Which Test Record

[jcmusic]

I want to buy a new test record to insure that i have setup my TT as best as i could, which one do you guys recomend?

Jay

[JJkizak]

I don't know of any later records but the old CBS series (4-LP's) would test the whole system more or less.

JJK

[Mike Lindsey]

The Hi Fi News test record - http://store.acousticsounds.com/browse_detail.cfm?Title_ID=10160&sct=music

The 'Producer's Cut' is the successor to the original HFN Test LP, first pressed in 1996. Len Gregory, The Cartridge Man, who produced the original version, had over the years concluded that there were a number of improvements that could be made to his earlier work which in the four years since it's release had sold an amazing 10,000 copies around the world.

He went back to Graham Durham at The Exchange for a new recording session, to re-cut the original tracks, to add a frequency sweep track and to extend the Pink Noise tracks. Then it was off to Pallas in Germany to arrange for production, their best quality Audiophile pressing on 180gm virgin vinyl.
The resulting mechanical quality is excellent, flat, stable and quiet, everything that an audiophile pressing should be!

In total, there are now seventeen tracks. Side one covers channel identification and phasing, pink noise, and bias settings (Four tracks at increasing amplitudes). Side two contains tracking ability bands at the outside, middle and inside of the disc, cartridge/arm resonance and alignment tests, full frequency (20Hz-20Khz) test and a residual noise test. All bands are separated by locked grooves.

The package is completed with the inclusion of a unique, multi-discipline, alignment protractor, a truly universal device that can be used to set up all sizes and types of arm to fine degrees of accuracy, a reprint of the seminal article by John Crabb on the theory and practice of arm/cartridge alignment, and copious sleeve notes to take the user through the set up procedure step by step.

Selections:

Side One:
1. Channel Identification (voice on left channel, voice on right channel)
2. Phasing (voice alternately in phase and out of phase)
3. Channel balance (-20dB pink noise L+R)
4. Pink Noise (-20dB, left channel)
5. Pink Noise (-20 dB, right channel)
6. Bias setting (300Hz tone L+R at +12dB)
7. Bias setting (300Hz tone L+R at +14dB)
8. Bias setting (300Hz tone L+R at +16dB)
9. Bias setting (300Hz tone L+R at +18dB)

Side Two:
1. Tracking ability 1 (300Hz L+R at +15dB)
2. Cartridge/arm lateral resonance test (sweep 25-5Hz L+R +1Hz pilot tone)
3. Cartridge/arm vertical resonance test (sweep 20Hz-6Hz)
4. Tracking ability 2 (300Hz L+R at +15dB)
5. Cartridge alignment (azimuth) test (300Hz vertical; L-R at +6 dB; adjust for minimum mono output)
6. Residual system noise (unmodulated groove)
7. Full range frequency system check (20Hz-20kHz L+R)
8. Tracking ability 3 (300Hz L+R at +15dB)

Mike

[LarryC]

The instructions touch only tangentially (sic) on setting the anti-skate -- they describe it, but don't clearly say how to set it with this record unless I don't understand what they're saying. It might be for good reason, since the sideward force needed probably varies from LP to LP and maybe even between soft and loud passages. Different tonearm manufacturers may come up with different or no (like VPI) settings in their tonearm.

There appears to be a blank band on Side One, though I think there's a faint spiral groove in part of it -- I don't know why that band is there unless to show rapid inward skating if anti-skating is too little. I used either this band or a blank band on one of the old Shure test records to look into that, and found that my tonearms really skated inward after a little hesitation. I also had a problem with it skating inward across several "grooves" (I know, there's only one groove/side) from the sloped lead-in on many LPs. So, I reset the anti-skating to quite a high value to keep it from skating on the blank band, and, lo, that eliminated the lead-in groove skating problem!

Mike, what thoughts do you have on this, and what's your interpretation of the "bias setting" grooves?

The 2-point protractors look especially good, each having a nice clear line extending back from the stylus centering point. It should be remembered that, technically, the CANTILEVER should be lined up, not the cartridge body, if they aren't precisely parallel with each other! For me, that takes a flashlight (preferably held by a second person) and an illuminated maginfying glass.

Larry

[jcmusic]

Mike do you use this one? Did it help you? Is it worth the time and money in your opinion?

Larry same questions as above?

Jay

[jcmusic]

Thanks Mark thats the kinda response I was looking for.

Jay

[Mallette]

I still use the Command Stereo Check disc acquired sometime about 1970 or so. One good side of basic checks for phase, unmodulated grooves, etc. and the other full of bongos, big band bash, and such in that awesome Command "in your face" style. "Fernando's Hideaway" is a CLASSIC!! Still in good shape, too.

Dave

[LarryC]

First, a good protractor is ABSOLUTELY vital to lining up the cartridge so that the stylus is pointing EXACTLY down the groove -- at the tangent. While I've used other protractors, such as Shure's (I think you have to buy one of their cartridges) and the one that came with the Basis Vector tonearm, this one looks very good to me if you don't have one.

Looking at the record's info makes it plain that I haven't made the most of it. The only thing I directly used it for, or maybe it was another similar record, was the blank anti-skating band as described above. However, I've now found the information on the sleeve on what the bias-setting bands are about and I may try them to see how it comes out. It might be a useful cross-check against the blank-band test.

Taking the other bands one-by-one -- making sure that left is on the left is basic. The phasing test is important if you're finding that bass is lacking or the two channels never seem to balance between the two speakers. The tracking ability test is not very useful if you've already made your cartridge and tonearm choice. I did try one of the cartridge/arm resonance tests, which could be useful if you think your arm and cart aren't compatible. If one or both those are new, whoever you bought them from had the responsibility to match them up. I think I'll try both tests now that I'm actually reading the instructions!

Band 5 looks valuable if you want to double-check the azimuth setting. That's whether the cart is perfectly vertical when seen from the front. I myself use a mirror that's about as thick as an LP, to see if the cart and its reflection match and don't lean to one side. However, this band provides a cross-check in case the needle assembly isn't perfectly vertical inside the cartridge. You have to be able to adjust this on your tonearm.

There are a number of alignments that you should be sure to make. I recommend A Beginner's Guide to Cartridge Setup:

First, be sure the turntable is level! You need one of those 6" or so bubble levels.

Do an initial weight (or downforce) setting, to make sure it's not too heavy. The Shure gram gauge is a MUST.

Use the protractor to locate the cart correctly in the headshell (sliding cart/stylus foward or back)

Ditto to align the cantilever (or cartridge body) parallel to the parallel lines (twist sideways as necessary). I find an illuminated magnifier (magnifying glass with a built-in light) to be invaluable. I got mine at ACE Hardware.

Do the vertical alignment (VTA) by raising or lowering the rear of the tonearm so that the cart is exactly parallel to the record surface. You have to be able to raise or lower the tonearm base in its holder to be able to do this.

Do the vertical azimuth using the mirror.

Re-check the weight and set it accurately.

Do any cross-checks on the record if you buy it, i.e., anti-skating, vertical azimuth, anything else.

This is pretty sketchy and I probably forgot some things, but, with all this overkill, you can now decide whether to buy the record!

Larry

[Travis In Austin]

Jay,

Excellent topic. I use the Producer's Cut of Hi Fi test record AND the Acoustic Sounds Test record. The old Hi Fi Test record, which I have, had usless antiskating test tracks. I think that I recently read on this forum, or it may have been somewhere else, that the original Hi Fi test reccord lead to many folks having improper antiskating/bias adjustment. I think all of those problems were resolved with the producers cut.

Travis

[jcmusic]

Hi Travis, Did you find that it helped you in any way? My music sounds really good to me, I am just curious if i have the settings correct.

Jay