UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum - View Single Post

Techman · 26th Oct 2021, 10:40 pm

A good record player should have some means of ventilation (usually a slot at the rear of the lid) to stop heat build up from a valve amplifier and also to help prevent that acoustic 'howl' mentioned above when the lid is closed. Record players and radiograms always look more attractive and 'obvious' when operated with the lids open, particularly in films etc. The 'tone' is always much better with the lid closed and it also stops you hearing the 'needle chatter'. Without ventilation in the lid an LP would end up melted into a dish, if not by the end of playing, but particularly if it got forgotten about after it had finished and the player was left switched on.

People that 'homebrew' record players nearly always forget to allow for ventilation in the lid. Sometimes the 'slot' at the back is to let a 12" LP poke through on a small single play player - or as Rigonda did on their large, but somewhat badly designed radiograms. I've got a couple of record players with no lid ventilation. One is a modified, but badly designed original and the other is a completely homebrewed one which howls as soon as the lid is closed - they both get hot under the collar when the lid is left closed while playing! There's a good example of a really bad 'homebrew' player in the vintage audio section at the moment, which is made from a gutted radio case sawn in half and with no ventilation, but with its solid state amplifier it'll probably be ok - that's if the chap ever gets it working...looking at it I have to admit that it's the sort of thing that I'd have been guilty of knocking together when I was a youngster!

Old HMV players had a written statement in the rear of the lid telling you to close it while playing.

26th Oct 2021, 10:40 pm	#13
Techman Dekatron Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Lincolnshire, UK. Posts: 5,000	Re: Record players. Lid up or down? A good record player should have some means of ventilation (usually a slot at the rear of the lid) to stop heat build up from a valve amplifier and also to help prevent that acoustic 'howl' mentioned above when the lid is closed. Record players and radiograms always look more attractive and 'obvious' when operated with the lids open, particularly in films etc. The 'tone' is always much better with the lid closed and it also stops you hearing the 'needle chatter'. Without ventilation in the lid an LP would end up melted into a dish, if not by the end of playing, but particularly if it got forgotten about after it had finished and the player was left switched on. People that 'homebrew' record players nearly always forget to allow for ventilation in the lid. Sometimes the 'slot' at the back is to let a 12" LP poke through on a small single play player - or as Rigonda did on their large, but somewhat badly designed radiograms. I've got a couple of record players with no lid ventilation. One is a modified, but badly designed original and the other is a completely homebrewed one which howls as soon as the lid is closed - they both get hot under the collar when the lid is left closed while playing! There's a good example of a really bad 'homebrew' player in the vintage audio section at the moment, which is made from a gutted radio case sawn in half and with no ventilation, but with its solid state amplifier it'll probably be ok - that's if the chap ever gets it working...looking at it I have to admit that it's the sort of thing that I'd have been guilty of knocking together when I was a youngster! Old HMV players had a written statement in the rear of the lid telling you to close it while playing.