“If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.” - Albert Einstein. Thank you for understanding this more than well enough to explain it simply to the rest of us, Craig. Excellent video.
Very good video. All I will add is that it is so important to: 1) clean the microscopic debris from the grooves (even new records have gunk in the grooves that your eyes cannot see) and never let your fingers touch the grooves (you will deposit oil). 2) clean your stylus. 3) get your turntable/tone-arm/cartridge aligned with precision. This is not easy to accomplish, and it is time consuming. But, wow, what a difference it makes!
They’re at right angles from each other but at 45 degrees from the vertical. That’s why it’s called 45-45. Neat video. Explains a lot for people that don’t understand this. Very useful.
Thanks for the very clear explanation! I haven't listened to vinyl since the late 80s or so but I've always wondered how a single stylus could produce two different sounds.
Well Craig.. after listening to albums & CDs all my lifetime.. this is one of the best things i have seen.. never ever thought about it before but by looking at the albums turning & making sound still never came to me what you have just explained .. just amazing that you have spent some much time to give the world this information.. with the way you put it over is just great.. you are a legend man .. Paul
When a friend told me the left grove is the left side and the right grove was the right side and the needle moves left and right I was very confused. Thank you very much for explaining that the left groves action is 90° different from the right grove because the needle also goes up and down.
Very nice explanation and also how you relate it to other aspects of the vinyl technology in a very friendly manner. Thak you. Hope u have another video about quadraphonics.
It’s great to see you again! Great explanation as always. Just as you say, it amazes me how that wonderful sounds come from that black spinning plastic disc. It’s part of the vinyl experience.
Well, kinda sorta... Both magnets move with a single channel output, not just one. It is the geometry in how they move and the relationship of the magnetic lines of flux crossing the coils. parallel movement vs. perpendicular movement. One produces output with movement, one does not. Good video however, I realize you are tying to keep it simple.
Really it's amazing even with the physical limitations of the system that not only does the record and turntable be able to reproduce sound but that records sound better than CD's.
Another good topic for a future video would be the history of phonograph transducers, or styli. The first were crystal, then ceramic, then magnetic. Both ceramic and magnetic were used for stereo, however the average person in the 60's or 70's had a ceramic cartridge.
The stylus has always been a diamond (or ruby) with LP Microgroove records. The difference is the method of generating the electric current. Current designs use magnets and coils of wire as the video shows. The earlier examples you discussed used the piezoelectric effect. The downside of piezoelectric pickups is they require much higher tracking forces than magnetic pickups.
@@RoastBeefSandwich The Zenith consoles used a 0.7 mil piezo ceramic cartridge that tracked at 2 grams, my Magnavox ceramic cartridge tracks at 2.8 grams. Most modern moving coil cartridges track at 2 grams. Of course the old microgroove 1 mil sapphire 3 volt output crystal cartridges would track at 11 grams and will eat modern stereo records.
Super job explaining the mechanics of a 2-channel record. Your diagram was fantastic. Historically there were two other “cartridge” technologies. There’s been several attempts at optical cartridges over the years. They were all either marketing or design failures. Plus the demise of the Vinyl industry took away the market for exotic phono cartridges. Another technology that ultimately produced the most accurate reproducer of the Vinyl record was done by Sao Win in the 70’s. That was a Strain Gauge design using military grade strain gauge slices of silicon. Even compared to the best of today the Win Cartridges were, and still are, the best. I’m lucky enough to own two of them. When they rarely come up on ebay a single Win Cartridge can command over $5000. Still, as they were way back then, the design is extremely controversial. But there’s no contesting the accuracy of the thing. Sao estimated, based on the specs of the strain gauge, that the frequency response off the cartridge was 0 → 50,000Hz at least. It’s the 0Hz thing that you gotta be careful of. You really do have to give a try diagramming the RCA Quadraphonic system. That’d be a gas: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadraphonic_sound
Thanks, Craig. Love your videos, and learning a lot. My feelings on the quality and importance of stereo separation is that it really depends on how you're listening to the music. If you're listening to a live band on a stage, the acoustics of the room play a huge part in what each of your ears will actually hear. A big part of natural sound is sound reflection and "stereo bleed" which is what allows your brain to paint a three dimensional image of the sound in any given space. So, if you're listening with headphones and the recording was produced with Too much separation and no natural reverb or surface reflection, it can actually sound artificial and "flat". Sure, some artists, especially in the 60's and 70's, did this on purpose to create those great psychedelic effects, like Hendrix, the Beatles and several other Prog Rock groups who were experimenting with this "new thing" called Stereo, but I think most recordings are engineered with the intent of creating an accurate reproduction of what the band sounds like live. So a little bleed through isn't a huge deal most of the time, especially when listening with speakers in an acoustically imperfect room. LOL, I'm sure the Audiophiles will vehemently disagree though.
I really like, and enjoy the explanation, and demonstration of this technology of stereo cartridges. A couple of extra things I've become aware of from the channel separation from vinyl compared to pre-recorded magnetic tape! Thumbs up. Furthermore, as I have said before I prefer to listen to most music from vinyl; and most of my records are stereophonic, 97%
Thanks for the explainer on stereo vinyl, and let me add, damn good sounding mic! You're at least half an arms length away and it sounds like you're close-talking an EV RE 20. Well done!
Emag wars. Woof. The stylus wallows in a circle both directions around the pivot, and rocks clockwise and counterclockwise. The sum of the vectors can cancel one part out while playing the rest. Improved phase management just from the design geometry. Engineering!
I believe one technique for encoding quadrophonic onto vinyl records is to frequency shift an additional two channels above the human hearing range. So, mechanically, the phonograph operates as before - that is, the quadrophonic record still only has two mechanical channels from each side of the groove, but with an extended frequency range to handle the additional two audio channels. So, it's something like this: Using just the left channel as an example - you get two channels from the left by encoding normal audio from about 20 to 20k and then encoding a second channel from, say, 30k to 50k. The 30k - 50k band that you cannot hear is recovered using heterodyning (frequency shifting the 30k - 50k back down to 20-20kHz). And, of course, you do the same for the right channel. I read this in some type of old 'Popular Electronics' magazine published during the 1970s.
In order to solve the mono playback they had to reverse the polarity of one of the coils. To get stereo playback in phase again this would mean that one of the channels must be out of phase during the cutting of the record right? I never thought about that.
Yes. But the correct term is "inverse polarity" and not "out of phase". They are different things. He also says it wrong as many people confuse these terms.
i have had a few moving coil carts . they don't have to be expensive. Denon and dynavector make affordable ones. They do sound very good with better separation,dynamics, and tend to track better than Moving Magnet types. although i have some fantastic sounding MMs and A third type,Moving Iron have advantages over MM types. some people swear by them and prefer them to MCs
Nicely done, very articulate and informative. I would like to know your thoughts on belt drive or direct drive. I have a Technics sl1200 mk3 quartz direct drive, very nice under appreciated table, and recently purchased a VPI Prime Super Scout in white, belt drive table. Varying moving coil, moving iron and moving magnet cartridges in my toolbox. Also 3 different phonostages for playback. Lots of things going in to create the sound one prefers.
The short answer is that belt drive turntables allow moving the motor farther away from the cartridge, and keeping it isolated more. With that said, a good direct drive deck can have a very quiet motor, and can be used for cuing up records for radio or DJ.
Hello, I’m a new subscriber and new to the vinyl record community. My wife gave me a Pioneer PL 30K turntable for Christmas I am considering upgrading the phono cartridge.I am under no illusion that this particular turntable is high end but it suits our needs nicely. My question is can I easily replace the phono cartridge and if so what would your recommendation be.I enjoy your channel very much it’s very informative and well presented so that even a beginner like me can understand the conceptual ideas and points you were trying to get a crossed to the viewer.
What's your thoughts on using a differential amplifier to cancel out the pop and ticks from the grooves as these are common in both the left and right channel.
This is a question. Why is it my Technics SL-1210Mk2 produce a tone when the stylus just sits on a record which is not moving? You answer will be well appreciated, and keep up the great work.
@@RoastBeefSandwich Why would it have to be "low end"?? leaving out the magnets and coils should lead to more accurate sound with the right design! After all acoustic guitars sound great when recorded via a build in Piezo crystal pick up.
@@TheMentalblockrock Piezo pickups require more force to actuate which means higher tracking force, which can wear down the soft records quickly - especially if the stylus is worn.
Hey Craig, quick question. I have a Marantz 6100 TT and occasionally the needle jumps into the 1st song abruptly. I have watched your other videos and have balanced tonearm, set tracking force to cartridge specs and set antiskate to match. 8/10 times it drops smooth, but then all of of a sudden it jumps right in. Any ideas?
My electrical engineering degree has provided me with useful tools: How can we get stereo from a single needle? I believe the fundamental principal at work here is that the waves created from the left and right side of the groves are orthogonal to each other. Orthogonal, meaning that one wave does does not influence the other wave - because they are oriented 90 degrees from one another - otherwise each wave would contribute to the other wave.
Are mono cartridges better for mono records. I have old Beatle and reissued/remaster monos but I use my regular stereo needle/set up. I also have a vintage receiver with a mono switch which I use. What is the best way to handle these type of records.
At very least, you should use that mono switch, since doing that will cancel out some of the noise which is produced out of phase. I'm not sure about mono cartridges.
What's the earliest stereo LP people own? I have a 1960 pressing of Bach organ works, including the famous toccata and fugue. Engineered by Decca. It says recorded in Geneva in 1954! Plays beautifully with very low noise.
A British guy by the name Alan Dower Blumlein just before the 2nd world war developed this way left and right on the walls of the groove and made experimental pressings I believe these are in EMI vaults . Unfortunately he was killed developing airborne radar the airplane he was in crashed I believe all crew were killed. He also developed the crossed pair of microphones fir for recording.
I have about 50 left. The problem is getting them out to people, shipping costs etc. I do have to go to the post office soon, so I could arrange to get you one. craigtubemail@gmail.com
bet a time will come, one kid will invent a laser cartridge to go through the grooves with no physical contact, reading clearly through the dirt if any, without all the "delicate" inconvenience to get that Warm Vinyl sound without all the digital harshness or brightness.
