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Platter mat insanity

I was doing an idler upgrade to my 401 (more anon) and when finished used the Keystrobe disk to ensure speed. I use a 10" EP as a platter mat. I played a bunch of albums and it sounded fantastic. On the 6th side, I noticed I'd forgot to remove the 4" strobe disc. Duh. I took it off and figured VTA was responsible. So I lowered the arm to see if that made it sound so good. Nope. Put back on the 4" strobe disk and raised arm. The awesome sound returned. So air under the record removed haze, smearing, flattened soundstage and muddled bass; and made it so more musical. Comments... 
128x128noromance
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noromance OP
9,394 posts
 
@lewm I tested for VTA. While it had some small impact, it was nothing like the improvements wrought from the 4" disk. The Resomat and Trans-Fi have sadly ceased business.
@islandmandan Dan, well aware of your setup! I’ve been wary of the weight of the copper as we’ve discussed a while back. I would be delighted if you can do the strobe disk test - don't bother with adjusting VTA initially. Just dig the opening up of the music!
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islandmandan
1,260 posts
 
Yes, noromance (by the way, does your moniker suggest that, like me, you are beyond your prime?), I'll have to get off my lazy butt and spin some vinyl and try your trick out. You never know unless you try, right?

Dan
noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,394 posts
 
Dan, as a friend told me once when I asked him if he was still interested in women, he may be old but he wasn't dead! Looking forward to your findings.
jnorris2005
185 posts
 
noromance, you mis-spelled the names of nearly everyone on that record, and to be honest, whenever someone says "even my non-audiophile wife, (daughter, brother, therapist, et. al).heard the difference", alarm bells go off in my head.
noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,394 posts
 
@jnorris Hmm... so I did. Getting old is no fun. Whenever I see a comment like yours contributing nothing, I want to punch a wall. In fact, what is the point of your existence? I am detailing an observed phenomenon and passing it on so others might try it for themselves.
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