The Mike New Bearing Base Plate

This article is to visually document on how to install the Mike New Bearing Base Plate into your beloved Technics SL-1200 Mark 2 Turntable. Given that I have twins, I purchased two from Mike. The purpose of this visual article is to give guidance on how to attach the base plate to your TT with very little difficulty. If you have questions about the undertaking of this project, you should always ask for guidance. If there are any conflicts with the answers you get, Mike New (not Mike as in me) has the final say since it is his product.

I take no responsibility on how your project turns out. Unless of course the results are spectacular :eyebrows:, then of course, I take full credit. If you are a DIY'er, you should not have any difficulty, or very little difficulty at most, if you follow the steps outlined.

This document will be broken up into several sections for clarity.

The project took me 3 hours to complete for the first TT, 2 hours for the second. I was not in any hurry to complete the project. Your time may vary.

The tools I used to complete this project is:
Plyers or wrench - have 2 handy
Screwdriver and bits
Drill
Drill Bits - 5 and 10mm are recommended (yes you will need two different sizes)
Flashlight - in case you loose them screws somewhere
Allen or Hex Key
Smoothing File
Ruler
Eye Protection

If you need to remove the external power supply (which is recommended by Mike New to use his Bearings) you may need the additional parts to remove the wiring:
Soldering Iron
Solder
Solder Remover

A recommendation someone had was to use clamps to hold the TT in place during drilling. If you have them, you may want to make them available.

Now with all this said, let the "fun" begin.

One of the base plates came with the Bearing attached to it as it is shown in picture 1. The other was just the plate itself, but has cutouts drilled to attach the Bearing.

Unfortunately, if you purchase the Base Plate and Bearing seperate, the Bearings do not have the holes drilled to attach it to the Base Plate. The steps will not change either way, and it will not change the outcome of this project. You can see this in picture 2.

I drew arrows in the pictures to show where the screws attach the bearing to the plate in pictures 3 and 4.

It is time to remove the tonearm, the platter, the top cover and the electronics from the TT - having only the chassis exposed. If necessary, desolder the PSU wiring from the circuit board.

Here is how the TT looks. And as a bonus, there is a close-up area of the Bearing area of how it looks - pre-drilled. Notice how the screw taps are elevated above the bottom of the chassis. This will need to be drilled or "shaved" to where it is leveled to the chassis. This allows the bearing base plate to be flushed to the chassis.

Now it is time to take your drill and insert the 10mm drill bit into it. Drill the tips of the three bearing taps where it will be shaved down to where it is level to the chassis. It is important to keep an eye out that you do not over-drill (or overshave) the bearing taps. You may want to have a small ruler or something small and level to sweep across the shaved bearing taps. If the ruler does not sweep across the bearing area uniformly, drill accordingly until it does sweep across. You want to insure that the taps are not under-shaved as the idea is to have the bearing base plate flush with the bottom of the chassis. Remember to use optical protection when drilling.

When drilling is completed, take a smoothing file and shave off any bits left over from the drilling.

See pics for details.

This next step will require the use of a 5mm drill bit. I recommend that you screw the bearing base plate into the bearing area using the enclosed black bolts that Mike N. enclosed. This will keep the bearing alligned to the drilling area on the chassis when drilling. I also recommend removing the bottom rubber from the TT before starting this procedure, but keeping the inner cavity attached to chassis.

Seperating the rubber from the TT insures you will not drill into or through the rubber.

To keep the chassis stable while drilling, you may want to clamp the chassis and cavity together to keep it steady if you have it at your disposal. I used a round-plastic waste basket, placing the chassis and cavity on top of it while placing the rubber underneath the wastebasket. This worked well for me.

Now drill into the chassis where the 5mm holes are on the bearing base plate. This is where you removed the 5 screws that came attached to the BBP.

A special note if you are using a hand-drill bit as opposed to a plunger drill. Try to keep the drill as steady and level as possible when drilling. If you have a bubble-level on your drill as I do, make use of it!!! Again - keep the drill as level as possible during this process. Although allignment is not critical, I feel it is important for this step. We are looking at drilling through two pieces of material which attach to one another, which makes this detail something that should not be overlooked.

Dont worry if you drill into and through into the cavity. You will want to drill into part into the cavity at a minimum to leave drill marks (in case you decide not to drill all the way through at this time). The drill marks will be used as an outline since you will need to drill into and through the cavity at these spots.

In the next step, you will drill through the cavity, making bigger holes.

Now remove the cavity from the chassis. Where you left drill-marks is where you want to drill. You will need the 5 and 10mm drill-bits for this step. Note that in this step, if you have a bubble level avaiable on your drill bit and you are using a manual-drill like I did (as opposed to using not a drill plunger), make use of it to try to keep the drill steady!!! It is important to keep the drill level as best as possible since allignment, although it is not critical, is important since the holes need to be alligned well for the nut to clear when you attach the cavity back to the chassis.

I recommend that if you did not drill through the cavity when it was attached to the chassis, take the 5mm drill bit and drill until it goes through. Then take the 10mm drill and drill through these same spots making it bigger. Resist using only the 10mm bit to drill through the cavity if you did not drill through using the 5mm bit. Using just the 10mm drill to drill through all the way will take more time to drill through.

Dont worry if there are only 4 spots to drill into the cavity. The 5th screw may not have moulding around its area as it was in my case - the unmoulded area is the Transformer Area.

Now take the 5 screws that you removed from the BBP and screw it in from the BBP into the chassis. The screw pattern tightning should be done in a star-pattern for best results.

When you are finished screwing, you should check to make sure the BBP is flush with the bottom of the chassis. There should be no space or air-gaps. If there are, remove the screws and check to make sure you fully shaved the bearing taps to where they are level to the bottom of the chassis. Remember to use a small flat ruler (or something flat) to check. If the bearing-chassis area is level, then check that the chassis surface is clean and level, and that the bottom of the BBP does not have any debris on it to prevent it from being flush. If all checks out, check your screw pattern.

If all checks out, attach the cavity back to the chassis. The nuts should clear the new cavity holes that were just made.

Attach the rubber and feet back to the chassis, making the TT whole again.

I leave it to you to decide when it's best to attach the tonearm back to the TT - before or after the rubber is attached. When to attach the arm back to the TT can differ from arm-to-arm that you use with the TT. For SME arms, I recommend attaching it back after the chassis is put back together. Those using the stock tonearms may find its best to put the arm back before the rubber is put on - I leave it to your best judgement to decide. Your experience may differ.

Remove the long black bolts from the BBP (or BBP+Bearing unit). Now attach the Bearing to BBP if they were purchased seperately. The bearing will be attached to the BBP if they both were purchased together. Either way, make sure the black bolts are removed.

Before placing the circuitry back into place, run the long wire clip that attaches to the top of the PCB as it was before you removed it, so that the wire runs underneath the circuitry.

Now place the circuitry back into the chassis and solder the DC leads if necessary. Note - this will be a great time to relocate the negative DC cable to the true earth - screw it at the lower left hand corner where the ground cable goes to. Do this if you have not done this already. The instructions provided with the Timestep PSU does not have the DC ground wire located at the optimum area. This is well documented elsewhere on this forum.

The BBP package will come with 3 spacers and screws which may be brass coloured. These spacers are necessary to use since the PCB will be elevated from the taps. Place these spacers between the taps and screw the PCB with the longer screws provided by Mike New.

Now screw the black bolts back into the circuitry where the Bearing is. You should be able to screw the bolts all the way so that they are flush with the stator ring. Connect all electrical wiring back to the circuit board.

Now, if you have not done so already, attach the tonearm.

If you are using the stock or Mike New platter, attach it first to make sure it is level. If it is not, remove it and check your work - relating to the black bolts, circuit board, stator area, the Bearing, and the BBP areas.

If all is level, you can attach the black cover that sits below the platter - assuming you are using the stock platter - and then the platter and mat back on the TT.

If you are using the Mike New Platter, you should leave the black cover off as it can interfere with the platter. (But I am sure you knew that already :eyebrows: ).

Check again to make sure that the platter is level. Adjust accordingly.

Now that you have your TT back together, adjust the VTA on your tonearm as the new bearing base plate will elevate your platter. I have taken pics but am not sure if it will reveal its elevation.

If you purchased the Platter together with either the bearing base plate, or BBP + Bearing Combo, Mike New may have made adjustments to your platter so that the platter is even to the chassis surface. If this is the case with your platter, the adjusted platter can only be used with Mike New's bearing base plate and bearing. (I am sure you knew that already.)

:lolsign:

So how does it sound? Stay tuned tomorrow!!! It is midnight and I have to get to work tomorrow. I am pushing 3 hours spent so far between the picture work and the thread.

Well done Mike (CableMaker1):), a clear, pictorial with accompanying instructions for anyone contemplating this mod. Thanks for the time and effort taken. One question: did you clamp or restrain movement of the turntable when your performed the drilling process to prevent rotational movement of the alloy chassis also how did you achieve this?

Ron

Hello Ron.

I did not have any clamps available to use on my TT when I drilled. I discovered that the TT stayed rock steady when I was performing the drilling. The secret is to put the TT chassis and cavity on top of a round-bedroom wastebasket and put the rubber underneath the wastebasket to dampen any movement. Make sure the wastebasket is plastic and durable!!!

However, you do bring up a good point which makes a good suggestion - if you have clamps at your disposal which you are confident that it will not leave marks on the TT, especially during the drilling process, see if you can make use of it to keep the TT steady during the drill process.

More to comment later.

Whoever is responisible for making this thread a sticky - thank you! I planned to request this at some point after completing my article.

Hi Mike,

Just a quickie, and totally off-topic, but where is Westchester? :)

Marco.

This brings back memories when I did mine! Great article.

So... how does it sound with the Bearing Base Plate? My first impression, is that I was blown away! When I dropped the needle for the first time, I heard no surface noise what-so-ever!!! I could not wait to hear the music to hear how it would sound. I can tell you that the BBP works so great that all I heard was dead-silence!!! Litterally!!! I thought that either I went deaf or that Mike New's BBP is quite a music damper.

So now at this point, I had to go back and check my work. Surely, everything looked fine with the TT. After further investigating, I found the problem area. I took a picture to show. Only the trained eye would be able to spot the problem.

What you are looking at is the phono-pre-amp where the power was disconnected. All the wiring you see is the wiring I made, and in use. The wiring you see is a power cord, inter-connects, and my tonearm cable, all made by me. The results are quite stunning - it sounds beautiful in my system.

(Shameless plug of my work. :eyebrows: )

When I got everything up and running, I did notice less surface noise and rumble when the needle dropped down on the record. This translates to more top-end sound and even more clarity compared to using just the MN Bearing alone. If you do not have the Mike New Bearing and you are reading this article, all I can ask is what are you waiting for??? This coupled with an external PSU will transform your TT to a higher level!!! The BBP will elevate your vinyl experience even further. And my tonearm cabling and interconnects will all but max-out your TT. A new tonearm and dedicated Phono-Preamp takes your vinyl experience to the max, for a 3-Dimensional Sound!!!

Anyone using this combination on their TT gives you the athority to use the Real-3D logo, which cannot be achieved by DVD or CD playback.


:lolsign:

Nice one, Mike - great write up, and I'm pleased that the base plate has been a success :)

Could you please clear this up for me?

Quote:

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Hi Mike,

Just a quickie, and totally off-topic, but where is Westchester?

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If Westchester is located somewhere outside of the UK, then please put that info on your profile location details.

Cheers! :cool:

Marco.

HI, Yes as already said thanks for taking the time to offer up this step by step write up as well as details and pics :) . Could you kindly let me or us know what the base plates fundamental funtion is ie: is it to provide a better and more stable platform for the bearing to sit ? (Sorry if you've expressed this already and i've missed it - I'm at work reading and typing this up fairly quickly during my lunch break ). I have the Mike New bearing too and yes it is great. I'll be putting something up about my findings at some point re: this and external psu together.
I'd love to have fitted the base plate too, it kind of missed my radar until your thread. Now I've had the deck undone and put back together with external psu and Mike New bearing fitted I'm not sure if I want to undo everything including arm (I have KAB damper fitted too) and get rid of the Mrs and kids :lol: while I undertake what would be a labour of love :eyebrows:. Are the differences or benefits that significant to justify those of us with Mike New minus baseplate in place taking on a fair 'pull up' of the techy gubbins and parts ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RobbieGong

HI, Yes as already said thanks for taking the time to offer up this step by step write up as well as details and pics :) . Could you kindly let me or us know what the base plates fundamental funtion is ie: is it to provide a better and more stable platform for the bearing to sit ? (Sorry if you've expressed this already and i've missed it - I'm at work reading and typing this up fairly quickly during my lunch break ). I have the Mike New bearing too and yes it is great. I'll be putting something up about my findings at some point re: this and external psu together.
I'd love to have fitted the base plate too, it kind of missed my radar until your thread. Now I've had the deck undone and put back together with external psu and Mike New bearing fitted I'm not sure if I want to undo everything including arm (I have KAB damper fitted too) and get rid of the Mrs and kids :lol: while I undertake what would be a labour of love :eyebrows:. Are the differences or benefits that significant to justify those of us with Mike New minus baseplate in place taking on a fair 'pull up' of the techy gubbins and parts ?

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Robert, this was the question I had in mind as I too have the Mike New bearing, I was a very early adopter of this bearing when there was alot of controvesy going on about it, and before the MN base plate came into existence. I also have the TimeStep HE outboard PSU but I have a Kondo silver wired Linn Ekos arm worked on by Audio Origami. I have retained the original platter but augmented it with a constrained layer sub platter (copper, damped aluminium, 5mm Acromat) thus making the overall platter inert and well damped. The MN platter and Funk Firm acrylic platters at circa GBP600.oo a piece is an expense to far for me, but who knows maybe one day?

Getting back to the bearing base plate, if you dig around here you will find that Marco took his highly hot rodded Tekko, minus the base plate over to MartinT also with a highly spected up Tek plus MN base plate installed and Marco could detect hardly any difference? Of course this was some time ago and maybe Marco can jump in here and advise whether he eventually had the MN base plate installed?

What I strongly believe is that the 12XX can only be taken so far before the laws of diminished returns bite with a vengeance, all okay if you're a Mr or Mrs Moneypockets but I have to live in today's real world :( Having taken my deck apart on a number of occassions one last time to install the base plate would be it, there after lock it and throw the key away! :eek:

Get your T/table to a standard that you enjoy and then forget about the 'what if I do this or buy that for it' syndrome or you'll forever be on Hi Fi's merry go round :rolleyes:

Ron

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marco

Nice one, Mike - great write up, and I'm pleased that the base plate has been a success :)

Could you please clear this up for me?



If Westchester is located somewhere outside of the UK, then please put that info on your profile location details.

Cheers! :cool:

Marco.

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Who cares where it is dude, what possible difference can it make? :ner:

Hi Ron,

Quote:

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Getting back to the bearing base plate, if you dig around here you will find that Marco took his highly hot rodded Tekko, minus the base plate over to MartinT also with a highly spected up Tek plus MN base plate installed and Marco could detect hardly any difference? Of course this was some time ago and maybe Marco can jump in here and advise whether he eventually had the MN base plate installed?

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Nope, mate, not yet. But it's something that I may consider doing in future. I'm not really in any hurry to start dismantling my T/T again; I'm more interested in just enjoying the music it makes :)

However, the fact that I didn't really hear any difference at Martin's, with the bearing base plate, I'd suggest isn't indicative of it not making any, but rather the presence of many other variables (the different tonearms on both T/Ts being one such case in point) making it impossible to arrive at any firm conclusions.....

My advice for anyone intending on buying one of Mike's bearings, would be if possible, to buy the bearing and base plate together in one hit, thereby ensuring optimum performance, and the removal of any niggling doubt that one hasn't maxed things out, which is precisely what I would've done had the base plate been available when I bought the bearing, and had it fitted to my T/T, by DC :cool:

Marco.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marco

Hi Ron,



Nope, mate, not yet. But it's something that I may consider doing in future. I
.............................................
My advice for anyone intending on buying one of Mike's bearings, would be if possible, to buy the bearing and base plate together in one hit, thereby ensuring optimum performance, and the removal of any niggling doubt that one hasn't maxed things out, which is precisely what I would've done, had the base plate been available when I bought the bearing, and had it fitted by DC :cool:

Marco.

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Thanks Marco, thats exactly what I would have done had there been a MN base plate available when I installed my MN bearing, we must have got ours around the same time, thats what ya call a pioneering spirit. I endorse buying the base plate and bearing together both and I would have done this too, its a tedious job forever having to dismantle and then reassemble any turntable, at least with the El Tekko you don't have three springs or more to faff about with to get the bounce perfect :steam:

Ron

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JazzBones

Robert, this was the question I had in mind as I too have the Mike New bearing, I was a very early adopter of this bearing when there was alot of controvesy going on about it, and before the MN base plate came into existence. I also have the TimeStep HE outboard PSU but I have a Kondo silver wired Linn Ekos arm worked on by Audio Origami. I have retained the original platter but augmented it with a constrained layer sub platter (copper, damped aluminium, 5mm Acromat) thus making the overall platter inert and well damped. The MN platter and Funk Firm acrylic platters at circa GBP600.oo a piece is an expense to far for me, but who knows maybe one day?

Getting back to the bearing base plate, if you dig around here you will find that Marco took his highly hot rodded Tekko, minus the base plate over to MartinT also with a highly spected up Tek plus MN base plate installed and Marco could detect hardly any difference? Of course this was some time ago and maybe Marco can jump in here and advise whether he eventually had the MN base plate installed?

What I strongly believe is that the 12XX can only be taken so far before the laws of diminished returns bite with a vengeance, all okay if you're a Mr or Mrs Moneypockets but I have to live in today's real world :( Having taken my deck apart on a number of occassions one last time to install the base plate would be it, there after lock it and throw the key away! :eek:

Get your T/table to a standard that you enjoy and then forget about the 'what if I do this or buy that for it' syndrome or you'll forever be on Hi Fi's merry go round :rolleyes:

Ron

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Hi Ron, Valid and fair point. I've actually been thinking this for a while. Money is money at the end of the day and if you've got it to indulge then why not go as far as you want and can I believe, its addictive and a buzz for sure. Nothing can match that feeling when your deck / system is sounding superb and singing in a way that brings a smile. That said, It certainly can be a merry go round, wanting more, getting further in, trying and wanting everything towards vinyl sonic heaven. It takes time, patience, fiddling, culling, changing, trying, liking, hating, adding, removing, setting, re-setting, pull up, put back lol - not to mention a heck of a lot of chi ching !! and then you sometimes still find you dont feel your quite there yet :scratch:- ha ha Hence I aint going through all the forementioned stuf to add a baseplate to my techy at this stage, three hours or so major surgery for how much benefit ??. I'm fairly happy with mine at the mo and may look at something to help the stock platter and give me hopefully even nicer sonics and insight in the future - I still have stock mat and I know the hassle of trying mats can be a right frustration too - Any recommendations for me anyone re: platter / mat improvement ? :eyebrows: - Please dont suggest MN platter - I'm skint !! :lolsign:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RobbieGong

I still have stock mat and I know the hassle of trying mats can be a right frustration too - Any recommendations for me anyone re: platter / mat improvement ? :eyebrows: - Please dont suggest MN platter - I'm skint !!
:lolsign:

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Platter/Mat combo?
For the stock platter - The Herbies Mat Performed well - most economical. To move a step up, Funk Firms Achromat. After that, a copper mat - which adds mass to the platter. Whoah... $$$$

Someone suggested here that they had great results with sending their stock platter to have it copper-topped and bonded to the platter by Vantage Audio. I do not know the cost or the final results of doing that vs. getting a copper mat, but you may want to ask around.

And of course if you want to move up to audio nirvana, why not break the bank on purchasing the Mike New Copper-Top Platter ? :eyebrows: With everything that I read on this forum, people are most satisfied with their platter. Sounds like you cant go wrong if you have the funds to get the platter.

At the moment, all the mods I made to my TT has been for the better.

Of course, there are economical upgrades, middle-of-the-road, and the all-out upgrades. It all depends how far you want and/or can afford to take it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RobbieGong

HI, Yes as already said thanks for taking the time to offer up this step by step write up as well as details and pics :) . Could you kindly let me or us know what the base plates fundamental funtion is ie: is it to provide a better and more stable platform for the bearing to sit ?

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The Bearing Base Plate primary function is to give the Bearing more stability to the turntable. It adds stability by using 5 additional nut/bolt combo by clamping it down to the chassis.

Note that you CANNOT use the Bearing Base Plate with the stock Bearing without doing some work. This is because the original stock bearing is keyed as you can see when removing it from the housing. And you cannot use it with the stock Transformer in place - it needs to be removed.

My primary reason for purchasing the BBP is because I wanted to raise the platter to use it with a copper mat and an SME arm. The Mike New solution allows for that to happen.

Unfortunately, the SME arm does lower itself enough to make contact with the record when using a copper mat. Using a Herbies Mat with the SME arm does not have that problem. But if you want the very best, sometimes you have to make sacrafices.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JazzBones

Thanks Marco, thats exactly what I would have done had there been a MN base plate available when I installed my MN bearing, we must have got ours around the same time, thats what ya call a pioneering spirit. I endorse buying the base plate and bearing together both and I would have done this too, its a tedious job forever having to dismantle and then reassemble any turntable, at least with the El Tekko you don't have three springs or more to faff about with to get the bounce perfect :steam:

Ron

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I too was one of the early adopters of Mike New's bearing. I found out about the BBP by Mike himself last year when he was working on the platter - bringing it from prototype to reality. I kept the BBP in the back of my mind wondering if I should go for it. I finally realized a need for it when I went from a Herbies Mat to a copper mat.

Mike

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RobbieGong

Hi Ron, Valid and fair point. I've actually been thinking this for a while. Money is money at the end of the day and if you've got it to indulge then why not go as far as you want and can I believe, its addictive and a buzz for sure. Nothing can match that feeling when your deck / system is sounding superb and singing in a way that brings a smile. That said, It certainly can be a merry go round, wanting more, getting further in, trying and wanting everything towards vinyl sonic heaven. It takes time, patience, fiddling, culling, changing, trying, liking, hating, adding, removing, setting, re-setting, pull up, put back lol - not to mention a heck of a lot of chi ching !! and then you sometimes still find you dont feel your quite there yet :scratch:- ha ha Hence I aint going through all the forementioned stuf to add a baseplate to my techy at this stage, three hours or so major surgery for how much benefit ??. I'm fairly happy with mine at the mo and may look at something to help the stock platter and give me hopefully even nicer sonics and insight in the future - I still have stock mat and I know the hassle of trying mats can be a right frustration too - Any recommendations for me anyone re: platter / mat improvement ? :eyebrows: - Please dont suggest MN platter - I'm skint !! :lolsign:

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Ron -

Here is something to consider - from my experience, and from all the threads posted so far regarding the avaliable Technics Mods - I have never come across a bad upgrade for my Technics TT. Nor have I heard anyone experience a bad upgrade with upgrading their Technics. This is true especially if you use products from Mike New, Vantage Audio (from what I heard from others on this forum so far), Oyaide products, Funk Firms Achromat, Paul Hynes, SME, Jelco, or even - yes... Dave Cawleys Timestep PSU (no grunting please - I have to say it to be fair although despite the fact where I read that he marginalized Mike New. I do have the PSU and I have not read anyone complaining about the performance it offers).

Perhaps the satisfaction level is so high with these mods is because the people behind these products do extensive research before endorsing their mod for the specific application - in our case - our beloved Technics TT.

Any thoughts?

Mike (Cablemaker1),

I'm normally a reasonably patient person, but you're either selectively blind or deliberately ignoring me, for some unknown reason, but I've asked you about FOUR times now were Westchester is (and to add that info to your profile), which you've so far failed to do.

Therefore, I will ask you ONE FINAL time, as ignoring me is NOT AN OPTION.....

WHERE IS WESTCHESTER???

Your failure to answer the question this time (and add the info to your profile) will result in a week's ban. I do hope I've made myself clear!!

Marco.

Isn't Westchester in Illinois?

New York State, I think?

For New York that would be Westchester County. Either way, they are both in the US.

For a cheap mat option which gives around 3mm height, what about cork? The plain floor-tile made ones I use are great and the sonics can be easily tuned by either using the flatter side up, or the rougher one. No rubber in mine that I can see, but they do work well for me and cost very little relatively speaking (and my home made ones don't even have a label recess - doesn't matter really in the wide scheme of things IMO as the cork is soft). These work without any form of clamp or weight too I find.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CableMaker1

The Bearing Base Plate primary function is to give the Bearing more stability to the turntable. It adds stability by using 5 additional nut/bolt combo by clamping it down to the chassis.

Note that you CANNOT use the Bearing Base Plate with the stock Bearing without doing some work. This is because the original stock bearing is keyed as you can see when removing it from the housing. And you cannot use it with the stock Transformer in place - it needs to be removed.

............

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What actually is the work needed on the base plate when using it with the early installation of the MN bearing on its own? I have the latter and I am considering the former? Were you referring to the Technics stock bearing that others (not MN) are still using as the housing for their upgrades, viz: TimeStep, Vantage Audio and so on? In otherwords if you want the MN base plate it can ONLY be used with the MN bearing and for the moment and forseable future none other!? Sorry if my light bulb is a flickering on this one :scratch: Having an out board PSU there is no contact fouling likely to happen.

This has been a very informative thread and once again thanks :interesting:

Ron

Oh bugger, on re-reading your post I see that you were referring to the Stock platter but I'll push the send button anyway. :sorry: a senior moment!

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Originally Posted by StanleyB

For New York that would be Westchester County. Either way, they are both in the US.

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Cheers, chaps. I suspected that it was somewhere in the US, but I don't know why the hell Mike couldn't just have said so, after I'd asked him the question four times!! :doh:

On AoS, we like our members to know where each other comes from, and as this is a UK-based site, 'foreign' locations (towns and states) not ending with the country of origin, may be unfamiliar to some people.

Therefore, if Westchester is in, say, Illinois, then the correct way to display one's location details would be: "Westchester, Illinois, USA".

That is the layout I would like everyone to follow, especially those whose geographical location may not be instantly well-known to the majority :)

Marco.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by StanleyB

For New York that would be Westchester County. Either way, they are both in the US.

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Westchester NY , some pics from Wikipedia

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...C_New_York.JPG


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ds_Island2.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._Reservoir.jpg

Looks very nice indeed, Chris! But does Mike live in the Westchester in NY or Illinois? :scratch:

That's my point! ;)

Marco.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marco

Looks very nice indeed, Chris! But does Mike live in the Westchester in NY or Illinois? :scratch:

That's my point! ;)

Marco.

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I think the Illinois one is West Chester - i.e two seperate words so I am going for the county in up state New York . Although IME some of our American cousins seem to have a fairly scanty knowledge of geography so you should consider the possibility that Mike is not entirely sure himself as to exactly where he is :lol:

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Originally Posted by Marco

Looks very nice indeed, Chris! But does Mike live in the Westchester in NY or Illinois? :scratch:

That's my point! ;)

Marco.

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Indeed , and it is a reasonable request , I'm sure he will be happy to comply .

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I think the Illinois one is West Chester - i.e two seperate words so I am going for the county in up state New York . Although IME some of our American cousins seem to have a fairly scanty knowledge of geography so you should consider the possibility that Mike is not entirely sure himself as to exactly where he is :lol:

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:doh: :lolsign:

At least, with all this discussion, he'll now be sure to clear up the confusion!!

Marco.

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Originally Posted by Macca

I think the Illinois one is West Chester - i.e two seperate words so I am going for the county in up state New York . Although IME some of our American cousins seem to have a fairly scanty knowledge of geography so you should consider the possibility that Mike is not entirely sure himself as to exactly where he is :lol:

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:eyebrows: That's a bit harsh .

Sometime back I had an interesting email from Dr Michael Krug in Vienna. He gets an excellent result from his 12XX by retaining the stock platter but augmenting it with the latest Isoplatmat (SDS) which fits within the lip of the stock platter and then the Herbies mat on top. Now I know that others have tried the Isoplatmat and found it wanting, hollow sounding was one comment, but the new one at a diam of 285mm is slightly thicker than the old one and is a perfect fit within the lipping of the 12XX platter. It lays flatter than a punctured wide rimmed tyre. Price is GBP87.50 plus 5.50 for P & P within the UK (www.sounddeadsteel.com I have the original at a diam of 288mm but not in use. The new one, which I have bought, most certainly takes out any ringing of the stock platter and as I have a Herbies mat in my library of mats I can say that it works, thanks for the info Dr Mike :). Of course experimentation with other mats, cork etc, can easily be tried out if you have the will and mind to do so :rolleyes:

Now this is what I am using at the mo atop the stock platter. First the SDS 285mm, then the Rubato copper and finally the Acromat. These three layers have been bonded together (but not to the main platter), using the the old petroleum jelly method, into one constrained layer sub platter. Note please: this is not recommended if you are starting from scratch as buying these three units in one hit is costly and you are likely (?) to be better served by spending a bit more and go for the MN platter or Funk acrylic one. I had all the above mats etc in possession over a period of time so that the expenditure had been spread over the past years and could be used for experimental purposes, geddit?

I wanted this idea of a main plus a substantial sub platter, taking my thinking from the separate inner and outer platter of Linn, Thorens, AR etc. I do certainly hear clearer instrumentation coming to me than when I used only the Copper Rubato and Acromat bonding. The swishing of Joe Morello's and Shelly Manne's brushs on the snare drum, the kick of the bass drum, is clear, so very clear. The deep, fat sonority of Ray Brown's walking double base, the sweet, lyrical and celebral playing of the alto sax from Paul Desmond, the sheer musicality and deep tones of Mulligan's and PepperAdam's baritone saxs, the percussive playing of Dave Brubeck's piano playing to the lilting touch of Bill Evans. As for trumpet, Chet Baker, Miles, Arturo Sandaval, Dizzie's, goose bumps man! As for voices, Ella's through to Krall's and for the fellas, Jimmy Rushing, Billy Eckstein through to Mel Torme are so much more enjoyable that I forget to drink the red vino within finger reach let alone top up the glass :cocktail: And as for acoustic and electrical guitar, how the hell did that guy get into my house!

Phew, as Dino said 'wheres the couch?'

:thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by Macca

I think the Illinois one is West Chester - i.e two seperate words so I am going for the county in up state New York . Although IME some of our American cousins seem to have a fairly scanty knowledge of geography so you should consider the possibility that Mike is not entirely sure himself as to exactly where he is :lol:

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Macca has it right - i dont know where i live. :scratch:
But Mike New knows. :lol: So according to the packing slip that came with the BBP, I live in NY. :lolsign:

Which for the next couple of days, I am in the destructive path of hurricane Irene. So I have to get ready to bear down and go shopping before it swings by for a visit starting tomorrow. I will sleep better knowing that the added weight of BBP will keep my TT secure during the storm.


There are also West Chester Cities in Ohio and Pensylvania.

It seems that this thread has turned from the installation of the Mike New BBP to a geography lesson to where I live. I get the sense that Marco is really into geography, wants to stop by my place, or both.

I have to go now, but keep the questions (or laughs) coming. There may be a delayed response because of the circumstances. For the questions I did not get a chance to answer, I will answer later.

Reporting from Westchester -

Mike

Best of luck - hope Irene gives you a miss.

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Originally Posted by CableMaker1

It seems that this thread has turned from the installation of the Mike New BBP to a geography lesson to where I live. I get the sense that Marco is really into geography, wants to stop by my place, or both.

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Nope, Marco is simply interested in all members providing understandable information on their account profiles, as per the requirements of the site, particularly such as that pertaining to real names and geographical locations, which if you'd answered my question before, without me having to ask four times to obtain the information (in the end provided via third parties), wouldn't have caused this hoo-hah! ;)

Stay safe from hurricane Irene and enjoy your Techy :)

Marco.

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Originally Posted by Marco

Nope, Marco is simply interested in all members providing understandable information on their account profiles, as per the requirements of the site, particularly such as that pertaining to real names and geographical locations, which if you'd answered my question before, without me having to ask four times to obtain the information (in the end provided via third parties), wouldn't have caused this hoo-hah! ;)

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Now now Marco, you were speaking too fast for me to understand. I also sometimes have a hard time understanding peoples accents.

I still sense you have a vested interest in geographical locations, so I did this just for you. Lets see if anyone can find Westchester. :cool:

Lol.... The only Chester I know, is the one down the road from me in England, which is where I thought you might originally be referring to (the west part), of course!! :lol:

Marco.

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Originally Posted by JazzBones

What actually is the work needed on the base plate when using it with the early installation of the MN bearing on its own? I have the latter and I am considering the former? Were you referring to the Technics stock bearing that others (not MN) are still using as the housing for their upgrades, viz: TimeStep, Vantage Audio and so on? In otherwords if you want the MN base plate it can ONLY be used with the MN bearing and for the moment and forseable future none other!?

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Hello Ron.

The Bearing Base Plate was meant to be used with the Mike New Bearing. It does not matter whether you are using an earlier or later verison of his bearing.

The Bearing Base Plate was not meant to be used with the standard Technics stock bearing. The stock bearing is keyed, which the chassis has a keyhole to prevent the bearing to be placed any other way. The keyhole was meant to add stability to the bearing, preventing or restricting movement (which the 3 bearing posts would prevent) while the TT is in use.

The Bearing Base Plate does not have this keyhole in case anyone is thinking of using the stock bearing or a modified version of the stock bearing with the BBP. It will not work as-is.

You can see the keyhole on the chassis where the stock bearing would be keyed. It is right next to the screw tap in the lower right corner.

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Originally Posted by Marco

Lol.... The only Chester I know, is the one down the road from me in England, which is where I thought you might originally be referring to (the west part), of course!! :lol:

Marco.

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I am a little further west from the Chester location you are refering to, which involves going over a slightly oversized "pond".

I am sure if I were from that area, you would be stopping by for a visit. It would have given us the chance to have a TT showdown.

Hey, Mikey, if Westchester wasn't famous before, it sure as hell is now!! :eyebrows:

Anyway, if you're ever in the land of the sheep, over that wee puddle you're referring to, you'd be very welcome to cruise by for a sesh! ;)

Marco.

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Originally Posted by Marco

Hey, Mikey, if Westchester wasn't famous before, it sure as hell is now!! :eyebrows:

Anyway, if you're ever in the land of the sheep, over that wee puddle you're referring to, you'd be very welcome to cruise by for a sesh! ;)

Marco.

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Hee hee. How close are you to London? My sis was there earlier this month.

Today may be my last day of communication for some time pending on the severity of the storm. The arm of the hurricane is over us which has bought some rain earlier today. Full brunt is expected tomorrow. NYC subways are closed. There is talk of shutting down the electrical grid in downtown NYC. The elevator in my building has been shut down and although it is not official, I do live in a flood zone where I expect to be surrounded by water. I lost my car earlier this year due to a flooding by rain.