Cartridge break-in: with or without tears?

Rene,
Your theory makes sense and my break-in experiences have been similar. A low compliance Shelter 901 took forever. It was virtually unlistenable (screechy) before 50-75 hours and I'm not sure it was fully broken in even at 150. It lived on that Cardas record for days.

OTOH, two mid-compliance ZYX Airy's were a joy to listen to right OOTB. It was easy enough to hear their suspensions loosening up for 25-50 hours, but neither was ever unpleasant. We didn't bother with the Cardas tracks for them. Like Twl and Kurt_Tank said, why not just enjoy the music?

Susan,
Regarding your somewhat "unbalanced" RCM/TT mix, at least you have a RCM for life! It's surely better for your vinyl to be played really clean on an entry level TT than to be played dirty on some fancy rig. Like you we admire the Loricraft's impressive BQ and its cleverly effective and efficient design. Nice job finding one used. That must be rare.

I don't remember if we've discussed it, but at the end of each sweep we move the arm off the back of the machine (so the nozzle is sucking air) and leave the vacuum pump on while performing the next step. IOW, the pump is pretty much running full time during cleaning sessions. IME this keeps the tube clear and stops the thread clogging up. We've never had a thread jam since we started doing this.

Kurt_tank,
If you can afford a Loricraft or Keith Monks, get one. I've played records cleaned with RRL fluids and modded shop vacs, NG's and VPI's. In nearly every case the noise level was unacceptable. In nearly every case a re-cleaning on the Loricraft did the trick. The only ebay seller I know whose vinyl is as clean as ours is Black*Pearls from Frankfurt Germany. He cleans every record on a Keith Monks. Vacuum wand/felt designs just don't compare.

If you want to hear for yourself before deciding, mail me a couple LP's and I'll clean them for you. No charge except return postage/insurance. Email me if that's of interest. (That's an open offer to anyone BTW.)

It's fine to use the Cardas pink noise tracks (that's what they're for), though you really don't need more than an hour in a given groove. I'd do an hour lateral and an hour vertical. In my experience this will speed things up by 20 or 30 hours or so. Maybe more.

I'm sure you didn't harm your cart. If you still don't like the sound, either it's not broken in or there's an issue somewhere else in the system, either synergy or a problem component.

Patrick

I just glue a sheet of sandpaper over an old Niel Sadaka record and let 'er rip. Leave the volume all the way up and go for a drive until around 4 in the morning. If your house is still there when you get back, mix up a pitcher of martini's (after you take the arm off) and get out the heavy metal. Do not do this if you have pets that you still like,

I suppose my need to shorten the break-in period must be some pathological variant on upgrade-itis: I can't afford the amp I'd like to have, or the turntable, but I *can* drive my cartridge through a wild and hasty youth. So, much chastened and carefully considering everyone's advice, I will be moderately immoderate and will try alternating briefish periods on the lateral and vertical modulation grooves, if the splattered label lets me, and then I will stop and listen to records and not criticize any more. By the way, has anyone had any experience using the break-in tracks on the Clearaudio stroboscopic record? Are all break-in tracks more or less the same?

With the Loricraft I was just lucky. The way I got it was by calling Smart Devices, the US importers, and asking if they had any refurbished ones to sell. I ended up with one (not refurbished) that had just been traded in for one of the even sturdier models. Most of the people at Smart Devices were not at all eager to do this, as I realized afterwards; but I was fortunate in the first person I happened to talk to about it, Lavinia Radulea, who found out a way to arrange it. With absurd generosity, they gave me the full warrantee. Buying it used saved me five hundred dollars. I don't think I would have been able to talk myself into doing it otherwise. As it was, I had to tell myself lies (about how I was going to keep the Loricraft just long enough to clean my collection once and then immediately sell it again) in order to get past the guilt at spending even as much money as I did.

Dougdeacon, yes, I do remember your suggestion a few weeks ago about leaving the air pump on all the time. I tried it when my machine was misbehaving so badly that no amount of ingenuity could save it; now that it is behaving somewhat better what you advise does help. But I think the problem with my machine (now not much of a problem at all) has to do either with the acceleration of the arm at the beginning of its movement from the label outwards. The faster it moves (and the speed is variable, unpredictable), the more likely there is to be a thread problem. Slowing it down and giving it a bit more fresh thread seems to work best.

Patrickamory, I believe you are right about the component and synergy deficiencies. I know what I'd like my system to be, but the interval (replacing one piece at a time) is likely to be long and awkward. Indeed, I am not sure what to do next.

The shocking thing is that this whole lunatic analog binge began as an economical way (I thought) to keep my ears happy while I decided whether I could scrape up the money for a used Wadia. In that distant, innocent time, the idea that I might have to spend four hundred dollars on a VPI RCM just clean staggered me.

Susan

Susan, the funnier thing is now that you've gotten a taste of doing vinyl well you'll really be depressed if you spend the money on the Wadia! Unless maybe you get it used.