Wow/Flutter and Speed Stability

Looks cool, but the whole thing depends on how much wow & flutter is on the test record. Not much mention is made of what is on the test record or how accurate it is. I use a scope to set up my turntable but don't worry about wow & flutter as my TT has an extremely low WF spec and great speed accuracy. I have heard differences in everything imaginable in my TT set up EXCEPT W&F and speed.

A good tool that I have acquired recently is the Sutherland Timeline. Look on YouTube, and you'll see how it works. There is a demo there. Anyway, it is a great item, especially if you set up turntables frequently.

Disclaimer:
I don't sell it, but I do like it.

Win
Saskia Turntables

Win,
Unless I misread the specs, the Sutherland Timeline has a resolution of just one mark per revolution of the LP. At that low resolution the Timeline can only see a very coarse average speed.

That may suffice for basic TT setup, but it can't tell us anything about speed variations which occur and correct themselves within a single platter revolution (e.g., by averaging or cancelling). Higher resolution tools will reveal momentary stylus drag effects, motor cogging and other short duration events the Timeline can't see. You can't measure microns with a yardstick. ;-)

We use a strobe disk Paul made in Corel Draw. Like the Timeline it's small enough to use with an LP playing, to capture stylus drag effects, but it has as many marks/revolution as he could fit in without going nuts. That ennables visual observation of much shorter duration anomalies.

WRT Andrew's experiment, what he'll learn depends not only on the pitch accuracy of the test tone (as 80stech noted) but also on the resolution of the Feickert thingy, which I don't know.

Doug,
It has been changed since the first version, and while it can't catch sudden issues like stylus effect, it can show things like drift, stylus influence on the record, etc., in a more general sort of way that is way more accurate than the typical strobe disc affair at greater than two parts per million. I was actually surprised at its response on certain turntables that I tried with it.

What I would like to see is a strobe disc so large that it almost hits the tonearm base. An extension like that would also be more accurate than the typical disc.

Win