Tip 1: Levelling Your Turntable & Optimal Location
A turntable is an analog source, which means it is far more sensitive to its surroundings than digital audio sources like a CD player or streaming lofi hip hop radio beats to relax/study to from your phone to your Bluetooth speaker.
It is ideal to have your turntable on a separate surface from your speakers as the vibrations (sound waves) from your speakers can be picked up by your turntable’s stylus causing feedback. Ensuring that your turntable is both level and isolated from external vibrations is key to a fantastic music experience.
Many turntables have levelling feet that can be screwed up or down to ensure that the turntable’s platter is level, so if your turntable isn't level then your stylus won't sit in the record grooves correctly and the platter won’t rotate at an even speed. If your turntable doesn’t have levelling feet you can either try to level the surface it is on or chuck a couple coins under the feet to compensate.
A great way to isolate your turntable from external vibrations is using an isolation platform. These are special plinths designed to decouple your turntable from the surface it is on, stopping vibrations from affecting playback. Purchase an isolation platform here.
Tip 2: Speaker Placement
As we mentioned above, having your speakers and turntable on separate surfaces is ideal, however this isn’t the only thing you should keep in mind when positioning your speakers.
- Speaker Separation:
Stereo speakers are great because having two separate audio sources allows the creation of a real stereo effect. This is important because most modern records are pressed in “stereo” meaning they have a separate audio signal intended for your left and right ear. This allows instruments to be better placed in the music creating a more immersive listening experience, as well as allowing for fun stereo effects (think Bohemian Rhapsody).
For smaller bookshelf speakers, having about a metre to a metre and a half of separation is best. For larger bookshelf speakers a metre and a half to two metres. Tower or floorstanding speakers need two to even three metres apart which will result in the best stereo sound.
Make sure to not position your speakers too far apart from each other as this can ruin the stereo effect leaving you with two distinct sound sources that don’t “blend” into one distinct stereo image.
This is why it pays to keep in mind the shape and size of the space you are planning to put your set up. If you are moving house and are thinking of investing, wait until you know the space before jumping in.
- Speaker Height:
Your speakers should be positioned so that the tweeters (the smaller drivers on your speakers) are positioned at roughly the same height that your ears will be when you are listening to your Now That's What I Call Music Number 9132
- Wall Proximity:
Many bookshelf and tower speakers are back-ported to allow for more bass (this is the hole that you’ll see in the back of your speakers). Moving your speakers about 40 to 50 cm away from the wall or corners can minimise sound reflections. This will prevent your speakers sounding “boomy”. Some speakers that are rear ported come with a foam bung or plug that allows you to seal in this port if you aren’t able to move your speakers away from the wall, however using this will come at the loss of some bass and fullness in your sound.
- Speaker Angle Or Toe-In:
Coming back to the stereo effect described above, you want your speakers to be placed at a slight angle towards the listener (technically towards a point behind the listeners head). If you have more than one listener or have a larger space, decrease this angle of toe in and increase it for a smaller space.
The image below summarises these best practices. However these rules are not set in stone and these adjustments will depend a lot on your room, so play around and experiment with what sounds best to you.
Tip 3: Keeping Your Stylus and Records Clean:
The goal of your stylus is to travel through the grooves of your record, creating vibrations to generate a signal that can then be amplified and played through your speakers.However, your stylus is a delicate piece of equipment that can pick up dust and dirt, causing clicks and pops in the audio.
Ensuring that your stylus and records are clean can minimise these imperfections in playback. Do note that even the cleanest record may still have some static, pops and clicks. Many find this adds to the charm and analog nature of records versus the sterile nature of digital audio.
To clean your stylus, a simple stylus brush with some cleaning fluid can remove any gunk that has built up over time. Simply apply a small amount of stylus cleaning solution to the end of the brush and then do a couple of swipes of the needle with the brush, always pulling towards you and not applying upwards pressure. Your stylus is very sensitive and delicate so care is important.
This diagram is helpful to explain the above:
Purchase a stylus brush and cleaning solution here
Cleaning your records is the second half of the equation. There are multiple ways to clean your records which mostly depends on how dirty your records are and how big your collection is.
If your records have collected dust then using an anti static carbon fibre brush is an easy way to remove this. Using an anti static brush before every playthrough of a record is not necessary but can ensure the best results.
To use an anti static brush, put your record on the platter, switch your turntable on and then hold the brush tangent to the record applying very light pressure so that the bristles can pick up the dust. Slowly move the brush towards the outside of the record to move this dust off of the surface. Many brushes have a small flip cover that can be moved back and forth through the bristles to remove any remaining dust from the brush itself so it is ready for its next use.
If your records are slightly more dirty, a quick clean with isopropyl and a non-scented tissue is next up.
Place your record on a clean flat surface, and apply a few drops of isopropyl to a non-scented tissue (sorbent tissues have less residue). Place the tissue on the surface of your record, starting at the edge, moving towards the label following the direction of the grooves. Isopropyl dries on contact but if you use enough, it helps to collects dust and any residue build up.
If your records are even more dirty than above (i.e. been sitting in a box for years in a dusty damp attic), a more thorough wet clean is the next step.
First wet clean option is to use a velvet brush with some cleaning solution. First lay your record on a flat clean surface, ideally a non-slip cleaning mat. Apply a few drops of cleaning solution to the surface of the record (be mindful not to get any on the label), then place the velvet brush gently to the surface of the surface of the record, moving in the direction of the grooves. Rinse off the solution using cold filtered water, and then flip and repeat. It is highly recommended to do a final rinse of both sides with distilled water once completed. Next would be to use a dry microfibre cloth with a bit of isopropyl to wipe off any residual water, then leave to air dry. The final step is to replace the inner sleeve as placing a clean record in an old sleeve is like getting into your dirty laundry after a shower.
Check out our video blog posts on how to clean your New Records and your Used Records
We also sell a number of automatic record cleaners such as record vacuum machines, spin cleaners and ultrasonic cleaners. (Look out for a blog post on these soon).
Tip 4: Calibrating Your Tracking Force
It is important to ensure that the tracking force on your turntable is within the recommended weight of your stylus. If the tracking force is too heavy, you will get distorted sound and you will damage your stylus and records. This is the main problem with cheaper crosley and suitcase style turntables as explained in the blog post linked here. If the tracking force is too light, the stylus will not be tracking the grooves correctly, resulting in playback instability (i.e. skipping and jumping across the grooves). This can also do significant damage to your stylus and records.
All turntables that we sell have anti-skating and a counterweight however this adjustment guide below does not apply to turntables with a fixed preadjusted counter weight such as: Project Primary E, Project E1, Project T1 and Rega Planar 1.
To properly adjust your tracking force, follow the below steps:
- Free the tone arm from its holder
- Hold the tone arm in the position between its resting state and the platter
- Level the tone arm by slowly rotating the counter weight back and forth until the tone arm “floats” parallel to the turntable’s platter. Once you have reached this point if your counterweight has a dial rotate this to the “0” mark (do not adjust the weight, only the dial)
- Adjust the dial in front of the counterweight while also rotating the counterweight until the number matches the recommended tracking force given by your stylus manufacturer (remember to travel “up” through the numbers, don’t just skip from 0 to the highest number)
Some turntables unfortunately do not have a numbered dial. In this case, we would recommend either using the plastic gauge provided with the turntable (if provided), or purchasing an electronic stylus force gauge, giving you an accurate digital readout of the tracking force.
Purchase an electronic stylus gauge here
Tip 5: Upgrading Your Turntable!
If you’ve done all of the above and are still looking for even better sound quality from your turntable, consider upgrading its stylus, platter, or phono stage. We have an entire blog post about the best ways to upgrade your turntable and you can read that Right Here.