Ep414: Turntable Designer John Stratton of Pure Fidelity
The Vinyl Guide - Artist Interviews for Record Collectors and Music Nerds
Nate Goyer
4.7 • 579 Ratings
🗓️ 18 September 2023
⏱️ 55 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Turntable designer John Stratton founded Pure Fidelity with the aim of creating "heirloom quality" turntables for audio enthusiasts. John discusses his design choices and how we can make the most of our existing turntables and audio systems.
- How John started making turntables
- Materials for turntables make a huge difference
- Determining woods for turntable plinths
- Comparing wood and stone for turntables
- Variations in turntables with same woods
- Tips for all turntable owners to improve sound
- Keep vibrations away from turntables
- What impact does the turntable matt have?
- How do record weights impact record audio?
- Do record weights cause stress on turntable belts?
- Why have a 2nd belt on a turntable?
- Humans can discern variations in speed
- Comparing belts to direct drive and idler wheels
- Moving magnet v moving coil
- Impact of tone arms to the audio signal
- Straight v s-shaped tone arms
- Does tone arm length matter much?
- Proper turntable setup can improve sound dramatically
- Do we need to invest in expensive cables?
- The variation and inconsistency of records
- Records that John tests turntables with
- How would John improve his turntable with unlimited budget?
- Speed control outside the plinth but motor is in
- The ruby bearing of Pure Fidelity
- Interview wrap up
Extended, Commercial-Free & High Resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
Listen on Apple: https://apple.co/2Y6ORU0
Listen on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/36qhlc8
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode is brought to you by Groove Washer, the best record cleaners and protective sleeves for your vinyl collection. |
| 0:05.6 | Ask for the Groove washer from your local shop or go to groove washer.com. |
| 0:09.7 | Discount code, Vinyl Guide 10. |
| 0:12.4 | And now, on with the show. |
| 0:16.3 | Hey, everyone. Welcome to episode 414 of the Vinyl Guide, the podcast for record collectors and music nerds, |
| 0:22.6 | and this week we are talking turntables and how we can get the best sound possible with John Stratton, |
| 0:29.9 | turntable designer for Pure Fidelity, a Canadian turntable manufacturer who make what they |
| 0:35.5 | call heirloom quality turntables. Now, they're absolutely gorgeous. |
| 0:40.3 | I've seen and heard many high-end turntables in my days, and pure fidelity turntables are |
| 0:46.1 | amongst the most elegant. They're not cheap, though, but they're not completely outlandish. |
| 0:51.5 | I'm aware of turntables going for far, far more. And I suppose that if I |
| 0:56.2 | did have a fair amount of disposable income, I reckon pure fidelity is well worth considering. |
| 1:02.5 | But today, we talk to John not only about high-end turntables, but also what those of us |
| 1:08.4 | on considerably limited budgets can do to make the most out of our own existing sound systems. |
| 1:16.1 | Oh, and by the way, if you'd like to contribute to my high-end turntable fund, |
| 1:21.1 | please consider becoming a patron of the podcast at patreon.com slash vinyl guide. |
| 1:27.6 | I've even got an extended interview with John up there, more questions, more turntable |
| 1:33.1 | talk, more high-end audio blitherblather, and it's not only extended and longer than |
| 1:38.4 | this version, but it's also commercial-free and high-resolution, so your audiophile earholes |
| 1:43.9 | will appreciate it. |
| 1:45.0 | That's patreon.com slash vinyl guide. |
| 1:48.5 | Help support our podcast and get all those extras. |
... |
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