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Help! Tweaking My Lovan Rack for new Big A**ed Transrotor Turntable!

Folks, some input would be mighty appreciated.

I’ve been using a hand-me-down (though very nice!) Micro Seiki dd-40 turntable for a number of years and finally got the upgrade itch (it helps the upgrade itch when your cartridge is going on 30 years old, and sounding like it!).

I went down the rabbit hole and picked up a Transrotor Fat Bob S turntable, with an Acoustic Solid 12" arm and a Benz Micro Ebony cartridge. All with only about 30 hours of use at a great price. Yay!

Though I have considered getting rid of my old Lovan Classic rack for a new custom jobby, I’m pretty much spent out and I think I’ll have to make do for now, working with the Lovan.

The Fat Bob turntable is 55 lbs of solid aluminum and built like Thor’s hammer.

I figure this will finally get me to fill my Lovan stands for a bit more rigidity - probably with rice. The stand is the old 3 legged triangular shaped bass, which means the thin MDF shelves can feel like they sit sort of precariously on top. But the stand itself feels quite solid.

I want to incorporate a wood platform base, as many do, because I really love the look of a nice wood slab.

At first I thought maybe I’d have 3 spikes drilled in to the bottom corners of the wood base to directly couple it to the rest of the Lovan frame, vs resting it on the top mdf shelf. But I’m not sure that’s really necessary. And I’d like to incorporate some isolation as well, I think. So I’m thinking of just laying it on the top shelf, with something in between.

My first thought is to place a Symposium Segue shelf between the top of the Lovan shelf and the wood base.

Other than that...I’m flummoxed as to all the other choices...roller blocks? Symposium Fat Padz? Vibrapods? Herbie’s Tendersoft footers? Voo-Doo Isopods?  What should I put between the wood platform base and my Lovan shelf?

Any comments of suggestions on the direction I’m going?

Thanks!

(BTW, I’m an resolutely NOT a DIY/Handy-man type, so I’m not trying to go to heroic efforts, wishing this to be as painless as possible).
prof
prof OP
3,435 posts
 
Thanks folkfreak.

It's hard not to be paranoid. Every time I hear something I may not like I'll be left wondering "is this how the turntable/cartridge sounds...or is this an artifact of the cartridge having been damaged subtly?"
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,774 posts
 
Believe me, I've been there before with the "does it sound different tonight because I messed it up?" cartridge paranoia. It's all in our heads. Do experiment with the VTA though; good suggestion on that. And yes, loading can have a big impact on the overall hardness vs. softness of sound. Welcome to vinyl!

Sorry to give a needless scare when I thought it was your cantilever that got knocked loose. Sounds like you got lucky and everything is fine; happy weekend listening!
prof OP
3,435 posts
 
Thank again.  Question though:

I find the sound coming from this Transrotor/Micro Benz cartridge to be in most ways remarkable - dead silent background, utter clarity, smooth, punchy etc.  The ONE thing that has me hesitating to fall in love with it is a persistent sense of "thinness" to the sound.  Like there is some scoop out somewhere in the midrange that makes things sound smaller and thinner.  It's a persistent tonal signature and it reminds me of a custom built tube amp I once had that had the exactly the same sound.  This was the case also in the brief time I had listening to it before the cartridge was knocked.

The Micro Seiki turntable with an old cartridge the Transrotor replaced had the opposite sound.  Bigger, fuller, more lush than my digital sources.

Any suggestions?  Is this possibly a VTA thing?  (My VTA apparently looks fine to my pal who re-set the cartridge).  Any other suggestions?
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,774 posts
 
I had the Benzes in that range (Glider L2, Wood M2, Ref 3) and enjoyed the heck out of them when I started in vinyl 10 years ago. But when I heard my first Koetsu, and its fat lush midrange, it was probably the biggest WOW moment I ever had in hifi. Definitely made the Benz sound like it had relatively scooped mids. Between the Benz and Koetsu, I also had some Ortofons; I really liked the Kontrapunkt "c" (very good mids) which has been succeeded in their line by the Cadenza Bronze (also very good).

I do remember the Benzes sounding somewhat like what you describe, though they should have a nice balanced sound overall, so it's hard to tell if the midrange thinness you're hearing is much more than it should be due to setup, arm match, phono stage match, a combination of all these factors etc. At the time I had Benz, I didn't experiment too much with phono stages and arms; I used a Benz PP-1 (with some loading plugs) and Fidelity Research FR64fx, the latter of which is better optimized for lower compliance cartridges. Keep plugging away and trying various setup tweaks. Vinyl is a long journey of experimentation and learning.
prof OP
3,435 posts
 

Teeny update:

Before buying my Fat Bob S turntable, I thought I’d been on track to possibly buying a VPI Prime turntable - especially the rosewood version which in pictures looked gorgeous. But I couldn’t resist the great deal I got on the Fat Bob.

Just recently I was able to see a VPI Prime turntable in action (black, not rosewood), at a friend’s place. I was a bit surprised because I found the aesthetics less appealing in person that I would have thought. It seemed a little more "messy" and industrial looking vs the way my Fat Bob looks on the really nice roasted maple wood base. Aesthetically I quite prefer what I ended up with.

I’m sure the rosewood version of the VPI would add some zing factor, but even so I’m not sure I would prefer it over the Fat Bob/maple block combo on aesthetic grounds.
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