Arm mounting nightmare - please help!

[julesd68]

I am attempting to mount my Kuzma arm to my Technics 1210. The Kuzma arm is a Linn mount and so I bought a Linn mount armboard from Soundsupports.

I attached the armboard to the 1210 no problems. However, when trying to mount arm to armboard, the Kuzma screws do not fit!! The Kuzma manual says that the screws are M5. The chap from Soundsupports says that Linn arms use M4 screws so the holes are 5mm to allow for clearance and advises me to drill the holes to allow for the Kuzma bolts. I spoke to John at MAX this morning who confirmed that the Kuzma should be a straight drop-in for a Linn armboard.

What's the issue here - I don't quite understand where it has all gone wrong?? :scratch:

[Rare Bird]

I'm 99% positive Linn mounting collar's use M5 bolt.

The attached protractor even states a 6mm clearence hole

[YNWaN]

The Linn arms use M5 bolts, not M4 - so you have been misinformed there. However, Linn actually drill their armboard with 6mm diameter holes (on a centre of R24).

[julesd68]

Thanks guys - what a pisser. :(

What's my best option here?

Should I take the armboard somewhere reputable to get the holes drilled 1mm bigger? Is it possible to work to this tolerance? It's a metal armboard.

Or should I send back to manufacturer for a refund and attempt to buy elswhere?

[Johnnie7]

if your handy with a drill would only be a 5 min job
or just send it back and get them to open them out...im sure they will be happy to help


best wishes
j7

[YNWaN]

Drilling the holes out by a millimetre is a 5 minute job and very easy to do. Where in the country are you?

If you want, send me the armboard and the Kuzma arm collar and I will make sure the armboard fits.

[Rare Bird]

Use an hand reamer its the safest bet.

[julesd68]

Drilling the holes out by a millimetre is a 5 minute job and very easy to do. Where in the country are you?

If you want, send me the armboard and the Kuzma arm collar and I will make sure the armboard fits.

I'm in London - that's a very kind offer and I will most likely take you up on that - I will drop a mail to the manufacturer just to see what they say ...

I will PM you later to confirm!

As you might have guessed I am not the most technical person and it was quite a big deal for me to have attempted this today - it should have gone so smoothly and I've got all stressed out ...

[Dingdong]

Nice arm btw. I've just put the Stogi S-12 on my Sp-10.

The Kuzma protractor thingy definitely shows 6mm holes.

I'm sure it's easy to get it sorted.

[Thing Fish]

As you might have guessed I am not the most technical person and it was quite a big deal for me to have attempted this today - it should have gone so smoothly and I've got all stressed out ...

Don't get too stressed Julian. Just take a deep breath, sink 15 - 20 whiskeys and start again...:lol:

[Thermionic Idler]

And visit my face book page--- check out Audio Origami

http://www.facebook.com/AudioOrigamiTonearms
j7

Hey I think I've seen that turntable and arm somewhere before! :eek: :lol:

Sorry for the minor thread diversion... carry on.

[julesd68]

If only Origin Live armboards were Linn fit!

The OL Rega fit armboard I have is beautifully constructed - just an entirely different class of product. Twice the price of a Soundsupports armboard but definitely twice as nice IMO ...

[walpurgis]

I'm not far away as you know Julian and I have a well equipped workshop (in a bit of disarray at mo) and I can help if you need drilling/tapping, etc. done. Just let me know.

[julesd68]

Thanks Geoff, really appreciate the offer. :)

I'm hoping to get it sorted locally tomorrow but if it all goes pear-shaped I'll drop you a line ...

[julesd68]

Well it was nearly a very good day!! :lol:

Here we go - my 1210 with Kuzma. Looks 'andsome don't it??

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8247/8591601613_b9510a2222_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/34449145@N05/8591601613/)


So the day began with a trip to Audioflair to pick up some nice Full Music 12AX7's. Adrian recommended G&L Engineering just round the corner to drill the armboard for me. So I went over there - it was like walking into another world - the workshop was full of old but fascinating equipment ... One of the chaps stopped what he was doing to help me out! He did the job very carefully for me and smoothed off the edges nicely. When I asked him "how much?" he told me to fook off! :lol: I had to leave them something for a drink, as he couldn't have been more helpful. Isn't it great when you meet people like this??

Headed off home to fit the armboard. All went very smoothly until ... The armboard isn't recessed like the OL one so the arm sits too high! I've got the arm just as low as it can go and the arm is just slightly sloping down a little with needle on vinyl. I would like to have started with it straight. It turns out I am not alone in having this problem - some guys over on Vinyl Engine had the same issue with this armboard. Putting on the Reso-mat helped a little, as it's a tiny bit higher than the other mat I have. And it looks nicer!! I do have a cartridge weight that I could add to make the cart a little deeper - this might help ...

So I thought I could at least see how it sounded. Powered up the Timestep, the light comes on and then fades off as quickly as it came on. SH!t!! So a few minutes later I'm on the phone to Dave Cawley to see if he can shed some light on it. Turns out it is most likely a fuse issue - apparently there needs to be two particular fuses fitted and I've got just the one in the little fuse tray at the rear of the unit. Now I hope I'm explaining this right, but Dave also told me that the Timestep gets a fair old jolt of current when it comes on and if it hasn't been used for sometime, this can be an issue if the right fuses aren't fitted. Anyway, Dave is very kindly putting a couple of fuses in the post for me, gratis - nice one Dave!

Onwards!! :eek:

[Alex_UK]

Not having much luck there Julian. :( Still, it looks bloody lovely, who cares if you can't play it! ;) Glad Dave is sorting you out and hope you are up and running again soon.

[julesd68]

Thank Alex - I will not be defeated!!

[brian2957]

Looking good Julian , and sounding good in the next few days hopefully . Thanks for taking the time to post this , it may be of help to others .

[RobbieGong]

Nice one J, Like the look my man ! I'm sure it's gonna sound very good, not to state the obvious but please take time with set up, get ya protrator out :eyebrows: and set all the other parameters with care and then finish of setting vta to when it sounds right to your ears. BTW, contrary to popular consensus dont get hung up on mats - I've tried the blinkin lot, costing hundreds (Oyaide) and down and to be honest have always found the stock 3mm Techie mat to be perfect - Just my experience and in my system of course :).

[julesd68]

Cheers Rob. :)

Agreed re mats - I'm not expecting the Reso-mat to change my world but it does help with the VTA issue and I do love the look of it ...

Sadly I cannot get the arm any lower so I'll have to add a shim or weight to the headshell if I want to get the arm as close to parallel to the record as I can get. Not going to worry about this now as it might be fine as is ...

Cart alignment is nailed on according to my Kuzma protractor so once those two fuses arrive I should be good to go ...

[Stratmangler]

I have and like what the Funk Firm Achromat does - mine's the 5mm version.
I use this in conjunction with a Michell record clamp.

[julesd68]

Bit of an update from me.

Still not heard the 1210 - it seems the fuses that Timestep have sent are lost in the post! :(

But sorted out some deck issues. Firstly, Vic at Trans-fi has very kindly sent me a version of the Resomat with taller 12mm cones. This sorts out my VTA issue and I am now able to move the Kuzma arm up and down to get it exactly level as a starting point. Excellent!

I've now got the armboard sorted out with right size bolts and washers thanks to the joys of ebay, so it is now fully secured.

Having done some research on the Kuzma website it turns out that a couple of years ago they changed the size of the threads on the base mount of the Stogi mount from 5mm to 6mm, whilst keeping the same 3 point Linn fit and geometry. So this is why I have ended up having to drill the armboard. I make a full apology to Soundsupports for questioning their design from this point of view. I still feel that the design would be much better if it was a recessed design like others that would then give you some leeway for VTA adjustment. At least I have something useable now.

[MartinT]

The Kuzma looks the dog's bollocks on your Technics, Julian. Fab industrial look, rather like my Dynavector but different execution. I suspect you're going to experience a very full on meaty and dynamically charged sound with that combination. Here's hoping you get it going soon.

[julesd68]

Thanks Martin - I've always been very happy with the Stogi and no plans to upgrade it no matter how my little 1210 experiment goes. Very nicely engineered, solid, and easy to deal with. Bit like me really ...

Dave Cawley has very kindly put a second set of fuses in the post!

[walpurgis]

Glad to hear it's coming together for you Julian.

As has been said, it does look great.

Once you get used to a good direct drive TT life becomes so much simpler. Once set up, they just get on with the job efficiently and silently. They do sound good, but different to other drive types.

Any cartridge experimentation likely or are you set now?



Geoff.

[julesd68]

Well, when I was mucking around with VTA today, the stylus went for a little skate over my vinyl! Assuming it's still ok I will be sticking to the Garrott for sure. It's a superb MM.

Long term I will give MC another go at some point. As you know I wasn't impressed last time out, but the EV1 has an adjustable loading MC stage that is reputedly very good with some carts, so that makes it easy to have another go at it. But to be honest, if I like the sound of the 1210, I will be looking at power supply, platter and plinth before the cart, so that could be a while!

[julesd68]

Timestep fuses arrived this morning!!

Took Royal Mail 9 days to deliver from Devon - didn't know 1st Class Post used a horse and carriage these days ... :doh:

The 1210 is spinning perfectly. Just warming up the amps for an hour or so and then we'll see what she can do ... :D

[MartinT]

Excellent - enjoy!

[julesd68]

Oh dear. After all that.

I was left completely cold by the sound of this deck. In my system it sounded cold and analytical. The music was lacking body and depth.

Swapped back the tonearm to my Source and got the "music" back immediately. Gloriously full bodied sound with considerably more bass depth.

Now either I just don't "get on" with the sound of the 1210 or something is amiss with the set-up of the 1210. :scratch:

But what could it be? Pitch was rock steady on the 1210 and the Linn-mount tonearm was set-up in exactly the same way. The arm on the 1210 was exactly parallel with the vinyl.

Any ideas guys?

[Audioman]

The Technics has it's own sound - if you don't like it I would suggest move on. Modifying it to the nth degree will never make it sound like your Source as much as a Mitchell or many other alternatives. It depends which compromises in presentation suit your ears and your system. It is also possible the Kuzma is not a good match but cold and analytical does tend to be a quality that direct drives have. Has this SL1200 had any other mods from standard ?

[julesd68]

Thanks Paul. It has the Timestep PSU and was using a Resomat.

[julesd68]

... And a Mike New bearing.

[Audioman]

Ooo err. Well you could try the forum recommended Jelco Arm but I wouldn't go any further. That would rule in or out an arm mismatch. If you still prefer the Source / Kuzma (not surprised frankly) you could sell that package on and recoup most of the expenditure. Just trust your own ears and don't let the forum Techies persuade you otherwise.

[walpurgis]

Hi Julian, you know what I'm going to say.

Try a different cartridge.

I'm using a DD turntable and "cold and clinical" is the last thing you'd accuse it of. I'm getting some very sweet sounds.

[MartinT]

That doesn't make sense, Julian. The MN bearing and an external PSU means that you're only a platter away from potential great replay sound. I don't believe your Kuzma is at fault, either.

Two things come to mind: the reso-mat isn't good on the Technics stock platter as it needs damping. Try to borrow an Achromat and bond it (double-sided tape or Vaseline) to the platter. You will need the special stepped Technics version.

Secondly, suspect the arm plate. It may not be firmly seated. Is it tightly bolted to the cut-out with a gasket in between?

My vote is for the mat being at fault.

[Stratmangler]

That doesn't make sense, Julian. The MN bearing and an external PSU means that you're only a platter away from potential great replay sound. I don't believe your Kuzma is at fault, either.

Two things come to mind: . The reso-mat isn't good on the Technics stock platter as it needs dampingry to borrow an Achromat and bond it (double-sided tape or Vaseline) to the platter. You will need the special stepped Technics version.

Secondly, suspect the arm plate. It may not be firmly seated. Is it tightly bolted to the cut-out with a gasket in between?

My vote is for the mat being at fault.

The bit in bold coincides with my thoughts too.

[MartinT]

I resemble needing 'dampingry' ;)

[Stratmangler]

I resemble needing 'dampingry' ;)

I don't know what happened there - I'll try again :doh:

[Stratmangler]

That doesn't make sense, Julian. The MN bearing and an external PSU means that you're only a platter away from potential great replay sound. I don't believe your Kuzma is at fault, either.

Two things come to mind: the reso-mat isn't good on the Technics stock platter as it needs damping. Try to borrow an Achromat and bond it (double-sided tape or Vaseline) to the platter. You will need the special stepped Technics version.

Secondly, suspect the arm plate. It may not be firmly seated. Is it tightly bolted to the cut-out with a gasket in between?

My vote is for the mat being at fault.

Hopefully this is right - anything malfunctioning is more than likely me still coming down from working through the night last night and ending up being awake for over 24 hours.

I think the mat could well be at fault, although there was mention made earlier in the thread to using the Resomat to correct VTA, which is a very "arse about face" approach IMO.

[WOStantonCS100]

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8247/8591601613_b9510a2222_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/34449145@N05/8591601613/)

:stalks: Wow! How did I miss this one? I'm kinda likin' that. :) The colour match is almost perfect.

I would love to experiment with this on a 12xx at some point. It seems an easy way to actually, and practically, mount a 12" arm to a Techy without structural modification.

http://store.acousticsounds.com/images/large/T_S12NSEVTA__78167__10252011122423-7211.jpg