Alternative platters ?

[krugdoktor]

When I say won't fit it will go on, but the Funk mk2 Platter will rock back and forward as there is a gap when sitting on a Mike New bearing. I really wanted to hear what the Funk MK2 sounds like on the MN bearing but alas I can't just as well I bought a Vantage Audio modified bearing (though I also have a Technics fitted with original bearing too) - though based on all the issues with VA at the minute it won't officially be part of the review.

That's strange!!
My MN-bearing fitted absolutely perfect to the original platter, so I presume that the taper of the MN-bearing and the taper of the original bearing have identical dimensions. I have to add, that my MN copper-ally-platter was not a similar perfect fit on the MN- bearing and required a bit of vaseline (the universal aid ) to prevent a very slight rocking movement (apparently it's not so easy to manufacture). So if the "new" Funk-platter does not fit, it obviously is not correctly made!

[Oldpinkman]

Sounds odd. Funk platter fits a standard bearing because it uses a technics hub. Why would mike new make a bearing that doesn't fit a standard platter. Does he make 2 different types - one for his platters and one for standard technics hubs?

[synsei]

Sounds odd. Funk platter fits a standard bearing because it uses a technics hub. Why would mike new make a bearing that doesn't fit a standard platter. Does he make 2 different types - one for his platters and one for standard technics hubs?

Perhaps you could take this up with Arthur to see what he has to say about it?

[Spectral Morn]

Sounds odd. Funk platter fits a standard bearing because it uses a technics hub. Why would mike new make a bearing that doesn't fit a standard platter. Does he make 2 different types - one for his platters and one for standard technics hubs?

I thought this would cause some heat when Al revealed this information, which I discovered in the course of preliminary review work. I have just removed the Mike New bearing from the turntable it was fitted into and I have a spare Technics bearing sitting here beside me. Funk Platter mk2 fits the standard Technics bearing perfectly with no issues what so ever, fit it onto the Mike New and it rocks.

When I spoke to Arthur about this he said that the taper on a MN bearing maybe did not match the exact profile of the Technics bearing and that was why it was rocking. Looking at the two side by side there are differences in spindle length and the actual taper that the bearing fits on. The Technics bearing the taper does not go right to the bottom of the spindle and in the case of the MN the taper does. I am not able to say if it is this fact that is causing the issue or something else. One does not need grease to fit the Funk Plater mk2 it just fits but I am aware of the issues re having to use grease or Vaseline to fit a Mike New metal platter on a Mike New bearing - I had to do this myself.

I too wondered why a standard Technics platter fits on a Mike New bearing and the Funk doesn't. I don't have an original MK1 Funk Platter here to compare it to but they are very different designs and I am not going to say how.


Regards Neil

[Spectral Morn]

When I say won't fit it will go on, but the Funk mk2 Platter will rock back and forward as there is a gap when sitting on a Mike New bearing. I really wanted to hear what the Funk MK2 sounds like on the MN bearing but alas I can't just as well I bought a Vantage Audio modified bearing (though I also have a Technics fitted with original bearing too) - though based on all the issues with VA at the minute it won't officially be part of the review.

That's strange!!
My MN-bearing fitted absolutely perfect to the original platter, so I presume that the taper of the MN-bearing and the taper of the original bearing have identical dimensions. I have to add, that my MN copper-ally-platter was not a similar perfect fit on the MN- bearing and required a bit of vaseline (the universal aid ) to prevent a very slight rocking movement (apparently it's not so easy to manufacture). So if the "new" Funk-platter does not fit, it obviously is not correctly made!

This is not a slight rock but quite a pronounced one.


Regards Neil

[Tarzan]

£650/£840 is quite taking the preverbial.

[Marco]

I don't have an original MK1 Funk Platter here to compare it too but they are very different designs and I am not going to say how.

I think Richard's beaten you to it, mate....

Although I still haven't seen a pic in the public domain, I know Neil has one to evaluate, so it can no longer be a NATO secret, that Arthur has moved onto composite materials from Acrylic this time, using bonded glass (using some special glue he keeps hidden in a draw) in itself bonded to acrylic.

The news of the compatibility issue with the MN bearing is disappointing, for obvious reasons, but perhaps none more so than for the fact that, given how fundamentally HUGE an improvement the MN bearing provides over a stock Technics bearing, I strongly suspect that a Techy fitted with an MN bearing and MKI Funk platter, would outperform one fitted with a MK II Funk platter and stock Technics bearing...

If the new Funk platter is compatible with any of the other upgraded bearings on the market (Vantage, etc), which I'm sorry if I missed you mentioning, Neil, then that *may* level the playing field.

Of course, the only way to know for sure is to carry out the necessary comparisons, but as far as I'm concerned, the standard hierarchical upgrade path for the Technics, if the goal is achieving ultimate sonic performance, would always feature a bearing upgrade before a platter one.

Marco.

[Marco]

£650/£840 is quite taking the preverbial.

How so, Andy - did you not read what I wrote on post #23?

Marco.

[synsei]

It seems odd that the original Funk platter will quite happily mate to a MN bearing and yet the mkII doesn't, rather points to an issue with the design or manufacture of the platter rather than an issue with the bearing methinks. Arthur needs to sort this asap unless he is happy to limit its appeal

[krugdoktor]

My MN-bearing is from 2009, the platter was bought in 2012, so maybe MN changed the profile of the bearing taper in the meantime. I have to add the sound produced by MN-bearing and MN-platter is fantastic, the only thing that worries me is the "not perfect" fit between MN-bearing and MN-platter whilst the (2009) MN-bearing fits like a glove onto the original platter. BTW I also tried to fit the MN-plater to the original bearing (outside the turntable) and experienced the same (slight) rocking.