LP flattener
- Thread starter joeling
- Start date
Can you give any reference like manual or web page for 65C?
The new ORB (DF0-1iA) doesn’t mention any temperature in the manual. I think it’s very different than your DF-01. It has 3 temperature settings and works like a charm. Maybe they changed operating temperature with new model. It also flattens records without groove guard, especially notoriously warped Pallas pressings. I use it for a couple of warped steeplechase records, now they’re flat. You can make your own template from thick paper for grove guard.
65C is from a German review of the AFI. That’s what they quoted for the Orb.
With or without grove guard: I could never remember which works and which doesn’t. And was never sure if an album has it or not.
Very easy to tell if a record has GG. I don’t have a single record without it. From what I understand it’s rare to see one. Put record in a poly sleeve, lightly pinch record about 1” in, drag your fingers to the edge. If you feel a slight bump right before your fingers come off the record it has GG.
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I have read this thread with much interest. I could not see spending $2500 to $5000 on a flattener. So i bought a “Vinyl Flat’, $350 with the pouch. I don’t want to use an oven. I just completed my first album. 3 hours later I dropped the album on my turntable, no longer warped. FLAT! I was shocked. $350 seems like a deal to me now.
I love flat quiet vinyl.
I love flat quiet vinyl.
I've had success with the VinylFlat and its Groovy Pouch. Mine is, I think, an older version as I believe they come with a temperature control now. The trick is to leave the disc in the VinylFlat for quite a long time after turning it off, at least 24 hours. This lets the stresses in the PVC relax fully, just like annealing metal after forging. I think my overall success rate is 75%, and the 25% that did not respond were unplayable before treatment, so nothing was lost. My best cartridge is the one seen in my avatar, and since its body is very close to the record surface, I only try to treat records that are warped enough to contact the cartridge body and thus skip. The clamp on my SME table takes care of minor warps otherwisel
Late entry as I don't visit very often.
I had a Vinyl Flat and it sort of worked about half the time so I tried a friend's AFI.
We successfully flattened many records but also destroyed a couple of records.
Notably an Audio Fidelity Blade Runner, numbered, red vinyl.
We had done several colored records with success but this record was rendered unplayable by the AFI
The record was flattened but the surface was left with an orange peel texture.
Don't know what vinyl mix QRP used but it didn't respond well to heat treatment !
Next victim was a mint original pressing Fleetwood Mac Rumours,
Again flattened well and orange peeled.
Not as bad as the Blade Runner, it was playable but with lots of noise.
That was the end of my AGI adventures.
Warped records are now endured or if they are really bad, get replaced.
I had a Vinyl Flat and it sort of worked about half the time so I tried a friend's AFI.
We successfully flattened many records but also destroyed a couple of records.
Notably an Audio Fidelity Blade Runner, numbered, red vinyl.
We had done several colored records with success but this record was rendered unplayable by the AFI
The record was flattened but the surface was left with an orange peel texture.
Don't know what vinyl mix QRP used but it didn't respond well to heat treatment !
Next victim was a mint original pressing Fleetwood Mac Rumours,
Again flattened well and orange peeled.
Not as bad as the Blade Runner, it was playable but with lots of noise.
That was the end of my AGI adventures.
Warped records are now endured or if they are really bad, get replaced.
Late entry as I don't visit very often.
I had a Vinyl Flat and it sort of worked about half the time so I tried a friend's AFI.
We successfully flattened many records but also destroyed a couple of records.
Notably an Audio Fidelity Blade Runner, numbered, red vinyl.
We had done several colored records with success but this record was rendered unplayable by the AFI
The record was flattened but the surface was left with an orange peel texture.
Don't know what vinyl mix QRP used but it didn't respond well to heat treatment !
Next victim was a mint original pressing Fleetwood Mac Rumours,
Again flattened well and orange peeled.
Not as bad as the Blade Runner, it was playable but with lots of noise.
That was the end of my AGI adventures.
Warped records are now endured or if they are really bad, get replaced.
My numbered Blade Runner was also melted. That’s when I learned that translucent colored vinyl cannot handle much heat at all. After that I’ve done 30 min on low with success.
Sorry to hear this but I would not blame it on the AFI. It’s actually the safest flattener available due to its very accurate temperature control and gradual heating/cooling.Late entry as I don't visit very often.
I had a Vinyl Flat and it sort of worked about half the time so I tried a friend's AFI.
We successfully flattened many records but also destroyed a couple of records.
Notably an Audio Fidelity Blade Runner, numbered, red vinyl.
We had done several colored records with success but this record was rendered unplayable by the AFI
The record was flattened but the surface was left with an orange peel texture.
Don't know what vinyl mix QRP used but it didn't respond well to heat treatment !
Next victim was a mint original pressing Fleetwood Mac Rumours,
Again flattened well and orange peeled.
Not as bad as the Blade Runner, it was playable but with lots of noise.
That was the end of my AGI adventures.
Warped records are now endured or if they are really bad, get replaced.
Unless you can flatten the same LP with two different flatteners, you can’t blame the flattener.
There will always be examples of poorly formulated vinyl which will not respond well to flattening.
What you can do with the AFI is turn down the temp and create a custom heating/cooling graph.
I find the AFI to be far better than the Dfi-01 that I have. I have flatted 60 records (so far) with the AFI and all have been flattened perfectly.
The DF0-1iA allows one to turn off the heating part of the cycle at any time.
I've successfully flattened warped 110-30g records by using the Medium setting on the DF0-1iA and then turning it off after one hour....
I've never wrecked a record with the DF0-1iA...but with Vinyl Flat I had about a 30% failure rate.
I've successfully flattened warped 110-30g records by using the Medium setting on the DF0-1iA and then turning it off after one hour....
I've never wrecked a record with the DF0-1iA...but with Vinyl Flat I had about a 30% failure rate.
Hmm, I had basically the opposite experience. I had a 50% success rate with the DF-01, half were not wrecked, but they were not flattened. And a few were wrecked.
AFI success has been 100%.
DF is simply not as advanced, and that makes sense, it’s a lot cheaper. You can’t blame the failures on the AFI - it’s simply heating to the temp of the program. Some records use poor vinyl.
The DF-01 is an old model? The DF0-1iA being the current "safer" version.
I’ve probably run 200+ through my DF0-1iA and have melted maybe 5. Two of those were translucent red. Now I know to cut the cycle short for colored vinyl and it’s been fine.
I have the Record Phi. It has worked well on any album I have inseeted. Seems to hold a good 125 degree.
I did have 1 album with a really odd looking warp. After flattening it was flat, but you could see where the edge had been smeared out. Not ny the flatner. Probably sittimg on a heater or in the sun
I did have 1 album with a really odd looking warp. After flattening it was flat, but you could see where the edge had been smeared out. Not ny the flatner. Probably sittimg on a heater or in the sun
Yes, not the “A”. For the price, it’s better than nothing. I think I paid $500 for it new. The AFI is 5-6X more.
The AFI also has the “Relax” function which makes a noticeable difference ! It seems like it wouldn’t but there is a scientific rationale for why it does.