On Friday, October 02, 2009 12:59 PM, Brandon Burke wrote: > > Just stumbled across this online. Never seen such a thing before: > http://www.furutech.com/a2008/product2.asp?prodNo=263 > > > Thoughts? Has anyone used on of these before? I've not seen the Furutech in the flesh, but I have and use the Airtight Disc Flatter: http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue29/flatter.htm which looks to be the same thing in principle. I use it most on dictation discs that have indentations from paper clips or creases from mailing. These discs would be Edision Voicewriter, Gray Audograph and Soundscriber discs. Just about every project I do with these discs, I encounter indentations or creases, which in turn result in skips and repeats during transfer. I've also used it to flatten severely warped shellacs (so warped that the tonearm is hit by the record and the stylus is lifted right off the record). It does a fine job, although it will leave a shiny surface at the contact points. Given that the disc is essentially unplayable, the shiny surface is a small price to pay. Naturally, it works very well on vinyl discs, its intended media, vinyl discs. The experiment I've been wanting to find time to perform has been to: - purchase some used and expendable flat vinyl discs - transfer the discs - warp the discs to varying degrees from subtle to severe - flatten the discs with the Airtight Disc Flatter - transfer the discs again - compare the pre-warp and post-flatten transfers These flattening devices are expensive. If you have a few discs that require flattening and you are curious to see the results, let me know and we can do some tests before you invest in such a thing. Eric Jacobs The Audio Archive, Inc. tel: 408.221.2128 fax: 408.549.9867 mailto:[log in to unmask] http://www.TheAudioArchive.com Disc and Tape Audio Transfer Services and Preservation Consulting