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radical Rega plinth DIY upgrade

Has anyone here ever endeavored to replace the plinth on their turntable? Pretty radical concept, I know. And you're all perfectly within your rights to tell me I'm nuts, flat out.

But I'm a tradesman and not afraid of throwing money, tools, and time at things just for grins. I've got a Rega P5 and I've never been thrilled with the appearance of the plinth. And how can any plinth that looks like plastic be substantial enough to do the job of the best plinth materials?

So I've got this crazy notion that perhaps I can create a new one. Basically, you'd have to disassemble the table and use the plinth as a pattern for the new one. All of the borings would have to match in terms of thickness/depth and obviously all of the centerlines would have to be reproduced precisely. But think of the possibilities! Granite? Yeah baby! (oh alright, the machining would take some doing). Corian or some other solid surface? Piece of cake! You could get hold of some stock Black Diamond, or similar, material and sandwich something. While you're at it, get the best vibration decoupling feet you can afford.

I've got a colleague with a CnC in his shop so if I pay for a diamond cutter I could even get granite mortised...

It makes my tools tingle just thinking about it.
fripp1

Showing 2 responses by fripp1

fripp1 OP
54 posts
 
G_m_c, The properties you refer to have to start and end with resonance, I.e. how the "natural" resonance relates to the other inherent resonances that affect the signal. If you look at the "better" turntables, they all tend to have high density (and correspondingly high mass)components: plinths, platters, etc. There's a reason for that. And there's a reason that the lower end 'tables are at the lower end--that is, they can't bring those "better" components into the price point they're trying to achieve.

No doubt your point is still true. Take for example the low end of the Rega line, the P1. What does is use for a plinth? MDF! It's melamine fer cryin' out loud!! No wonder they can sell it for $300 or whatever it is. Melamine may be the best performance Rega's engineers can get for cheap for the part of their budget dedicated to plinth materials, but compare that to the density and mass of any of the better 'tables and you'll see the relative differences moving upward.

In the end, it all boils down to the relationship between tonearm resonance and plinth resonance. You don't want that relationship to be sympathetic, and the plinth is a good spot to use extremely high density material with a very low natural resonance (frequency). It just doesn't require the same degree of architectural and sonic properties demanded of a tonearm and its manufacturing process.
fripp1 OP
54 posts
 

Yeah, the P9's a nice table, so is the P5, but neither of them get close to the superb higher end tables out there.

I'm just looking at (just for example) the VPI line. I'm not sure what that material is in their HRX ($8K plus, or somewhere around there, without the outboard motor or separate power supply), but it's dense as hell.

Again, I think the money they (Rega) chooses to put into the various models going up the line is a function of amount of bang for a given buck.

Another thing that bears consideration is that Rega has made their reputation on value, not on state-of-the-art. I don't think it follows that a given unit cannot be improved by upgrading some element of the product. If that were the case, they, Rega would never have moved off the RB300 tonearm standard (which I believe was their first). The fact that they are still even selling the RB300 on a TT is to the point I am trying to make: it satisfies a certain level of performance value at a given price point that works for Rega in the marketplace.

I'd love to hear other opinions on this, and I know there are DIYers here.
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