Howland West Audio HiFi Stereo Vinyl Test Record, HFS75

Howland West Audio HiFi Stereo Vinyl Test Record, HFS75

I have finally decided to move away from vinyl and have just sold the last of my LPs. I have had this Howland West Audio HiFi test record for many years but it has been very rarely used and is in excellent condition.

The rear of the outer sleeve has a comprehensive set of notes on the types of tests provided and their use. Be sure to read the notes carefully before starting and also clean the disk before use.

A test record is used instead of a normal music record because it is specifically designed to more easily reveal and correct problems in a turntable's setup, which can be difficult or impossible to detect and correct using a normal music record. A test record contain test signals at specific frequencies and tones that can expose issues such as poor cartridge-tonearm resonance, incorrect tracking force, and anti-skate problems, which can damage records or produce poor sound quality. While most of the tests are focused on turntable setup, some of the tests can be useful more generally on a HiFi system


The test tracks are:

Side 1:

Test 1: Channel Recognition and Phasing (3x Bands): This uses warble tones to help confirm that the left and right channels are correctly connected and are in phase.

Test 2: Tracking Pressure and Bias (Lateral Modulation): This test uses bands to check the tonearm's ability to track a record, specifically at different pressures and biases.

Test 3: Tracking Pressure and Bias (Vertical Modulation): Similar to the lateral test, this section checks tracking ability but uses vertical modulation.

Test 4: Pink Noise: Used for phase testing and checking for crosstalk between channels.

Test 5: Rumble Reference Tone: A 1 kHz tone followed by unmodulated/blank grooves for checking turntable noise and isolation and in particular to measure low-frequency noise (rumble) from the turntable.


Side 2:

Test 1: Bias Correction and Tracking: This is to be used at the outside grooves of the disk, uses a 300 Hz tone.

Test 2: White Noise: This track is used to check channel balance and separation and can be useful for tape deck adjustment

Test 3: Bias Correction and Tracking: This is to be used at the centre grooves of the disk, used a 300 Hz tone.

Test 4: Channel separation and balance: Uses 1 kHz tones and is useful for cartridge testing. It can also be used a source for tape deck setup.

Test 5: Wow and Flutter 3 kHz Test Tone: A test tone to measure speed variations (wow and flutter) in the turntable.

Test 6: Bias Correction and Tracking: This is to be used at the inner grooves of the disk, used a 300 Hz tone.

Collection preferred. Delivery may be possible in South Dublin only. No swaps.