In a message dated 12/5/2004 1:40:44 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes:
I have found that Edison DD's play well with a modern stereo using the 78 speed, they do not sound the same as on a DD phono, but play remarkably well and are not damaged. It is interesting that you should mention this Steve, because I have been researching possible methods of playing Diamond Disks electrically. I love my machines, but I am also an audiophile, (idiofool?) and the standard Diamond Disk tracking force of approximately 150 grams makes me cringe. The Shure V-15MR in my modern, Rega turntable tracks at one (1) gram. Edison proudly claimed that Diamond Disks would "last for 1,000 plays." This is probably true, and was an incredible feat for that time, but as my disks approach their centennials, it doesn't sound so incredible. I want someone else to enjoy my records when I am deaf and/or dead. Diamond Disk playback on modern gear presents special challenges. First, they are not 78's, (no asides about the very last electrics, please). They need to be played back at 80 RPM. Several companies market modified turntables that will run at speeds to accommodate early Berliners, acoustic Victors, Orthophonic Victors, Columbias, Pathes, Edisons, and other disks, as well as those huge transcription records used to record radio shows back in the day. Some units will spin records at speeds from 16 RPM, to as high as 90 RPM. Diamond disks present another unique problem when one tries to play them on modified, modern turntables. A shellac 78 is not much, if any thicker than an LP, especially 180 gram, audiophile pressings. Diamond Disks are a LOT thicker, enough to present VTA (Vertical Tracking Angle) problems. A tone arm should always be parallel to a record it is trying to track. To accomplish this now, a turntable requires a tone arm with adjustable height. This narrows the choices further, and ups the price. Most modern turntables that have been set up to play 78's are fairly modest in cost, compared to what well-heeled, LP collectors often pay for their rigs. It is possible to spend $10,000 for a modern, "high-end" turntable, and $4,000 for a cartridge to play LP's. Few 78 collectors are interested in that kind of gear. However, a few of the modified units are available with this feature. Several companies make cartridges that will play 78's. Most high-quality cartridges designed for LP playback are too fragile to take the beatings 78's dish out, but Shure, Stanton, and Grado all offer cartridges designed to play 78's, and supply 2.7 mil styli to play postwar, shellac 78's. Edison Diamond Disks need a different diameter stylus. Expert Stylus, in England, makes styli for several modern cartridges that are the recommended 3.5 mil diameter. In fact, they make sets of styli with 5 different diameters, so one can find which stylus works best with any given record. Now, we have a stylus that is the right size, in a rugged cartridge, mounted in a tone arm that is the correct height, on a turntable that is spinning at the proper speed. Life is good, right? Not just yet. Most 78's are lateral-cut records. Diamond disks are vertical-cut records. One channel is going to be mostly noise, if we try to play these records on a stereo. Some turntables offer a Vertical/Lateral switch as options to resolve this problem. If a turntable does not, then one must use a Y adaptor on the correct channel, and feed the leads to the correct input jacks. The lead from the unwanted channel can be plugged (grounded) into an unused jack. If it is left dangling, hum will likely result. There is one last problem to be resolved, and it is perhaps the least understood of all. Most of us have seen older electric phonographs with settings that say, "RIAA", "LP", or "78." These are equalization curves. The ideas behind them are too involved to discuss here, but let it suffice to say that collectors of pre-WWII records do not want any of these settings. We need what is called a "flat" setting, a setting that adds no boost to one frequency range over another. It is almost impossible to find a preamp that is powerful enough to boost the signal from a phono cartridge enough to drive a line-level input on a stereo, or computer, without running into unneeded and unwanted RIAA equalization. The few units around that attempt to circumvent this problem use complicated, convoluted circuitry in attempts to fool phono inputs into thinking they are performing their tasks correctly. I have found one preamp that amplifies phono cartridge outputs enough to drive line-level inputs, without using any equalization. It is intended for people who are burning their cherished LP's onto CD's. The equalization issues are dealt with by whatever software the users employ to prepare their LP's for transfer to LP. Even this does not solve all problems. The equalization our records and machines used was mechanical. Edisons could not even be played properly on other makers' machines. Victor records were designed to sound best on Victor machines. Columbias were supposed to sound best on Columbia machines, etc. The records and machines were designed to compliment each other. One can use a graphic equalizer, which is really a sophisticated tone control, in a tape loop, and tweak the sound to your taste. Playback of our beloved disks using modern gear is possible, and the results can be very good. You just have to do your homework. Don't let the sound of most CDs made from old recordings deter you. The engineers who process those recordings mean well, but they don't know, in most cases, what the records they are working on sound like when they are played back on properly functioning, original equipment. We do know what they should sound like, and we can do at least as good a job as those folks have. Modern playback systems are certainly easier on our records, and they will help us preserve our beloved disks for future generations to enjoy. Randy Minor
