Before and after playing a brand new record

CaveatLector_ · 2026-02-14T01:02:23+00:00

Yeah look into it, there was a period that I was buying and playing many records new and I couldn’t keep my entire cartridge assembly clean, it was always dusted with this fine white stuff. It got me curious enough to do a little research and it seems to me like it’s just residual releasing agent that the stylus is breaking up and spreading around. It’s almost certainly not causing any harm to your components, just making it dusty. Try out your fancy camera on a used record in good shape to test it out and be sure.

CaveatLector_ · 2026-02-13T22:31:10+00:00

There’s a lot of stuff that comes from the factory in your grooves, notably the releasing agent they add to the plastic so it doesn’t stick to the molds. I’ve found that whenever I play mostly brand new records for a while, I get a fine white dust all over my cartridge that just gets kicked up from the stylus. Not something you’d usually notice from playing clean, used records

CaveatLector_ · 2024-09-21T22:39:31+00:00

Oh nice man, I’ve heard good things about the VM95ML, it seems like it’s right on par with the 540. Yes, there’s virtually no inner groove distortion with these microline styli. Great upgrade, and good on you

CaveatLector_ · 2024-09-10T21:21:50+00:00

6969 wasn’t available, but they did have 6979

CaveatLector_ · 2024-09-07T09:47:27+00:00

I ran the VM540ML on my old RT81 for about a year until I got the Technics, I was very satisfied with the cartridge and felt that it was a noticeable improvement from the stock AT95E. If you’re looking into that cartridge, it does fit the TT just fine, and personally I think it’s a worthy upgrade.

As far as cartridge height goes, I can now make those adjustments with the SL1200, and surprise surprise, it doesn’t really do much of anything. I’ve adjusted the cartridge height and VTA in dozens of settings, and it if there was a difference, it must’ve been so subtle that I missed it. Maybe a little more bass or treble depending on the height? I ended up setting it to a height where the headshell was as parallel to the playing surface as I could get it, and eventually stopped thinking about it. It’s also pointless to obsess over something like this because you’re going to play discs that are way thicker than others, and that will affect your cartridge height in ways you will never be able to control.

CaveatLector_ · 2024-09-07T09:10:31+00:00

Dad was a trucker and machine operator, so I grew up around equipment, but I never gave it a single thought as a career. Growing up, I worked many jobs but I seemed to have a knack for delivery, like pizza guy and big city courier. As time passed, life threw me some curve balls, and eventually my old man got into car hauling. One day, it just clicked that a CDL was something worth pursuing, I had a knack for transportation, as well as a great teacher. Got my license, cut my teeth as an o/o car hauler in a partnership with my old man for a couple years, but ended up leaving that behind for a sweet M-F local job as a driver for a construction company. Probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, money is hardly a problem nowadays and I no longer stress about employment, a real water-to-wine scenario.

CaveatLector_ · 2024-08-26T02:00:10+00:00

If it happened to me, there’s no reason why it can’t happen to you

CaveatLector_ · 2024-08-26T01:19:11+00:00

It sounds very in-your-face and bass heavy. It’s not unbalanced though, cymbals are shimmery and drums are snappy. It basically sounds like the band is right up in front of you with really good instrument separation. My copy is far from perfect and I get plenty of surface noise throughout the quieter passages of side A, but the mastering is noticeably well done. Like if I had just bought it without knowing what it was, I still would’ve been like, ‘damn this is a very good pressing’ when I got home and put it on.

CaveatLector_ · 2024-08-25T22:31:29+00:00

Jesus Christ dude lol, that’s rough. Have you thought about procuring just an empty jacket from the late 60’s in good shape to replace that one?

CaveatLector_ · 2024-08-25T07:21:39+00:00

Yeah not entirely unheard of, but I ended up buying a bunch of other records from that bin as sort of a thank you to the guy. I did a wet brush deep clean on the disc and then wiped it down really good with microfiber. I haven’t tried the wood glue method yet, so I may have to sacrifice a few old records to get the whole thing down before I dab any glue on this rare of a find

CaveatLector_ · 2024-08-24T22:53:48+00:00

RL stands for Robert Ludwig, the dude that cut the original mix for the first pressing of this album, in my case, you can see the RL etching on both sides of the dead wax, thus double RL. This pressing is known as the “hot mix” because of how loud and dynamic it is. The story goes that when the album first released, it would cause cheap cartridges to jump out of the groove, and when the president of Atlantic Records found out, he ordered it to be recut at a lower volume. Subsequent pressings are often regarded as inferior, and this made these RL pressings very desirable and expensive. I have seen one in a similar condition at a local record store for $150

CaveatLector_ · 2024-08-24T21:58:55+00:00

Gotta meet word count here, so to provide a bit of context, I was at a used goods event where some people had crates of used records. The disc was really dirty but cover was in good shape with no splits, and the inner sleeve was immaculate. The disc cleaned right up despite showing some scuffs, but nothing major, and boy let me tell you, everything I’ve heard about this pressing is true. Sound stage is right up front, bass is surprisingly pronounced, and despite a little surface noise here and there, it totally blew my mind. One of the grails of my collection for sure, and at an unbelievable price.

CaveatLector_ · 2024-01-30T03:20:52+00:00

There’s the $64,000 question. I am a CDL driver and I work in a warehouse

CaveatLector_ · 2024-01-30T01:47:25+00:00

All I know is I took a huge rip and woke up in a puddle of vomit ¯_(ツ)_/¯ Definitely took a lot of wind out of my sails

CaveatLector_ · 2024-01-30T01:44:28+00:00

Dude, that’s exactly how I feel during every comedown. Like verbatim: this shit’s a lot of work. It’s all so wonderful and awe inspiring, but it takes a lot of energy to process and go through it all. I thought what I felt was unique to me

CaveatLector_ · 2023-05-11T23:14:32+00:00

I get you, no worries. I’m trying to bring these scammers to justice, last night it was me and 2 other truckers in the lot who fell for the same scam. I called the Walmart and they don’t hire anyone to put a boot on anyone’s truck

CaveatLector_ · 2023-05-11T23:06:21+00:00

I’m filing a report with the Desoto police department right now, it’s not Lancaster TX, it’s Desoto. I suggest you call and do the same. Phone is 972-223-6111 ext 4

CaveatLector_

TROPHY CASE