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
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