Save up for a Nottingham Hyperspace or make the final upgrade with ETP platter?

[Jimbo]

In theory. Personally I have often found the belt drive, high mass approach ia bit bland.

Then you haven't heard a VPI

[ChrisKemp]

That is precisely my thinking Chris! The trouble is I have heard so many reports of great bass of the 1200 (and SP10) there must be something to it. In fact my limited experience bears this out. My bass is taut and tight which I did not have on my Clearaudio turntable (actually a Marantz built by Clearaudio). It seems that the larger wave excursions of bass cause some drag and the high torque motor overcomes this better than the increased inertia of mass. I am not sure why this should be. Perhaps you need to go to the highest mountain and sit without food cross-legged for three days to ponder these mysteries.

Anyway, here are a couple of suggestions: one is to consider what would be achieved by a bass plate. I think it would reduce vibration by giving more rigidity. Vibration can be reduced in another easier, cheaper, safer, and reversible way if you did not like the result. Open up the TT, first from the top, and then from underneath so you have access to the metal chassis. Stick a damping material such as dynamat on every spare space. It works an absolute treat!

Another suggestion if you are looking for a change (in addition to an improvement) may be to look at your phono stage. This is the sort of thing that is easier to try at home. A nice valve stage may be the ticket! I think this is an area where a lot of improvement can be made because the signals are so small.

I follow you, Andrei! The 1210 has fantastic tight bass after the upgrades. My biggest upgrade in sound would be the Isokinetic tonearm and MN Bearing. I read a test of a respected reviewer in Norway, that not long ago reviewed the Nottingham Hyperspace. He wrote of fantastic built quality, dynamic open sound with very tight bass. The sound was dynamic and open on all sorts of music.

Then again, it costs alot of money. I know I would not go the upgrade route buying the cheaper Ace Spacedeck and then upgrading it to the level of a Hyperspace. If I buy a Nottingham it would be the Hyperspace. But I also love the sound of my 1210M5 with all the upgrades. Of course, the Hyperspace looks absolutely fantastic, but in the long run it's the sound that is the most important.

The ETP Platter with the base plate is not cheap either, but I love the way it changes the look of the Technics. As many of you know, I use a London Decca Super Gold. And even with Oyaide MJ-12 + Br-one, the platter is not silent. The Decca picks up everything and Hyperspace is well knoen for dead quiet backgrounds. Will 1210 with ETP/ baseplate be dead quiet too??

Is the ETP/ baseplate a big improvement or do owners use big words on small improvements? If you guys know what I mean.

[ChrisKemp]

You are correct. The user starts the platter with a quick spin and the inertia of the massive platter, topped up by the motor, keep it spinning at the correct speed regardless of what the arm and cartridge do. It just ploughs through without hesitation.

Thats how I think about it too. A heavy platter with a great bearing that spins at 33.33 all the time because of the heavy weight, would spin and plough through. Wouldn't it??

[hifi_dave]

Yes it does. No problem with drive and dynamics with a Nottingham Analogue.

BTW. You can't upgrade an Ace Spacedeck to a Hyperspace as there are differences to the motor mount and, crucially, the bearing, which is entirely different.

[Ants]

The direct (and rim or idler) drives obviate the need for big heavy platters and slow start up times and are speed stable due to quartz lock.
Sure they sound different but its a matter of whether the sound characteristics of the combination of turntable, tonearm, cable, cartridge match your preferences. Different turntable configurations will sound different and direct side to side comparisons need to utilise the the same tonearm, cable, cartridge on the two different turntables to ascertain if one turntable is 'better' than the other..... otherwise, everything else like others reviews are just subjective conjecture and hearsay- everyone perceives sound/ music reproduction differently - so you can only make meaningful judgements on what you hear, yourself. Direct comparisons with the different turntable drive units/ plinths with the the same tonearm, cable, cartridge combinations to compare the side to side differences are the ideal but are difficult, if not impossible, to organise and undertake. So my advice is to choose the turntable combination that suits you best - irrespective of what other people say, the way it looks etc. Cost is the main consideration you need to make other than what sound characteristics to value most or want to achieve. Other things like serviceability, spare parts, upgrade path are further considerations.

[Ants]

oops forgot to add quartz lock applies mainly to direct drives.....

[DSJR]

The Hyperspace is chalk to the Technics' cheese, so you can't really compare them - you are likely to love one but not the other. The Technics has that legendary sense of 'drive' but (IME at least) can be musically unsubtle. The Nottingham is exactly the opposite - fantastically musical and delicate with chamber type music, but its low-torque motor philosophy rather tends to let it down when the music gets really dynamic; indeed these decks almost seem to stumble when faced with deep, complicated rhythms. The AceSpace arm is possibly one of the best value arms out there - a true bargain that can be recommended whatever the turntable.

I'd love to hear a Hyperspace with a rim-drive system - that could well be the very best of all worlds.

To answer your question, if you like and enjoy your Technics you could be very disappointed with the Hyperspace.

Hugo, with respect, have you ever directly compared the two? the sheer mass of the Hyperspace platter totally negates the need for a high torque motor (this is what the Linn Lingo does too, just enough power to keep the platter spinning and no surplus which could cause vibration). The 'reason' why a high mass platter and high-drag bearing is often used on tweaked techies, apart from the butch look, may well be to smooth the over-eager Technics servo's for all I know.

The Hyperspace rocks too, really well if the arm and cartridge fitted allow it, but yes, it doesn't sonically jump in with both lead feet as a techie can. A heavily tweaked techie may not do this, but these are better compared to what exactly?

Sorry, I don't mean to thread crap here, but the OP really needs to directly compare the two as the stock techie doesn't offer much competition (told to me by an experienced trade poster here who's done the comparison with a medium-tweaked 1210 and who's ears I trust). A tricked out Techie may well be different though...

[Andrei]

Is the ETP/ baseplate a big improvement or do owners use big words on small improvements? If you guys know what I mean.

Of course big words are used. The thing is though that most of us are intimately familiar with our gear, we know exactly what it sounds like. So when we make a change for the better we hear it straight away and it seems to be a big change. I was a bit surprised at myself just recently when I heard an improvement in sound from just a headshell (Yamomoto Sound made from African Hardwood).

To be specific: An aftermarket platter will I am sure be an improvement. When I did my platter upgrade (http://theartofsound.net/forum/showt...62-DIY-Platter ) it really did tighten up the sound. I cannot say specifically about the ETP platter as I have not heard it. However it should be better if only because the Technics platter is poorly damped. On the other hand I think you have the best mat (for the Technics) out there and I understand it is made in part from butyl which is what I have put underneath my platter - so the improvement may be small.

[Ammonite Audio]

Hugo, with respect, have you ever directly compared the two? the sheer mass of the Hyperspace platter totally negates the need for a high torque motor (this is what the Linn Lingo does too, just enough power to keep the platter spinning and no surplus which could cause vibration). The 'reason' why a high mass platter and high-drag bearing is often used on tweaked techies, apart from the butch look, may well be to smooth the over-eager Technics servo's for all I know.

The Hyperspace rocks too, really well if the arm and cartridge fitted allow it, but yes, it doesn't sonically jump in with both lead feet as a techie can. A heavily tweaked techie may not do this, but these are better compared to what exactly?

Sorry, I don't mean to thread crap here, but the OP really needs to directly compare the two as the stock techie doesn't offer much competition (told to me by an experienced trade poster here who's done the comparison with a medium-tweaked 1210 and who's ears I trust). A tricked out Techie may well be different though...

Yes I have, more or less, in that I had a modded Technics at the same time as a Spacedeck with Heavy Platter and Wave Mechanic PSU. Not quite a Hyperspace but not that far off in terms of platter mass; and identical in terms of motor and PSU (IIRC it's only when you get to the Dais that a more elaborate PSU is used, with the same motor).

I do agree that the OP needs to hear both, since they are very different beasts.

[DSJR]

Thanks for clarifying. I never had a wow issue, but then, I came to them via an LP12