Please Consider Taking Some of Our Audio Advice
When it comes to doing shootouts, half the battle is just being able to play the record right.
Our approach is simple enough. We precisely adjust the arm and cartridge for every title by ear, then compare the various pressings — properly cleaned of course — under carefully controlled, blinded conditions, with as much scientific rigor as we can bring to the proceedings.
In some ways it may in fact be analogous to rocket science, which we would define as the process of discovering all the details that need to be sweated and then sweating the hell out of them.
It’s the opposite of theoretical physics. One doesn’t need to be a novel thinker or have big ideas to do audio well.
Obsessively working through the basics of table setup, tweaks, room treatments and electrical quality will take your system to levels beyond those you have ever imagined.
And, you sure don’t need a bloody microscope to check your stylus rake angle, unlike some audiophile reviewers who insist that such devices are essential.
Your ears, if they are any good at all, will do the job just fine, and probably much better.