The Mike New ETP Platter

[MartinT]

Do you have anything interesting ?

Not too much gear, dudes! Platters and CD players will keep us very busy.

[MikeMusic]

I am desperately running out of available dates before Chrimbo. I think it would have to be Sunday 15th Dec - how does that suit you both?

Good for me. Should have all the gutters clear by then

[Oldpinkman]

No Richard, that is not the case at all. I first heard the speed over-correction issue with the Mike New heavy metal platter, more so at 45rpm. I also reported that I could just hear a speed instability with the Mk. II Funk (what you seem to be calling the Strata). Those are both heavy platters, over-stressing the motor correction circuit. I haven't "changed my mind" about anything.

Now I don't have either platter to hand. But according to Arthur Funk 1 (acrylic) weighs 1.4Kg and Funk 2 (strata) weighs 2.2Kg. And according to you Funk 1 weighs 1.4Kg and ETP weighs 2.3kg. And from the picture you have posted, the mass on ETP is distributed round the edge of the platter, (as it is to a lesser degree on Funk 1) where on Funk 2 it is pretty much evenly distributed across the surface. And you agreed, with regard to record weights that mass near the hub is largely irrelevant to rotational momentum - and by implication that mass at the edge is much more significant to rotational momentum.

So, keeping this real simple, ETP is a bit heavier, and has at least a bit more rotational momentum than Funk 2, but has no warble, and yet Funk 2 warbles. Have I got that right, or have I been fed an erroneous fact, or drawn an erroneous conclusion?

My point is, I could hear no warble. I had the full adult dose of Frankie Goes to Hollywood (and my Dvorak 9th) and could hear plenty of differences between the platters but no warble. And whilst I remain interested in auditioning the 2 platters in my own system regarding my decision to modify the PT, if I don't have to do the warble test, I would rather do that on a couple of Funk Saphires than a couple of Technics 1200's.

[MartinT]

What you maybe don't know is that there was a misalignment of the sensor cog when Arthur sent the Strata to me. I had to work blind to get it lined up and I was never quite happy with the speed stability. The Funk II did sound a little unsteady, and at 33rpm. I can't say it clearer than that. I was not happy that the platter speed sensor cog was properly lined up with the sensor coil and I did speak to Arthur about it.

Oh yes, just remembered: when starting up, the motor made odd squeaks until the speed settled. I have never heard that with any other platter. I did tell Arthur that, too.

[Oldpinkman]

What you maybe don't know is that there was a misalignment of the sensor cog when Arthur sent the Strata to me. I had to work blind to get it lined up and I was never quite happy with the speed stability. The Funk II did sound a little unsteady, and at 33rpm. I can't say it clearer than that. I was not happy that the platter speed sensor cog was properly lined up with the sensor coil and I did speak to Arthur about it.

Oh yes, just remembered: when starting up, the motor made odd squeaks until the speed settled. I have never heard that with any other platter. I did tell Arthur that, too.

I saw the email. You described the sensor problem and squeaks, and noted that you had fixed it. You also noted that you would put both platters on the scales. You heard an "imprecision" and ascribed it to the weight of the platter and the fact that the servo circuit expects a lighter platter. Given that you now are satisfied that the 2.3Kg ETP doesn't suffer that effect, unless I have been mis-informed about platter weights, I take it you have changed your mind about mass being the cause of whatever it was you heard. Although you also described the platter as spinning up and braking like the original Mike New platter (again - I don't have one, but I believe he claims 10Kg), and again you appear not to have repeated that comment regarding the ETP platter which is a whiff heavier than the Funk 2 you were using.

I am not too bothered about any of the detail, as long as my core conclusions were valid - vis the platters weigh about the same (2.2kg v 2.3Kg) and mass is no longer considered to be an issue. Accordingly I can focus on my selfish interests and tell Arthur that there is no warble to worry about. But he should be more careful about sending half finished product with squeaks and misaligned sensors out just to find out if the remachined hub fitted a non-standard bearing.

Either way - I don't have to serve a further FGTH sentence, cos there's just so much Ferry across the Mersey that a chap can stand!

[Marco]

I am desperately running out of available dates before Chrimbo. I think it would have to be Sunday 15th Dec - how does that suit you both?

Should be ok for me, Martin

It would be interesting and also useful to get a collective view of what the ETP platter is doing on three slightly different, but heavily modded Techies, in a system that ably shows up the subtlest of differences (and to hear where the Funk 1 platter is lacking, to your ears) - plus no doubt as usual, listening to an array of excellent music!

Marco.

[MartinT]

Should be ok for me, Martin

Done!

[MartinT]

I take it you have changed your mind about mass being the cause of whatever it was you heard.

I simply don't know as I feel my session with the Strata was sadly inconclusive. I would like to have heard it working properly. Whether it was the sensor only, a combination of the sensor and weight distribution or something else that the motor didn't like, I'm not prepared to guess at. I will say that there is a lot of mass (glass) at the very extremity of the platter so it could just possibly be a combination of bad sensor alignment and rotational momentum.

Whatever, I'm sad that I wasn't able to give the Strata a proper evaluation. I did form an opinion based on what I did hear, but it would be unfair to go into any further detail.

[Oldpinkman]

I simply don't know as I feel my session with the Strata was sadly inconclusive. I would like to have heard it working properly. Whether it was the sensor only, a combination of the sensor and weight distribution or something else that the motor didn't like, I'm not prepared to guess at. I will say that there is a lot of mass (glass) at the very extremity of the platter so it could just possibly be a combination of bad sensor alignment and rotational momentum.

Whatever, I'm sad that I wasn't able to give the Strata a proper evaluation. I did form an opinion based on what I did hear, but it would be unfair to go into any further detail.

Oh bugger. Sounds like I'm gonna have to take a Techie instead of a Saphire on the 29th

Are we talking about the same platter? In essence it is 2 flat sheets of glass stuck together with his magic glue, as shown in my earlier photos (I won't re-post here, cos that must surely be close to thread-crapping - but you've seen what I posted for Arthur previously). Granted the version he had me listening to had the lettering on upside down, but it was otherwise the same. There is therefore no glass or mass at the extremity - it is uniform across the whole surface. Granted the achromat is more towards the centre and is not at the extremity but they weigh about 100gm at most. So ignoring the achromat, the glass is NOT at the very extremity. By contrast - the ETP - again based on the photo you have posted, appears to have a big heavy rim round it (I assume it is not the same thickness across the surface as the visible thickness round the edge)

Am I being really stupid?

[MartinT]

As I remember it (it's all packaged up now awaiting collection), it was one big round glass plate - or a sandwich - which reached right to the edge of the deck's recess, i.e. wider than 12". It did have the 'funky' lettering and there was an Achromat bonded to its top surface.