Cheap upgrade for michell gyro

[BendBound]

A month or so back, I learned about Peter's suspension upgrade from a friend of mine who also has a JA Michell GyroDec. He has been in a long search for how to get this turntable to sound better or even as good as a lower end turntable he also uses. Both of us over the years have investigated various upgrades to these wonderful but in one way seriously flawed turntables. We each had issues with the performance of the turntable that we found frustrating to solve. Something was robbing the sound reproduction in these turntables and it was hard to understand why. As we all know, Gert Pedersen in Denmark has done a lot to get these Michell turntables to the next level. So has SolidAir. A lot of those efforts surround improvements to suspension, eliminating a natural resonator called a spring. However, I was not prepared to take a drill to my suspension or use sand in some of the suggested modifications. I mean, it was more likely that I would sell the turntable than do that to it and I know for a fact that my friend was of the same mind.

Besides using acrylic toroids under the armboard, my friend and I have experimented with employing vibration control devices under platforms that the turntables sits upon. In my case, I was astonished at the improvement that passive vibration control devices brought. That really tightened up every aspect of the sound reproduction. As a consequence, I felt that I had eliminated most of the issues that derive from undampened spring vibrations in the GyroDec. I was by and large satisfied and I shared that view the other day with Mad-Moon as we discussed upgrade options for the GyroDec.

So a few weeks ago, my friend and I made the necessary measurements to get our GyroDecs fitted with Peter's "castlenut" suspension assemblies. The design reminded me of the suspension bridge over the River Tweed at Peebles, Scotland. Also, transmission towers use a similar structural design; it is very stable, incredibly strong and an effective design. What Peter has come up with is a significant design evolution from the SolidAir approach. So together we pulled the trigger and ordered sets. They arrived in a week once shipped from the UK to the US.

Friday I installed the new pylon suspension system. My measurements were bang on and the pylons installed quickly, in less than 30 minutes, soap to nuts. I did not employ the included sorbothane pads, instead I used Herbie's Audio's Grungebuster material. I punched out a 1/4" diameter disc on 1/8" thick Grungebuster with adhesive backing. That fit perfectly on the top part of the lower suspension post and slips into the upper post perfectly. The adhesive backing meant that the vibration-absorbing pad stayed on the lower post. I employed the ceramic bearings because I did not believe the static load on the turntable was large enough to adversely impact the bearing. I did remove the green copper grease in the upper post and replaced it with a small dab of silicone grease. I have not yet installed the ceramic ball bearing on the main bearing. That change is pending. It took only a few minutes with several bubble levels to get the GyroDec properly level.

Then I pulled out a small stack of records that I have been playing recently. First in the stack is Kate Wolf's 1975-1985 Retrospective. This is what I heard. The detail is just better all the way around but not analytical. The sound stage is the biggest difference. Everything seems to be in a natural and sweet focus. The bass is taut and firm, just right. Overall a nicer tone, not muddled. Crisp sounding, as if Kate was performing in the room, just right. I did not think the difference would be like this. Other changes I've made produced a stunning improvement. The change here is in tone. Little things all around improved that tighten up the sound reproduction. An overall sweeter tone. Detail across the audio frequency spectrum was just better. Quite relaxed. Just sweet.

Then I put on a jazz record that I know well and have been playing lately, Music Matters SRX release of Horace Silver's Song of My Father. The difference here was pronounced. Particularly on the drums and hi-hats. The change just jumped out at me in literally a head-turning, can-you-believe-that moment. Here the bass response was unreal, just so much better. I had commented a month or so ago on the Steve Hoffman Forum in a Music Matters thread that the drum kit was polite in this pressing, a bit subdued. I did not necessarily hear that so pronounced on the mostly acoustic guitar Kate Wolf album. But on this jazz title, it was more than obvious. As I listened to more and more records, I was pleasantly surprised at what I was hearing.

I told my friend that I believe the changes we’ve just made have moved this turntable to a new, better and higher level. The cost for this upgrade is relatively minimal, particularly in relation to the entire turntable cost. A local audiophile friend who knows my system well was over on Friday afternoon. He said this: “Your turntable before sounded awesome. Now that I hear some of the same titles again, what I hear is the muddiness is gone. I would never have described your turntable as muddy. But now I hear a new clarity and all of its attendant impacts on imaging and soundstage. The biggest impact is in the bass because it’s not muddy. Instead it’s more defined, refined and louder." We played some five or six records, selected cuts.

The turntable sounded really good to me before I installed Peter's suspension. For me it was hard to imagine a leap in performance. Given what I have done prior, I was thinking I would hear an incremental improvement. The improvement, however, is one of immediate refinement and it is quite obvious. This suspension makes the GyroDec just better overall in hard-to-articulate ways. The hotness or stridency or metallic sounding as in the upper registers is tamed. The bass is super clear and powerful. Best of all is a beautiful soundstage and imaging. Nice note decay in imaging and soundspace is extended. Just lots of refinement. The best way to describe what I now hear is refinement to every aspect of sound reproduction. And that is sweet.

One more change that I made here. Now under each of the three "orbital lander" footers on the Michell, I have placed a Grungebuster disc inside one of these lamp check rings (https://www.grandbrass.com/item/crt1...ckrings-18ips/). The 1/8" thick Grungebuster has an adhesive on one side and in this application, it is up, and in contact with the Michell footer. This Grungebuster is several thousands of an inch proud of the lamp check ring, so the ring does not touch the maple base or the turntable for that matter. I did not want to install skateboard wheels on the turntable, so these pads are my solution to potential movement of the table on the maple blocks in my system.

I told my friend who introduced me to Peter's suspension system that I was really glad he found this upgrade and shared it with me.

And to you Peter. Thank you! Well done.