Halcro, a review of Raul's system should suggest a few good vintage arms. I bought a Technics EPA-100 on his advice - a very versatile arm. He also likes specific Fidelity Research, Micro Seiki, Audiocraft, Audio Technica and Lustre arms, but that is of little help without specific model numbers so check out his system.
Are the Jelco arms made by the same company who built the Audioquest and Sumiko Premier arms? I had a Premier FT-3 and while I would not say it was outstanding I did consider it to be very good - quality construction and finish, good bearings, adaptable to a wide range of cartridges, and reasonably priced, particularly now on the used market. |
Halcro, outstanding review. I agree fully with the other two complements (so far) on your efforts.
However I must express one disappointment. You stated the "germ" for your project was the discussion on different plinth materials for DD tables. So then you found and assembled a DD system that was more satisfying than your reference belt-drive table. Fair enough. But unless I misunderstood your intentions, you ended up comparing a belt-drive system against a DD one. And this says nothing about how your "nude" Victor would compare against a plinthed Victor, aside from your comments speculating that any of the plinths changing sound with different materials would actually be colorations.
Apparently it was not your intent but I was hoping to see a comparison of nude VS plinthed tables. |
Halcro, no apology needed. I should have read your prior posts for more background.
I have great respect for Raul's experience in audio but he is definitely swimming against the tide regarding DD plinths. Even Technics introduced three Obsidian plinths during production of the Mk 2 and 3 tables and each one was more massive than the one before. Also, every other post I've read on DD plinths claims sonic improvements when more massive plinths replace original light-weight versions.
I'm way overdue in building a plinth for my SP-10 Mk 2 and have only listened with it mounted on a 3/4" particle board to provide a platform to mount the tonearm. I must admit that sounds very nice so perhaps 40+ pounds of plinth are not necessary after all. I was just hoping you might be doing the more direct comparison. And based on the thoroughness of your review, I'm certain it would have been helpful had you done so. ;-) |
Halcro, what is the weight of your TT-81? You may be "plinth-less", but with 25 pounds for each arm pod the total mass loading on your laminated shelf must be around 100 pounds, possibly more.
Again, beautiful design and execution. |
Lew, I have no idea if your story is "urban legend" or the real thing, but it was entertaining.
Many years ago I helped a friend and his wife move to Connecticut for grad school at UConn. Driving through Willimantic I was amused to find the Hotel Hooker in the middle of their old downtown. From Wikipedia: "In addition, The Hotel Hooker, once infested with drugs and prostitutes, has been repurposed as a transitional living facility called the Seth Chauncy Hotel."
Aptly named it would seem. |
Hi Dover,
"A tripod is inherently more stable than 4 legs." I've read variations on your statement many times. But I wonder under which conditions it is true?
Is a tricycle more stable than a (4 wheel) wagon? Think about which one would be easier to tip over if making a sharp turn. But if that is an unfair example for a stationary object, then which one would be easier to tip with a shift in loaded mass while otherwise stationary.
As for camera tri-pods, I believe there are two reasons for their design. First, they are lighter and more portable than quad-pods, all else being equal.
But it is their second design feature that really gives the advantage. The three legs are splayed well outside the center point of the mass they support by angles. And I think it is the angles of the legs which provide the stability, rather than the number three.
Said another way (sorry, I'm trying to find the best way to express my sense of this issue and my question), if we have two small tables of the same weight and height, one has three vertical legs, the other four vertical legs, which will be more stable? If you push on the edge of the top surface, midway between any two legs of both tables, which one is more likely to tip? |
Thanks Halcro, you beat me to it. .^) |
Henry, thanks for continuing to update us with your trials. Material choice can be tricky and I believe there are some misconceptions about benefits.
Years ago I read advice to try a marble cutting board for placement under a turntable. I'm not sure how marble measures up against granite but when I checked out the recommended marble I found a knuckle rap produced an audible reaction, almost a ringing.
I've read that Corian includes chips of aluminum and it too can ring, pitch being dependent on how much aluminum.
Brass of course is also utilized to produce church and tower bells so I think shape and thickness must be critical there too.
I've also read that slate, being a sedimentary material, is actually layered so good at dissipating energy, whereas stones such as granite and marble, being more solid, do not reduce energy as well but simply transfer it.
They may not be as dense but I go back to thinking of certain hardwoods which have been traditionally selected in instrument making. At least their energy transfer (vibrations) are sympathetic with musical tones. |
halcro,
"The fact is, the air-borne energy is not of a sufficiently low frequency (and amplitude) to be a direct consequence."
My experience was different. My tt is placed on a shelf within an alcove along one wall and built into the walls. The alcove is 60" wide. Originally I had the tt at the far right end of the shelf which placed the arm/cartridge very close to a corner. One day I happened to lean over the tt while music was playing at a moderately loud level, I was amazed by the amount of low frequency build-up I heard in that corner.
So after thinking about this I moved the tt closer to the left end of the shelf where the arm/cartridge would be near the mid-point of the length of the shelf. That was one of those "you notice the distortion once you remove it" experiences. The sonics were definitely cleaned up, at least noticeably in the bass range. And so I would always avoid placing a tt in a corner, just to minimize air-borne energy.
Mechanical transmission is another story. |
halcro,
No, I didn't try a stationary grove test. After moving the table away from the corner the increased clarity when playing moderately loud music (I probably never exceed 90 dB, unlike some) was proof enough I didn't feel the need to test any further. Noticeable feedback (howling) was never a problem although I assume the problem was low level feedback from the pickup being in a high pressure zone area.
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