View Full Version : Techie SL-1500 fettling
I was experiencing a distinct lack of high-frequency 'sparkle' form my cheap techie.. I was blaming this on the 5m long Belkin interconnects I'm using between my phono stage and amplifier, but comparing the 5m long ones and a pair of 1m ones using my headphone amp revealed no noticeable increase in treble.
I had previously replaced the phono cable out of the turntable before listening to it for the first time because the last owner had previously replaced one half of it with some unknown cable (very badly - the solder terminals were basically one big dry joint:doh:). I used an old pair of Audio Technica branded interconnects that I had lying around to replace the bodged cable.
I have now replaced the AT interconnects with Van Damme 'tour grade' microphone cable (£1.50 per mono metre of eBay) and the treble is back:). I guess the AT interconnects must have had very high capacitance or something :scratch: Anyway, they made everything sound like it was recorded in a mattress factory :lol:
I've also managed to adjust the arm bearings to eliminate a little bit of 'play'. I undid the top lock nut with an old poor-quality screwdriver that I dremmeled a slot out of the middle of to clear the centre screw. The screw only needed a tiny bit of tightening (slot was pointing to "10 past" - now pointing to "12 minutes past") The arm now moves very freely but with no evidence of the 'chatter' that was there previously.
Still not decided on the best replacements for the rubber feet.
Top facing spikes into the feet's screw heads may be enough and not too expensive. I discovered how bad the supplied feet were by accidentally supporting the plastic outer rings (around the foot-wells) on some granite coasters, thus bypassing the rubber feet entirely - I got away with it as the volumes I play at are low and the cabinet the deck was mounted on is very heavy and "dead," sat on a concrete floor.
If the isonoe feet fit the techie you have keiths they are a must IMO of course. google them and get some info. you could make your own up using some rubber pads from a DIY store or maybe try oak cone feet, some ones on e-bay
I was thinking of trying upward-pointing spikes into the heads of the screws that attach the bottom cover to the top plate (effectively bypassing the bottom cover altogether), but the screw placement doesn't really make this practical.
Another possibility is I remove the feet, enlarge the holes and use downward-pointing spikes (either straight onto the 'butcher's block' that it's sat on, or via spike shoes)
I've also got a few different cones that I can try.
The turntable's location isn't ideal as its only a foot away from the right hand speaker (though it's 8 inches outside the line of the outer edge of the speaker cabinet and slightly above the height of the speaker). But I don't/can't listen at high levels anyway.
The oak cones might work as they are threaded in the top, a machine shop could make you a set of threaded bar to fit one half in the technics thread and the other half in the oak cone feet thread, actually I might give that a whirl myself!
The oak cones might work as they are threaded in the top
The RA oak cones that I've got aren't threaded - so it'd be superglue.
Just get the Isonoes, look well cool and isolate the Techie really, really well, and good VFM:)
Can't justify 100 quid feet on a £35 turntable. This is a cheapskate project ;)
The Grand Wazoo
18-02-2011, 00:04
The RA oak cones that I've got aren't threaded - so it'd be superglue.
blu tac works for me
No, no, no.........
Double sided sellotape for cones, every time!
Good call. I've got a roll of that.
I'm using Foculpods (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Foculpods-/290531828189?pt=Turntable_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43a50be1dd#ht_1844wt_1139) under my SL-150 which were an improvement over the stock feet, but not tried spikes or isonoes to compare.
Spent a good couple of hours playing with a variety of support methods tonight. Have decided that rigidly coupled to the 'butcher's blocks' via spikes or cones is the way to go rather than decoupling with compliant feet.
Have ordered some bitumastic damping material which I'll apply to the bottom cover as I'm sure I can hear some colouration from there (due to the proximity to the speakers, no doubt) when 'suspended' on spikes / cones.
Anyway, all good fun: )
REMOVE THE LID WHEN PLAYING!!!!!
Forgive the upper case, but removing the lid makes quite a difference on this one.
REMOVE THE LID WHEN PLAYING!!!!!
Always do and always have done.
You can tell if what you're doing is ok by gently tapping the plinth while a record is playing. As I think I showed Alex, fully stock with lid in situ, tapping the plinth causes a booooom through the speakers. Removing lid and directly coupling the base-board, all you get is a muffled thud - this is very audible on music reproduction and well worth getting right. Alex much preferred the herbies/Timestep Techie mat in his setup, where I rather liked the original heavy ribbed rubber mat, acknowledging this latter darkens the tone somewhat. I've seen some SL150/1500 pics featuring the SL110 mat with narrow raised rings corresponding to 7, 10 and 12 inch records. This latter is one I'd personally avoid I think.
Thanks Dave. Have been doing lots of plinth tapping whilst trying different feet.
My mat is one off an SL1200/1210. Will get the support and bottom cover damping sorted out first and the Sumiko headshell fitted (still waiting for that to arrive - Analogue Seduction are waiting for stock) and then spend some time listening to it as is. Then I'll probably ask David Brook to send me the Blue Horizon mat to try.
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