, but it isn’t rocket science either. Remember that for most of these procedures, once you've set up the turntable, they don’t need to be done again for a long time. The value that comes with a well set-up turntable and clean records greatly outweighs the small amount of work this maintenance requires.

...Eric Hetherington


GOODSOUND!All Contents Copyright © 2004
Schneider Publishing Inc., All Rights Reserved.
Any reproduction of content on
this site without permission is strictly forbidden.