Show off your Belter's ,you know you want to, with prizes

[Barry]

Have just noticed there has been an accidental omission in those entrants who were Honourably Mentioned in the results of the belt-drive competition. Along with those announced, Simon's (Si74) beautiful PT turntable fitted with a Zeta arm, should have been included.



Well done Simon and apologies for the omission.

[Tarzan]

That PT looks luverly.

[loo]

Absolutely well done Simon
Surely its an LP12
Paul

[YNWaN]

It's certainly not a PT.

[struth]

No, its a funked lp12 with carbon fibre armboard I think.

[Marco]

If I remember rightly, it’s a ‘Funked’ Heybrook TT2. Whatever - it looks stunning, and if I'd had my way it would’ve been joint first, along with Tim Bissell’s superb (white) PT!

Marco.

[Si74]

Brightened up my day no end:-)
Indeed it was an LP12 but fitted with the full Funkfirm Vector kit, housed in a Russ Collinson Santos Rosewood plinth, with I
think a Silent base er base. Out classed any of the many Linns I've owned (briefly) or set up/serviced over the years.
Was very sorry it had to go but needs must.
As an aside, I was a very early customer for the Vector kit as I've always liked what Arthur came up with and have to say he was a total gem
to deal with. Given mines was one of the first for sale on ebay no less, imagine my delight when with no prompting on my part, the sub chassis, motor and psu
were all replaced with the newer versions free gratis? Don't think many companies operate along those lines.

[Si74]

As an add on we kind of lost touch but I was always goading him to help me design a Vector kit for my Oracle,
a properly designed deck with the sub chassis hanging on the springs.
Maybe I was asking a bit much when I wanted his motor on the sub chassis powered with his power supply
He did however offer to help if I sent him all the measurements, would never have been a viable financial project
for him but shows the measure of the man, that busy as he was, the offer to help was there.
Still never decided which I preferred between the Oracle and the Funked Linn but I have a notion the Funked
Oracle would have been an absolute blinder

[Si74]

Have to say I'd have given Tim's white PT the top prize given the work he put in.
Could we keep this going with perhaps some more info about the tables/combos featured?

Some of mine, apart from being crappy snaps, had a lot more going on under the surface than met the eye.

e.g. the Black Walnut and Maple solid wood Xerxes started out as a sagged black ash thing bought for a hundred quid that
seemed to work ok armless but wouldn't even revolve once a well known dealer had attached a new Tabriz and 'serviced it'.
A smidgeon annoying when you pay and wait months for a new arm, only to un-box it and find it won't birl?
3 sixpenny pieces between grommets and toplate was a temporary fix but this heightened my disillusionment with dealers.
The same table coming back with the new cartridges cantilever sporting a 90 degree bend was the final straw.

The Stogi S on that table with a Benz Glider had to be the best bang for buck arm/cartridge combo I've had and the same
arm and cartridge sounded amazing on my Oracle, only tried after I had agreed to sell them:-(
At that time I was buying Gliders by the half dozen for two hundred quid each in sealed boxes and people were asking for
a warranty getting them at half price? really made me wonder about the mentality of some of the people in this hobby/mania?

The Rosewood fluted Linn was bought off ebay from a dealer and was d.o.a. Turned out it had been dropped with enough
force to shear the motor housing. Given it was so unusual and fitted with a lovely Syrinx PU 3, I didn't complain too much.
Also had an Osawa? cartridge with a Ruby cantilever, lovely thing. Rebuilt the Rosewood plinth sporting all the best bits
I had lying around. Sold it to Japan for a tenner more than I bought it for with the scabby bits:-(
Sometime later when needing funds, I sold the PU 3 for more than I paid for it and the Rosewood deck

a while later when at the Linn factory, I was informed that the Rosewood plinth was probably one of only three or four
fluted ones in existence as Hargreaves complained the wood was breaking their tools,
only yours truly could chance on the Holy Grail and sell it at a loss

The PU3 sporting a Koetsu on my Oracle was a 25 year long ambition that fell totally flat, so much so I sold
the dream Koetsu to a guy in Germany. His dealer fitted it to his SME 20 and since it would not play band C of
some test record, he demanded his money back - I ask you.
Related this sad tale to J7 who explained the PU3 did not have enough mass to do the Koetsu justice and proceeded to
make various supplementary weights which threaded unseen under the PU3s c/weight.. sonic bliss for a long time
and thank f--- Germans only listen to Hi-Fi News test records

My Oracle was bought from the States and had barely survived an Earthquake, having to go back to Canada
to be refurbished at the guys insurance companies expense. Wouldn't spin at a consistent speed, corrosion
on the ribbon cable between the board under the motor and the front switches cleaned off, wallah, an Oracle
for peanuts

Sorry if I've bored anyone but I think lots of tables must have had varied and interesting histories along the way

[wiicrackpot]

Good post Si74, the most interesting (apart from Mika's bike thread) on here for a long while, keep them coming.