Zero Distortion: Tango Time

Folsom

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I would consider it many moral points against the general if he’s trying to hide some secrets for keeping vinyl of the world from being as pristine as possible. It wouldn’t make any real sense given that him and friends try to vault as much good vinyl as possible as a collection.
 

bonzo75

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I would consider it many moral points against the general if he’s trying to hide some secrets for keeping vinyl of the world from being as pristine as possible. It wouldn’t make any real sense given that him and friends try to vault as much good vinyl as possible as a collection.

I agree, they should just give the vinyl away to people who appreciate them
 

microstrip

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People do a lot of wierd stuff to clean vinyl. (...)

As always, it depends on our intentions. Some people want to keep the vinyl as close as it has left the press, claiming that removing any agent will reduce sound quality and increase wear, claiming the mold release compound has lubricating properties. Others will want to remove it all and even change the properties of the vinyl surface with funny chemicals ...
 
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tima

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I would consider it many moral points against the general if he’s trying to hide some secrets for keeping vinyl of the world from being as pristine as possible. It wouldn’t make any real sense given that him and friends try to vault as much good vinyl as possible as a collection.

Not sure if your comment is tongue-in-cheek.

I've never had a record from mr. zerostar. I'd be a little surprised if there is some super-secret cleaning method or materials - but maybe there is - perhaps a particular sequence of steps or a blend of cleaning solution.

What impresses me very much is his ability to restore album covers; can't say I blame him on keeping those restoration techniques proprietary.
 
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tima

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As always, it depends on our intentions. Some people want to keep the vinyl as close as it has left the press, claiming that removing any agent will reduce sound quality and increase wear, claiming the mold release compound has lubricating properties. Others will want to remove it all and even change the properties of the vinyl surface with funny chemicals ...

Yes, good observations.

Cleaning works. Removing dirt, fingerprints, etc. extends the life of the record. And modern cleaning helps extend the viability of the vinyl format. No one I know likes the sound of dirty records and I'll speculate the lack of ready access to cleaning drove some to seek perfect sound forever.

Mold release compound can make up as much as 2% of a vinyl record; its primary purpose is thermal buffering during the press and to prevent oxidation on the surface of the newly minted record. Over time it will collect dust, dirt and harden. I suppose there are different approaches here, but I prefer its removal. Sometimes it takes a few cleanings and occasionally it cannot be removed. The latter is my anecdotal knowledge - I don't have an electron microscope. (But I'd like to ! )

There are a variety of "treatments" some people put on their vinyl, such as L'Art du Son or Gruv Glide for purposes of lubrication. I'm in the camp of not putting anything on my records except cleaning solution and a stylus.
 
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zerostargeneral

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Dear Sirs,

The glue idea is not for serious consideration,ever.

The Tima method seems extremely well thought out and executed.

The covers are very time consuming and the chemicals are very expensive,as they are non toxic and fully bio.

It has taken a decade to arrive at my process for vinyl,water only no chemical or surface active agents are employed.

Kindest regards,G.
 
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bonzo75

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Dear Sirs,

The glue idea is not for serious consideration,ever.

The Tima method seems extremely well thought out and executed.

The covers are very time consuming and the chemicals are very expensive,as they are non toxic and fully bio.

It has taken a decade to arrive at my process for vinyl,water only no chemical or surface active agents are employed.

Kindest regards,G.

I think you forget to mention that the main trick is buying 20 copies, selecting 3, throwing away the rest, and then cleaning those selected 3
 

Folsom

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I agree, they should just give the vinyl away to people who appreciate them

I don’t mind that they are building an archive. It’s a commendable effort.

So I guess the answer is just sonic clean it with water until it’s clean.

And yes, his cover restoring is fantastic.
 

Tango

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I think you forget to mention that the main trick is buying 20 copies, selecting 3, throwing away the rest, and then cleaning those selected 3
This is definitely it. I bought 5 threw out 5 last week trying to get a good Chopin Polonaise Op44. Finally found the right Chopin tune for me but not lucky on good pressing. Don't say I don't try Chopin.

@zerostargeneral. I use Buddhist holy water with my KL ;). So Music in my room is always in good spirit...hehe.

Kind regards,
Tang
 
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bonzo75

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the sound of Tao

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Tango

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Tango

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It has become my habit surfing youtube for classical tune that catches my ears. Then I buy 4-5 different performances of the piece I chose from youtube by different musicians in different pressings to hopefully get at least one that sounds excellent. Here I got a good boxset of David Oistrakh live performances in various venues during 1952-1967. Melodya. Excellent sound. Quiet and clean vinyls too. If you find one, get one. There are 5 discs inside. Not expensive. What a bargain.

In the videos, I recorded a Bach Concerto for Two Violins. This is a performance by Oistrakh with Menuhin as second violin. Atheneum Hall, Bucharest, Live 1958 in MOHO. Also to compare is the marvelous RCA Victor pressing of Heifetz/Friedman. Both records sound superb in a different way. I choose these two pressings for this Bach Double Violin. The tones of violin from these two pressings are totally different. I use Master Sig on both. If you listen to one single record or even a few and rush to conclude that a cart or asystem has a certain tone maybe you want to live with it more and play with so many records before you come up with the conclusion.

B39746EA-740B-4EF1-BB3A-BA960FAFC308.jpeg
67FEC4B4-E22C-41CE-A53A-FFB090E22D9F.jpeg
 
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Tango

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Do you have a catalog number for the Oistrakh set?
I really don't know where to look Tima. It is not on the box. Maybe this picture helps.

0F830392-B770-426F-875A-1BEA1DFC6D40.jpeg
 

Tango

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Today I was moving around my carts to different arm and tt. My tonearm guy came and did his work on SAT/AtlasSL. He had this azimuth initial adjustment tool. I found it very practical and quite efficient.

4352CA62-E4ED-4F66-BBB5-9AAB3A300149.jpeg
Just install it as a cart and adjust the arm till the device is flat out on the record. Then take it out and put on the cartridge. Brinkmann arm includes this tool in their arm. My friend is a distributor of Brinkmann so I now have one.

Tang
 
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Folsom

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I think measured is better for azimuth.

Melodiya is like torture to search for on Discogs. They think they're doing everyone a favor by having it in the most "pure" Russian text, but really only Russians - who don't like vinyl as much as other people it seems these days - can read it! Sellers would probably love a translated option.
 
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