Nakamichi TX-1000
A turntable that reads the eccentricity of each record and physically re-centers the groove - wow, solved at the source.
Overview
Every LP is punched slightly off-center. That tiny offset swings the stylus back and forth once per revolution, and the result is the low-frequency pitch wobble collectors have lived with since the format began. The TX-1000 treats "wow" as a problem that can be solved. Nakamichi built a platter that measures the eccentricity of the record actually on it and shifts the platter itself so the groove runs true. Audio (March 1982, p.86) put it plainly: perfectly good LPs sound strangely different - and better - once the TX-1000 has done its work.
The mechanism is unusual. Audio (March 1982, p.84) framed the whole design around the fact that wow is a fundamental problem in disc reproduction, directly tied to how much the listener enjoys the music. The TX-1000 attacks it with a rod that nudges the edge of the platter until the groove is centered, reportedly to within ±0.02 mm. A microprocessor and a fairly complex algorithm decide when concentricity has been reached.
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