Turntable Essentials - Flux HiFi

Turntable essentials and accessories are designed to get the very best sound from your turntable set-up and vinyl record collection. We also sell a large range of turntables, phono cartridges and phono stages and also turntable wall shelves to get the very best sound from your record collection.

A small specialised German corporation, Flux HiFi recognises the extent to which vinyl playback can be diminished by tainted stylus tips and revived the 1970s vibratory needle cleaners to combat this.

The technology, found in their Flux-Sonic, uses high frequencies transmitted through a liquid to eradicate dirt from the needle. The scanning needle is the chief component and aims to precisely follow the groove to the micrometre. However a dirty needle prevents exact following of the deflection no matter how refined it is. It reacts too early or too late causing distortions.

Even apparently clean records are covered with both visible and invisible dust in the grooves containing particles of silicates, polymers and organic substances. These stick to the needle because of the high temperature during the scanning process and despite cleaning with a normal, dry needle brush that removes the fibres, the crust will remain.

A liquid is necessary to transfer the vibration from the device to the needle. This has an additional, gentle cleaning effect and is produced on isopropanol basis. After use, it volatilizes without residue. Flux fluid is applied to a specially developed pad of the finest PE fibres which produce a capillary effect. This perfect combination results in transmission of the vibration while absorbing the dirt. Application is recommended before every playback.

The cleaning process lasts only 15 seconds but the effects are astronomical. The pickup capability is improved, needle life is increased by less abrasion and scanning noise is significantly reduced. Both distortions and minor noise largely disappears making playback much more dynamic and enjoyable.

Many turntables include or offer a dust cover which protects against dust and particles that can affect the playback of your vinyl records. Dust can get in the grooves of your record or on your cartridge’s stylus and deteriorate the sound you experience, manifested through pops, crackles and loss of detail in music. Protecting your turntable from dust and maintaining your stylus and records is essential for best possible performance.

A key component of any turntable is the platter – the disc on which the record is placed. Different materials have different sonic properties, and deal with resonance in a different manner. Many higher end models use higher-mass platters and a range of materials to truly isolate and decouple the platter from resonance, vibration and motor noise. Many manufacturers offer platter upgrades, letting you upgrade your platter and improve the quality of your existing turntable. Acrylic, glass and aluminium platters are common upgrades which can increase performance of your vinyl playback.

In order for the record to play continuously, the platter needs to rotate or spin. Turntables have two varying approaches to this. The typical manner of achieving this is a belt-drive design, where a rubber belt attaches to a motor and in turn round the platter and controls the speed at which the platter turns. This is the method employed by most turntables. The drive belt will need to be replaced from time to time, as a stretched or worn drive belt can affect playback speed and result in a record being too slow or fast. The other method is direct drive, in which a motor directly turns the platter. This is the manner many higher end turntables control speed, and presents a different consideration for designers as the motor vibrations need to be isolated and controlled differently as the motor is connected to the platter directly and thus can have a greater effect on playback.

The output signal from a phono cartridge is typically very low, even more so if your cartridge is Moving Coil (MC). For this reason, before you connect to an amplifier, the output signal needs to be boosted. This is typically done by a phono stage which can be a separate standalone product or included on the turntable itself. Many integrated amplifiers also feature an internal phono stage, known as a “phono input”, allowing you to connect directly to this input. If your turntable features a phono stage then it can be connected to any amplifier directly.