[electricladyland]

I finally got my WTL Versalex set up and it appears the platter is faulty. IME of non suspension turntables the platter should be steady. If I touch the platter when stationary it wobbles and makes a vibrating noise against the wood. if I put on a record the vibration/rumble is so bad my pre-amp was vibrating like crazy and of course the noise through the speakers.

The Platter obviously isn't meant to wobble. My thoughts are that when the supplier has transported the table the bearing has become damaged. Is there a transport locking device or should the platter be removed in transit? When the supplier delivered the turntable it was fully set-up.

[threadkiller]

I was hoping someone else more technical would chime in... Rob? Watercourse?
Anyway, your platter isn't damaged in all likelihood. It's suppose to rock back and forth if pushed down on. Take the platter off, make sure that one of the points of the triangle at the bearing is pointing at the motor. That can sometimes get moved. Then place the platter in the bearing hub and see if it will spin without rubbing.
Whoever shipped your table should not have shipped it intact. That's nonsense. Do you have fluid in the cup and the bearing? And what about the arm suspension?
Send photos if you can and hopefully someone with better technical sense will chime in....

[rob400]

Electricladyland when you refer to the supplier do you mean a dealer or did you buy second hand? I can't add much more to Charlie's informed post except that the platter rocking should stop once the belt is fitted. The rumble is a mystery and as requested pictures might be the only way for any of us to assist...

[roscoeiii]

Yes, how did you get this table? Shipped from a dealer or second hand? Hopefully you got the table with the original packing materials. I have never seen better packaging for a turntable than my WTA packaging.

Regardless, Mike Pranka is very helpful and you could call him about this. He is the Well Tempered importer for the US.

[watercourse]

Hmm, the only thing I'd add to Threadkiller's and Rob's responses is to check the belt diameter - it may be stretched out. I second the suggestion to make sure that there is damping fluid in the bearing well - this should damp the rumble so that it is inaudible.

The table is designed so that the belt pulls the platter/spindle to vertical, i.e. towards the pulley. There should not be a significant amount of play/wobble when being rotated by the pulley. When you tip the platter by hand, it should return to vertical in within one rotation IME and there should be no rumble.

The only time the platter on my Amadeus wobbles significantly is when there is no belt fitted. It leads me to think that your belt is not usable because it is stretched too much. The Amadeus manual contains instructions to tie your own belts. I would suggest looking at these instructions to make sure nothing is off with the belt. Or if the table was supplied with more than one belt, check out another belt to see if the problem is still there.

This is a head scratcher.

[electricladyland]

Thanks for all the replies. I am in Australia. The turntable was supplied by a one of the leading hi-fi stores. I have had them come out with a number of issues. I have to head out now. I will get back on this when I return this evening. Thank you.

[electricladyland]

Thanks guys, i'm back. Upon more investigation, it's not the platter that's rattling. It's the tonearm!. Just when I tap on the plinth with the turntable switched off the tonearm moves and rattles, obviously when I have a record on it was almost like a siesmic quake.

I kept on telling the supplier that the tonearm wouldn't track properly, sigh, this has done my head in. They sent out there so called turntable expert. I find it unbelievable how they have not picked this up.

Has anyone come across this before?

[electricladyland]

Thanks guys, i'm back. Upon more investigation, it's not the platter that's rattling. It's the tonearm!. Just when I tap on the plinth with the turntable switched off the tonearm moves and rattles, obviously when I have a record on it was almost like a siesmic quake.

I kept on telling the supplier that the tonearm wouldn't track properly, sigh, this has done my head in. They sent out there so called turntable expert. I find it unbelievable how they have not picked this up.

Has anyone come across this before?

[watercourse]

Did you mention that the table was set up by your dealer? If so, I'd just wait until they come back and show them what you're concerned about.

Some amount of feedback is normal when you tap the plinth with the arm on a stationary LP. And it will only be lower frequencies that cause the feedback, so it will sound "seismic" even when its the normal amount of feedback.

Have you had a turntable in the past that had no feedback whatsoever when tapping the plinth?

Your description of the arm "rattling" - is this when in the arm rest? Sounds odd if so.

You may have to work on better isolation from your shelf. Any chance that the shelf is providing some mechanical feedback, ie is bouncy or unstable?

Again, best to wait for the person to set up your table and show them.

[electricladyland]

Hi Watercourse, my other table is a Sota Sapphire, solid as a rock.

Yes when the arm is in the rest and I just tap lightly on the plinth with the table switched off the arm gives off a rattling noise, I have never come across this before in any deck I've owned.

It could possibly be the platform it is sitting on.

Just wondering if anyone has come across this and found a solution maybe with platform?

[rob400]

If all these post came in on April 01st I'd think it was a April fool

[mick wolfe]

Thanks guys, i'm back. Upon more investigation, it's not the platter that's rattling. It's the tonearm!. Just when I tap on the plinth with the turntable switched off the tonearm moves and rattles, obviously when I have a record on it was almost like a siesmic quake.

I kept on telling the supplier that the tonearm wouldn't track properly, sigh, this has done my head in. They sent out there so called turntable expert. I find it unbelievable how they have not picked this up.

Has anyone come across this before?

The only way the tonearm could "rattle" is if the cartridge, counterweight or the bearing mechanism( golf ball and its cover in the case of the Versalex) are not affixed properly to the tonearm. Not a lot of possibilities here, but then again I have an Amadeus so I'm not entirely familiar with the Versalex.

[rob400]

It's the same basically Mick. If the fundamental set up is done there's no way this can happen. It would be nice to help the member out but can't see how we can without physically being next to the deck.....

[threadkiller]

Photos? Photos would be the next best thing...
I'm questioning what this supplier/dealer? is doing?

[watercourse]

Last thing to consider before I leave it to the OP and his supplier. This really makes no sense.

Is the arm rest itself loose, is the arm hanger loose, or is the fluid damping cup loose?

[electricladyland]

Thanks to all that replied. So from your answers it appears there is a problem with the arm set up. In all the tables I've owned over many years I've never had an arm rattle like this. Now that I believe I have isolated the problem I will get back to the supplier. It will be a few days as I'll be flat out with business, so will advise when hopefully this is all sorted.

[threadkiller]

It seems you or this "supplier" needs advised...not us.
Sorry, this whole thread made my head hurt...

Good luck, sounds like you need it!

[sebrof]

Sounds like there is no fluid in the damping cup.

[electricladyland]

Apologies for the late reply, been busy and slipped my mind. The problem was the arm wasn't set-up correctly. Now the fluid has dried up, so I should receive the silicone fluid tomorrow. I am in the process of re-doing my whole system and putting up wall shelves to isolate the T/T. Just waiting on the brackets to be made. I will give my thoughts on the T/T when fully set up. Sure did sound good when I auditioned initially, just wish this one had been set up correctly in the first place. Would have saved a lot of heartache. Thanks for all your help.