Replacing the Technics tonearm - Origin Live Silver MK3A or Audio Note Arm 1?

[CageyH]

Trust me, the Funk tube and wiring upgrade transforms the arm into something very special.
I'm just not sure that they are readily available at the moment.

[markx]

Hi Clive,

You would seem to be quite happy with the OL Silver arm. Did you notice a significant improvement over the stock arm on the 1210 m5g which I understand is more or less the equivalent of a re-wired 1210 mk2 arm? Have you done the power supply mod? What are your thoughts on this upgrade?

[markx]

Re-wiring the arm is a lot of faff for me as I do not solder. I am not a hobbyist audio equipment modifier, just someone looking to improve the performance of the Technics. Its the same with externalising the existing power supply. I have never done anything like that before. Also, I would prefer to keep the table as one piece. My feeling is the tonearm change is where the greater improvements are to be had, then cartridge, then phono stage, then matt and feet. Like I said earlier, I am not looking to achieve world class analogue playback just something that will allow me to enjoy my records more than I do at the moment.

I have in the past owned a Marantz turntable which was based on a Clearaudio Emotion. It was in many ways better than the Technics - more airy, detailed, sweeter sounding etc but it involved a manual belt change which was a complete faff. Also, it did not have the drive or timing of the Technics which are important qualities for me.

The other option I have got is to scrap my plan to mod the Technics altogether and just go for a decent Hi-Fi turntable such as the Clearaudio Performance (which has an electronic speed change), Rega RP8 or Origin Live Aurora.

However, I would prefer to keep the Technics if I can improve its performance in a cost effective fashion.

Wat are peoples thoughts on the Dynavector DV10X5 cart and its suitability for a modified Technics?

[Clive197]

Hi Clive,

You would seem to be quite happy with the OL Silver arm. Did you notice a significant improvement over the stock arm on the 1210 m5g which I understand is more or less the equivalent of a re-wired 1210 mk2 arm? Have you done the power supply mod? What are your thoughts on this upgrade?

Hi Mark

The arm upgrade IMHO was a no brainer. While a number of people seem to like to knock Rega arms and I'm not going into that discussion, I should point out that the OL Silver only uses the lift/lower mech from a Rega arm with everything else designed and built by OL, so implying that the Silver is a reworked Rega is slightly off the mark.

Interestingly I've had no problems with the power supply and my Cadenza Bronze. I tried moving the arm/cartridge combo backward and forward over the width of the turntable with the volume on my amp turned right up with no discernible difference to background noise. This of course may be down to the shielding on my cartridge. With a record playing I've not experienced any differences from beginning to end of record. This of course could be down to my hearing but I can certainly tell the impact of the matt and Isonoes. In my set-up it would be difficult to place a seperate supply, so simply I can't be asked. As for the Mike New bearing I can certainly vouch for its build quality which make the stock bearing look like a piece from a Machano Kit but as yet I've resisted the urge to dismantle my Techie with the exception of changing arms and cutting out a bigger hole in the base. To my ears it sounds great with the upgrades I have made.

Clive

[Andrei]

I have in the past owned a Marantz turntable which was based on a Clearaudio Emotion. It was in many ways better than the Technics - more airy, detailed, sweeter sounding etc but it involved a manual belt change which was a complete faff. Also, it did not have the drive or timing of the Technics which are important qualities for me.

I guess that would be the Marantz TT15. I have also had one of these and I have to say I also hated the faffing around changing the bobbin to put on a 45 rpm record. The concept with that Marantz is that they focused on absolute simplicity and thereby produced a good turntable for a modest price. The bearing was not magnetic, but if you gave the platter a good spin you could go and get married, and when you came back it still would not have stopped! Anyway I had one of those and upgraded to a SL1210 and having done 'all the mods' the 1210 is simply in another league. Here is a list in approximate order of merit:

1. Isonoe feet;
2. Power supply;
3. Tonearm;
4. My DIY platter damping upgrade;
5. Servicing; (internal clean, relube the bearing, Caig's Deoxit on all connections)
6. Mat and Clamp;
7. Headshell & headshell wiring;
8. Tonearm wiring;
9. Bearing;
10. Pitch Control.

The first five were all immediately noticeable differences. There are three points I would like to make. First is to emphasise that ultimately you will end up with a truly top class deck. Second, you can do these one at time - whats the rush? the standard 1200/1210 is pretty decent straight out. Third, what is significant in one context can be useless in another. Examples:
If you have a sound platform then my No.1 (Isonoe Feet) would be your number 10.
If you have an upmarket cartridge then the change of tonearm would be even more significant.
If your bearing is old and worn then a new bearing would be up the list.

As for the Technics being cost effective; my opinion is that it is cost effective. Not only in absolute terms of £$ but also in that the end result will be hard to beat. I have friends who simply cannot believe the bass I get from my system (my amp has no tone controls) and the answer is in part to the direct drive heart of the TT. Having said all of this: if you are not prepared to get your hands dirty then the mods will cost more.

Hope this helps.

[markx]

Thanks for all the replies and opinions. I am not completely ruling out the separate power supply but it would have to be a paid for unit as I do not have the DIY skills nor can I solder. The mains cables r us PS would appear to be the best value solution.

I get the impression the Jelco 750 tonearm is the popular arm change option for the Technics on this forum. I'm not interested in importing a re-wired standard arm from KAB USA, paying import duties, and then paying someone to install it. I may as well just get a superior arm. A great many people believe this is the major weak point of the Technics especially in its bog standard MK2 guise. If I were to go for the Jelco/Denon DL-103 combo which a lot of people seem to favour, what would be a cost effective SUT solution?

What are peoples opinions of the Dynavector DV10X5 cartridge?

Thanks

Mark

[Audio Al]

You could use a pre amp MM / MC and switch between the two when required , something like this

http://www.sevenoakssoundandvision.c...-pre-amp-mm-mc

Or a integrated amp , some have MM / MC options

[markx]

I thought that to get the best out of an MC you need a proper step up? This relatively cheap switching phono stage would be a compromise would it not. My experience with vinyl up to this point tells me the phono stage is a critical element in the chain.

[ChrisKemp]

Thanks for all the replies and opinions. I am not completely ruling out the separate power supply but it would have to be a paid for unit as I do not have the DIY skills nor can I solder. The mains cables r us PS would appear to be the best value solution.

I get the impression the Jelco 750 tonearm is the popular arm change option for the Technics on this forum. I'm not interested in importing a re-wired standard arm from KAB USA, paying import duties, and then paying someone to install it. I may as well just get a superior arm. A great many people believe this is the major weak point of the Technics especially in its bog standard MK2 guise. If I were to go for the Jelco/Denon DL-103 combo which a lot of people seem to favour, what would be a cost effective SUT solution?

What are peoples opinions of the Dynavector DV10X5 cartridge?

Thanks

Mark

I have just ordered from Mains Cables R Us:

IsoKinetik Silver Melody SM750 tonearm.

[Audio Al]

I thought that to get the best out of an MC you need a proper step up? This relatively cheap switching phono stage would be a compromise would it not. My experience with vinyl up to this point tells me the phono stage is a critical element in the chain.

A lot depends on your budget ,

I have a Ortofon St-80se sut , I run this with a Shelter 5000 cartridge and sometimes a Denon 304

The 103 is a relatively cheap cartridge and yes it will benefit with a sut , the sut will be considerably dearer for a decent quality unit