Audioclinic (June 1984)

Compliance

Q. What does "compliance" of a cartridge mean?

-Ron Webb, Tempe, Ariz.

A. Cartridge compliance refers to the ease with which its stylus can be displaced. The higher the compliance, the more readily the stylus can move in response to the undulations of the record groove, and the less work the grooves must do to move the stylus.

Phonograph Muting

Q. I have an automatic turntable.

When I press the "Stop" button, its tonearm lifts. My right channel becomes silent just as it is supposed to.

My left speaker becomes silent just after it lifts. What causes this problem? How can I resolve it?

-Peter Dea; Brooklyn, N.Y.

A. Your problem results from difficulties with the muting circuit associated with the left channel of your turntable. The audio is supposed to be shorted out just before the tonearm lifts. If it does not, you will hear the arm being lifted from the surface of the disc.

A number of factors can produce this condition. One is that the contacts which actually perform the shorting may be oxidized; this oxide may be removed by a suitable contact cleaner.

These contacts could also be bent, or the cam which controls their positions might be worn. In either of these latter instances, the cam will not press the contacts together with sufficient pressure to create a short. You must examine the contacts, and bend the appropriate one ever so slightly toward the other. This work is best performed with needle-nose pliers.

If the equipment is still in warranty, do not attempt a repair; take advantage of your warranty.

Keeping Your Analog Phonograph

Q. A few months ago, I purchased a very good analog playback setup.

Now I constantly read and hear about the digital "attack" on analog recording techniques and I get angry. Did I waste my money when I bought good record playback gear?

-Ed Miglino; Deer Park, N.Y.

A. I do not believe you have wasted your money. The phonograph record, as you have come to know and love it, will be with us for years. There are so many phonographs that their presence becomes a marketing force too great to ignore.

The quality built into today's phonograph systems is very high, and they will last for a long time. This means there will continue to be a demand for records to play on these systems.

Many recordings will never be reissued on Compact Discs. If you plan to collect these, the only way this can be done is to buy the present-day phonograph record.

The 78-rpm disc has not been made for many years, yet manufacturers are still responding to a demand for good equipment on which to play them. This, then, is just one more guarantee that you will have lots of discs to play on your new phonograph. Not only will you have new discs to play, but you will have those which you now own.

Given a good cartridge and stylus--kept in good condition--you will be able to enjoy your collection for years!

Changing Internal Speaker Wire

Q. I see ads for various heavy gauge speaker wires. I understand how lower wire resistance can help improve the performance of a sound system. I don't understand how it can help when the wiring inside the speaker enclosure remains the same. Is it necessary or desirable to install heavier gauge wire inside the enclosure when using heavy-gauge interconnecting cable?

-Al Shelton; Arleta, Cal.

A. The effects, if any, of a change of wire will be in proportion to the wire's length. There is, therefore, more chance of improving the sound by changing the 20 feet or so of wire between the amplifier and the speaker cabinet than by changing the 2 or 3 feet of wire inside the enclosure. Also, the external wire is far easier to change. Some speaker manufacturers are now using heavy, premium cables inside their enclosures. That's simple to do in manufacture, but taking a speaker apart in order to rewire it is, at best, an awkward process, and there is unlikely to be enough improvement in the sound to warrant all that work.

(adapted from Audio magazine, June 1984; JOSEPH GIOVANELLI)

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