Loricraft and power cord upgrade?


I have had a Loricraft PRC4 vacuum cleaner for LPs for some time now. It really makes a dramatic difference in surface noise and brings to life old records that I thought were beyond hope.

Having changed my setup, I found myself with a spare AC cord (Iego using Furukawa OCC copper and quality connectors). So I asked, why not? I tried swapping it for the generic 16 gauge cord and vacuumed a record.

Now given that I only have one record for each album, it's hard to do controlled comparisons with respect to cleaning quality. But I think I hear a difference in the tone/noise of the motor and pump. Will it clean better? One wonders. It is a motor after all and although is not in the path of the stereo system, indirectly by acting on the LP surface, it can make a positive contribution. Is this too far-fetched?
classicjazz

Showing 2 responses by almarg

Clearly what is going on is not any difference in motor performance resulting from the power cord change, but the difference in record magnetization effects.

By using the better power cord, you are reducing the electromagnetic field strength which surrounds it, as seen particularly near the edge of the record (that being the location on the record which is closest to the power cord, and which of course affects the critical opening passages of the music which will disproportionately influence listening impressions for many people).

That reduction, according to my calculations for typical dimensions, is roughly a change from 0.000000000012 newtons per coulomb to 0.000000000009 newtons per coulomb. The reduction in field strength at locations elsewhere on the record is smaller, but still non-zero, being inversely proportional to the square of the distance.

The result is a substantial net reduction in record magnetization, from typically 0.00000000000027 ergs per Gauss-centimeter cubed, to 0.000000000000015 ergs/G-cm^3. A plainly audible difference.

QED!

-- Al :)
BTW, I assume (and hope) everyone realizes that my post which appears a few posts up in this thread was entirely satirical, of marketing hype which tends to surround many high end power cords, and of certain other much-hyped vinyl-related tweaks.

Regards,
-- Al