Re: [ARSCLIST] Technics SP-15 to computer nightmare

[Goran Finnberg <mastering@xxxxxxxxx>]

Malcolm Rockwell:

> I always transfer in stereo and then process
> digitally to mono. Helps me pick the quietest
> channel, or pieces therefrom, to work with.

It is well known that always summing to mono gives the quitest transfer
that is least distorted.

In the past we only had mono pickups and I still prefer to use this type
of cartridge as they give the very best quality transfer possible.

That we can use a stereo cartridge to replay a horizontal cut only,
mono, disk is of course a possibility but we will then get a far higher
contaminated transfer with lots of very low frequency disturbances from
this type of cartridge sensing vertical disturbances from warp, and disc
defects from nonflat disks that can easily be of much higher amplitude
than the music itself.

When one mono a stereo transfer of a lateral only disk then the inphase
components of the mono only signal nets one a +6 dB increase of the
actual total signal program level.

The uncorrellated, out of phase signals, just pure "Junk" of all sorts,
that has nothing at all to do with the actual horizontal only signal
engraved, only increases + 3 dB when we mono a stereo replay of a mono
source off disk so we net an actual + 3 dB in gain of the wanted in
phase mono signal compared to the junk.

Then we have the pinch effect and tracking distortions coming off a mono
cut sensed by a stereo responding, vertical/lateral, sensing device and
the stereo replay will have a much greater content of primarily second
harmonic distortion that gives that shattering breakup effects on all FF
passages in the music and that glassy sounding treble.

The tracking distortion at high levels of modulation at high
frequencies  can appear really nasty due to several 10s of percent
distortion at the high frequencies while replaying mono records in
stereo. But mono this and most of it disappears along with a lot of the
rumble.

Using a mono cartridge that responds +only+ to the horizontal, mono,
content ALWAYS provides a much cleaner sounding transfer than replaying
in stereo or trying to use one channel, the cleanest, or all other types
of using L or R which ALWAYS will be next best compared to use mono only
sensing devices either as a pure mono horizontal sensing cartridge or
summing L/R of a stereo, horizontal/vertical sensing device to give pure
mono.

-- 
Best,

Goran Finnberg
The Mastering Room AB
Goteborg
Sweden

E-mail: mastering@xxxxxxxxx

Learn from the mistakes of others, you can never live long enough to
make them all yourself.    -   John Luther