Vacuum Hold-Down
Jim Hannon -- Fri, 02/03/2006 - 14:51
Is vacuum hold-down on turntables a good or bad thing?
Several years ago, I owned a Sota Star with the additional soft layer on the platter. The vacuum was great at getting the vinyl flat, but I noticed that many of my "Side 2s" ended up with annoying pops and ticks. Was that because I only cleaned Side 1 before putting the record on the platter the first time? (Despite subsequently cleaning Side IIs with my VPI 16.5, the pops and ticks remained).
Are vacuum hold-down devices better now and/or must one clean both sides of an album before putting it on the platter?
Thanks!
Jim
I own a Sota Cosmos with vacuum hold down and have experienced no problems with pops and ticks. The scare about vacuum hold down that was created a decade ago or so was not unlike CBS's coverage of unintended acceleration in Audi automobiles. Completely overblown.
It is true however that Sota has perfected the system over the years so that the current one is more progressive in operation-that is it exerts more vacuum pressure to flatten the record at initial startup and then maintains the hold-down at a lower threshold after the record is secure. Remember even without vacuum hold down, most people use some kind of clamping device so, it's always a good idea to make certaiin the record is clean on both sides espcially the face down side.
Neil
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
I've owned turntables with vacuum holddown, like various SOTAs, Basis, and Versa Dynamics, and turntables without vacuum holddown, like my current reference the Walker Prosceium Gold, and I can't say with certainty that vacuum made a substantial difference in tic accrual (although I have to admit I was always a little afraid that it did). The main difference with vacuum holddown, in my experience, was sonic--vacuum undoubtedly makes it easier to play back badly warped records, but the tighter record/platter interface also affects resolution, dynamics, and tonal balance, though those effects vary with the composition of the platter/platter mat and the amount and distribution of the vacuum.
Neil is right about keeping records clean, whether you use a vacuum table or not. You need to keep the platter/platter mat free of debris, too. That said, there are many other factors that lead to pops and tics, including cueing and lifting, the inherent trackability of the cartridge, the cartridge/arm interface, VTF, VTA, azimuth, tangency, airborne/floorborne vibration, and the vagaries of ordinary playback. Given the nature of vinyl, the accumulation of noises is always going to be a problem. Pops and tics certainly can be minimized, but I don't think they can ever be completely eliminated. If dead-silent backgrounds are a listener's first priority, then he needs to go digital.
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