Recent content by jmilanski

Hey all, How much and how hard do you 'scrub'? I'm using the Home Depot paint edger with the nylon bristles. Even after cleaning with our beloved Squeaky Clean, I'm finding more pops than I expected. Perhaps I'm being too aggressive with the cleaning step? Thanks!

Like doodahman said For me, it is a lot easier to put a 1-L container (pyrex) on a $10 digital scale (below), clean it with IPA, and just add ingredients...

Help everyone! I'm trying to go by weight rather than volume (since I have a $10 digital scale, and no cylinders or pipets). 5% IPA 99% (50mL=39.3g, density 0.786 g/mL) 0.5% Triton X-100 (5mL=5.3g, density 1.061 g/mL) 0.05% quat (.5mL=.45g, density 0.9g/mL, but only 80% pure so 0.56g quat, the...

i bought a schiit mani couple months ago. i didn’t notice a huge improvement over the yamaha built in, maybe my ears are to blame :(

i use the squeaky clean vacuum setup, and a triton based diy solution (thanks to prof vince here on AK!). i’ll admit most of my vinyl still sounds poppy, hoping acrylic platter and humidity helps.

OP here. I wanted to thank everything for their advice, and circle back some of the things I did that helped the harshness. I got a new cartridge (Nakaoka MP-200, $325 from Japan, EMJmusic.com, less than a week), and used some inexpensive tools to align it, including a $10 scale, $3 bubble...

Alignment tools

hey hoodie, i measure 200mm from pivot to spindle on my pro-ject 1.2 where did your numbers come from? maybe i’m measuring something wrong?

thanks to everyone! i decided to pull the trigger on a nagaoka mp-200. where to buy? i’ll report back.

Here's the thing. The Pro-ject 1.2 does have an screw that lets me adjust the tonearm height. But adjusting VTA seems SO difficult to get right just eyeballing it. How can I possibly ensure a 20deg angle, and adjustments of 0.01"? Am I stuck with hours of move a little, tighten, listen, repeat?

I used the Baerwald 'Stupid'' protractor at Vinyl Engine. But I eyeballed it. Do most people use a magnifying glass, or something more precise? https://www.vinylengine.com/cartridge-alignment-protractors.shtml

Checked. The Mani is going into Aux1, not phono. Does it sound equally harsh whether using the Mani or the built-in preamp. My low-brow ears says yes. So I think it is my setup or the cartridge.

I admit, what is in my record collection is not that good. Mainly stuff my wife or I bought when we were single in the 80's, or inherited from parents, and they were not treated kindly. Still even the few new or VG+ records I've bought recently still sound shrill to me. I think you're right, my...

I will work harder on the setup. Are there other tools I should be using for setup, besides a protractor and digital scale? For example, an analog test LP? Or some other tools? https://www.needledoctor.com/Ultimate-Analogue-Test-LP

thank you all, i truly appreciate the advice. checking again. is there a level of cartridge that is just overkill given this setup? For example, you might say, don’t bother with magnetic coil before you’ve upgraded the TT or amp (Yamaha RX-v781 av receiver)