Category: K9

Posted on

Record cleaning!

Hi!

Many people have asked either personally or electronically what record cleaning fluid and machine I use to clean my LP collection since they sound pretty good even on not-so well cared used copies I’ve collected 2nd hand.

For more than 25 years my record cleaning machine or RCM has been VPI’s 16.5. Currently I’m on my second one since the first one I bought used (from a good old friend who passed away several months ago) gave up the ghost about 15 years ago.

For record cleaning fluid I use my own concoction of distilled water, 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, and a small squirt of Kodak’s Photo-Flo 200 fluid to ensure that the water film gets penetrates well into the LP grooves.

My formula for my record cleaning concoction is as follows:

FluidVolume
Distilled water183.4 ml
91% Isopropyl Alcohol51.6 ml
Kodak Photo-Flo 2001.2 ml
Record cleaning fluid ratios for a 235ml plastic bottle

It is perfectly fine to deviate from the above based upon the type of Isopropyl Alcohol available. The higher the Isopropyl Alcohol percentage, the less amount you need to use. It’s just a matter of remembering your High-School Chemistry class and do some math to adjust the volumes based on the capacity of your plastic bottle and Isopropyl Alcohol concentration.

If you need any help on the above don’t hesitate to contact me.

Enjoy!

Vic

Posted on

Happy New Year!!

Hi everyone!

First of all Happy New 2019!!! Sorry I have not posted in a while but early in the year several ‘home improvements’ tasks took a higher priority over my blogging time.

Anyway, I’m back and have a few things to report. About two weeks ago a new customer called in to see if I could check his turntable, a Linn Basik, and I gladly accepted. The Linn Basik is an entry-level turntable released to the market back in the mid 90s. Originally the turntable included a Linn Basik Plus tonearm and a Linn K9 moving Magnet cartridge, but the customer’s Basik had a Linn Akito tonearm installed, a later upgrade done for him a few years ago. The Basik is a fully manual dual speed 33.3 and 45) turntable with 3 large rubber feet that work as vibration isolators, a very simple power supply (with polypropylene capacitors which last an eternity), a simple black and grey vinyl covered plinth, and clear dustcover.

Linn Basik turntable in my setup jig.

As mentioned above this Basik had a Linn K9 moving magnet cartridge which, back in the mid 80s and early 90s, was the MM cartridge to have. Dynamic as hell, engaging, but sometimes a little bright on revealing systems. Linn discontinued the K9 near 20 years ago and no original replacement stylus is available. The K9 engine is a modified Audio Technica AT95 engine, which stylus replacement assembly fits in the K9 body but looks a little weird.

Linn K9 with AT95E replacement stylus. Notice the gap at the front o the cartridge.

Late last year Audio Technica announced their new VM95 line of moving magnet cartridges and their replacement stylus assemblies are a perfect fit for the Linn K9, K5, and K18 bodies. These new assemblies are available with several different stylus profiles: Conical bonded, Conical nude, Elliptical bonded, Elliptical nude, Hyperelliptical, and Shibata. The one that mostly resembles the original Linn stylus profile (Vital) is the Hyperelliptical version (VMN95HE) and, for the ultimate K9, the Shibata version (VMN95SH). Both will bring the K9 back from the dead!

Linn K9 with Audio Technica VMN95SH Shibata replacement stylus

The customer opted for the cheaper but extremely good VMN95EN (Elliptical nude stylus) to replace the damaged original Linn K9 stylus and is currently enjoying his freshly serviced Basik turntable.

Enjoy!

Vic