TWL's Hi Fi Mod & Doug's VTF tweak

Well, after having all of the necessary pieces to do these two mods for about 4 months, I finally got off my A$$ & did them tonight.

The Process:

Hi Fi Mod:

If you have not done it yet, do it! It took me 7 minutes from start to finish. That includes boring a concave surface in the weights, polishing the weights, searching through the hifi junk box to find Blue tack, and mounting them.

VTF Mod:

I actually had this one before, but took it off because it wouldn't stay stable with no holes to hold it. Now that I have the weights on, I made a new one. Took me 2.5 minutes to smooth, bend, and install the biggest paper clip I could find. Fits the weight holes perfectly now!

Results:

The immediate increase in bass tightness is amazing. All around the sound is more focused, tighter, and a little more dynamic. I've been listening to albums I know VERY WELL for the last 2 hours, ans I still can't believe that something that cost me $1.32 (I got extra weights) makes more difference than changing from the Soro SE pre, phono, and Microgroove to the Supratek. I kid you not, skeptics, try it.

Coupled with the VTF adjustability of Doug's mod, while the album is PLAYING, with my OL (Rega) arm, well, I just can't say enough. Now I can play with the VTF to a much finer degree. I'm so glad I didn't spend $200+ on a digital gauge. The Shure gets it close enough, and the paper clip dials it in.

What got me started installing these two mods tonight was the distilled water thread. I'll say it again: There are people here who have more patience and creativity than most of us, and I've learned that if they say it works, I can probably count on it working. They are willing to try "all kinds of mean, nasty, and ugly things" (thanks Arlo), and then let the rest of us know what works, and what DOES NOT.

I kid you not, for 2 bucks and about 10 minutes you will think you've got a new system. I cannot stress how much impact the two mods make. Sure, you can go spend a ton of money and get the same results, easily. But, I've got about $500 in my arm & cartridge, and I think I would have to spend 5-6 times that for a very incremental improvement. An Illustrious and a 901 cost about 6 times my investment. Is it worth it? Sure, and I'll do it one of these days, down the road. But I figure what the hell, I built the Teres, I can do this!

I believe even the most non-DIY capable people out there can do this for themselves. If you can't, email Tom. He'll be happy to send you a little kit to install the HiFi mod. After that, Doug's mod is so easy it's not funny.

And, if you can't get a hold of either one of them, email me, and I would be more than happy to help you get going. That ought to tell you what I think of these mods, if for some reason you missed it in this post!

Joe