View Full Version : Ok then...where to next wit'1210?
My latest 1210 is now singing quite nicely - the psu bit's done, and I've found (through a bit of experimenting and applying a pair of ears) a support which works rather well. As a result I'm not overly worried about changing the deck's feet yet, or certainly not for a fair while.
So...
I've probably got a budget of approx £400-450 to spend on getting other bits done. Out of this though would have to be a mat (or record support at least as thick as the OEM mat) as, using the Sumiko headshell, it's impossible to achieve good vta as the Tecchy's arm won't go low enough even with a tall cartridge like the Shure. Of course I could go back to the standard Technics shell though, although that would be a backward step in itself.
No denying Mike's bearing would be the ultimate solution but I truly haven't got the funds to stretch to that, bearing in mind I'll need to do a couple of other bits. I've got the Vantage bearing and copper platter mod in mind as whilst it may not be stretching the sonic envelope to its limits, it's going to be a big improvement on what I've got at the moment - pretty damn good though it is.
What sayest the 1210 possie?
Ta. :)
Wakefield Turntables
09-12-2011, 15:26
Isone feet approx £80-100. I'd buy an acromat 5mm - £66 from ebay delivered. Terminate you Jelco tonearm with either Eichmann high purity copper of silver RCA's if you afford them, this would cost £40-85 if shop on ebay. Think about remove any crap from inside of the technics i.e. do you need a strobe light, the que light, or the sliding pitch stability slider. All can be removed and it costs nothing. You could have a look into making a high purity silver tonearm cable, this would probably cost £70-100 depeding on amount of silver used and what you terminate it with. Maybe even a second hand step up transformer from ebay?? the list could go on, hopefully this wets you appetite.
Hi Richard,
The mat's an easy one, mate, as you need something quite thick. So for that reason, as well as the fact that it sounds excellent, a 5mm Achromat is a no-brainer. Bond it down firmly to the platter with the supplied adhesive pads, and some Vaseline in between them, if necessary - job done! :)
Deciding what's best to spend the rest of your money on, however, isn't quite so straightforward, if you're not simply to waste it by buying 'less good' bits now, only to replace them with the best bits later! More on that in a minute....
Can I ask why you've given up on the idea of replacing the stock feet?
Personally, I think that's a huge mistake, as from experience I can tell you that, no matter what support they're on, the stock feet are one of the single most influential reasons why an unmodified Techy sounds crap. The stock feet are dreadful things and, quite frankly, as long as they're in the equation, you will NEVER hear what your Techy is truly capable of, sonically. They have no place in a high-end hi-fi system.
Sorry to be so blunt, but it's really as simple as that!
Therefore, I would implore you to replace them and fit either Isonoes, Stillpoints, Sorbothane footers or any of the other quality solutions that are available on the market. Decide what you think will suit your system best, and the support table(s) you're currently using. Trust me, once you've done that, and fitted an Achromat, you'll then (along with your Timestep HE PSU), have a proper platform from which to build later upon more fundamentally influential modifications.
Now, returning to the point I alluded to in the second paragraph.... I'll ask you a simple question outright: how far do you intend to take the Techy? Do you want to go all the way and transform it into a genuinely world-class turntable (like, for example, Martin and me have done), or are you quite happy to take it some of the way, to a level that's acceptable to you, and then leave it there and enjoy it as it is?
If it's the latter, then go ahead and buy the (perfectly adequate) Vantage mods, fit them and call it a day, without having spent a serious amount of money. Your T/T will sound excellent (up to a point) and you can then spend your money on records. It's a reasonable plan!
However, if you have notions of achieving the former, and really want to turn your Techy into something truly special, then my advice is to save your money until you can afford an MN bearing and a Funk Firm platter, and spend the change from your £450, after having bought an Achromat and new feet, on a better cartridge, and in the meantime enjoy your Techy 'as is'. With a better cartridge fitted, in your T/T's current iteration, it'll be easily good enough to satisfy you until you can afford to go for the aforementioned more major items, which do undoubtedly radically transform the Techy's sonic capabilities.
Having a pretty good handle on the kind of sound you like (I think we have similar tastes in cartridges), the cartridge I think you should go for, which would work like a dream on the stock arm, is a Goldring G800, fitted with one of Dominic Harper's nickel cantilever-equipped elliptical styli. I think it would be right up your street, as it is oh so gorgeously involving and musical sounding.
Dom's 'tweaked' G800 is detailed, but not in any way whatsoever 'in yer face' - it doesn't try to 'push' the music at you, but simply allows it to evolve organically within the natural sonic envelope of a given recording. In that sense, it's actually rather SPU-like, but without the filigree high-frequency detailing you only get with top moving-coils.
G800s appear for sale quite regularly on eBay, and as you'll be replacing the stylus anyway, you don't have to worry what condition it’s in, or indeed if there actually is one, as in the case of this nice example from the States:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NOS-Goldring-G800-Super-E-Stereo-Cartridge-Body-MM-/110757413730?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item19c9a80362
Slot one of Dom's styli in there, pop it on your Sumiko headshell, and I think you'll be amazed.
Anyway, mate, that's my advice and it's based on a not inconsiderable amount of listening experience and experimentation in this area. I've tried to be as thorough as I could because I'd like you to get a great result. Hopefully, it's given you some food for thought, and good luck! :cool:
Marco.
Isone feet approx £80-100. I'd buy an acromat 5mm - £66 from ebay delivered. Terminate you Jelco tonearm...
Yo daftee, he hasn't got a Jelco tonearm! ;)
Marco.
morris_minor
09-12-2011, 16:57
Sorry, Marco - bit off topic here . . .
the cartridge I think you should go for, which would work like a dream on the stock arm, is a Goldring G800, fitted with one of Dominic Harper's nickel cantilever-equipped elliptical styli
. . . you don't mean the G800 I had bolted to my Garrard SP25, what, er 40 years ago :rolleyes: ?
Dominic's stylus/cantilever must be something really special. :)
Indeed, Bob - the very one! :eyebrows:
But I doubt you'll have heard one perform, as I have, in conjunction with top-notch modern ancillaries.....
I think you should pour yourself a glass of wine (or two) and read this thread: http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=10413&highlight=marco%27s+latest
;)
Marco.
Hi guys - many thanks for the most comprehensive and much appreciated replies. :)
Marco - I'm tending to lean towards the 'let's do a few not-too-expensive mods and sit back and enjoy it as-is, in the comfort of knowing that it'll still blow away most rubber band turntables on the market' camp (and breeeeathe!!). :lol:
Seriously - this M3D is sounding a good deal better than my last couple of 1210's, hence the desire to spend a bit more time with it. Of course I'd love to take it to the sky in terms of modding it but sadly it's not a road I'm happy paying the tolls on for the time being, or perhaps ever will tbh. As for the Achromat I've got one sat in the drawer here which I used on my previous 1210 - I can appreciate what it does but I'm not convinced by it to be frank, it 'sucks out' a particular frequency in my rig and makes certain instruments sound slightly odd as though it's removing, or even modifying overtones. This was even after making sure the mat's well and truly 'sucked' into the platter (I used blue Corrosion-Block grease - it's wonderful stuff!) and with the Michell Delrin clamp. A mate of mine uses an Achro on an LP12 and absolutely loves it - and I agree it works really well, for me, on that too.
Still, others' mileage varies on this so it's always going to be 'one man's meat' etc. :) Another slight issue is that the Achro's not thick enough to achieve correct vta with the standard arm with the Sumiko h/shell - bit of a PITA really - and that's with a fairly tall cartridge like the Shure. The arm simply won't go low enough. Using the PL71's mat it's still not ideal height-wise but it sounds so much better than the OEM Tecchy mat it's unreal.
I've dropped a line to Richard at VA so will hopefully be hearing back from him soon. I've asked about the bearing for starters, and we'll take things from there, see what he comes up with anyway.
morris_minor
09-12-2011, 17:19
Indeed, Bob - the very one! :eyebrows:
But I doubt you'll have heard one perform, as I have, in conjunction with top-notch modern ancillaries.....
I think you should pour yourself a glass of wine (or two) and read this thread: http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=10413&highlight=marco%27s+latest
;)
Marco.
No, I haven't heard a G800 for, er, 40 years :lolsign:
Need no excuse for a glass or two - so I'll settle back and read that thread. Thanks.:cocktail:
Hi Richard,
That sounds like a plan, then :)
Dunno, though, where you're going to find a decent mat that's thicker than 5mm... :scratch: Wouldn't it be better to fit an appropriate spacer between the Shure and the Sumiko, achieving optimal VTA that way, and then use a quality 5mm mat of your choice?
I always fancied trying one of these, but gave up the idea when I achieved superb results with the Achromat: http://www.boston-audio.com/mat2.html
For an ultra-thick mat, your best option would be Herbie's. They do mats up to 7.2mm: http://herbiesaudiolab.net/ttmat.htm. You may also wish to consider their Tenderfeet: http://herbiesaudiolab.net/compfeet.htm#tender
But whatever you do, matey, for gawds sake get rid of those 'orrible stock feet, otherwise all you'll be doing is going one step forward, whilst taking two steps back!!
Marco.
Wakefield Turntables
09-12-2011, 17:36
Yo daftee, he hasn't got a Jelco tonearm! ;)
Marco.
:doh: and i repeat :doh:
One thing which worries me on the Goldring G800 now I have several assorted ones (how did that happen?????), is the rubber-compound suspension, not just the styli, which are like nails as supplied..... The conical 800 seems better here but the three 800E's I have are all different and all horrible, despite the diamonds being ok on a microscope (one is almost conical though).
I'd like to see how good the Jico replacement is, since everything would be fresh and new..
Apologies Marco. I don't mean to plonk a wet blanket on your recommendation - and the standard 800 does seem better these days.
By the way, in the office system I've returned to the first "separates" turntable I ever owned - a Garrard AP76 which, like all Garrards and most BSR's of this period and earlier had solidified grease in the mech but hadn't been messed with fortunately. As I experienced forty years ago, the G800 sounds terrible in it, but substituting an AT120E brought about a revelation (I'm sure an Ortofon OM10 would be similar), turning this deck into something (old) Pro-ject Debut like, which I regard as a compliment bearing in mind the often sloppy tolerances in Garrards by this time.
So yeah, a decent condition G800 really does need summat better than an SP25 to show what it can really do and it "should" track slightly better at high frequencies than an M3D I think, although the conical tip then rears its head - IMO of course... I did ask Dom how much to graft a standard cantilever and elliptical diamond on one of the G800E/D110E styli, but he never came back to me..
Evening chaps - just got in from gigging...bit pooped but thought a bit of hifi fora would be better than Ovaltine (and I've got a nice bottle of Crozes Hermitage sat here with 'drink me' printed on the side) ;)
I'm going to give the 1210 headshell a whirl tomorrow - sure it's not as sturdy as the Sumiko but it will allow much more adjustability in the std arm, and as the headshells's got decent Cardas wires in it shouldn't be too shabby. Hell, its lighter mass may even suit the SAS Jico M75 a bit more. Doing this opens up a lot more options for mats (thanks for the links Marco - I'll have a browse of them in a bit). I'll dig out the Achromat too and have another play with that.
Talking of the Shure - this has been a bit of a find for me; it's got all that lovely 'old' cartridge warmth and body (ie its sound has weight, drive and colour) yet that super-swish SAS tip gives the thing such startling clarity and such a clean top end I often have to pinch myself that I'm listening to a 40 yr old MM cartridge. It loves the Tecchy's arm too. Never known a cartridge that needs to warm up like this one though - for the first 10 mins or so it can sound quite coarse and brittle but after such time it goes through a small transformation. Dunno why...but it does.
Hi Dave,
One thing which worries me on the Goldring G800 now I have several assorted ones (how did that happen?????), is the rubber-compound suspension, not just the styli, which are like nails as supplied..... The conical 800 seems better here but the three 800E's I have are all different and all horrible, despite the diamonds being ok on a microscope (one is almost conical though).
I'd like to see how good the Jico replacement is, since everything would be fresh and new..
Apologies Marco. I don't mean to plonk a wet blanket on your recommendation - and the standard 800 does seem better these days.
No need to apologise, matey, as your point is very valid. Two of the four NOS styli I bought for my G800s failed, due to the suspension issues you've mentioned. However, with Dominic around now that's no longer a problem, as he can easily fix it.
And if you have one of his nickel cantilevers fitted, suspension failure will never happen again... Get a new elliptical tip fitted at the same time, and the G800 turns into a real monster.
At a recent bake-off, using my T/T, the G800, thus fettled, was (marginally) preferred by the assembled listeners to a re-tipped Linn Troika!! :eek:
Marco.
Hi Richard,
Lol - you seem to be giving me a rubber ear, regarding the stock feet, so I won't labour the point any further, but simply let you discover the truth eventually for yourself ;)
Anyway.... Regarding mats, anything thicker than 5mm is likely to sound crap (there's a good reason why most 'audiophile' mats don't go above 5mm in thickness), so I'd simply fit a spacer in between your Shure and Sumiko, in order to achieve optimal VTA with the 5mm mat of your choice.
If you want to be different, I'd give the Boston one a spin, as I reckon it would be good!
Regarding cartridges, perhaps I'm being a little unfair on your Shure. It's just that, the M3D and vintage SC35C aside, I've always found Shure cartridges to sound way too laid back for my tastes, although I'm sure that the Jico stylus will inject some much needed zest into that sleepy old M75!
However, I think you'd love a re-tipped G800. In fact, if you want, I could loan you mine and you could have a listen to it at your leisure. Just let me know, dude :cool:
Marco.
Just to echo many other posts Richard the Isonoe feet are a no brainer, they really do isolate the Techy- it is a no brainer, good VFM too:)
Theo's very kindly lending me a set of Isonoes so we'll see how they go.
Dominic Harper
10-12-2011, 20:12
One thing which worries me on the Goldring G800 now I have several assorted ones (how did that happen?????), is the rubber-compound suspension, not just the styli, which are like nails as supplied..... The conical 800 seems better here but the three 800E's I have are all different and all horrible, despite the diamonds being ok on a microscope (one is almost conical though).
I'd like to see how good the Jico replacement is, since everything would be fresh and new..
Apologies Marco. I don't mean to plonk a wet blanket on your recommendation - and the standard 800 does seem better these days.
By the way, in the office system I've returned to the first "separates" turntable I ever owned - a Garrard AP76 which, like all Garrards and most BSR's of this period and earlier had solidified grease in the mech but hadn't been messed with fortunately. As I experienced forty years ago, the G800 sounds terrible in it, but substituting an AT120E brought about a revelation (I'm sure an Ortofon OM10 would be similar), turning this deck into something (old) Pro-ject Debut like, which I regard as a compliment bearing in mind the often sloppy tolerances in Garrards by this time.
So yeah, a decent condition G800 really does need summat better than an SP25 to show what it can really do and it "should" track slightly better at high frequencies than an M3D I think, although the conical tip then rears its head - IMO of course... I did ask Dom how much to graft a standard cantilever and elliptical diamond on one of the G800E/D110E styli, but he never came back to me..
Please accept my apologies. I get inundated with questions regarding re tipping. This one got through the net. A new nickel cantilever and elliptical tip fitted to a supplied stylus assembly will be £120 :doh:
RobbieGong
10-12-2011, 21:23
Theo's very kindly lending me a set of Isonoes so we'll see how they go.
They are better AND look great, you wont even need the lend, around £80.00 a set so a fraction of most other mods for the techie :)
A new nickel cantilever and elliptical tip fitted to a supplied stylus assembly will be £120 :doh:
Thank you kindly for the quote. Are you ok with the suspension/hinge grommet as well, as the 800E uses a different one, which may actually be alright with a decent cantilever and diamond on the working end? Maybe modern replacements are available (they must be as Jico must use many different types?).
Let's get Christmas out of the way first - Yikes!!!!!!
Dominic Harper
10-12-2011, 22:38
Yes that would be ok. The 800E has a softer suspension I believe, tracking at 1.5. The standard G800 tracks around 2.5.
It would be interesting to fit a boron cantilever and micro ridge to a G800 E stylus assembly. This may well be the ultimate G800!
Stratmangler
10-12-2011, 22:42
Anyway.... Regarding mats, anything thicker than 5mm is likely to sound crap (there's a good reason why most 'audiophile' mats don't go above 5mm in thickness), so I'd simply fit a spacer in between your Shure and Sumiko, in order to achieve optimal VTA with the 5mm mat of your choice.
I thought it was simply because the centre spindle disappeared if the mat was too thick :scratch:
We all know how poorly centred records can sound ....
Hi Chris,
Yes of course spindle length comes in it, but even if the spindle could comfortably take, say, a 7.2mm Herbie's mat, with a record on top, sonically it wouldn't be a good idea because there's a point where you go beyond how sonically effective the mat is, in terms of thickness, before creating too much of a 'spongy sandwich' between the record and the platter, and thereby losing the effect of the close-coupling between both, which is sonically desirable when using these types of mats (i.e. any mat which works with the principle of coupling, rather than decoupling, the record to the mat, and the mat to the platter).
In that respect, 5mm is about the thickest you want to go :)
Marco.
brian2957
11-12-2011, 05:12
You night shift too Marco:eyebrows:
Lol - no, just up early today as I've got a lot to do :)
Marco.
Got back from Theo's about an hour or so (thanks for the coffee and a listen to the Trio!) and had the Isonoes fitted to the 1210 for a little under that.
Verdict? I'm not going to say at the moment...put it this way in no way whatsoever is it cut & dried. Have had a bit of a play with what the whole TT's sat on - direct onto the oak shelf, onto the Audiotech board (sat on spikes or direct onto the shelf) and even onto a set of glass coasters so we've a fair set of permutations there.
Wakefield Turntables
14-12-2011, 19:50
Got back from Theo's about an hour or so (thanks for the coffee and a listen to the Trio!) and had the Isonoes fitted to the 1210 for a little under that.
Verdict? I'm not going to say at the moment...put it this way in no way whatsoever is it cut & dried. Have had a bit of a play with what the whole TT's sat on - direct onto the oak shelf, onto the Audiotech board (sat on spikes or direct onto the shelf) and even onto a set of glass coasters so we've a fair set of permutations there.
These small tweaks and experimentations are exactly the sort of things you need to do. I messed around with sorbothane and glass coasters under the 1210 for months and i finally decided that IMHO it did bugger all for my 1210, but for you it might be different. Hope your enjoying experimenting. ;)
RobbieGong
14-12-2011, 23:15
These small tweaks and experimentations are exactly the sort of things you need to do. I messed around with sorbothane and glass coasters under the 1210 for months and i finally decided that IMHO it did bugger all for my 1210, but for you it might be different. Hope your enjoying experimenting. ;)
I totally agree. A lot of the little things individually often make a difference that is barely audiable, which is what can dissappoint some of us hifi nuts when we dont hear this obvious amazing audible difference for the 'better' but I believe that if non of these individual tweeks / 'upgrades' adversely affect what you are hearing then what I have found is that it's a case of a few or a lot of littles can add up to a lot if you know what I mean ;) ie: together or collectively they bring great improvement. Aesthetics play a part for a lot of us, most certainly for me anyway. The stock feet look and feel .. well, nothing special, the Isonoes just look lurvly on the 12XX most definately regardless - small tweeks are what they are ;) Have fun.
sq225917
15-12-2011, 14:32
gromit, maybe think a little about what various feet have to offer.
Either you sink vibration from the deck into the ground- spikes.
Or
You isolate the deck from environmental noise vibration- bouncy feet.
Now I'm just guessing, but £10 says a stethoscope on the plinth of a 1210 reveals more noise than the same on the top of a good wall mounted stand. So I'd be tempted to check where the noise is, and then figure how to deal with it- rather than just trying various things pot luck.
Or
You isolate the deck from environmental noise vibration- bouncy feet.
Now I'm just guessing, but £10 says a stethoscope on the plinth of a 1210 reveals more noise than the same on the top of a good wall mounted stand. So I'd be tempted to check where the noise is, and then figure how to deal with it- rather than just trying various things pot luck.
+1 :)
I can say with some certainty that the 'isolating the deck from environmental noise vibration' route, from experience, pays most dividends with a Techy, hence why the Isonoes work so well in most set-ups.
However, they only do so optimally when they are sitting on an equipment rack with glass shelves. Although Isonoes work well sitting on hard, (dense) wood surfaces, they do seem to work best when a substantial glass interface is in the equipment support equation. In that respect, my Mana equipment supports are ideal!
Marco.
Now I'm just guessing, but £10 says a stethoscope on the plinth of a 1210 reveals more noise than the same on the top of a good wall mounted stand. So I'd be tempted to check where the noise is, and then figure how to deal with it- rather than just trying various things pot luck.
You could well be right Simon, and of course depending on where/how the turntable is sited, it's always going to be a toss-up between moving unwanted energy (ie the stuff that's wasted by the cartridge/arm interface in not making sound) and stopping it being affected by outside influences ie the loudspeaker.
I was actually quite shocked - and rather disappointed - that the Isonones made the turntable sound worse, and that their effect on the sound was clearly demonstrable. Sadly I don't have any heavy glass plates/sheets to use - nor would it really be possible due to where my turntable is sat - but I've tried a fair few permutations with the materials I do have (including glass coasters). This even down to bringing the old Audiotech table in from the garage and having a play with that.
At the end of the day, one has to find one's own way in these situations, and what might be ideal in someone else's system/situation doesn't necessarily mean it'll be the same in another (you'd think I'd know better after being a hifi nut for over 30 years!). :lol: It took me a fair while with my old Spacedeck to find where it was happiest (a TT which many say isn't bothered what it sits on - I very much beg to differ) when one day it really clicked into place - and proved that pretty much any turntable is going to be sensitive about how it's sited.
Still, it's all good fun and this 1210 is sounding a darn sight better than any other I've owned thus far. Oh...will hopefully get time to fit the Vantage bearing over the w/e along with their Technics replacement feet. :)
Wakefield Turntables
15-12-2011, 19:49
+1 :)
Although Isonoes work well sitting on hard, (dense) wood surfaces.
Marco.
+1 with this comment, I have my 1210 simply sitting on Quadraspire (yes its MDF) but its seems to work better sitting on this than a few other things that I have tried.
Hi Richard,
I was actually quite shocked - and rather disappointed - that the Isonones made the turntable sound worse, and that their effect on the sound was clearly demonstrable.
Hey, who knows why that was... There are way too many variables to consider. At least you tried! :)
At the end of the day, one has to find one's own way in these situations, and what might be ideal in someone else's system/situation doesn't necessarily mean it'll be the same in another...
Absolutely!
Still, it's all good fun and this 1210 is sounding a darn sight better than any other I've owned thus far. Oh...will hopefully get time to fit the Vantage bearing over the w/e along with their Technics replacement feet.
If I were a betting man, I'd bet that you'll get on well with the Vantage mods ;)
Good luck, dude, and report back! :cool:
Marco.
If I were a betting man, I'd bet that you'll get on well with the Vantage mods ;)
Good luck, dude, and report back! :cool:
Marco.
Too darn right. :)
Put the Vantage feet on it about an hour ago - pretty good so far, nothing earth-shattering (would be foolish to expect such). Passed my 'killer' album - Perlemuter/Ravel piano works - unscathed. Just getting the screwdrivers out to do the bearing now. :)
Hmmm...got the bearing in place but it's not sitting perpendicular to the chassis (puts the platter on a skew). Basically it's a bit too tall to sit right down into the 'well' in the chassis so the 3 arms on the bearing housing don't butt flush against the chassis plate.
Have emailed Richard to get further info on what to do - not doubt he'll have a simple explanation (along with telling me what i already know - that I should stick to playing the Clarinet). :D
I messed around with sorbothane and glass coasters under the 1210 for months and i finally decided that IMHO it did bugger all for my 1210
Agreed, Andrew. I have a lovely set of glass coasters that I don't use because the Isonoes sound better placed directly on the wood of my system rack. Makes no sense, but that's what experimenting is all about.
got the bearing in place but it's not sitting perpendicular to the chassis (puts the platter on a skew). Basically it's a bit too tall to sit right down into the 'well' in the chassis so the 3 arms on the bearing housing don't butt flush against the chassis plate.
That doesn't sound at all right, Richard. Have you tried a 'dry fit' of just the bearing in the well (no PCB) to see where the obstruction might be?
Ammonite Audio
17-12-2011, 07:44
Hmmm...got the bearing in place but it's not sitting perpendicular to the chassis (puts the platter on a skew). Basically it's a bit too tall to sit right down into the 'well' in the chassis so the 3 arms on the bearing housing don't butt flush against the chassis plate.
Have emailed Richard to get further info on what to do - not doubt he'll have a simple explanation (along with telling me what i already know - that I should stick to playing the Clarinet). :D
Maybe a silly question, but is the bearing's body rotated correctly so that its locating 'lug' is correctly aligned with the dimple in the alloy chassis?
Maybe a silly question, but is the bearing's body rotated correctly so that its locating 'lug' is correctly aligned with the dimple in the alloy chassis?
No such thing as silly questions - just silly answers. :)
Yup, lug's in its right place. I emailed Richard last night around 9pm, he got back to me a little over an hour later with a detailed description of what I need to do. He's going to phone at some point today to see how I've got on.
Pretty darn good back-up I reckon. :)
Just had Richard on the phone - what a thoroughly nice bloke. He went through everything thoroughly with me, and will ring back later today to see how things are gong.
Oh...and the VA feet are doing some pretty good things, and I like the look of them too - very simple, un-blingy (bit like me I guess). :D
morris_minor
17-12-2011, 11:06
Just had Richard on the phone - what a thoroughly nice bloke. He went through everything thoroughly with me, and will ring back later today to see how things are gong.
Bit off topic, but he's just phoned me about my SL7. A super guy, very willing to go the extra mile. When he was servicing my SL-QL1 recently he worked on it over a Sunday so he could bring it up to me on Monday while he was up in the South East. Service like this is all too rare these days it seems to me .. ..
Bit off topic, but he's just phoned me about my SL7. A super guy, very willing to go the extra mile. When he was servicing my SL-QL1 recently he worked on it over a Sunday so he could bring it up to me on Monday while he was up in the South East. Service like this is all too rare these days it seems to me .. ..
Ah - Richard said that he'd been up to Guildford/SE recently. He's mentioned travelling up to our part of the world in the next couple of weeks and will pop into my place to have a look at my deck when he does. :)
My wee beastie with its new shoes...
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e320/Gromit011/IMG_7166.jpg
He'd better be up pretty soon - he has a second armplate for my L-07D to deliver :)
He'd better be up pretty soon - he has a second armplate for my L-07D to deliver :)
He may have mentioned that. ;)
Phew - the bearing's installed. :)
Big thanks to Richard, who now goes on the 'hifi good guys' list.
:king:
Nice one, Richard. Let us know what you hear.
Nice one, Richard. Let us know what you hear.
Thanks Martin - will do.
Wakefield Turntables
17-12-2011, 16:21
Agreed, Andrew. I have a lovely set of glass coasters that I don't use because the Isonoes sound better placed directly on the wood of my system rack. Makes no sense, but that's what experimenting is all about.
:rfl: We all go there!
p.s. I'll be experimenting with whest phonostage & choir hashimoto SUT soon :eyebrows:
Nice one! if you lived nearer, you could come and hear my setup. If you need advice about getting the best out of them, let me know.
Wakefield Turntables
17-12-2011, 19:26
Nice one! if you lived nearer, you could come and hear my setup. If you need advice about getting the best out of them, let me know.
Thank mate, I wished I lived nearer as well. I like the flexibility of the Hashimotot SUT and it has most of the features that I'm looking for. I had the Whest on my list for a while but I think I'll get the cartridge and SUT sorted out before I change the phonostage. Did you know that Whest are making a new phonostage to replace the Ref V with something called the Titan? Heres a link
http://www.whestaudio.co.uk/content.asp?ContentID=1
Had a couple of hours' listening now - definite change in the sound, without any doubt whatsoever. Slightly warmer, calmer - more laid back even, with less clout. There's less shout in the presence region which is a good thing and a slightly broader tonal range.
Downsides? There's a very slight fuzz to some leading edges - solo piano doesn't have the natural attack of before and there's a feeling of congestion, constriction, as though dynamics (transient and musical) are being damped.
Won't get much time to listen to the rig tomorrow but have a few hours on monday with the house to myself. :)
I'm sure that James at Whest will have designed something special, but it'll be way over my price limit. To be honest, I don't think the PS.30R is lacking in anything much - the Hashimotos raise the combo to superb heights of detail retrieval and dynamics.
Richard - leave the deck running overnight at 45rpm. My experience is that the bearing needs some running in to sound of its best.
Wakefield Turntables
17-12-2011, 20:50
Richard - leave the deck running overnight at 45rpm. My experience is that the bearing needs some running in to sound of its best.
+1 with this recommendation, in fact you'll probably need 50 hours as I think thats how long the MN bearing took to bed down.
Richard - leave the deck running overnight at 45rpm. My experience is that the bearing needs some running in to sound of its best.
Don't worry Martin - it's been running since about 4pm and ain't getting turned off until at least tomorrow lunchtime when my hangover eases. ;)
I'll have to ask Richard at some point what he does with the OEM bearing - it does look like a very interesting re-working of it and whilst he keeps the original spindle, the 'cage' if you like at its base looks quite different. A captive oil well being one thing, along with 2 thin discs of soft, rubber-like material which butt up against the turntable chassis when the bearing's bolted in place.
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