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iPhone apps to check platter speed and other turntable tools


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Hello there, I want to share an app I just discovered yesterday. I figured it could help some of you as it helped me.

 

I suspected my turntable ran a slightly higher speed than it should. I tried to sync a song with a cd/mp3 of the same song and the difference was stunning. Since my turntable did not come with a strobe light, verifying the speed is tricky.

 

I once tried an app called iRPM which gave me about 34.5 rpm but I did not have full confidence with it. 

 

Yesterday I decided to dig deeper into it as I am digitalising my music collection and after a few searches I found a very interesting app. Beforehand, you'll need a test record with a 3150 Hz track. I bought one from a dollar bin a couple of years ago so look around if you don't have one yet, they are fairly easy to find.

The app is called PlatterSpeed and is available here : https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/platterspeed-vinyl-tool/id415629169?mt=8 

 

So basicly all you have to do is play the 3150 Hz track, start the app and check the results either in realtime or afterward when you're done. 

 

Unsurprisingly, the result was also 34.5 rpm so there is something wrong with my turntable. It might be the belt or the motor but I'll get to it soon. 

 

I hope this helps some of you. 

 

 

You can post anymore usefull apps you might think people would like to discover.

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I used it and got 33.3RPM.

 

Did you try it with the marantz yet? Just wanted to know if these US-market clearaudio motors run fast as well.

 

So what's wrong with a strobe disc and the lamp in your room then?

 

Unless you live in a third world country where you can't trust the mains electricity frequency they are as accurate as you are ever going to need.

 

That's what I do, because I'm cheap.

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Oh hey thanks for the strobe disc tip! I forgot I could do that. 

Thank you AJXD for the help on fixing my table. I have good electronic knowledge and I think I'll be able to repair it myself. The problem is either the belt (my table must be 4-5 years old) or the motor needs adjustment.

The table is a Denon DP300F and I have the service manual for it. I can see that the motor has a screw to change the speed so I'll try that if the belt looks fine.

 

I think the table ran a bit too fast since I bought it but I can't be sure now. I'll post an update if something comes up. 

 

Thanks everyone.

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Oh hey thanks for the strobe disc tip! I forgot I could do that. 

Thank you AJXD for the help on fixing my table. I have good electronic knowledge and I think I'll be able to repair it myself. The problem is either the belt (my table must be 4-5 years old) or the motor needs adjustment.

The table is a Denon DP300F and I have the service manual for it. I can see that the motor has a screw to change the speed so I'll try that if the belt looks fine.

 

I think the table ran a bit too fast since I bought it but I can't be sure now. I'll post an update if something comes up. 

 

Thanks everyone.

I have this table and had the exact same issue regarding speed. I am not knowledgeable with electronics or the innards of a TT so I brought it to my local stereo shop to have it looked at. I know this table has the adjustments underneath to tweak the speed, but the guy said that it wasn't changing after trying to adjust it. He then found out that it was the electronics themselves that was making the TT spin too fast. He dismantled it, rewired it, then tested it with a strobedisc and now its where it should be.

 

I researched and found that its common for this Denon TT to have this speed issue, unfortunately. Hope you can fix yours!

 

EDIT: i searched iRPM in the apple store and it came up as a remote power manager for computers?

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Just a quick update with my speed problem on my Denon DP300-F. 

 

I spent an hour or two this weekend to look a it and finally adjusted it to a satisfactory speed. It's easy enough to do it yourself and you don't even need to put it upside down, open it or unplug it if you're careful. I would recommend putting a piece of tape on the tonearm so that you don't knock it over and break that fancy needle of yours.

 

Just lift the whole turntable by the front and you'll see two holes on the bottom with 33 and 45 markings on the left side.

Now take a small straight screwdriver and insert it in the desired speed adjustment hole.

You will first have to go through a rubber cover for each hole. They already have a slit for your screwdriver to go through. 

Insert it all the way in and carefully turn it until it sticks in the screw head.

After this, turn it just a little bit in a way or another depending if you want it to go faster or slower.

Put the turntable down, test the speed, repeat if necessary.

Take note that the 33 and 45 adjustment screws are inverted from each other.

 

You need to be patient and you have to be super precise but it's worth it.

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