LP003 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl - Mastered by Maarten de Boer
Mastered at Emil-Berliner Studios - Pressed at Pallas Germany
My verdict? A test record is an essential tool to ensure the proper setting up of a record deck - Audioreview
Production information Conceived, written and performedby The image hifi Team
Mastered on 180 Grams 100% virgin vinyl by Pallas, Diepholz
Mastered at Emil-Berliner Studios, Hannover, Germany
Ultimate test recording:
• The perfect adjuistment tool for turntable, tonearm, cartridge
• Channel identifikation
• Correct phase
• Cross talk test
• Trackability test
• Tonearm/cartridge resonance test
• 180 gr. virgin vinyl
This Image test record is an outstanding adjustment tool, which includes measurements, that everyone will understand and is able to perform. No unnecessary High End voodoo testing! The record only contains essential measurements, that will make your cartridge/tonearm/turntable combo sound best.
Perfectly manufactured LP, which marks state-of-the-art reference quality status, referring to mastering tolerances of all available anaologue test records! Comes with german and english instruction.
A1 channel identifikation
A2 phase test
A3 cross talk test
A4 cross talk test
A5 trackability test
A6 tonearm/cartridge resance test
B1 trackability test
B2 trackability test
In order to get the best from your investment in a turntable, arm and cartridge combination, it is vital that the system is correctly set up. Unfortunately, it can be a time-consuming process to do it properly and not all Hi-Fi shops can be relied upon to do this satisfactorily. It also requires a good test record!
This record is made by a Image Hi-Fi and has the title “Vinyl Essentials - The Ultimate Pickup Test Record”. It may be not cheap, but when this is set against the cost of your system, it is a small price to pay to get the best from your vinyl investments.
The record has six tracks on Side 1. Side 2 contains two tracks; both are a repeat of Side 1 Track 2, the Tracking Ability Test. The reason for this, is that these extreme tests can cause the vinyl to be heated to several hundred degrees centigrade at certain points while being tracked by the stylus and therefore these tracks should be played in sequence to allow for the necessary cooling time and thus reduce record wear. The LP is made of very high quality vinyl. 100% virgin 180g vinyl and manufactured to the closest cutting tolerances possible.
The first two tracks are the channel identification and phase tests with the help of some pink noise. This is fairly self-explanatory, except to say that you should ensure that your phasing and channels are consistent throughout your system. If, for example, you have the left and right channel connections to your cartridge and also the connections from your pre-amp to your power amp swapped over, your record deck will sound fine, but your CD player won’t!
Having confirmed a well-defined central image with the in-phase pink noise tests, we move on to a method of checking the crosstalk between the channels. On Track 3, a burst of pink noise is recorded on the left channel only alternating with a low-level reference burst of pink noise at -25dB recorded on the right channel only. By muting your left channel (unplugging the left channel to your pre-amp or using your balance control) you hear on the right channel only the crosstalk from the left channel alternating with the reference burst. If they are both at the same volume, then your crosstalk is -25dB. The test is repeated with -30dB and -35dB reference bursts.
Track 4 repeats the test for the right-to-left crosstalk measurement - remember to mute the right channel this time. The point of all this is that if there is a significant difference in crosstalk between the left and right channels, it indicates that your cartridge is probably misaligned vertically. Viewed from the front, your stylus should be exactly perpendicular to the surface of the record. If your arm has an adjustment to rotate the headshell to achieve this, all well and good. If, however, your headshell is fixed,instead of using a Mole wrench on your cartridge, you can use thin shims of paper or washers between the cartridge and the headshell to achieve the desired effect.
Next comes the test that strikes fear into all cartridge manufacturers - the Tracking Ability Test. This is simply a tone recorded with increasing amplitude ranging from a 40 microns peak-to-peak sinusoid cut in the vinyl to 100 microns in 10 micron steps. When the cartridge starts to mistrack, a very clear buzzing is heard. This is an extreme test for your system and this test is repeated twice on side two for the reasons previously mentioned.
The Tracking Ability Test can assist in setting the tracking weight but this should be within the range recommended by the manufacturer of your cartridge. Too low a tracking weight will result in poor tracking and do more harm to your records than erring on the high side, but don’t overdo it. Tracking ability isn’t everything and will very much depend on your tonearm and cartridge combination. The Tonearm-Cartridge Resonance Test to be discussed later will indicate how well your arm matches your chosen cartridge.
Last, but not least, is the Tonearm-Cartridge Resonance Test. Every combination of arm and cartridge has a natural resonant frequency, which should be about 10Hz. If it is much higher than this, it will intrude intrude into the low frequencies of the recording, such as low organ notes.low organ notes. If much lower, the harmonics of this could intrude into the audible spectrum. It is the combination of effective mass and compliance that results in a particular resonant frequency and also has an impact of the tracking ability.
Track 6 consists of an audible tone that is modulated with a sub-audible low frequency - the frequency that is being tested. If the arm is not resonating, the tone will sound constant. At resonance, the tone ‘warbles’ and the arm and cartridge can actually be seen to vibrate. The track has six tests ranging from 16Hz down to 6Hz and a sequence of introductory short or long ‘beeps’ tell you which frequency is being tested.
HAPPY TUNING!
Mastered on 180 Grams 100% virgin vinyl
by Pallas, Diepholz
Mastered at Emil-Berliner Studios, Hannover, Germany
