Another Batch of Bearings from Mike New

[allthingsanalogue]

I guess from my point of view I call them "me-too" experts.

Mike, Don't let 'em get you down.

Your bearing is superb, as is I'm sure your ETP. Sometimes a different sound can be perceived as an upgrade but not 'necessarily' so.

I had a wobble a dew days ago thinking to change my TT, all over a ground hum issue that is now sorted. I then started thinking of all the things I'd done to the deck and when I stated comparing it to others I thought, you know what the Sl1210 is better. You are right, it IS a shame that there are far less people these days showing any interest in the SL1200'.

The problem is only a couple of years ago you could buy a SH deck for around £100 or so and now they are £300 or £400 and it's now not looking the bargain it once was and people are thinking, bloody hell for the cost of a deck, psu, bearing etc., I could buy a new 'well known' so called high end deck but they will never achieve the sound quality available for the 1210.

I have spent over £2300 on my SL ex cartridge and yes you can buy a high end deck for that but in my opinion to get the best sound from vinyl I think all decks cost around that money, whether it's a Michell orbe, VPI, clearaudio etc. and don't even get me started on the LP12, which now costs an obscene amount of money although I now believe excluding the 'platter and bearing' it is now possible to build an LP12 without any Linn parts whatsoever!

I'm sure you bearing for example is better made that the majority of bearing in these decks, I used work for a HiFi dealer for over 7 years and believe me I know the trade prices and to sell your bearing at a retailer with a branded name would cost at least 3 times as much, maybe even 4 so yes your products are extremely good value but sometimes people think if it has a branded name, fancy box it must be better.

And no it's not difficult to get a pair of side cutters and trim the excess protruding pins from the coil, if you're not prepared to get yours hands dirty upgrading a 1210 go buy a different deck!

This post is not meant in anyway to offend anyone else here making products after all, 'variety is the spice of life' and we can't all like the same things.

Keep the faith mike and hopefully I will be able to afford the ETP soon.

PS with the ETP, would you say that without a mat would it be the same height as the standard platter with a 5 or 6mm mat? It's just with the Rega arm and a 20mm cartridge and '4' 2mm spacers I'm running out of VTA adjustment.

Thanks again.

Andrew

[Mike_New]

Andrew,
As you mention spacers, are you saying that you cannot get the arm low enough?
I can produce a thicker Platter for you which would be 30mm thick instead of the standard 25mm

[allthingsanalogue]

Oh no, the problem is not getting it high enough.

You see the 'REGA' arms have no VTA adjustment whatsoever. The only way to make it fit cartridges higher than REGA's own cartridges that are 16mm is to use spacers to raise the arm height.



See here, already 4 being used on my deck. Oyaide mat can be seen just on the left. These spacers I might add are a colossal £18 each!!!!!!!!!!!



My cartridge is 19 to 20mm 'ish' depending on thickness of record, the Oyaide mat and BR-1 rubber mat are a total of 6mm so to get the arm at the right height you need spacers.

If for example the ETP was higher than the combined height of the 'original SL platter with a 6mm mat' I may struggle to get the arm parallel. If the ETP requires 'no mat' or a very thin one I could just add 1 more spacer or so to get the right height. If the ETP was the same or as close as the original platter it would be no problem. Of course if needs no mat, I would then have one made with a label recess and then it could be the same height as I'm using now with the thick mat on the original platter.

I hope this makes sense.

[Mike_New]

One thing puzzles me Andrew,
I can see from your excellent sharp images that the base of the tone arm is mounted to a plate which is attached below the basic circular arm board.
If you inverted the assembly you would probably get more that enough vertical height.
I believe this is similar to an arm board combination which DC used to sell for the Jelco which does have adjustment anyway.
I must say that the mechanical arrangement of your arm seems to be somewhat involved for what is required and observing the profile of the spacers, they must have to be lazer cut and then machined.
All those spacers do not make for a rigid structure, don't they offer various sizes?

[allthingsanalogue]

I believe they are laser cut, they are perfectly flat also.

I never thought about inverting the armboard

In that case the platter height would be fine!

Rega make the spacers and they only come in 2mm variants. Other companies make them also but I stuck with the Rega made ones.

[Mike_New]

Now you will have to buy one!!!

[CageyH]

A Speedy Steve arm board could be made to solve your issue quite easily.
It will probably be a bit of an upgrade as well.

[aniki]

I never thought about inverting the armboard

In that case the platter height would be fine!

Just another option. I personally prefer the aesthetic of the two layer board (and the sonics of aluminium over steel or wood) and had a similar issue as I was using a board designed for a different arm.
The lower of the two plates can be inverted but still remain beneath the main board which will save about 3mm.
What you can also do is fit some thicker spacers between the main board and the SL1210.
This way you end up with the board being visually much as it should be but you will gain a fair bit of VT height and probably get rid of at least two shims

[Mike_New]

Hi Folks,
I now have 3 Bearings available for quick delivery.

[Tiff_Needle]

How much for it delivered in Portugal?