Furutech Vinyl flattener or the ORB ?


Anyone have experience with these two devices? The ORB unit looks to be the same as the Furutech but at a MUCH lower cost. Any feedback appreciated!
128x128varyat

Showing 2 responses by whart

The Furutech is made by Orb (it is the DF-2). The one that is branded Orb in the States is the DF-1 [something], which was the original model but updated- I think Acoustic Sounds was selling these. There is also an Orb DF-3 that is not brought into the States, but is available in the Far East (and Europe, I believe). 
I have the Furutech DF-2. I also have a Vinyl Flat w/Groovy pouch. I have used both successfully. There is a guy on the Hoffman board (I'm not sure if he posts here) with the user name Satrus. He may be worth reaching out to- he owned the original DF-1 for many years, and recently bought a DF-2 or 3 (sorry, can't remember). But, he could probably give you some insight into the differences in operation. If you are talking about buying from the East as opposed to the U.S., the prices are considerably lower, but you are buying a good that is not necessarily authorized for import into the States, may need a power adapter, and may not be able to get service or support (again, assuming you are in the States, which may be an unwarranted assumption). Frankly, there isn't a lot to go wrong with these units, but I guess you'd have to calculate the risk into the equation. 
@downunder : Question for you downunder-- will you do repeated sessions (not necessarily back to back, but over time) with the DF-2 if the record still has problems in playback after a single session? I have had some records that flatten and play well after a single cycle. Others- not so much- the records will get flatter, but in some cases, there still seem to be anomalies- the record looks "out of round" or even if not something visible, on playback, the record will still skip- sometimes, it seems that edge warps on old vinyl are the worst due to vinyl memory and long standing warps (though that isn’t consistent either- I flattened an early UK pressing of Truth on the EMI-Columbia label easily in one session though the record had edge warps in addition to larger gradual potato chip type warps). Sometimes, and this is just conjecture on my part, I think the groove path is "off" and flattening does not fix that, in fact, it may exacerbate the problem-
I’d be interested in your experience. The instructions that come with the DF-2 suggest that only a single session is appropriate and caution against repeated sessions. TIA.