This is a trackability test record, released by Shure.
Reproduced on a Realistic LAB 400 turntable, with an R1000 EDT cartridge and a Shure 8X stylus.
I apologize for the incorrect aspect ratio.
GENERAL AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION:
-DO NOT PLAY THIS RECORD WITH A MONOPHONIC CARTRIDGE. Use only a STEREO cartridge. Set tracking force to lightest recommended force for the cartridge being tested. Sometimes, increasing the force (but never above the recommended maximum) helps trackability.
-IMPORTANT: Once mistracking occurs, do not advance to the next level of the test. Mistracking causes damage to the record itself. Avoid repeated playing of this record with low trackability cartridges because high frequency characteristics of the record will be erased by the groove-deforming action of the stylus.
-All five recorded levels of any one excerpt have been taken from identical master tapes of the same recorded intensity. The levels on the record have been increased at the cutting head; the balance of the recording equipment, settings, etc., remain exactly the same for all five levels.
-Actually, different cartridges create inherently different sounds when mistracking the same musical passage. With some cartridges, mistracking results in loss of timbre, or musical character, while other cartridges you can experience violent "sputtering" and cacophonic noise on the same recorded passage.
-You are urged to keep a "score chart" of the cartridge. Audio "memory" is demonstrably too limited to be relied upon in these precise tests
-ALWAYS compare the sound of levels two, three, four, and give against the sound of level one. This is especially important because your ear may have been "conditioned" to improper timbre, etc., by many, many years of hearing records distorted by mistracking.
-You may wish to reduce the gain on your amplifier for each successive level. This will make comparison easier and prevent amplifier or speaker overload.
-The trackability tests on Side One, and Band One of Side Two are cut monophonically (lateral cut). Therefore, when the cartridge is tracking properly, you will hear the same sound coming from both speakers. This makes it easier to isolate mistracking. Side One, Bands One and Two and the whole of Side Two (except for Band One) are recorded in stereo so the same mistracking that was encountered at level four on Side One may be expected, but the overall effect may sound different due to the introduction of stereo.
-The built-in stylus force calibration on some tone arms may not necessairly be adjusted accurately. It is recommended that you aquire a separate gauge, such as the Shure SFG-2 Stylus Force Gauge, to double check the built-in stylus force calibration of your tone arm.
-The qualities of sound are difficult to describe in words; therefore, what you hear at the point of mistracking may not be precisely as described here. Our descriptions of the sound are a composite opinion of a select panel of knowledgeable engineers and musicians.
Cast:Wilkes85
Tags:audio, obstacle, course, trackability, test, record, shure, realistic, turntable, vinyl, album, sound and quality