[charles28722]

I've seen one post on this circle from an Amadeus owner who added Herbie's mat and clamp to his rig with great results.  I've also been told that none of these things should be used.  Does the added weight of aftermarket mats and clamps pose a problem for the motor or the spider web filament that serves as the drive belt on this TT?

Please share your experiments.  Would also like to know what kind of platform you guys are putting under your Amadeus.

Damn I'm loving this TT.  If tweaking it a little can make it even better, well....

Feel free to comment, Mike.

[ssegrub]

I have mine as standard apart from a 1" thick piece of heavy granite under the isolation platform with it's small squishy feet ,however I am always open to new ideas and tweaks.

[threadkiller]

Hi Charles,
"I've seen one post on this circle from an Amadeus owner who added Herbie's mat and clamp to his rig with great results.  I've also been told that none of these things should be used.  Does the added weight of aftermarket mats and clamps pose a problem for the motor or the spider web filament that serves as the drive belt on this TT?"

in a word, no.  and definitely a no to the clamp (although I've never tried one with it, and unless BF starts using one, I never will.)  besides, why put something between you and playing a record? isn't it great not having to use one?
Granite seems to be a british thing, and while I'm all about the british, I wouldn't use anything that's going to deaden the music.  A good support usually has a good shelf already.

[ssegrub]

I am testing a set of Symposium Rollerblock JR under my various Amadeus platforms, with good results so far.

[Mike Pranka]

Charles,

There's no need to use a clamp with the Amadeus. Clamps aren't 'good' or 'bad'.. it's just that some 'table designs incorporate them and some do not. Concern that a clamp is needed to flatten out a warped record is solved by the fact that the Amadeus 'arm will track any warped record you're likely to play. I'm told that Mr. Firebaugh once did a demonstration at an audio show of an early prototype w/ a (very) severely warped record and that it tracked it like a roller coaster.
The foam mat that comes w/ the 'table was chosen after listening to many different materials. With an acrylic platter, we found that we didn't like something too heavy or overdamped. The foam lets the music flow with it's life in tact. There's no doubt a different mat material somewhere that will suit a particular taste and system, but the foam one does work well and was far from an afterthought.

Best,



Mike

[AshK]

I'm still fiddling with the review Simplex (really should make an effort to send it back) and I've tried a few things so far:

Mats
An Origin Live platter mat seemed to improve the weight of the low end but murdered everything else. This lightweight thin mat works wonders on my Technics 1210 but the Simplex didn't like it at all.

Feet and Isolation
Just for kicks, I've tried Audio Technica isolation feet, Finite Elemente Ceraballs and Black Diamond Racing Cones directly under the Simplex with no improvement in any regard. The squash balls work. End of story.

I've also tried all of the above in between layers of wood and marble to see if they helped in terms of overall isolation. In a word - no!

The best isolation solution I've found so far is a combination of an 18mm thick chunk of marble at the top of my Spider Rack with a 30mm thick mixed wood butcher's block above it with Blu-Tack in between. The sound is tighter all round with this lot as opposed to just the marble or different types of wooden board I've got lying around.

[ssegrub]

I am running my Amadeus with a set of Symposium Rollar Block Jnr, kindly on loan from Peter Hardie from Devonport and I am buying them now....and I have tried granite slabs,ply sheets, squash balls, dogs balls, you name it and I have tried it and for me the symposiums are keepers.

[AshK]

I am running my Amadeus with a set of Symposium Rollar Block Jnr, kindly on loan from Peter Hardie from Devonport and I am buying them now....and I have tried granite slabs,ply sheets, squash balls, dogs balls, you name it and I have tried it and for me the symposiums are keepers.

So you're running the Roller Blocks instead of the squash balls?

Interesting. I might have to borrow a set myself from Peter although he has some of his own proprietary isolation feet in development as part of a holistic solution that includes valve dampers and cables. I've got some photos of them here:

http://www.witchdoctor.co.nz/index.php/2010/09/resonance-free-in-devonport/
(Check out page 2)

[j beede]

Hi Charles,
"I've seen one post on this circle from an Amadeus owner who added Herbie's mat and clamp to his rig with great results.  I've also been told that none of these things should be used.  Does the added weight of aftermarket mats and clamps pose a problem for the motor or the spider web filament that serves as the drive belt on this TT?"

in a word, no.  and definitely a no to the clamp (although I've never tried one with it, and unless BF starts using one, I never will.)  besides, why put something between you and playing a record? isn't it great not having to use one?
Granite seems to be a british thing, and while I'm all about the british, I wouldn't use anything that's going to deaden the music.  A good support usually has a good shelf already.

What's the point of tweaking azimuth or VTA if you are going to play a warped or dished LP? What's the point of selecting an alternative mat if some records contact it well (flat ones) and some make poor contact (warped). I wouldn't play a record without clamping it down and I suggest you don't either. There is more to LP playback beyond tracking warped records!

[ssegrub]

Be careful with those Vitesse Solid Air Matrix interconnects, speaker  and power cables young Ashley, as they are mighty addictive critters. They have a way of creeping up on you and then you find out you are hooked and can't bare to part with them....that was my experience anyway.

[threadkiller]

j b, the point is that with the amadeus or simplex it simply doesn't matter, they track warp records well enough that you get the music off the record without a clamp.   Period.  All I can say is, if you have a new WT table, do not clamp.  Period.

[AshK]

Be careful with those Vitesse Solid Air Matrix interconnects, speaker  and power cables young Ashley, as they are mighty addictive critters. They have a way of creeping up on you and then you find out you are hooked and can't bare to part with them....that was my experience anyway.

Tell me about it. They're excellent. I reckon a full set is in my future (the very near future), I just have to figure out how to finance them.

[AshK]

j b, the point is that with the amadeus or simplex it simply doesn't matter, they track warp records well enough that you get the music off the record without a clamp.   Period.  All I can say is, if you have a new WT table, do not clamp.  Period.

I haven't seen this but I hear that Bill Firebaugh does a demo with a record that is so warped as to be virtually unplayable but the Amadeus just sails over the warps without a hassle.

I've got a couple of warped records in the collection and the Simplex doesn't seem to notice the warps at all.

[threadkiller]

Exactly.....