Off centre spindle holes in vinyl records

[anatius]

I read in the news pages of the September edition of Hi Fi News & R R that was available which would help in overcoming the problem of misaligned centre holes in records. The device was reported as selling for GBP 5000.00. Does anyone have any idea how prevalent the problem of misaligned record holes is?

 

[Moomintroll]

I read in the news pages of the September edition of Hi Fi News & R R that was available which would help in overcoming the problem of misaligned centre holes in records. The device was reported as selling for GBP 5000.00. Does anyone have any idea how prevalent the problem of misaligned record holes is?

No idea. I think I’ve only ever seen one and the hole clearly didn’t line up with the hole in the label. I was able to exchange it and the replacement was fine. IIRC the device you refer to, requires you to enlarge the size of the hole and it tells you how to move it to centralise it on the platter. I think it would be much cheaper to enlarge the hole anyway and position the disc by eye/ear. A record doesn’t need to be tight on the spindle.

’troll

 

[akamatsu]

I've owned thousands of records. I don't recall ever coming across one with a misaligned hole.

 

[Nopiano]

I recall in the 1970s, when I bought an LP every week pretty much, I did get the occasional ‘swinger’. That word seems to mean something different these days, however! Although it helps understand the consequences of the hole not being quite central.

Far more common was wonky labels, a few even being into the run out grooves. But I digress.

I think a rather rare but wonderful Nakamichi turntable could correct for misaligned holes.

 

[rabski]

I have one or two LPs, or as my better half calls it 'far too many'. I'd struggle to remember ever having one that's obviously off centre. Even if it's slightly out, it ought to be audibly obvious.

Basically, five grand seems a little optimistic for something to make a hole larger. Black and Decker do a considerably cheaper alternative.

 

[myles]

I have one or two LPs, or as my better half calls it 'far too many'. I'd struggle to remember ever having one that's obviously off centre. Even if it's slightly out, it ought to be audibly obvious.

Basically, five grand seems a little optimistic for something to make a hole larger. Black and Decker do a considerably cheaper alternative.

It's crazy, and another example of a company creating a high value solution for a problem we never knew we had.

I actually saw a seller justifying its existence the other day. I resisted posting.

 

[HIGHWAY61]

NAKAMICHI DRAGON-CT COMPUTING TURNTABLE is what is previously referred to. Incredibly rare and expensive but hardly ever come onto the open market. A few clips on YouTube if you want to see one. The "brother" of the equally brilliant Cassette Deck.

 

[HIGHWAY61]

https://skyfiaudio.com/products/nak...g-turntable-super-rare-masterpiece-from-japan
Makes an LP12 look a little boring methinks.

 

[Andy Stephenson]

NAKAMICHI DRAGON-CT COMPUTING TURNTABLE is what is previously referred to. Incredibly rare and expensive but hardly ever come onto the open market. A few clips on YouTube if you want to see one. The "brother" of the equally brilliant Cassette Deck.

Surely this is overkill for 99.99% of anyone likely to use one.

In a world of Mk1 minis this is a Citroen XM.

Andy

 

[rabski]

https://skyfiaudio.com/products/nak...g-turntable-super-rare-masterpiece-from-japan
Makes an LP12 look a little boring methinks.

Also makes an LP12 look a little reliable and easy to maintain.

If that Nak goes wrong, there seems a strong likelihood of acquiring not so much an incredibly rare turntable, as an incredibly rare doorstop.

 

[mskaye]

I've owned thousands of records. I don't recall ever coming across one with a misaligned hole.

Then you are very lucky. I'm sensitive to it and have excellent pitch recall and hear minute deviations in pitch. It's easier to hear it on any piece of music w sustained notes and you can easily see it confirmed by your tonearm slightly moving from left to right and back again. You really hear it w classical music - solo piano, long pedal points, etc. I think it's quite common or else manufacturers wouldn't be devising engineering solutions for it - the Nakamichi and the new DS Audio device...https://ds-audio-w.biz/products/563/
I was actually relieved because for a while I thought this phenom was because my Aro was installed improperly.

 

[rabski]

Then you are very lucky. I'm sensitive to it and have excellent pitch recall and hear minute deviations in pitch. It's easier to hear it on any piece of music w sustained notes and you can easily see it confirmed by your tonearm slightly moving from left to right and back again. You really hear it w classical music - solo piano, long pedal points, etc. I think it's quite common or else manufacturers wouldn't be devising engineering solutions for it - the Nakamichi and the new DS Audio device...https://ds-audio-w.biz/products/563/
I was actually relieved because for a while I thought this phenom was because my Aro was installed improperly.

It may be a degree of luck, or simply that some labels are more prone to it. That said, I am very sensitive to pitch changes, and I simply can't remember the last time (if ever) I had an LP that displayed it.

I would turn your statement round the other way with regard to manufacturers, in that if it was such a common problem, it seems strange that only two companies have devised products to deal with it, one of which was produced many years ago and in vanishingly small numbers.

 

[Nondigital Paul]

Far more common was wonky labels, a few even being into the run out grooves. But I digress.

I own one of these ‘All about eve’ I think. It’s a wake up call at the end of the side if I forget. Hopefully just cleans the stylus

 

[ThomasOK]

https://skyfiaudio.com/products/nak...g-turntable-super-rare-masterpiece-from-japan
Makes an LP12 look a little boring methinks.

Might make it look a little boring, at least to some eyes, but certainly doesn't make it sound boring - quite the opposite. That Rube Goldberg contraption is not musically close to an LP12 and as I recall couldn't even beat out a Rega Planar 3 in the day. Not too surprising when you consider the main platter has a series of motors, gears and rods to push the upper glass platter around to get things concentric. Dynamically balanced platter? What's that?!

For those who do not recognize the name "[Rube] Goldberg is best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated gadgets performing simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways." Quite appropriate for the Dragon CT. Likely the DS ES-001 as well.

 

[13th Duke of Wymbourne]

The British equivalent to Rube Goldberg would be Heath Robinson.

 

[mskaye]

The British equivalent to Rube Goldberg would be Heath Robinson.

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/off-center-vinyl-pressing.692363/

 

[mskaye]

It may be a degree of luck, or simply that some labels are more prone to it. That said, I am very sensitive to pitch changes, and I simply can't remember the last time (if ever) I had an LP that displayed it.

I would turn your statement round the other way with regard to manufacturers, in that if it was such a common problem, it seems strange that only two companies have devised products to deal with it, one of which was produced many years ago and in vanishingly small numbers.

https://www.analogplanet.com/conten...-mastered-180g-1lp-who-sell-out-delivers-rich
Mid point review, the writer points out an historical off center pressing issue w this LP which I encountered not in a vintage but in the classics reissue (I sadly never got around to returning mine and it sits on my shelf unplayed since I discovered it. Once again I will state this is something that is more common than not.

 

[13th Duke of Wymbourne]

RTI just made a video about pressing the new Coltrane Blue Train and there is a section where they show how the stamper is prepared and how it is centered.

 

[mskaye]

RTI just made a video about pressing the new Coltrane Blue Train and there is a section where they show how the stamper is prepared and how it is centered.

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/ds-audio’s-truly-excellent-es-001-eccentricity-detection-stabilizer

 

[13th Duke of Wymbourne]

Michael Fremer made a video about the Eccentricity Detector - I thought 'how apt'