AudioCircle
Audio/Video Gear and Systems => The Vinyl Circle => Topic started by: TheChairGuy on 16 Jul 2006, 03:50 am
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The turntable is a by product of another era...one in which mechanical engineering took precedence over the now more dominant electrical engineering in most audio products. As a mechanical device the old TT lends itself to more tweeks than most components....this is the place to dish them folks! It's the side of engineering even I can understand :)
Your tweek suggestion can be brand or model specific (please identify in doing so) or generic (somewhat preferred, but not absolute), outlandish or simple....try not to integrate much pimping of a particular audio product into it if you can minimimize it. It can be audio-specific or something you can get at Ace Hardware (better)...it's your experiences that count. It can be pricey or nearly free...as long as there is benefit to it.
This is what an audio specialist site is all about...sharing your experiences (in this case, tweeks) for perpetuity for all of us to see and share.
If a response even whiffs of anger or escalates into name calling...the post will be removed and be sent to Interglactic Waste Bin. This sticky is for the benefit of all that want to better their vinyl experience - it won't be a depository for anything but helpful experiences. No one will want to wade thru it if there is other nonsense in it....and I expect, over time, that this sticky will be mightly long.
This sticky is somewhat analagous to an earlier one of Vinyl Accessories....but that one seemed like it veered into too much audio-specific tweeks....we are looking for tweeks that work that are commonly available to all. More tweek, less accessory, as emphasis. I'll post a few soon to get things rolling in the right direction.
Thanks,
John / TCG
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Tufoil - amazingly slippery goop in your main bearing well and, if you can find it, your tonearm bearing.
Plast-i-Clay - something to always have around for your TT (and speakers). Fill up the hollow innards of your cheap 80's + era Japanese table and be blown away be improvements. Works well on metal platters (reduces ringing), too.
Van Alstine Longhorn mod - the little mustache that works. Soldered or gooped on the end of your cartridge, it works. I use a blob of Plast-i-Clay as my center record weight as you no longer can use standard weights because they will interfere with the Longhorn. The record weight is minimally helpful - the Longhorn mod is quite helpful - as in life, there are choices.
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1) Use Walker SST (http://www.walkeraudio.com/sst.htm) on the cartridge pins. Apply carefully according to the SST directions. Provides a very nice increase in detail, etc. Also apply on TT RCA connectors, etc.
2) For Rega and various other TTs, use the Pete Riggle VTAF (http://vtaf.com/). Takes a bit of time and patience to install. Makes dialing in the VTAF on-the-fly a snap, wonderful enhancement to the sound of your kit. There's various reviews of this on the web.
3) For Rega/Origin tonearms, install the J.A. Michell Tecnoweight (http://www.michell-engineering.co.uk/tonearm.html). Ditto various reviews on-line.
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Changing all RCA connectors to Eichmann Bullets. Example: replaced standard molded RCA's on Radio Shack "coax style"(hot center lead with shield/ground) cables with Brass Bullets. More detailed and smoother as a phono interconnect. Ultimate for that application turned out to be Cardas tonearm wire terminated with the Copper Bullets. Blew away the RS Brass bullets by miles. That said I tried the Cardas cable with my CD player and it definintly was more detailed in it's first hours of use than my well settled Canare wires. Meanwhile get that Cardas wire up inside that tonearm! Finish it off with the Bullets and get set for some great listening. :thumb:
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I stumbled upon this nicely done series of tweaks that were performed on an inexpensive Sony turntable. The guy uses lead bitumin sheets on the plinthe, isolates the transformer, reduces motor vibration by adding foam tape, and adds mass through a MDF base. I especially like the lead bitumin sheet trick, it may be a step up from the clay?
http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/Turntable.html (http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/Turntable.html)
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I stumbled upon this nicely done series of tweaks that were performed on an inexpensive Sony turntable. The guy uses lead bitumin sheets on the plinthe, isolates the transformer, reduces motor vibration by adding foam tape, and adds mass through a MDF base. I especially like the lead bitumin sheet trick, it may be a step up from the clay?
http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/Turntable.html (http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/Turntable.html)
I did constrained layer damping (a more efficient type of bitumen) on my JVC cheapie bought from ebay. It had little beneficial effect. Nothing like the benefit 9 lbs of Plast-i-Clay made inside, outside and inner platter areas made.
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=5802)
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=5800)
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The Ring Mat made a huge differnce on my TT. Much quiter more bass and better imaging and just more music. Also built isolation plaform using a wooden frame, some tennis balls and 1 inch thick granted paver from home depot. This also made a huge impact on isolation from vibration. My TT is dead quite.
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K Works IsoFeet and ERSAMat. Holy new ballgame! Talk to Igor:gorkuz@yahoo.com get ready to be amazed.
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Silicone Damping Trough - Great tweek for the cost of a paper clip and a sheet of aluminum foil (Reynold Heavy Duty best :wink:). Just make a semi-circle arc from the foil, attach a snip of paper clip attached (by Plast-i-Clay) to the underside of your tonearm....and get additional isolation and pretty much eliminate any unkind cartridge/arm interaction that might happen without one. Cost is dang well near nothing...it just takes some playing around to make it, fill it with silicone (30-50,000 cst best) and get the paper clip to swing freely in the arc of it's motion.
A great tweek I can't be more impressed with.
See here - http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=22938.50 - for a few lousy pictures of it and some further explanation
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Chair Guy,
Some minds think alike. I played with a similar design that I called the Rudder. It was a small piece of metal, rudder shaped and fastened to the tone arm near the pivot on the bottom side. I then had a small shallow Tupperware container filled with Slick 50.
I was brainstorming with the anti-skating issue with my Empire 598 at the time. I came to the conclusion the having a tone arm that swings back and forth easily, may actually be a curse. It must pivot up and down with ease but not side to side.
That is why the Dow Corning 1000 centistroke liquid silicone works so well in the AR tone arm well. It damps the vibrations but also retards the sideways motion a slight amount, overcoming the tendency for the arm to fly off towards the center of the record.
Any thoughts on this?
W
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For non-suspended turntables: Maple butcher block underneath.
- for increased isolation I also recommend putting a layer or two of bubble wrap (large bubbles) between the maple butcher block and the rack shelf
For all turntables: one of the most important set-up parameters I have found is to make sure that the turntable is level in all directions. Not just the plinth, but the platter itself.
I concur that applying Mapleshade Silclear (or any other silver paste) to the cartridge pins helps with clarity and air.
The cable connecting the tonearm to the phono section should also ALWAYS be shielded and dressed to keep it away from most anything else. The tiny, tiny signal coming out of the cartridge is very susceptible to all kinds of electrical interferance.
Keep the stylus clean also - use your favorite stylus cleanser and brush applicator. I clean mine after every 4-5 sides. The fluid tends to last forever, even with this frequent use.
Turn off your digital front end when playing vinyl. Digital hash tends to carry through the lines. Even better, build a digital isolation transformer (thank you Jon Risch) to separate the digital components (DAC and transport) from the rest of your system.
Enjoy,
Bob
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Wayner,
I don't know all the mechanical reasons why fluid damping works, but it does in tonearms. I think the concept of it is 30+ years old, so we're not new to 'discovering' it at all.
1000 cst is probably not viscous enough....you should find additional benefit in using at least a 30,000 cst viscosity for your AR tonearm. You can get a nice selection of silicone, cheap, from Tower Hobbies.
I used 50,000 cst in mine; I think SME recommends 30,000 cst and KABUSA uses 60,000 in their damping trough for the Technics 1200.
Chair Guy,
Some minds think alike. I played with a similar design that I called the Rudder. It was a small piece of metal, rudder shaped and fastened to the tone arm near the pivot on the bottom side. I then had a small shallow Tupperware container filled with Slick 50.
I was brainstorming with the anti-skating issue with my Empire 598 at the time. I came to the conclusion the having a tone arm that swings back and forth easily, may actually be a curse. It must pivot up and down with ease but not side to side.
That is why the Dow Corning 1000 centistroke liquid silicone works so well in the AR tone arm well. It damps the vibrations but also retards the sideways motion a slight amount, overcoming the tendency for the arm to fly off towards the center of the record.
Any thoughts on this?
W
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I feel the best tweak for Vinyl playback is a clean record!! All the tweaks in the world won't work if your record isn't cleaned properly :nono: So with that said my early Xmas present will be the Loricraft PRC-3 record cleaner. I have been using the VPI 16.5 for 13 years. It is an expensive tweak $1995.00 but I have over 3000 records. So at .66 cents a record that's a cheap tweak :icon_lol:
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I mainly listen to vinyl and could ramble on & on about tweaks, but i'll list a few here just to get started, while I wait for the 5 o'clock bell...
The cheap ones first:
1) I'm blown away by this, but 3 - $2 maple blocks from mapleshade (not advertisied, just call them) have completely transformed a friends $100 1980's Dual turntable. Not sure of the model, its fully automatic and all plastic. TONS more bass, 3-D imaging & simply a jaw dropping improvement for $6.
For that matter, they've also transformed my computer speakers (M-Audio D-4) and a '72 Marantz 1122dc intgrated, and basically anything else you put them under. Soundstage lept forward, and there's little if any hiss, pops or crackle - which used to be the big diff between his rig and mine. $6!!!!!!!!!
2) Mr. Clean Magic Eraser: Possibly the best diamond cleaning material ever invented...lifetime supply for $4. Cut a 3mm thick corner of the stuff and shish-ka-bob it on a tootpick, then gently scrub the cantiliver and tip for 15 minutes or so - be careful. After this is done, you should clean the tip after every few LP's...but you gotta get the diamond sparkling clean the first time, to erase the previous neglect. I've used the Xtreme Phono gel on EVERY SIDE of play for 2 years - after my first ME experience, the gel is a joke. You gotta use a stylus brush after using the ME battle axe - little crusties could get into the grooves if not.
3) If you have a so-so table with captive rca cables, snip off the stock RCA's and replace with eichmann Bullet Plugs. While you are at it, strip away the stock cable insulation & immediately replace with thin shrinkwrap, maybe spray a little ProGold on the exposed copper before sealing them up again. Since the Bullet plugs are sold in boxes of 4, use the other 2 on an ipod cable... The bullett plugs REALLY shine with small signals. For $40 you can improve the performance of 2 important pieces of gear. A local shop did this mod for me for $20 total + the cost of the plugs.
Expensive
4) Marigo VTS tonearm kit - You've read it before, damping the tonearm improves sound. This $50 set of tiny dots sure did wonders to my Pro-Ject Expression. However, I'm not certain I would have heard much of a difference with the stock rubber feet on the tt. To me, controlling & removing vibes goes hand in hand with damping...the ole' 1 - 2 combination. If you intend to remove vibes in a responsible way, think long and hard about damping the armtube too (and the cartridge!)
5) Mapleshade's 2" pointed brass footers under the tt, draining the nasty vibes into a 2" thick maple platform from www.timbernation.com. The platform sits on a set of Mapleshade's Isoblocks. I'm a HUGE fan of this set-up, it completely transformed what I thought was possible with vinyl...but after hearing how $6 worth of maple changes the sound of a crappy tt, I'm not so sure if spending $250 on this set-up is worth it. OK, it is, but still......
Mapleshade's prices on brass just went up big-time - the maple blocks mentioned as tweak #1 are a godsend. If at all possible, avoid common butcher blocks...get tonewood from people who understand tonewood. however, an ordinary butcher block will tell you what's up with maple. First time I heard it, by accident, i laid my ipod on a block in my kitchen...i was astounded in the change in tone & claraity - an instant convert.
6) Room Treatments - I think this may be the best kept secret in audio. You're stereo won't sound good until your room does. I spent nearly $5K before finding this out, and all it took was a $225 Room Tunes kit from Michel Green Audio. I now have a few small panels from ATS Acoustics also...they seem to be the real deal and 50% less $ than the rest. You can rid yourself of 'upgrade-itis' if your room is 'tuned'...
7) herbie's mat - its amazing! $50 and vinyl sounds insane. I ONLY used the stock felt mat before this...
8) DUSTBUG - If you live in a cold dry climate (I'm in chicago) this little $40 toy (on ebay right now) is the shit. There is essentially NO static on my vinyl. I use an rcm religiously, my wax is clean, but i've ALWAYS had static until this most recent purchase. I have hairy arms, and when i pull the vinyl off the platter there's no static after playing both sides....quite amazing. Typically the was crackles in static fury, and easily raises arm hair! I'm actually looking forward to winter this year. Get the Dustbug with the ground wire, its awesome and in no way affects sonics. the ebay seller i went through is 'vinyl toys'
If i were to start anew, the Dustbug, my nitty gritty rcm, the Magic Eraser, the pointed brass footer's into maple + isoblocks AND removing stock rca cable insulation + Bullett Plugs would still be necessary for accurate and bitchin' analog playback. To this day I have not heard any cd player or even another tt that sounds anything like mine, and i've been to most of the high end salons in chicago.
vinyl is soooooo cooool!
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Love the tweeks, gooberdude :thumb:
Here's a few more for you...
Dupli-color UC103 Undercoat and Sound Eliminator. Damps underside of ringing platters and turntable plinth bottoms terrificly. Use the 90% thats left on your trunk or hatchback area. Cost about $8.00 in auto parts stores. UC103 is fast drying - about 10 minutes.
Caig R5 PowerBoost. All of the Caig products are superb...they are about $13 at Radio Shack. Sprayed in headshells wires and all rca's and jacks will increase your fidelity a-plenty. The spray version are a cinch to use. Much safer and less time intensive to use than silver bearing paste's out there now.
EAR Isodamp Constrained Layer Damping. Can be bought at Micheal Percy Audio for cheap. Cut them up yourself and make your own Marigo-type damping magic dots. That's all Mr. Marigo is doing...and packaging $10 worth of EAR for $50 to use on your tonearms. It works and works well in damping tonearms. Gotta' get me some for my new tonearms now, come to think of it..... :wink:
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I just had to add this set of tweeks, tho not my own - it needed to be saved for all eternity.
A 'Zero One' of Australia wrote recently on VinylEngine.com about the list of tweeks he's done on his old Pioneer belt drive table. This man, whoever he is, is the King of all Vinyl Tweekers in my book....
Check it out:
Taking the pioneer here is a rough list of what I did in terms of damping, note however I have made other mods as well.
1. Tone arm wrapped in thin self adhesive cloth tape
2. Cart mounted using faom tape and no screws (contraversial I know but it sounds wonderful and no side effects....really.
3. Top of headshell covered in thin stick on cork
4. Cart body covered in cork (very thin) and then painted over with araldite
5. Stylus araldited to cart body (its a cheap cart)
6. Voids in stylus holder filled with blu tack
7. Platter sprayed with sound deadening spray
Cool Underside of platter covered in cork sheet
8. Perimeter of platter (underneath) has lead car wheel balancing weights attached to both damp and increase inertia
9. Cavity under platter filled as much as possible with both blutac, and non slip rubber matting
10. Top of plinth covered in non slip rubber matting and then mdf with cork, which is not machanically attached to plinth
11. Arm Board spereated from plinth by gasket of cork
12. underside of plinth has all cavities in metal moulding filled with blutac
13. Underside covered in non slip rubber matting and then a sheet of MDF attached to that twhich covers the entire underside except for the holes where the feet are
14. A matal plat that sits between the lpatter and the plint is also covered in non slip matting on the underside
15. all auto mechnaicals disconected and locked down solid
16. Heavy application of blutac around the bearing housing and the junction between the plater and spindle
17. Cool The wired to the motor lifted from the chassis and umbedded in blutac (it is a synchronous motor and a big one so it transmits a bit of vibration
18. The sheild and cavity around the motor lined with non slip matting
19. The whol thing is mounted on squash balls then shot glasses half filled with water then cedar feet then a large sandstaone block then felt
20. The plinth is surrounded by thick but lightweight cedar.
21. Junction between counterweight stub and arm, wrapped in cork
22. Counterweight stub wrapped in thin layer of teflon tape so counterweight is tighter to stub
23. Cork placed between counterweight and rotating scale to stop small vibrations of scale
24. Hollow core of counterweight stub filled with blutac
25. Weight placed over vertical bearing on arm so as to reduce chatter, the wight was machined out of a video head (extremely effective and improved tracking as well)
26. One layer of teflon tape around cartrige shaft to make contact with arm tighter
27. clip for tone arm removed, it was loose and could vibrate, I use a rubber band to secure the arm to the support if needed.
Cool Hole cut in motor cover underneath the TT and a small plastic bottle cap glued to motor, a small plastic bottle half filled with oil attaches to this and it act to cancel some of the motor vibration.
28. Wiring for output now exits underneath the TT and will eventually run through holes in the support slab and into the back of the amp underneath, this reduces vibration transmitted via cabling.
29. Lots of different mats to suit different records and also a couple of weight made up
30. cover on top of motor caulked with blutac
31. Minor changes to rubber motor supports to counteract the uneven pull of the belt on the motor which causes the bearing closest to the spindle to compress too much normally while leaving the outer one unloaded.
32. Cork covering arm board (which is cast alloy)
33. Talcing your drive belt ( a biggie)
This will keep everybody busy for a while...some amazing tweeks within the 32 listed :thumb:
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that last was simply terrifying! NOW i remember why I was so greatfull when cdp appeared.
Yeah I know...you can get just as crazy with a CD player...
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OK, now it's time for a new tweak. It's been pretty quite here in vinyl land, Chair Guy and Zero One must have reached Nirvana!
Anyway, I was in the sporting goods shop today and turned around the corner and there they were, hockey pucks for .99 cents! Well, I bought one, took it home and found my 9/32 drill bit. Yep, record clamp it now is. Good luck finding a 9/32 diameter drill bit. I'm hoping that it is a technique for knocking down some resonance on the vinyl.
So far, It sounds good but is too early to tell. I plan on an afternoon of tunes. aa
W
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Hi Wayner
Your right things have been quite, but no nirvana yet, here is another tweaky but I doubt many will be game to try.
I have a few cheap carts, about $10.00 US each, they actually sound pretty good, but I wondered and I tweaked, damping the body, mounting the cart on double sided foam tape etc.....all worked really well.....but I wanted more!
I had an idea.....what if I filed down the excess metal on the cantilever and rounded off all the sharp edged on the stylus mount, and what if I could make the mount clamps inside the cart grip tighter.
So out with the magnifier and some very small files, I removed the overhanging excess metal outboard from the stylus and then radiused it off nicely, then I files the cantilever to a square section with slightly rounded edges, bent the clamping clips in a bit so the stylus mount was a tighter fit and of course filed the mount edges and sanded them smooth.
Finally the cart has the bolt holes cut off and the whole plot was covered in a combination of double sided foam tape and cork, then a variation of the longhorn added, mine is made of a wooden skewer with metal beads attached to each end.
Now does this thing rock, well I have no maybes with this one, it is amazing, sounds like a completely different and expensive cart, I have a basic modded and unmodded carts in other headshells for comparisopn so the differnce is really obvious. The main differences are the total loss of high end distortion and a sound stage that really is holographic. Im excited!
But.....don't try this at home with your good cart kiddies.....unless your really game and a little mad of course.
If you do want some tweaky tweaky fun though you can always buy some cheap carts like I did.
Heres a link to a site on ebay, good business to deal with too. Pretty sure this is where I got them from, it was a while ago and I can't find the listing on ebay.
http://stores.ebay.com.au/Ed-Saunders-Needles-Cartridges-More
I can't see the $10.00 carts on Ed's current listings but if you contact him he may have some more, they have an orange stylus holder and look very very similar to the basic Goldring cart found on a number of basic TTs like projects and goldrings.
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The hockey puck is a success! I believe it has reduced surface noise and has brought me to the next level of clarity. Imaging is also improved.
Try it! For .99 cents it's well worth the experiment. I definitely like it. aa
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You guys have it all goin' on! :green: Man, the tweakin' we will go.. :icon_arrow: Well here's my solution to vibration isolation for my suspended beauty http://www.geocities.com/nealp2/TT.html a wall mounted shelf.
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Cool shelf!
In my younger days, I would chain hang my turntable from the ceiling!
W
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hey guys some fine tweaks, this is one i love zerodust for cleaning your cartridge, i use is after every lp, its so easy and works like a charm, if for unknown reasons you get a large clump caned air spray one quick hit works fine, also every month or so check your vta and azimuth dont know why but i have had to make small changes, our vinyl passion demands turntable maintenance for the best phono sound, i am using several mentioned above, will repeat this one again clean lps are a must, i use the disc doctors cleaner and do it my manual way, happy lp spinning, no doubt to me it smokes digital and its fun to play with,
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here's something I tried today, and really makes the bass have more presence.
Just seems to have more slam in the bass.
Goto Hobby Lobby, and buy a couple 3mm thick foam sheets. Trim them to about the same diameter as an LP. Drill a hole for the spindle, and lay a Ringmat ontop of the foam rubber. The tweak cost me seventy nine cents. Now I'm gonna make a pretty one that's 6mm thick.
gary
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here's something I tried today, and really makes the bass have more presence.
Just seems to have more slam in the bass.
Goto Hobby Lobby, and buy a couple 3mm thick foam sheets. Trim them to about the same diameter as an LP. Drill a hole for the spindle, and lay a Ringmat ontop of the foam rubber.
Did you re-adjust the VTA after the placement of the additional mat?
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If the foam works great for you, consider purchasing Herbie's Way Excellent Mat as the ultimate form of this tweak... Herbie's products all have lengthy trial periods and i'll never use another mat with my TT.
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here's something I tried today, and really makes the bass have more presence.
Just seems to have more slam in the bass.
Go to Hobby Lobby, and buy a couple 3mm thick foam sheets. Trim them to about the same diameter as an LP. Drill a hole for the spindle, and lay a Ringmat on top of the foam rubber.
Did you re-adjust the VTA after the placement of the additional mat?
I left the VTA alone as I was having an alignment problem as it was. I just couldn't get the tonearm low enough to level out the cartridge. This did help out with that problem as well. How much I can't really say, but do think it helped with the imaging a little bit.
Last night I visited a couple hobby shops looking for a thicker piece of foam (this is real dense foam), but they had nothing. But I did find this stuff they use in model railroading to make track beds out of. It's softer, but still pretty cheap. Bought a 16" x 30" piece about .25" thick, and made another mat this morning. This got everything in the right alignment. Bass was even better, but the imaging was unchanged. I liked what I heard. Then after all this was done; I got my PACT digital scale out and reset the tracking force (found out I was .29 grams heavy). I set my Grado at 1.60 grams, and played three LP's with no problems. Later in the day I tweaked the cartridge azimuth just slightly (about a degree), and things got a little better yet. So I'm leaving that part alone for now, as I've ran into another problem I never knew I had. My tonearm cable has suddenly started to become a radio antenna! Guess I've got to find a way to shield it, as it really sounds good.
gary
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well I don't know if many of you have been following my (ever seeming) ongoing quest to get feedback destroyed. I really don't get feedback as many of us would normally think, but I did find that I was picking up motor vibrations as well as someother nasty stuff. I'll set the stage for what I've been upto, and where we are going.
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Ok, I'm using my Opera turntable right now with a Denon D103 cartridge mounted on a Vandenhul modded SME IV tone arm. The cables to phonostage is also Vandenhul's best. From the phonostage to the preamp I'm using a Zu Gede going into my Odyssey Candella. The turntable and phonostage (Wright WP100) sit ontop an Alantis rack (three shelf). The rack isn't bad, but could be a little better as it sits on four points instead of three. We'll adress this later in the year.
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* I started this out with the T.T. setting atop the OEM feet, as well as the motor. Use monofilment 8lb. fishing line for the string. Mat is a Ringmat Aniversery model. There are fresh tubes in the phonostage that maybe have 30 hours on them. Sounds OK, but bass is a little dull. Upper-mids are fair, and highs are somewhat compressed. It's still better than a 20 bit CD
* Next step was the addition of copper-tungstin pucks under the table and motor. Bass is better (tighter, and maybe a touch better defined. Rest are the same as above.
* For a third step I added a Ginko Cloud to the equation, but left out the pucks. Motor sits ontop of the Ginko. Big difference in sound. Bass is very good, and much warmer. Upper end of the register has now opened up dramaticly, and is noticably warmer. Later I added wooden pucks under the table feet. Not much difference if any. But music is much more lifelike. I can still feel a little vibration in the motor housing, but almost nothing on the table base. We are on the way I think.
* Left the table setup alone and put 10mm thick slab of very soft but dense rubber under the motor feet. Bass is a little warmer, but not overpowering. I like this. Vocals are very real, and I've heard things I never knew were on the recording. Upper end is about the same, but with one big difference. The music is much (and I mean very much) more musical. Sounds live! Keyboards are to die for. Time to move the phono stage and cables to further clean the act up. Think the Zu is going to be changed for a very short (18") cable, and want to move the power supply for the phonostage as far away as I can from the phonstage itself.
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But in doing this I also learned I have another short comming in my rig. It's the cartridge! It dosn't like to track deep bass, and watched it dance around all over the place during a Vivaldi playback. I need to check the tracking force with my electronic scale (a real pain). Love to have a spacer for the headshell (maybe 2mm), and might make my own out of balsa wood or plywood. Also want to ditch the Ringmat in the near future, as I just don't like the way the LP sets on it.
I wont be doing much more to the setup for a month or so other than string changes and moving the power supply. There is a sandbox in the works for the motor (box is done, but need to fab a bracket and cut a slab of granit). For the next few weeks I'll be breaking in my new upgraded Odyssey Mono SE's , and my new speakers.
gary
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Linn Ittok specific- place two of Herbies HAL-O Jr, dampers on the arm right behind the headshell and and a little past the halfway point towards the bearing. This is the simplest mod for the Ittok but it tames the "splashy "quality of the arm and allows a significant increase in clarity and detail retrieval, $10.00. This may work with other arms whereas many arms may not benefit. Remember to reset VTF when adding the dampers. (http://gallery.AudioAsylum.com/cgi/gi.mpl?u=31328&f=IMG_0022.JPG).
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(http://i31.tinypic.com/11i0f9i.jpg)
http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=25k4q2r&s=3
Hi everybody, this is my last upgrade. It is a detachable light operated auto shut-off, patent pending. See also a video, link above.
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http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=25k4q2r&s=3
Hi everybody, this is my last upgrade. It is a detachable light operated auto shut-off, patent pending. See also a video, link above.
Very interesting, I've been thinking of something to turn off my TT remotely, or automatically at the end of a disc. Got any more details/info?
Thanks,
Steve.
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http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=25k4q2r&s=3
Hi everybody, this is my last upgrade. It is a detachable light operated auto shut-off, patent pending. See also a video, link above.
Very interesting, I've been thinking of something to turn off my TT remotely, or automatically at the end of a disc. Got any more details/info?
Thanks,
Steve.
that is certainly cool, but you can do this a lot easire w/an auto lifter.
vintage thorens "cue-up":
(http://www.analogue-classics.com/armlift.jpg)
cue-up on my oracle:
(http://www.audiocircle.com/gallery/albums/album57/tonearm_ballast_stock_o_l_weight.jpg)
audio-technica lifter:
(http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:wDReDk2FfyitlM:http://thumbs3.ebaystatic.com/pict/1202500858256464_1.jpg)
audio-technica lifter on my oracle:
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=438)
there is also a newer (but still discontinued) lifter that you can find, from expressimo audio:
(http://www.soundscapehifi.com/images/the-lift2.jpg)
(http://www.soundscapehifi.com/lift-video3-11-b.gif)
doug s.
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Thanks a bunch for that Doug, just did some looking but it seems expressimo are no longer in business (website down) and there are none of these to be found anywhere.
Found a couple threads saying they can cause mischief anyway, launching the arm back across the record, digging holes with the needle...
I would be happy just to have something to kill the power at the plug without me having to get up, if I want to fall asleep after an LP, without even lifting the needle. Maybe a remote controlled power outlet is what I need?
Still, turning sides makes me get up.
Maybe what I really need is to relocate my TT to right next to me chair!
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Thanks a bunch for that Doug, just did some looking but it seems expressimo are no longer in business (website down) and there are none of these to be found anywhere.
Found a couple threads saying they can cause mischief anyway, launching the arm back across the record, digging holes with the needle...
I would be happy just to have something to kill the power at the plug without me having to get up, if I want to fall asleep after an LP, without even lifting the needle. Maybe a remote controlled power outlet is what I need?
Still, turning sides makes me get up.
Maybe what I really need is to relocate my TT to right next to me chair!
yes, expressimo is discontinued, as i stated. all these are awailable only used. i have seen thorens cue-ups sell for over $100 on ebay!?! my cue-up & a-t lifters function perfectly; never had a record damaged. a buddy of mine uses the expressimo lifter, & has not had any issues either...
doug s.
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yes, expressimo is discontinued, as i stated. all these are awailable only used. i have seen thorens cue-ups sell for over $100 on ebay!?! my cue-up & a-t lifters function perfectly; never had a record damaged. a buddy of mine uses the expressimo lifter, & has not had any issues either...
doug s.
Ah yes I see. I thought you meant that it was discontinued, but could be found from expressimo, my bad.
I guess you can damage a record with anything if you don't set it up right.
Still, I would get one just to get the needle out of the groove if I fall asleep, if they were available, though not for $100. I'll keep an eye on ebay.
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Hi, I will offer soon such electornic devices made on order. Info will be available on the special web-site. I'm working on two models now, both having light operated sensors. Old AT and other mechanically operated lifters are cool, however I think that mechanically operated things with their mechanical triggers do not fully comply with Hi-End creteria. I will offer things with no any additional efforts on slylus, and with no effect on the sonic performance...
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Hi, I will offer soon such electornic devices made on order. Info will be available on the special web-site. I'm working on two models now, both having light operated sensors. Old AT and other mechanically operated lifters are cool, however I think that mechanically operated things with their mechanical triggers do not fully comply with Hi-End creteria. I will offer things with no any additional efforts on slylus, and with no effect on the sonic performance...
i think it's great that you are offering this. hopefully, it will be at a reasonable cost - it's too bad no one is making anything like this now. :thumb: but - it is 100% incorrect that the devices i use - which are 100% effective, & offer zero negative impact on stylus & sonic performance - do not fully comply with hi-end criteria.
doug s.
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Hi, Doug. Actually I've never used mechanical lifters, so I assume they may work OK too. Now I'm working on kind of my own mini web-site, offering my devices. Price will be reasonable and 3 months money back policy offered. As soon as it will be ready,I will put info here.
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Hi, Doug. Actually I've never used mechanical lifters, so I assume they may work OK too. Now I'm working on kind of my own mini web-site, offering my devices. Price will be reasonable and 3 months money back policy offered. As soon as it will be ready,I will put info here.
if you can offer these for <$100, & they are (relatively) fool proof, i suspect you will sell quite a few. looking forward to seeing the website! :thumb:
best,
doug s.
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Hi everybody, here is my upgrade story with lot of pictures and video. See link to: http://www.classicaudio.ru/static.php?type=articles_upgradett_en
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While smelling the turkey cooking, I sat down in front of my Technics SL-1200, to try and flatten out the dust cover. It was off of the surface of the plinth in the back by almost 1/4" and looked real stupid. To my shocking discovery (now I feel really stupid) I found out the brackets mounted to the turntable body that the hinges fit into have slotted holes. :duh: :duh: :duh:
Loosening the 2 screw on each bracket, let the cover slip down and be nice and flush with the plinth! I think I'm on a roll! Oh well.
Wayner :D
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The use of digital audio editing software to allow careful analysis of the waveforms produced by test records. I use Sound Forge, but any such software will work. For example, one can record a sine wave sweep, zoom way in, and look for nice rounded peaks. If they are flattened, something is wrong - this is distortion, which may not have been audible. Does it afflict both channels, or just one? Is it the preamp, or is it bad tracking? Save the file, make an adjustment, run it again, and compare. Did it get better, worse, or no change?
You can get your channel phasing very precise with this method - zoom way in again on a recorded waveform. Check to see that both channels are crossing zero at exactly the same time. If the left channel is early, the cartridge needs to go slightly clockwise. Save, adjust, run it again, and compare. Better, worse, no change?
Same process for crosstalk adjustment and VTA - record, analyze, interpret, adjust, repeat. The more you do it, the better you will get at interpreting the results, as well as knowing what to do. This is much better than eyeballing and/or trying to do it by ear.
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1) One of the best upgrades I've made to my Rega Planar 3 is using a GrooveTracer Reference Subplatter, the one with the sapphire jewel in the bottom of the spindle bearing. The noise floor went through the floor when I installed this.
2) Place your turntable on a 12" child's bicycle inner tube inflated to about 10-12 psi. Works wonders for a more musical, airier, and open sounding presentation.
3) You can also use squash balls resting on 2" or 3" Quik Caps to get the same effect as the inner tube.
4) A rollerblock system works well for dealing with horizontal and rotational seismic resonances. I made a set using plastic furniture cups which had concave interiors and wooden balls, though stainless balls would be better. The description is here: http://forum.stereophile.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=58843&an=0&page=0#Post58843 (http://forum.stereophile.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=58843&an=0&page=0#Post58843)
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Linn Ittok specific- place two of Herbies HAL-O Jr, dampers on the arm right behind the headshell and and a little past the halfway point towards the bearing. This is the simplest mod for the Ittok but it tames the "splashy "quality of the arm and allows a significant increase in clarity and detail retrieval, $10.00. This may work with other arms whereas many arms may not benefit. Remember to reset VTF when adding the dampers. (http://gallery.AudioAsylum.com/cgi/gi.mpl?u=31328&f=IMG_0022.JPG).
I experimented with modeling clay once and you could really adjust the sound with it. As I remember, I was able to make the sound fuller and weightier.
Wonder what Rollerblock jr's and a Svelte Shelf would do under my table. Using a butcher block number and some steel cones now. Got the former under my pre. Hmmmm.
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Mapleshades 2-inch maple with their isoblocks underneath. I now have a Mana Reference Table under my Linn, and I wouldn't go back, but this transformed my suspended Ariston TT. I never did try their brass cones with this setup, nor their $6 maple blocks(which is where I would start). Mapleshade's triplepoint(they have 3 points on top) brass footers under my Linn LIngo I motor controller. I have this sitting on Mapleshade's 2-inch maple platform with their isoblocks underneath, all sitting on a Cambre' Timber rack. I was thinking of upgrading my Lingo I to the II until I tried this. I think this might beat a Lingo II(just guessing). BTW, Linn's newer felt mat is a worthwhile upgrade to their older(mine was from 1992) felt mat. Fine tuning arm heighth(VTA), tracking force(VTF), and anti-skate can make huge differences. I did not try to mess with the shop's setup of the actual cartridge, because that requires me to take the arm off to tighten the screws. I will try to put in ideas on anti-skate later, as I believe this is tricky. Most information on anti-skate is incorrect, or pertains to uni-pivot arms.
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The proper way to set anti-skate is by ear.
Start out way low on the anti skate, after you have the cartridge alignment and VTA and tracking force dialed in. This is the last step. Listen to the dynamics of a piece od music you know well, use something that has some continual dynamic, like an uptempo drum and cymbal, as well as voice; specially the right channel. Then slowly raise the anti-skate a bit at a time and reassess. Go slowly and only move a little bit at a time. You should hear the dynamics in the right channel come up slowly as the anti-skate increases, then eventually both channels will begin to improve. Keep going a wee bit at a time and you will hear the dynamics and quality fall off pretty suddenly. Back it up a bit until they come back and ... there you go.
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BobM, you have an interesting method. For the average person, I would not dismiss the cartridge manufacturers' recommendations. I would also look at any reviews of the cartridge(and maybe tonearm). BobM, I believe the Morch DP6 is a gimballed arm(dual pivot), and not a uni-pivot arm. That is an important piece of information, I believe. I'm not sure what effect on anti-skate the lower counterweight has(although it should have a good effect on a lot of things). My take on the lower anti-skate(lower than the VTF number) is this: Harry Pearson of Absolute Sound found that the lower anti-skate, the better, on a Koetsu Rosewood. Sumiko, I believe, advocates about 1/2 the anti-skate number compared to the tracking force(VTF) on many of its cartridges. There is a very knowledgable guy on Audiogon(Rauligeus?-if I look it up, I lose this post.) who advocates a much lower anti-skate than the published specs, but note that he likes moving magnet cartridges with their(generally) less stiff cantilevers. I still think for someone not versed in anti-skate, the best place to start(to hear what anti-skate does) is the same number as the VTF, unless the manufacturer or a reviewer state differently.
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Linn Ittok specific- place two of Herbies HAL-O Jr, dampers on the arm right behind the headshell and and a little past the halfway point towards the bearing. This is the simplest mod for the Ittok but it tames the "splashy "quality of the arm and allows a significant increase in clarity and detail retrieval, $10.00. This may work with other arms whereas many arms may not benefit. Remember to reset VTF when adding the dampers. (http://gallery.AudioAsylum.com/cgi/gi.mpl?u=31328&f=IMG_0022.JPG).
well made the plunge for my LP12, matt and dampers, will let you know.
charles
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BobM, you have an interesting method. For the average person, I would not dismiss the cartridge manufacturers' recommendations. I would also look at any reviews of the cartridge(and maybe tonearm). BobM, I believe the Morch DP6 is a gimballed arm(dual pivot), and not a uni-pivot arm. That is an important piece of information, I believe. I'm not sure what effect on anti-skate the lower counterweight has(although it should have a good effect on a lot of things). My take on the lower anti-skate(lower than the VTF number) is this: Harry Pearson of Absolute Sound found that the lower anti-skate, the better, on a Koetsu Rosewood. Sumiko, I believe, advocates about 1/2 the anti-skate number compared to the tracking force(VTF) on many of its cartridges. There is a very knowledgable guy on Audiogon(Rauligeus?-if I look it up, I lose this post.) who advocates a much lower anti-skate than the published specs, but note that he likes moving magnet cartridges with their(generally) less stiff cantilevers. I still think for someone not versed in anti-skate, the best place to start(to hear what anti-skate does) is the same number as the VTF, unless the manufacturer or a reviewer state differently.
Whatever the manuracturer recommends, it's still just an approximation. You can actually hear changes as you adjust this up or down from there. It's just that most people don't know what to listen for. Well ... I just told you what to listen for and how to optomize it for your arm and cartridge and VTF setting. Generally the anti-skate will come in lower than the VTF, and whatever you do don't do that no groove record thing. That has no bearing on what anti-skate should be and is completely misleading.
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....like an uptempo drum and cymbal, as well as voice; specially the right channel. Then slowly raise the tracking force a bit at a time .....as the tracking force increases, then eventually both channels will begin to improve.......
tracking force? :scratch:
did you mean to say "bias" or "anti skate force", Bob?
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I took my system apart today to install a PSAudio Soloist Premier outlet in place of a regular Power Port outlet on a dedicated cirucit. I took the opportunity to clean connections and remove the O rings that were covering the stainless steel ball bearings on the bottom of the feet of my SME TT. The TT is now resting on 4 ball bearings on top of a 4" maple block isolated from the top shelf of a SolidSteel 6.4 rack by 4 Mapleshade rubber/cork isolation blocks. Another thin veil has been lifted--great clarity and detail with kick-ass bass from an absolutely silent "black" background. :thumb: :D
Laura
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tracking force? :scratch:
did you mean to say "bias" or "anti skate force", Bob?
I did edit my post to make it consistent. Thanks
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I had my cart. set up with the Feikert program by Brian at http://www.essentialaudio.com/.
He spent a lot of time shimming the cart to get what the computer program said was correct. Unfortunately for Brian the Linn tone arm doesn't have adjustment for azimuth. He had to be very gentle and patient taking the cart off and on numerous times. Better him than me. After everything was set up properly I've spent the last day listening. The biggest thing I notice is an over all clarity to the music. The whole sonic range is tightened up. Especially the treble. Images are more focused. I think I can listen at higher volume levels as well. Always a good thing. Over all it is a very good up grade if you will. It certainly makes sense to me to try and get everything you tt has to offer. I now know my analog rig is as good as it gets in it's current configuration. Get it done to your tables. You'll be happy you did. Highly recommended.
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I agree with that no groove record thing, BobM. One of the main reasons I recommend starting with the manufacturers specifications is to alleviate doubt. I think it is a good place to start, until you hear what anti-skate does. I also think it is a good place to start if you are adjusting anything else. Please do these things one at a time until you understand what changing them does.
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Why would you add all that mass to the Linn arm?
I'll pass on that one....
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Why would you add all that mass to the Linn arm?
I'll pass on that one....
Installed the Herbies dampers on the arm. Readjusted the balance and reset tracking force. The answer withoutbeing cute itsounds so much more controlled with better focus and tighter bass.
Second the so far the best $90 improvement I've tried. There was an unmarked black car outside the house, ya think Ivor sent them ? :lol:
charles
charles
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1) Use Walker SST (http://www.walkeraudio.com/sst.htm) on the cartridge pins. Apply carefully according to the SST directions. Provides a very nice increase in detail, etc. Also apply on TT RCA connectors, etc.
2) For Rega and various other TTs, use the Pete Riggle VTAF (http://vtaf.com/). Takes a bit of time and patience to install. Makes dialing in the VTAF on-the-fly a snap, wonderful enhancement to the sound of your kit. There's various reviews of this on the web.
3) For Rega/Origin tonearms, install the J.A. Michell Tecnoweight (http://www.michell-engineering.co.uk/tonearm.html). Ditto various reviews on-line.
Good circle, Chair dude! I had forgotten about it :duh: and didn't even know Pete Riggle existed. My next audio purchse is the VTAF and I'm excited.
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Lead tape, wrapped around the outer rim of the platter, will clear up the mids and put some slam into the bass. Available from golf and tennis pro supply houses. It also cuts down platter ringing.
A self stick vinyl floor tile, cut out as a platter mat, will dampen the ringing of most light weight platters.
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We fooled around with arm wraps in the 1980's. At that time, 3M had a tape which worked very well, dampening arm vibrations.
It worked wonders then, maybe I should try it again?
Has anyone tried this who can recommend materials?
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Hi.
Does it occur to you vinyl fans a well-built platform to support our TT is crucial?
c-J
"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." quoted Albert Einstein.
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We fooled around with arm wraps in the 1980's. At that time, 3M had a tape which worked very well, dampening arm vibrations.
It worked wonders then, maybe I should try it again?
Has anyone tried this who can recommend materials?
I have. The trouble with this type of arm damping is that it is usually too much and while damping the arm, sucked all the life out of the cartridge.
I now put a small dot of plasticlay near the pivots on the arm tube. There are some arms that sound the best left alone, but The Dot seems to be the trick for most tables.
I also agree that a massive perch is the best for any table.
Wayner 8)
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My turntable sits on top of a piece of wood that has 4 inches of sand under it. The sand holder doesn't touch the piece the table sits on. I want to add a 5-10lb weight on top of the wood.
My next tweak is going to be a linear power supply instead of the wal-wart, for the motor. I've got an oversized unit that was put into an enclosure not long ago. It should maintain a perfect voltage and amperage given it is oversized. It is nicer than the boxes you can buy for your motors.
I am interested in using wood or cork to dampen the tone arm from the ring of metal.
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My turntable sits on top of a piece of wood that has 4 inches of sand under it. The sand holder doesn't touch the piece the table sits on. I want to add a 5-10lb weight on top of the wood.
My next tweak is going to be a linear power supply instead of the wal-wart, for the motor. I've got an oversized unit that was put into an enclosure not long ago. It should maintain a perfect voltage and amperage given it is oversized. It is nicer than the boxes you can buy for your motors.
I am interested in using wood or cork to dampen the tone arm from the ring of metal.
i don't have experience w/linear power supplies, but i did find a big improvement on my origin-live dc motor kit going to a lab-grade hewlett packard power supply sourced from ebay. these things go cheap, if you are patient...
doug s.
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If you will indulge me . . don't know where else to post this. In addition to a Nottingham turntable, I have an Micro Seiki BL91 with a Sumiko Premier MMT arm and a Koetsu Black MC cartridge which has not been in use for a long time because it quit working properly, so I benched it and bought an interim table/arm/cart that I like, too: a Nottingham Horizon, an Expressimo modified Rega 250 arm, and a Grado Sonata Reference. I knew that one day I would un-bench my MS and find out what had happened. So, six years later?? Like I said, I liked my replacement table/arm/cart pretty good. Back to the MS. For some reason I couldn't get a enough current to amplify anything using my set up. This week, after a lot of head scratching and heavy lifting there was something that needed to be re-connected and I took care of it. I had done this before twice but overlooked that one thing. I won't embarrass myself further.
The MS's platter is a monster and so is the deck. So, after checking and re-checking everything- tracking angle, re-positioning the cartridge in the headshell for overhang and alignment- I give it a go and compare it to my Nottingham. Now, to dial in the speed I used an opera recording cause I have misplaced my speed disc. Opera singers tell me better than anything (and will you, too) sans a speed disc what is what. Here goes . . the bearings in the Sumiko arm feel smooth as glass, much finer than those on my Rega 250. The sound is silky smooth with more fine detail of higher harmonics giving strings and such a more sweeter and lilting quality. Separation of instruments in mass is more evident. I hear no mistracking whatsoever. Cymbals have a lovely sheen to them by comparison. The soundstage is wider and air, when it's in a recording, is more palbable. Placement and size of instruments and vocals made in different locations is very similar to my Grado which is to say believably excellent. Some of this you may expect because of the difference in cost. I would, but, I had no idea of what to expect as this is the first comparision I have been able to make.
Anyway, this is not meant as a review so much as it is to tell how happy I am. I started trying to run down the problem with my MS, again, cause an acquaintence offered me a later model Koetsu Gold Line Black at a very reasonable price. I was actually happy with my first generation Black as I remembered it (sigh), but thought highly of his offer. I don't think I need to take him up on now it but it is to him I owe a bundle of thanks.
A newer head amp may be in the future.
Life is mo' better good.
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interesting, jim. but, in spite of the seemingly rougher bearings of the rega arm, i wonder if it's the deck and not the arm that's giving you the better sound. (or the cartridge?) i say this cuz i had a sumiko ft-3, which is supposed to be a little step up from the mmt. and, replacing it w/an o-l modded rega rb250 was a step in the right direction. (i might still have the ft-3 somewhere, i don't recall ever selling it.) now, when i did the swap, there was no cartridge or turntable replacement; so in your case, it might be harder to tell, as you have different arm and cartridge, as well as a different deck. but, i wonder how your rega arm would sound w/the koetsu on your micro-seiki?
doug s.
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You could be right, Doug. I was just trying to spell out the differences where I could. You could tell that the pivot apparatus and/or bearings were quite different in each arm/pivot. No doubt in my mind that you could, too. More than one thing is making the end game better. The MC cartridge, for example, costs way more than the Grado and their is a substantial difference in the decks. Mass for one thing. Cheers, Doug.
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You could be right, Doug. I was just trying to spell out the differences where I could. You could tell that the pivot apparatus and/or bearings were quite different in each arm/pivot. No doubt in my mind that you could, too. More than one thing is making the end game better. The MC cartridge, for example, costs way more than the Grado and their is a substantial difference in the decks. Mass for one thing. Cheers, Doug.
yup, i am sure the cartridge is playing a huge role - years back, when my set-up was purely mid-fi, i got a big improvement putting an ortofon mm cartridge on a cheap plastic pioneer deck, which replaced the ubiquitous shure m91ed. the $100 cartridge (which was a fortune to me, for a fono cartridge, back in the mid-70's) made an amazing difference...
doug s.
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interesting, jim. but, in spite of the seemingly rougher bearings of the rega arm, i wonder if it's the deck and not the arm that's giving you the better sound. (or the cartridge?) i say this cuz i had a sumiko ft-3, which is supposed to be a little step up from the mmt. and, replacing it w/an o-l modded rega rb250 was a step in the right direction. (i might still have the ft-3 somewhere, i don't recall ever selling it.) now, when i did the swap, there was no cartridge or turntable replacement; so in your case, it might be harder to tell, as you have different arm and cartridge, as well as a different deck. but, i wonder how your rega arm would sound w/the koetsu on your micro-seiki?
doug s.
It's all three. A FT-3 isn't a step up from the MMT. It's a little newer and lighter, but not better. The FT-3 was 1/2 decent, but not that well liked by many owners, sort of an arm you upgraded from. The MMT is a poor man's FR-64. With a lower cu MC, it's really good. No doubt if the Rega had modified bearings it would be better, but I seriously doubt if it could compete with an MMT with a Koetsu. It's too light anyway, and with crap bearings.....
The Koetsu Goldline is a nice modernization of the classic Black. That was a hugh upgrade IMO and that cart on a MMT is a great combination. The bass especially improved a lot. It went from too big and under defined boom, to bass that matched the rest. With the Goldline you listen to a lush sweet sound with decent resolution and excellent imaging.
Put that combo on a heavier platter, "better" table, and you have a solid triple. Substitute any one of those parts for one of the old stuff, and you'll lose the magic.
neo
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Neo, you have me re-interested in the Gold Line. I'm not gonna tell you what I can buy it for. Let's just see if I do. And I believe I have a deck that qualifies as you've described.
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It's all three. A FT-3 isn't a step up from the MMT. It's a little newer and lighter, but not better. The FT-3 was 1/2 decent, but not that well liked by many owners, sort of an arm you upgraded from. The MMT is a poor man's FR-64. With a lower cu MC, it's really good. No doubt if the Rega had modified bearings it would be better, but I seriously doubt if it could compete with an MMT with a Koetsu. It's too light anyway, and with crap bearings.....
The Koetsu Goldline is a nice modernization of the classic Black. That was a hugh upgrade IMO and that cart on a MMT is a great combination. The bass especially improved a lot. It went from too big and under defined boom, to bass that matched the rest. With the Goldline you listen to a lush sweet sound with decent resolution and excellent imaging.
Put that combo on a heavier platter, "better" table, and you have a solid triple. Substitute any one of those parts for one of the old stuff, and you'll lose the magic.
neo
notice i said the ft-3 is "supposed" to be a step up from the mmt. it was sold as such, but some don't think it is. i have never tried one, so i cannot say.
i don't know what expressimo does to the rega rb250, but the the o-l mods definitely include upgraded bearings. according to o-l, cuz of the dual-bearing mount, an upgraded rb250 is even better than their upgraded rb900. all i know is it was a definite improvement over the ft-3, which was still a decent arm, imo...
doug s.
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Neo, you have me re-interested in the Gold Line. I'm not gonna tell you what I can buy it for. Let's just see if I do. And I believe I have a deck that qualifies as you've described.
Working with what you have, I wouldn't think the Grado and MMT would be a good match. Even with the MMT pivot damping it's just too heavy and BaMorin said that Grados and Jelco made arms don't get along.
The FT-3 may be better than what I indicated, but you have a Rega which would match up better with the Grado. If you went the Audiomods route w/Rega, you'd probably be happy as a clam. All it takes is money.
The Koetsus were always expensive carts. I think the Goldline was $1500 or thereabouts when it came out in the '80s. That's the entry level Koetsu. Back then, $1K would get you a top dog cart, or close to it: Clearaudio Veritas, Benz, Genesis 1000. When VDH came out with Grasshopper ('89?) I think it was $1700. The Genesis 2000 was the same as the 1000 but w/gold wire coils and was $2K, same as the model # - marketing by Monster.
With the MMT you'd also get good results with a 103(D), and a whole lot of other lower cu carts, lower than a Grado that is. The pivot damping gives it cart matching flexibility, but it's a little longer and heavier than a Jelco 750d. I don't know what your deal is with the Goldline, but given your taste in carts it might be a great move.
neo
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Thanks, Neo. Actually, my Grado is on my Nottingham table with a Rega arm. My Sumiko arm is on a Micro-Seiki BL91 fitted with an original Black. That's where the Gold Line would go. Will go. My man with the Gold Line is in Brazil at the moment. He just emailed me. I will pounce on him when he returns.
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My VPI turntable wasn’t sounding as good as I remembered the last few months. Finally the wow increased where I could hear it. I pulled off my platter and found that the bearing was running dry. I was confused about the bearing as I was thinking the well was in the base and hence was a cup that would always be full. :duh: That wasn’t the case. It only lasted so long because I used good lithium grease. The table sounds wonderful now! Don’t be like me. Lubricate the bearings once in a while.
Bob
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For non-suspended turntables: Maple butcher block underneath.
- for increased isolation I also recommend putting a layer or two of bubble wrap (large bubbles) between the maple butcher block and the rack shelf
Really curious about this as I'm a newbie in vinyl. Pretty clear that we want to isolate the TT from picking up external vibrations (e.g. speaker / room / air transmissions and mechanical vibration), so decoupling solutions or things that shift the vibration frequency (e.g. sandboxes, elastomeric feet, composite isolation shelves / heavy mass blocks) would work.
But what about coupling solutions? I see isolation tables that have spiked feet?
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I have now removed the thrust bearing on two turn tables and replaced them with grade 25 ceramic ball bearings. Not too much of an improvement, but the bearing will last a couple life times. I lubed the bearing with GN Paste right out of the tube. Then lubed the spindle with a high speed spindle oil from Sun Oil Company. This will have to be done once a year the way I figure it. There is a better oil, but have lost all my sources for it, and it's hard to come by unless your buying 20 gallons at a time.
I now use a Dacron/Silk blend thread to drive the platter. Will not stretch like fishing line or O rings. I've got two solid years on one string right now!
Now looking for copper foil
gary