Yup, here we are already at the very end of October – kinda weird weather in our neck of the woods today – gentle rains off and on for the past thirty-six hours(ish), so I’m not sure how many costumed visitors we’ll have, but we’re fully prepared nonetheless! Here’s to a safe, fun, and slightly spooky evening – Happy Halloween!
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve re-kindled my on-again, off-again, fascination with vinyl records, and the associated gear 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 as much about the music as they do about their rig, and boy howdy, what a rig it is!
Yeah, I’m talkin’ serious Big John Machine…
One bit of kit I was exposed to during a visit this past May was a record flattening device, and, sadly, I own more than one mildly-warped record, (summers in the Southwest are most unkind to vinyl records, no matter how well-packaged they may be), so I took a suitable flattening candidate 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 learned about 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 – 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 is both effective and beautiful – I was confident my unit had arrived without so much as a scratch on it, (and I was right). 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 went for the “M” setting, which, given the 74° F ambient temperature in my listening room, meant the entire cycle ran for just under four hours, 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 M2 itself is built to an extraordinarily high level of fit and finish, the documentation is comprehensive, the touch control intuitive, and the included accessories make the flattening experience a snap, no matter the size of the record! 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, all with similar, if not better, results, placing 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 100% focused on ensuring all of the Kickstarter backers are well taken care of before launching the retail website, so color me impressed! …can’t wait to see what the folks at White Bridge Technology do 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 – a topic for another day!
