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Thread: Heybrook TT2 w. RB300 -- cartridge recommendations

  1. #181
    Join Date: Aug 2012

    Location: South Beds, UK

    Posts: 1,950
    I'm Mike.

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    Quote Originally Posted by shane View Post
    Once you’re up and running, there’s a lot to be said for just leaving things be and getting really familiar with what you’ve got. Take your time, forget about evaluating the turntable and start evaluating your record collection. If that’s an exciting prospect, then you’ve got it about right. Don’t change anything until you’ve got a really good mental platform for comparison. You’ll often find that the biggest realisations about how the system is performing come when you’re only half-listening to it.

    Somebody's stolen Shane and replaced him with a hi-fi philosopher (though being hi-fi, s'pose he should be an Oracle, really ). Best advice I've read and so true.
    Less bling, more integrity ©Spenagio

  2. #182
    Join Date: Feb 2008

    Location: Sunny (occasionally) Devon

    Posts: 1,713
    I'm Shane.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Idlewithnodrive View Post
    Somebody's stolen Shane and replaced him with a hi-fi philosopher.
    Muffled cries are heard from trussed up figure in a shed full of old turntable bits in a Devon back yard. An unknown waffler makes off with an evil laugh and an iPhone 7, a page from AOS visible on the screen. Clouds scud across a moonlight sky. Wolves howl. Who is this intruder?
    Time flies like an arrow.
    Fruit flies like a banana.

  3. #183
    Join Date: Oct 2017

    Location: Ontario, Canada

    Posts: 791
    I'm Svend.

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  4. #184
    Join Date: Feb 2008

    Location: Sunny (occasionally) Devon

    Posts: 1,713
    I'm Shane.

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    Brilliant!
    Time flies like an arrow.
    Fruit flies like a banana.

  5. #185
    Join Date: Oct 2017

    Location: Ontario, Canada

    Posts: 791
    I'm Svend.

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    What a difference a belt makes. I recently received a new original Heybrook belt from Guy at Pure Sound (thanks Guy! Great service; very prompt), and finally got around to putting it on last night. I couldn't believe the difference. Soundstage seemed to almost double in breadth and depth, imaging much better, vocals more silky-smooth, bass tighter....I could go on, but you get the picture. The belt that was on the TT2 when I got it was clearly looser than the new one, although it seemed in perfectly good shape (perhaps a non-Heybrook belt of wrong size?). The new one is much more snug, and has had the added benefit of pulling the subchassis into better alignment so that the armboard isn't so close to the plinth any more (it was almost touching).

    This turntable just keeps sounding better and better all the time. I love it!

    Next steps:
    - swap the RB300/Goldring for the ADC LMF-2/ZLM (very curious about this);
    - get the R200 arm rewired and try it again (I recently chatted with Dan Santoni / Blackdog about this, and he is willing to take this job on so I'll bring the arm to him soon; I will then decide which arm/cart combo to keep);
    - improving the isolation somehow, if possible (I'm using Michell Tenderfeet under it right now that seem to be working OK; the armoire cabinet is probably my worst culprit, I suspect);
    - replace the thin pressboard bottom cover with a thicker plywood plate (perhaps I'm wrong, but I can't help thinking that the thin pressboard is not benefiting the sound).
    Any comments or suggestions on the above most welcome.

    Regards,
    Svend

  6. #186
    Join Date: Jan 2017

    Location: Bristol

    Posts: 111
    I'm Clive.

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    Some people have a view that some decks sound better with the baseboard off (health and safety permitting). I have never tried that with the TT2 but have tried it with others such as LP12 and AR XA. Not convinced that there are any real benefits.

    I have usually used my TT2 on a spiked Alphason table which works fine.

  7. #187
    Join Date: Oct 2017

    Location: Ontario, Canada

    Posts: 791
    I'm Svend.

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    Hi Clive,

    I've not tried leaving the base plate off, but maybe I'll do that and see what happens. Considering how many times I've yanked this deck out of the cabinet for one reason or another (arm swaps, usually), having no base plate would be handy. OTOH, my thinking re. putting a thick plywood base on there was to stiffen the plinth. I see that a lot of people are doing this with direct and idler drive decks, but whether this would improve a suspended table in any way I don't know. The plinth on the TT2 is already plenty solid and well braced as it is. In any case, it's a quick and simple thing to experiment with -- I have lots of scrap plywood lying around the workshop so could rough one in just for a listen and then finish it nicely if it's a winner. The rest of my system is sufficiently revealing that I'm certain I would hear it if any improvement came about.

    Cheers,
    Svend

  8. #188
    Join Date: Feb 2008

    Location: Sunny (occasionally) Devon

    Posts: 1,713
    I'm Shane.

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    Because the TT2 plinth isn’t a hollow box with a resonant chamber inside it’s less likely that changing the base plate will make a significant difference but, as ever, give it a try and see what happens. I think you’ll get much more mileage out of experimenting with feet and support structures.
    Time flies like an arrow.
    Fruit flies like a banana.

  9. #189
    Join Date: Oct 2017

    Location: Ontario, Canada

    Posts: 791
    I'm Svend.

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    Shane, I see The Silent One has released you from captivity .

    Sensible advice, as always. And I am, as hinted at, a bit doubtful of the benefits of a stiffer base plate on a suspended deck. If anything, as Clive suggests, just leaving it off might be better. In any case it's worth a quick couple of saw cuts on some old plywood to see if it makes any difference. But I'll figure out the arm question first, then better isolation, then the base plate, in that order.

    As a general comment, I'm really curious to see how much better I can make this deck. Everything I do (almost), even little things, makes an audible change...some for the better, some not. Remarkable. As of right now, with the arm and cartridge that are on there, it's sounding so good that I might just come back to it as my long term setup. That Goldring is really making the RB300 sing. Terrific stuff.

    Cheers,
    Svend

  10. #190
    Join Date: Oct 2017

    Location: Ontario, Canada

    Posts: 791
    I'm Svend.

    Default ADC LMF-2 arm w. ZLM cart....OK, I'm impressed!

    With the recent spell of cold weather and lousy ski conditions, I was house-bound this weekend and a bit bored, so decided to swap arms on the Heybrook and mount the LMF-2 on there. After a lot of fiddling with setup and much tweaking of VTA, I finally got it making some sweet sounds. Shane, Geoff - you guys were right, this is a very, very good sounding arm and cartridge. I think this is a keeper! Just wonderful. Did I mention this turntable keeps sounding better and better?

    Compared to the RB300/1022, the ADC combo sounds more cohesive, whereas the Rega/GR pair had a slightly more disjointed sound across the spectrum. The latter is definitely more punchy and dynamic; while the LMF-2/ZLM has a natural, easy flow to it. Soundstage and imaging are excellent.

    The ZLM is definitely sensitive to VTA. It took me a while to get this dialed:

    + arm tail high - lots of air and bloom, huge soundstage, very open sound; but way too much sibilance and smearing of transients (if that's the right term to use); bass bit thin too.
    + arm/cart parallel w. LP - a bit "meh" sounding, nothing special, kinda boring, still a bit of sibilance, but much improved.
    + arm tail down a wee bit - bingo! sounds great....tight bass, delicate highs, full midrange, almost no sibilance, imaging and soundstage excellent.

    I'll keep playing with minor VTA adjustments and bump up the VTF a bit too just to really fine tune it. But so far I am nothing but impressed. Well worth all the effort and hassle getting the arm and then fixing that damned AS adjuster (which works OK, btw).

    Thanks for encouraging me to go after this arm. I'm very happy I did.

    Best,
    Svend

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