[AleR]

Hi, This is my first post in the Vinyl Circle, so hello everybody   . I live in Chile and it is imposible to find a decent turntable here   . The problem is that we use 220VAC. Do you know if it is possible to find 220VAC Turntables in USA or Canada ?. It is very expensive shipping from Europe where all is 220VAC so I am trying in North America

Thanks

Alejandro

[michael w]

You can still get a tt from the USA and use it with a suitable stepdown transformer.

cheers

[Psychicanimal]

The Technics SL-1200 comes in a dual voltage international version and KAB Electroacoustics sells several modifications for it, like an outboard power supply, tonearm fluid damper and a modified integrated headshell cartidge.  My unit has these modifications and is awaiting tonearm rewiring and superior interconnects from Ridge Street Audio Designs.  It would take more than $3,000 to outperform this little beast.  I'm pretty sure you can get 1200's, parts and service in Chile.

http://www.kabusa.com

[Rocket]

Hi Alejandro,

I am in the same position as you as australia's voltage is
220-240 voltage.

I have been in touch with US dealers and they do have access to 220voltage turntables.  VPI scout looks like a very good priced product if you can afford one, you could also consider a music hall tt.

In Oz custom fees and taxes really add to the price.  do you face the same problems?

regards

rocket

[AleR]

Hi Rocket, In Chile I pay 0% Import Duties from Canada and EU Countries and 7% from all other countries. After that I must add 18% VAT. not much compared with other South America countries.

Regards

[Rocket]

Hi,

I'll post a link to a turntable that i'm going to purchase next week from singapore.  I think this is a pretty good deal but i'm not sure what shipping will cost you.

http://www.hifi.com.sg/products/turntable/bluenote/piccolo.htm

The turntable is a bluenote piccolo with a modified audio technica cartridge included.  It sells for $1495 singapore or 544,753.28 CLP.

In comparison it retails for $2000au in oz without a cartridge for me to purchase and i can buy it including shipping and taxes for $1500 with a cartridge from singapore.

regards

rocket

[AleR]

Thanks!!, I´ll take a look


Regards

Alejandro

[Psychicanimal]

Hi,

I'll post a link to a turntable that i'm going to purchase next week from singapore.  I think this is a pretty good deal but i'm not sure what shipping will cost you.

http://www.hifi.com.sg/products/turntable/bluenote/piccolo.htm

The turntable is a bluenote piccolo with a modified audio technica cartridge included.  It sells for $1495 singapore or 544,753.28 CLP.

In comparison it retails for $2000au in oz without a cartridge for me to purchase and i can buy it including shipping and taxes for $1500 with a cartridge from singapore.

regards

rocket

Rocket,

You will be wasting your money.  

They'll probably stick you w/ an AC synchronous motor and there's no way that platter will rotate properly and keep steady as the needle plows through dynamic passages.  It will not sound good, no matter what cartridge you place or phono stage nor interconnects.  Fifty percent of the music is in the record, the other fifty percent (time domain axis) is the platter's responsibility.

P/A

[doug s.]

francisco, if it's 50% in the platter, & 50% in the record, why upgrade tonearm wire?  hell, why even use a tonearm, for that matter?  or a cartridge?  

seriously, while i tink francisco's hyperbole is a bit overdone, (don't worry, rocket, yer new rig *will* sound good), i *do* agree w/him, when it comes to the best sound awailable, when buying a new turntable in the ~$1k price-range - it will be hard to beat a kab-modded technics.  i've never heard the kab mods, but, even stock, the technics is a best buy in its pricerange, imo...

and, alejandro, get any 'table ya like, & run a step-down transformer, as michael suggested earlier.  someting like this will likely be an actual sonic improvement, & won't cost a lot of money:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2571529239&category=4661

there are many such hi-quality dewices offered f/s on ebay, & from salvage vendors...

doug s.

[AleR]

and how about 60hz to 50hz it has no impact in motor performance ?

Alejandro

[doug s.]

alejandro, i am not sure about the 50-60hz issue, but it seems that particular unit can be adjustable for either frequency.  of cours ya could always get a dc moter kit from origin-live, for whatever turntable ya end up with, & then ya won't have these issues.  and, you'll also have one of the best motors out there, for a belt-driven turntable....

http://www.turntable-power-supply.com/index.htm

doug s.

[Rocket]

Hi Francisco,

I don't want to buy a technics turntable, i'm sorry but i'm not interested   .

Sometimes i wonder whether i should even post on this forum when someone comes along and tries to blow my post out of the water.  I wouldn't do it to you.

I'm really happy for you that you enjoy your modified technics i'm sure it sounds really good.  KAB have an excellent reputation for their mods.

Unless you've heard the Bluenote Piccolo first hand your opinion doesn't carry any weight with me.

I'm going to buy the Bluenote as it is a good quality product at an excellent price.  In oz hifi is about twice the price of what you pay in the us and particularly in perth there aren't many turntables to chose from.  Rega and pro-ject reign supreme here.

I'll let you know how my new acquisition pans out.

Regards

Rocket

[Psychicanimal]

 of cours ya could always get a dc moter kit from origin-live, for whatever turntable ya end up with, & then ya won't have these issues.  and, you'll also have one of the best motors out there, for a belt-driven turntable....

http://www.turntable-power-supply.com/index.htm

doug s.

Well well, look what I found in the link *ewe* gave Alejandro:

Speed stability - To perform at it's best the motor requires a high grade power supply that maintains the motor at a constant speed even under the variable load conditions generated by records. Most turntables have approx 1% speed drift due to the difference in drag between the inner and outer grooves of a record. In addition to this there is increased drag on the stylus when it negotiates complex or heavy passages on a record. To overcome these problems the advanced motor regulator box has a load sensing circuit that maintains speed with a mere 0.1% drift (As measured by Hi Fi News Magazine and 10 times better than average turntables). This results in increased dynamics, better timing and pitch control along with a sense of drive and pace.

Wow, that's 339 British pounds for a concoction that's additional to a turntable and will never surpass a quartz lock drive.  What were ewe saying about load sensing being a bad thing?

Rocket and Alejandro:

What's good is relative.  My point is gear that will, on a budget, give you $30K sound for about $6-8K USD.  To millions upon millions of people, however, Bose speakers are really good and to Romy the Cat nothing is good enough for him.  I will then change the word good for bland.  With such a belt drive the music will sound bland.  The correct audio terminology is severely wanting in PRAT.  Just like with music, some people get used to--and actually like--bland food.  Last year I went with some guys from my company to a field trip in Richmond, VA.  We stopped to eat at a Southern joint and my friend from Kentucky insisted he pick the food I should eat.  As soon as I put it in my mouth my face changed.  Poor Kentucky was soo disheartened!  The other guys went on and said, he's from the Caribbean--he's used to spicy food.  Exactly the same happens to me when I listen to one of those flimsy belt drives.  They're flimsy, lack punch and life.

[Rocket]

Hi Francisco,

Well i guess we all have differing opinions and preferences.

I've had 2 previous turntables a rega 2 with rb250 tonearm which i would say did have a bland sound.  i think it was the cartridge which was an ortofon from my memory.

a year of 2 ago i sold an AR eb101 with a shure 97he cartridge.  i would never describe this turntable as bland, for the price it had punch, dynamics, bass etc.  I was a fool to sell it and especially at the bargain price i sold it for.

I'll let you know how i fair once my tt arrives.

regards

rocket

[Psychicanimal]

Rocket:

I am not against belt drive TTs--only their  being overrated as a truly musical solution when in fact there are many many variables at stake.  As long as you make an informed choice you will be doing the right thing.  If you look at the Audio Advisor catalog you will see a $1500 VPI unit w/ an AC synchronous motor!  People will actually swear by those things!

A lot of people have first hand opinion with Bose and think sounds better.  One of the service guys from my company came in for a week and heard my Modwright Swans.  He said I should get the Bose minis--that they sound better...

Turntable parameters can be measured and are significant.  It was Rega who started the non specification thing with that "Listen to this." leaflet, with a drawing of their RB300 arm.  The leaflet said that they had no specs because they would be placed on that sheet and therefore you could not listen to the piece of paper!.  People actually bought it.

Be careful--the Voodoo is out there anting to take your hard eaned money...

[Rocket]

Hi Francisco,

Well we do have something in common.

We both have a piece of Modwright magic.

I originally had a stock perpetual technologies p3a dac and acquired another p3a modwright level 1 dac.  wow what an improvement, dan really knows his stuff.

sorry for being off topic.

regards

rocket

[doug s.]

francisco, i saw the o-l load-sensing post, & was gonna send it to ya, but ya beat me to it!   mebbe that's why the o-l stuff sounds so good!   remember, o-l's prices are about 20% lower, when shipped outta the eec...  also, when i bought mine, the dollar was a bit stronger, too bad about that.  

doug s., w/no plans of unloading my oracle any time soon for a technics...

[Psychicanimal]

Hi Francisco,

Well we do have something in common.

We both have a piece of Modwright magic.

I originally had a stock perpetual technologies p3a dac and acquired another p3a modwright level 1 dac.  wow what an improvement, dan really knows his stuff.

sorry for being off topic.

regards

rocket

Actually, I have two--a modded Marchand X9 Deluxe electronic crossover plus my Parasound belt drive transport is shipping out on Monday for a major revamp.  Talked to Dan two nights ago.  My objective is making digital and analog sound as close to each other as possible.  That's why I'm going direct drive for analog and belt drive for digital.

If you send me the specs of the belt drive you are buying I'll check them out (should include platter weight and how stable speed is maintained).

francisco, i saw the o-l load-sensing post, & was gonna send it to ya, but ya beat me to it!   mebbe that's why the o-l stuff sounds so good!   remember, o-l's prices are about 20% lower, when shipped outta the eec...  also, when i bought mine, the dollar was a bit stronger, too bad about that.  

doug s., w/no plans of unloading my oracle any time soon for a technics...

Well, it's a motor driving a changing load--whether it's belt, direct or rim drive--and the load changes (dynamic passages, weight of different records, warps, tracking weights, eccentricities...).  Sensing the electrial load is a big step forward, but it stops at the middle of the road.  Sensing voltage applied is not the same as sensing the rotational speed against a quartz clock and then applying voltage.  The Technics system applies voltage from both sides of the rotation, a far superior way of doing things.  If ewe read the specs, the stock Technics is amost 10 times more accurate than the OL mod.

I uderstand--your self is attached to your gear.  I don't care for my components except for my Vintage Yamaha A-1 dual mono integrated, though the Forté is really winning my heart...

Good weekend everybody and remember my Avatar & signature!

[Beezer]

I can see rotational stability, along with vibration control,  being the key factors in TURNTABLE design.  The arm and cartridge must have analogous considerations.  Finally, they all need to work together as a synergistic system.   I'm not sure what weighting rotational stability has across the whole system, maybe 25%?  That feels very generous to me, but certainly possible.  

KAB seems to have taken that route in tricking out the Technics 1200 with mods and matching across all three elements.  PA, does this table have all the mods you (and KAB) have done to your table - it sells for $950 without cartridge?

http://www.kabusa.com/index_tt.htm

At that price, it would be interesting to compare to my current rig (Nottingham Interspace and OL Silver arm, ~$1.4k used).  Unfortunately, there is a 6% restocking fee, and with shipping in both directions, that gets expensive.  Do you know of any comparisons against Nottingham tables?  I'm not looking a theoretical answer, but actual listening tests.

Beez

[Psychicanimal]

I can see rotational stability, along with vibration control,  being the key factors in TURNTABLE design.  The arm and cartridge must have analogous considerations.  Finally, they all need to work together as a synergistic system.   I'm not sure what weighting rotational stability has across the whole system, maybe 25%?  That feels very generous to me, but certainly possible.

What is lost at the platter level cannot be compensated for by later upgrading the tonearm, cartridge, wires, etc.  Which is what most people do.

KAB seems to have taken that route in tricking out the Technics 1200 with mods and matching across all three elements. PA, does this table have all the mods you (and KAB) have done to your table - it sells for $950 without cartridge?

http://www.kabusa.com/index_tt.htm

Yes, that's the one I have: SL 1200 w/ PS-1200 power supply, TD-1200 fluid damper and the modded Groovemaster II.  What Kevin has done is address the compromises Technics underwent in making a compact, more affordable unit based on the big DDs (SP10, SP25, etc).  The speed sensing/correction circuitry is the same, though...

At that price, it would be interesting to compare to my current rig (Nottingham Interspace and OL Silver arm, ~$1.4k used). Unfortunately, there is a 6% restocking fee, and with shipping in both directions, that gets expensive. Do you know of any comparisons against Nottingham tables? I'm not looking a theoretical answer, but actual listening tests.

There is one guy in Audiogon that 's very finicky about piano reproduction and tried a Nottingham and didn't like it because of rotational instability.  He tried the 1200 and there was someting wrong that I think he fixed or was not set up properly.  All I can say for now (since I'm waiting to post a review) is that the fully modded 1200 is at or near the SP10 level.  No bull.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1058699691&read&keyw&zzspeed=stability