ark@rabbit.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) (12/23/83)
I recently read a description of this remarkable product. It claims to solve what I consider one of the most important (if not THE most important) problem with records: wow due to inaccurate center hole placement. If you look closely at almost any record while it is playing, you will see the tone arm sway gently back and forth in time with the platter rotation. This is because records are made by first stamping the grooves and then punching the hole. Since these are two separate processes, it is impossible to keep them exactly in sync. I routinely see holes that are 1 mm off center, and sometimes 2-3 mm. I can hear 1 mm on piano and harpsichord recordings in the inner grooves. This new turntable solves the problem by having a second arm with some kind of light source and sensor. When the turntable is started, this arm swings out over the record and watches the grooves. The information gained thereby is sent to a microprocessor, which controls a pair of servo motors that actually MOVE the spindle as necessary to center the record. Nakamichi claims that it is accurate to seven microns and takes only a few seconds. A year or two ago I read an article by Edward Canby in which he described his first experience listening to a record played on a prototype of this turntable. He was, in a word, astonished. He claims that even records that exhibited no audible wow when played on a conventional turntable showed an immediately noticeable improvement with played on this prototype. I have already made up my mind NOT to audition this turntable. If I did, I'd probably have to buy one, and I can't afford it. (I don't know what this version costs, but the previous one was a mere seven grand)