New Solid Aluminium Platter for the SL1200

[Marco]

Hi Mike,

I appreciate your feedback. I wasn't expecting definitive answers at this stage, as the product is still in its infancy; merely reasonable reassurance of the concerns that have been raised, which thankfully you have provided.

Silence (not on your part) only breeds anxiety and concern............ I like to be able to chat with the necessary people involved and thrash these things out in the open - that's all!

What was worrying me (and to an extent, Anthony) was if the extra weight of the new platter would affect the motor unit's ability to maintain its highly accurate speed stability (even very minutely), and if so, how this would impact on music reproduced by the T/T. *That* is the crux of the matter, as far as we're concerned, and merely listening to the results won't be enough to ascertain exactly what's going on.

Therefore some documented measurements, showing the speed stability of the drive system using the stock platter (powered by the standard Timestep PSU) before, and then after the new platter and HE PSU mods have been installed, would be useful - and that's where Dave comes in.

I've no doubt whatsoever that your superb bearing is more than capable of handling the new platter's extra mass, so have no real concerns in that area about any more noise being generated - certainly anything that our ears would notice.

However, if I'm honest, I still have some reservations as to how the increased mass of the new platter will impact on the motor unit's ability to perform within its design parameters, in terms of maintaining the drive system's highly accurate speed stability under load, and whether the increased stress on the motor unit in the long term would shorten its lifespan.

Marco.

[DSJR]

Marco mate, we discussed "things" a few weeks ago didn't we. Leave it be and all will be revealed I'm sure, when there's summat to shout from the rooftops about.

Ego? ME? - Nah..... I know my lowly place in the pecking order

[Marco]

Hi Dave,

Marco mate, we discussed "things" a few weeks ago didn't we. Leave it be and all will be revealed I'm sure, when there's summat to shout from the rooftops about.

That's fair enough, but there's nothing wrong with being inquisitive in the meantime

I'm afraid that I'm not one of these people who will simply just sit back and 'accept' what a manufacturer says a new product will do - I like to probe deeply into things and challenge what I feel are areas of concern.

I'm certainly not just going to sit back and wait until Dave says: 'Ok chaps, everything's hunky-dory now, platter and PSU-wise, so let's have your money', and then writes a few words on his website to that effect, and buy a new platter and an HE PSU without first being absolutely certain that what I'm doing is the right thing - and just as importantly, that I'm able to offer others here advice from a position of knowledge and experience when they ask me is the new platter and/or PSU worth buying, and why....

How do you think I got into the whole Techy thing in the first place? Well, it was after many months (more like years, actually) of continuous research, making sure that what I was going to invest thousands of pounds in was the right turntable for me. I always knew that it was an expensive project I was about to embark on, which of course has turned out to be the case.

I didn't just wake up one morning and on a whim decide to abandon belt-drive T/Ts forever and import a fully-modified SL-1210 from KAB in America, beginning the journey to where I am now..............

So I make no apologies for being thorough. I will not change. It's the reason why I own the type of system I do, and also how I've obtained such in-depth knowledge as to why all the components work together so well!

Marco.

[Alex Nikitin]

how the increased mass of the new platter will impact on the motor unit's ability to perform within its design parameters, in terms of maintaining the drive system's highly accurate speed stability, and whether the increased stress on the motor unit in the long term would shorten its lifespan.

IMHO - the increased mass will only help to maintain speed, and if SL1200 motor survives years of abuse by DJs, an additional mass of the platter is highly unlikely to present a problem.

Alex

[Marco]

Hi Alex,

Point taken

However, I suspect that the motor unit would, presuming that others and my concerns are founded, be exposed to a different (and more constant) type of 'abuse' than that inflicted on it by DJs.

I listen on average to vinyl 5-6 hours a day, every day, (and sometimes much more), so I would suspect that over the course of a year this is more use (or abuse) than your average DJ gives his or her deck in pubs and clubs - and of course provides ample opportunity for wear on the motor due to excess platter mass, *should* this be a real issue of concern.

Marco.

[Clive]

I voiced similar concern to ATD a while back. I expect the motor can cope, what interests me is whether the electronics doing the speed controlling could need some tweaking in the event they don't work as well as expected due to the extra weight. Presumably there's a feedback mechanism the expects reactions in a particular time frame, this could be distorted due the heavy platter. All theory of course.

[Ian Walker]

I listen on average to vinyl 5-6 hours a day, every day, and sometimes much more...

He's not jokin lads he dosn't even bother avin a wash!

[Marco]

Marco (typing this now in his gravy-stained vest and lightly-soiled PJs)

[MartinT]

A few pointers to potential benefits: firstly, I am using a Copper mat and this combination, although not as heavy as the Mike New platter, is pretty damned heavy compared with the Technics platter on its own.

The Techie platter rings like a bell when sitting on its bearing with no mat on top. With the copper mat, it gives a dull thud. The MN platter is likely to be just as dead, if not more so. This leaves the Herbies mat to do its thing as a vinyl coupler.

Start-up time is a little slower with the Timestep PSU, but only a bit. Stopping time, once the brake adjustment pot has been tweaked a little clockwise on the main PCB, is just as fast as before. The motor has plenty of torque to spare and is not going to see the additional mass as much of an impediment when locked at the correct rotational speed.

Finally, Alex's point about DJ abuse is a valid one. The load on the standard Technics bearing when a DJ is scratching with a slipmat must be huge compared with the normal weight of an LP or during start-up, and I can just imagine the motor current stepping up for hours of torment during a gig while the LPs are being slowed down and reversed. These motors and their drive circuit are no shrinking violets.

Based on what I can hear and sound engineering sense, I expect the MN platter to sound superb. I can't wait to try one out.

[Marco]

Me neither, Martin. Good post, btw - I concur with most of your observations

However, returning to what I wrote earlier:

Therefore some documented measurements, showing the speed stabilty of the drive system using the stock platter (powered by the standard Timestep PSU) before, and then after the new platter and HE PSU mods have been installed, would be useful - and that's where Dave comes in.

I presume that such a thing can be measured and documented for our perusal?

I'll require this information (or similar evidence which satisfies my concerns above) before I'd consider buying the new platter, as this is one modification the effects of which I'm unwilling to judge solely by subjective analysis.

There's a time and place to be anal about measurements, and this is one of them!

Marco.