The Mike New Technics Bearing

[JazzBones]

Only the base plate is bonded to the chassis, the bearing itself is free to be removed!



Having compared them, I don't think I agree with this. The Funk has a mild upper-mid recess which the ETP does not have, making the latter the more neutral of the two, and certainly more detailed in the very important voice range.

Sorry Martin, my verbage possibly gave the wrong idea of what you did. " ONLY your MN base plate, and that alone, has been Araldited to the Tech chassis pan", I should have made this clear and hope I do so now folks. NOTE: DO NOT ARALDITE OR ADHESIVE YOUR MN BEARING WHAT SO EVER. You need this to be readily removable if so required!

If I get the opportunity in 2014 I shall get David/MCRU to loan me a MN ETP platter and compare the two in my system using the music I listen to and see if I draw the same conclusions as you bearing in mind the ancient audio saying, 'different mods for different bods'. As mentioned elsewhere I gave up using an Achromat with MN copper/ali in favour of a joint application of Oyaide BR dished rubber mat with Origin Live platter mat on top this held together with photographic double sided adhesive pads this was arrived at after numerous and abortive mat swaps and juggling. The beauty of the Techy is that there is nothing written in tablets of stone and you can approach the project your own way via experiment and learning from those who have gone before such as your goodself. By the way the HFN mag for Jan'2014 auditions the direct drive German STST Motus 2 turntable page 28 reviewers are Steve Harris and Paul Miller if anyone is interested?

Mike New uses his copper/ali platter with a dished rubber mat and also listens to modern jazz like me so I guess there is fellowship in this respect.

[CableMaker1]

HI Stephen/Worrasf,

When I first replaced the stock bearing with the MN I just did a straight swap out. I preferred this to the stock bearing, the deck itself was brand virginal new. Must mention here that I was still using the stock platter with copper mat at the time, subsequently replaced by the MN Ali/Cu bonded platter still in use today . At a later date I bought and installed the MN bearing base plate which Mike N had provided an additional three mounting holes so that the base plate could FIRST be bolted to the flange of the MN bearing and then this assembly secured to the chassis by five bolts as used by MartinT and Cable Maker on here I believe. After this had been accomplished the three new threaded screws (from MN) bolted both the bearing and B/plate down in the usual manner. MartinT had super Araldited his bearing assembly but as far as I am aware did not use the additional MN base plate to bearing flange bolts x 3 that I have used and mentioned herein. I completed this fixture by not using Araldite (if you go this adhesive route it is a permanent fixture as MartinT has outlined) but by using a breakable automotive gasket paste twix mating flanges of base plate and chassis pan this would allow me to disassemble the fixture if required. The KAB wax has interested me but will require the assembly I have achieved to be taken apart again... Herself would not welcome the idea of the dining room table been taken over again... she will never accept the fact that the said dining room table also doubles as my work bench!

Merry Xmas and 2014 everyone

PLEASE NOTE CAREFULLY!!! adding a MN bearing base plate requires accurate skill with drill and soft metal drill bits (MN instructs on these) and there is practically zilch leeway if you/anybody effs/stuffs this up!!! Skill/knowledge plus steady nerve is a requirement to do this fixture successfully but it has been done and I've probably over played this?

With all of MN's goodies and an recently final upgrade of outboard PSU I've come to journey's end with my 1210 and just sit back enjoy and marvel.

Somewhere on this forum CableMaker outlined his bearing plate assemble pictorially and our venerable Marco did so for me. Me and photobucket do notlike one another?

My detailed outline used to be a sticky until the site went through some reorganization by separating everything SL-1200 to the Techiepedia. Its been a couple of years since I was last active on this forum, so the one that I can say sticks out from no longer being a sticky with 100% certainty is my sticky. I believe the rewiring of internal to external PSU is also no longer a sticky, however I believe they should be reinstated as a sticky.

I will say this with certainty when I outlined my detailed approach to adding the MN Bearing Baseplate:

1. TAKE YOUR TIME!!! Any job that is worthy of doing will always need time devoted to that particular task for a job well done. Most forum members already know this, but it is always helpful to stress this point out, especially to new hobbyists.

2. REMOVE THE RUBBER BEFORE DRILLING!!! Don't take this shortcut by leaving it on!!! You will drill right through the surface into the cavity, and if you leave the rubber on, you will EASLY pierce through it before you know it.

3. Make certain you have a steady hand when drilling (if you have manual tools like me), AND that you drill onto an even surface. I used a garbage can made of plastic to hold the turntable up onto something when I did the project to both turntables. I don't recommend doing this on the floor since the turntable may not even steady, and that you may drill right into your floor once you clear the cavity.


I did not bond the bearing or the baseplate to the turntable. I did however shave down the extrusion of the cylinders that holds the screws to house the MN Bearing. I believe shaving down the extrusions to an even surface of the TT base allows the bearing base plate to be married to the base of the TT more securely than leaving the extrusions as is. I leave that to each individual on how they would like to handle that recommendation.

CM1

[Mike_New]

Folks,
I developed the Bearing Base Plate because this is the ultimate way to ensure that the Bearing is positively connected to the chassis, in either the bolted form or using epoxy. By ensuring that the small posts around the 3 screw holes are leveled off and using a good "Gasket Goo" (if using bolts); you will have the best possible alternative to having a new design of chassis which has this feature cast into it.
The reason being, is that the Base Plate is of large diameter so it evenly distributes the load across the bottom of the chassis.

I personally do not believe that putting any material at the bottom of the bearing "Well" does anything to improve matters, as you are then tending to concentrate any energy at the bottom of the "Well" over a small area.
Secondly and much more importantly the bottom of the "Well" being of thin section could be caused to act as a drum, at the higher frequencies, being "pumped" by the bottom of the Bearing if the two components are forced into contact as would be the case using wax or any other material. I would certainly not do it to my own TT.

If you really wish the ultimate installation for the Bearing then use the Base Plate and epoxy to connect it to the chassis.

If you do decide to dispose of the TT at a later time then the bearing can be swapped for the OEM unit and all you forego is the Base Plate for a few dollars.
Even if you are still using the OEM platter the additional 6mm of height does not cause the edge of the platter to rise above the surface of the chassis.
And if at a later stage you decide to update to an ETP platter then I can machine it with a 3mm lip to enhance the appearnace still further.

[CageyH]

2014 has started off well for me with a nice Audio Origami RB251, and now a Mike New Bearing, which has just turned up.
I've gone through the instructions, and it seems easy enough.
Time to get it fitted, and then run in.

[Tarzan]

2014 has started off well for me with a nice Audio Origami RB251, and now a Mike New Bearing, which has just turned up.
I've gone through the instructions, and it seems easy enough.
Time to get it fitted, and then run in.

[MCRU]

2014 has started off well for me with a nice Audio Origami RB251, and now a Mike New Bearing, which has just turned up.
I've gone through the instructions, and it seems easy enough.
Time to get it fitted, and then run in.

bang those tunes out dude, 1980's house music, funk and soul suits it best (IMHO of course)

[CageyH]

I have just finished fitting the bearing. The instructions were clear and straightforward.
There were a couple of things I didn't like:
1 - Motor coils exposed when the platter is off (not a problem 99% of the time when the platter is fitted!).
2 - The screws clamping the bearing to the plinth shouldered out when the cap was not there.

So, combining issues 1 and 2, I got my Dremel out, and started hacking away at the protective cover bit by bit to clear the bearing. This didn't leave a lot of material left. so I basically decided I would convert it into a protective cap (without the internal part). If the cap fits, wear it, so I put it back on, and the bearing now clamps down nicely.

How does it sound?
You know it's too early to tell properly, but I am wondering how much better a SME 309, Iv or V would make my deck in my current system, as it's currently sounding pretty good.
I can't wait until the 30 hours are up to start hearing it properly!

[KC Jones]

Alright Kev
Can you hear the extra bass depth? first thing I immediatly heard when i fitted mine. I thought Jeez where's that bass come from?
The 1st LP I always play when trying something different is Low by Mr Bowie. I know the album really well and there is some nice bass and kick drum working together. Low and the MN bearing really compliment each other.

Kev

[chris@panteg]

More bass ? Or more bass depth, this is what worries me about the MN bearing as more bass is the last thing I'm looking for with my techie, slightly leaner with better clarity would be good !

[CageyH]

Oh, the bass was always there, just not very well defined.
It's now so much more defined that to be honest, it does seem to hit lower and harder than before.
I have also noticed that he sound stage is opening up, and everything else has much better clarity and separation.