As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve re-kindled my on-again, off-again, fascination with vinyl records, and the associated bits of kit needed to enjoy them to their fullest… A serendipitous encounter almost a year ago led to a delightful series of visits at a fellow audiophile’s home who cares just as much about the music as they do about their playback rig, and boy howdy, what a rig it is! Yeah, I’m talkin’ a serious “Big John Machine“…
One bit of kit I was exposed to during a visit back in May was a record flattening device, and, sadly, I had more than one mildly-warped record in need of some attention – summers in the Southwest are most unkind to vinyl, no matter how well-packaged it is – so I took it with me on my next visit.
I’m happy to report that inaugural record flattening experience using my friend’s device was an unqualified success – so much so, that, having fallen down the YouTube rabbit hole, I caught wind of a Kickstarter campaign about to be launched by White Bridge Technology, and decided right then and there I would become a backer. …a few days later, on June 19th, I did just that becoming backer #2 globally, and backer #1 in the United States – I mean, who knew?!
Campaign updates began arriving from Eric Tian, (co-founder of White Bridge Technology), and continued to land in my Inbox regularly over the course of the next six weeks – then one day in late August, my M2 arrived!
The packaging was both effective and beautiful – I was confident my unit had arrived without so much as a scratch on it. Once I had the M2 fully unboxed, I discovered a personal – and truly heartwarming – note from Eric inside. Next on the agenda – set up the M2 and give it a try!
I pulled another recently purchased record with a slight warp – damn these summer days – and dropped it into place on the M2 after capturing the “before” video, (below). Since it was a 180g pressing, I opted for the “M” setting, which, given the ambient temperature in my listening room, meant the entire cycle ran for just under four hours from start to finish. The short video on the left, (below), is the “before” image, and the one on the right is the “after” image.
That first treatment removed almost all of the warp – if I were to treat this particular record again, maybe even lowering the temperature setting to “L”, I’m betting that last little bit will disappear.
The device itself is built to an extraordinarily high level of fit and finish, the documentation is comprehensive, the touch control intuitive, and the accessories make the flattening experience a snap, no matter the size! When not in use, I’ve been standing the unit on end and placing it in the handsome, (and durable), stand, right next to my record cleaning machine!
I’ve gone ahead and flattened a few more records since the first one, all with similar, if not better, results, so put me in the “completely satisfied customer” camp! Kudos to the team at White Bridge Technology!
P.S. The White Bridge Technology M2 Record Flattener will be available for retail purchase, just not quite yet. Eric, (and his team), are completely focused on ensuring all of the Kickstarter backers are completely taken care of before launching the retail website. Wow, color me impressed! …can’t wait to see what White Bridge Technology does next!
N.B. The album in the videos, “Lustre & Shine”, was filmed spinning on a Basis turntable – and yes, that’s talcum powder you see on the recently-replaced belt – but that’s a topic for another day!