This Time the Flat.Duo Record Relaxer Produced Perfectly Quiet "Relaxed" Records!
the only explanation was that the surfaces had not been sufficiently clean before "relaxing"
The Flat.Duo's outstanding warped record flattening ability was the highlight of the previous Flat.Duo video. The noise added to two records I "relaxed" using the Flat.Duo's "Relax" mode's standard settings were the lowlights. Naturally, the manufacturer in Germany and the importer were disturbed by the results and who could blame them?
Both said that customers (including some industry insiders I know) had no such experience and they wondered whether the surfaces in the device might have been contaminated with dirt of some sort during the manufacturing process. I suggested the instructions should advise buyers to clean the surfaces with compressed air and/or a mild cleaning agent.
That's what I did before "relax"-ing two additional records: Lori Lieberman's new one "Perfect Day"—an AAA audiophile type recording on LowSwing Records (LOSW 012) and "Trio 64" a Bill Evans trio recording (with Gary Peacock and Paul Motian) originally on Verve and re-issued last year as part of the Acoustic Sounds/Verve series, cut directly from tape by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound. The original recording engineer was RCA ace Bob Simpson.
These are very quiet records and pressings that you'll hear in their entirety (side one) directly out of the jacket (after KLAUDIO cavitation cleaning) and a second time following the Flat.Duo's "RELAX" vinyl tempering process that heats up the record to a low temperature, holds it there for an extended period and then gradually cools it down.
The process is said to re-align the molecules to reduce stress and tension thus producing vinyl that's "harder, more robust and more homogeneous". More to the point it's said to sound more pleasing. On the original video you can hear that both records got considerably noisier, something the manufacturer and importer claim should not happen and that no one else experienced. I just reported on what I heard and documented.
This time after being "relaxed" both records sounded as quiet, perfect and noise and "pop" free as they sounded before the process and you'll hear for yourself in this video. The cartridge is the Gryphon Black Diamond DLC ($20,000), the arm is the SAT CF1-12 ($70,000), the turntable is the Wilson-Benesch Prime Meridian turntable (one down from the GMT because it does not have the pneumatic suspension), the phono preamp is the CH Precision P10. A/D was via a Lynx HiLo and recording was by VinylStudio software. Last time for some reason the files didn't track at the same volume. Everything here was double checked so levels should be identical ("should" is the operative word)! What do you hear comparing the two versions?
My advice: if you buy a Flat.Duo, be sure to clean all record touching surfaces before using it.
