@sokogear The mat on the Sota (the hard part) does not extend to the edge of the record. It is 11.5" in diameter. Only the soft vacuum seal extends past the lip of the record. Because there is a recess for the label and the mat is as hard as vinyl the record effectively becomes part of the platter and as flat as the platter. The main benefit of this sonically is pitch stability. Every record becomes a perfectly flat 200 gram record. People will mistake a quiet record for a digital source.
Is There a New Record Pressing Machine Out There?
I bought Wilco's newest Album "Cousin" yesterday and noticed something I have never seen before, the record has no lip. The label area remains raised but otherwise the record is dead flat. It is a very heavy record, probably 200 gm. I believe records had the lip to prevent the tonearm from floating off the edge with changers which were way more popular than manuals back in the 40s, 50s and early 60's. With manuals the flat record is easier to cue by hand.
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Hey @mijostyn - wouldn't that have more vibration/rumble from the turntable transmitted to the record? You'd essentially have all the noise from the platter going there. |
@hometownhero Thanx! It is a Canadian company. The machine is quite basic. The old machines trimmed and spit out the records automatically onto a tall spindle. This one relies on a human at each transfer step. Good for humans, bad for speed. |
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