Vantage Audio platter upgrade for Technics SL-1210

[MCRU]

Nice.............. I think the copper looks nearly as sexy as the oyaide mat, I was very happy with my Vantaged bearing but stopped short at doing the platter as I had my own ideas about platters and mine is away for modifications which are taking forever due to the machine shop being too busy! Nice pics BTW.

Is that the stock Techie arm you are using, I dont have my glasses on today!

[worrasf]

Is that the stock Techie arm you are using, I dont have my glasses on today!

Thank you David - no it's a Jelco 750 with one of Shuggies custom arm collars in a TimeStep arm board.

Steve

[Marco]

Hi Steve,

Hi Marco - the copper plate is machined so there is a slight depression/concavity to accommodate the label (just visible in the photies as a darker ring around the spindle).

Cool - that's good, so no worries

Have done a quick A/B demo with and without Achromat using a few tracks from Black Swan and Raising Sand (Robert Plant) and to my ears it is best without the Achromat. The Achromat saps some of the immediacy and muddies up the midband a tad - it wasn't a blind demo but it's pretty clearly different.

That's fine. Did you make sure first that the Achromat was bonded VERY FIRMLY to the platter, as I described? This is crucial.

I'll try it again over the next few days but thought it worth reporting back so to speak.

Defo! However, the best way to analyse what the Achromat is doing, is to live with it for a week, or at least for 3-4 days, using it with all different types of music and recordings, and then remove it, using the last piece of music you listened to as a reference, by playing it again.

If when you do so, you think 'wow, that's much better', then you can pretty much categorically say that the Achromat is not benefical in your system. Or if the opposite happens, then of course you can draw a different conclusion. I still suspect that there is mileage in using some sort of mat on top of the copper surface. If an Achromat is not the solution, then perhaps the Blue Horizon mat, or something else, may be.

Anyway, good luck and report back

Marco.

[worrasf]

I still suspect that there is mileage in using some sort of mat on top of the copper surface. If an Achromat is not the solution, then perhaps the Blue Horizon mat, or something else, may beMarco.

Hi Marco - I have one of these http://www.hi-fi-accessories-1.com/p...-composite.htm

that I have used to good effect on my OL deck and will give it a try - it's much thinner than the Achromat.

Steve

[Marco]

Yep, some folk have had good success with the OL mat, so defo give it a go

Do bond it firmly to your platter, though, as IME, ALL mats work best this way. You did bond the Achromat to the platter, like I suggested, before analysing its effect, didn't you?

Marco.

[DSJR]

That new OL mat looks incredibly like the NAS Spacemat, which sells for £20 or so. I doubt I'll ever be in the position to compare them, but the Spacemat sounded ok on the SL1500, but I have to say the Herbies techie mat was better IMO. One thing i didn't try was the Herbies on top of another mat like the Spacemat or a cork type. The older pre-quartz techies had fixed height arms and the otherwise excellent AT and Supex 900E's I have set up in ADC shells (all I had to hand) cause the arm to look tail-up at the moment. I do hope to have a home made rubberised cork type mat sent me to play with soon and I think that one on the platter with another on top may be the answer.

By the way, the techie mat that came with the SL1500 is definitely slightly thinner in the middle compared to the outer edge and it goes down in three distinct steps, relevant to the main record sizes (7", 10" and 12").

[worrasf]

You did bond the Achromat to the platter, like I suggested, before analysing its effect, didn't you? Marco.

Yes, I have some yellow soft paraffin. I used double sided adhesive tape previously but I think the vaseline works better.
Steve

[Marco]

Coolio - you have my blessing then, so carry on with your good work!

Marco.

[CableMaker1]

Hello Stephen.

Can you compare differences between your copper layer being bonded to the platter vs. a copper plate on top of the platter?

Thanks.

[chris@panteg]

Hi Stephen

Your new platter mod does look lush and as you know I've taken the plunge , i do like the "return it if you don't like it" option , not that you will though lol .
But that is a very fair way of doing things.

Oh and i think it looks sexier than the Oyaide mat