A Copernican View of the Turntable System

Dear Chris,
thanks for the impressive images and the short movie. It really looks a bit shaky in the beginning but I do believe it will work properly. I guess your tonearm handling is influenced by the camera's position not using the headshell's guidance.

I received similar results when putting the Continuum table on a similar support structure like the Symposiums do

Regarding a tonearm's support I am using a 16 pounds heavy TOHO TH-80 arm base. In this design the tonearm itself is completely separated from the vibration source. It is an arm base which is made of cast iron cut-processed and heavy enough.
It adopts a function to adjust the height within the range from 0 to 35mm and provide a built-in level for balance adjustment. I mounted a FR-66fx on the TOHO TH-80. The results show that a stable and heavy tonearm bases IMHO is crucial for a setup.

What is the weight of your tonearm base?

best & fun only -Thuchan

Dear Lew - I have confirmed what Geoch said in an earlier post - as long as the platform is level - gravity and the extra weight on top allow the bearings to find their spot every time. The more weight the quicker its found. The bottom of the armpod and your platform needs to be smooth -flush with the top and bottom Junior.

Dear Thuchan - thank you so much for the info on the
Toho TH-80. They share Henry's Copernican philosophy and the basis of our discussions here with isolated arm pods and platter/motors.

http://www.vinylengine.com/library/toho/th-80.shtml

That small block of steel that is in my video is almost 19 lbs.

My brass cylinder is 4" diameter and 4.2" tall and over 16 lbs.

Sorry for the quality of the video using my phone. It is very difficult to make my 16 year son (camera man) stand still for 60 seconds. He doesnt share the passion (yet). maybe that is a good thing :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSZSzxnN1mg

After around 7 months of annoyance and concern, I finally managed to assemble my nuded sp10 a month back. It took 6 months to fix my TT (note to anyone with a bum sp10: send to Bill Thalmann as *first* and only option) The TT sits atop 3 AT 616 footers and I had custom machined 2 tonearm pods, one for my Denon DA 305 arm and one for my Technics epa 100 mk2 arm. Both are stainless steel. One can view the pods in my systems page.

The Denon pod was made first nearly 5 months ago, before I had a handle on its conception. It is 3.5" wide and 3" tall. It weighs around 8lbs and has a collar mount made specifically for my Denon arm. Pin screws in the collar allow for VTA adjustment. This collar 'system' allows me the flexibility to swap different tonearms into the same pod. In fact, I had another collar made for a Syntec 220 tonearm I have (but don't use--because that arm is a PITA to adjust). There's a slot cut into the rear of the pod to accommodate the tonearm wire. The pod sits on 3 footers that are modeled after the footers that the Micro Seiki 5000 sits on. Smaller of course. They screw in/out to allow for leveling of the pod. The pod was very well machined and finished and looks spectacular. The guy who did it, Mirko, is an awesome machinist. I was worried about the light weight of the pod, but it hasn't turned out to be an issue as far as I can detect. The denon 103 that is mounted on it has never sounded better in my system.

The pod for my Technics arm weighs 16lbs and was machined from a 20lb block of stainless. It is 4.5" wide and 4" tall. For those familiar with the EPA 100 mk2, the arm's mount is quite large in diameter and so a large chunk of steel had to be cut away to accommodate it. Mirko asked me if I wanted another swappable system with this pod, but I decided against it since I had/have no intention on parting with this tonearm. The pod sits on 3 spikes that screw in/out for leveling and the spikes sit on 'pads' (or whatever you call them). There's also a rather largish hole in the back to accommodate the tonearm and ground wires. Given its weight, this pod is very stable and I have no concern about unwanted movement.

I have been acclimating to the sound of the new system. A couple of things to remark. First and foremost, the sound is relaxed, and what I had been judging as the 'exciting' and 'dynamic' sound of my previous set up , I now think of as distortions. Secondly, I can now better hear the fine distinctions between the various MM carts I have. I take that to be a positive sign. On that note, I can say with confidence that the AT 20ss is a killer cart and supplants my previous favorite, the Azden ym p50vl.

Of course, I cannot attribute these benefits to the pod alone. There's the not insignificant addition of the epa arm, which I had never heard before. Nevertheless, I can conclude that the copernican system does not do detriment to the sound; on that contrary, it is able to produce a very fine and very refined sound. At any rate, I'm satisfied.

Nice work Banquo,
An Audio Copernican's best friend is a good machinist :^)
Hopefully you will report back with further observations when you have listened to more of your favourite records?
Cheers
Halcro