New Maplenoll Ariadne owner needing advice

Oilman: The exciting element(s) for me is the learning curve ... Its the "sound" experience" that may help me find other suitable adaptions to apply to the 'Nolls. For instance:

One element that is becoming clearer is speed control ; That is one strength of the TW Acustic Raven One TT which I have been listening to. I have discovered platter speed is a weak link in the 'Noll when compaired to the '301, '401 and TW Raven.

The 'Noll motor is off-da'-shelf that needs replacement for future advancements. An AC Speed Controller is another critical part of the sonic landscape ,as is the removal of the motor from the plith. Recently, I located a potential motor replacement that far exceeds the stock 'Noll spinner.

Let me be clear ,I believe that there are limits to the mods that can be performed ... Should I want a Raven buy one not a 'Noll. Likewise, I think the distance between some 'Nolls and other tables can be shortened. How far who knows.

One matter I am certian, the spring/suspended 'Nolls have finite limilts that the unsuspended 'Nolls do not. More to come.

Oilman: I have uncovered another area that needs investigation -- The Bearing Platter . The Maplenoll Manual states " The air Bearing Platter is the heart of the turntable . It is incredibily simple consisting of only two parts ... ". Actually , that statement is partially accurate. The platter bearing consists of three parts : top , bottom and center pin. The center pin is the weak-link in the system. The center pin's were poorly manufactured , wearout in time and most that I have viewed have "side-swing" , the platter moves ever so slightly off-center . Lloyd Walker in his 6 moons interview had a veiled comment to the problem as a fatal flaw equally as important as the failure of the air-control systems for the entire 'Noll line-up. My interm solution was to re-manufacture the center pin to more exacting standards and have a couple dozen on hand so I can put a fresh pin in the bottom bearing plate whenever one starts to wear (yearly). I'm rethinking the whole matter trying to come up with a center pin that would be more akin to the improvements made to a '301 or '401 with a replacement brass bearing . Not the same just extracting the "essence" of improvement and extrapolating that into a 'Noll . A fuzzy - head thing buts that what I do best -- sometimes.

I posted a thread on the audioasylum and got a similar theme in that it was focused on improving the air bearing platter and tonearm. here are his comments. He has a signature model versus the standard model I have

Next thing to do is buy some real high quality air regulators to replace
the cheap ass screw valve which comes stock. I've tried various brands,
but have found that the Binks brand are more stable than most of the
others. I have 2, one for the platter pressure and another for the platter
pressure. I have the air pressure regulators and their gauges set into a
panel on the front of my TT stand, so that it is easy to see, and easy to
adjust. You'll need one that is low pressure for the arm, which runs
around 3 PSI. The other one will depend upon which arm manifold that you
have, either 20 to 25 PSI or 40 PSI. I have the higher pressure arm
manifold (Signature version #2) so I went with the highest quality Binks
model specifically designed for 20 to 50 PSI. The regulators were around
$75 each. Gauges were around $30 each, again Binks models.

If you haven't noticed, air quality and regulation is VERY important. Keep
this in mind.

I made a custom Purple Heart plinth for mine, that is 6 inches thick, which
really opened up the table ... much better than the original plinth. This
wasn't cheap. I gave my cabinet maker friend my plinth for a month to make
it all align perfectly. (You have to be sure that they realize just how
important 1 or 2 thousandths of an inch is in this case. (Although I
always wondered just how acurate the factory was ...)

As far as the arm is concerned, there is plenty that should be done. I had
a machine shop place a .002 spiral groove throughout the arm to improve
stability. Stock, there is just the air fitting and nothing else. Oh, be
sure that they have the arm tube and that the champhere the rough edges, of
course.

Replace the stock arm tube with Thompson Shafting. Any good machinist will
be familiar with Thompson Shafting. It has .001 run out in a 20 foot
length. It will not bend or distort like the stock hollow shaft does.
(This is why many Maplenoll arms will bind, and/or have tracking issues
half way through a record).

My stock arm tube was filled with a polymer type sound deadening material,
sourced from an old friend who works for NASA. It came in a plain brown
wrapper, so I'm sorry that I can't be of more help. I also wrapped the arm
tube with black duct tape, which really tightened up the focus and deepened
the stage.

I had a carbon fiber arm tube made for me by a friend who has an archery
store. (They use carbon fiber arrow shafts at $100 to $200 EACH!) Anyway,
he made me a carbon fiber arm tube from a broken arrow shaft that is really
interesting. Once again, it is duct tape wrapped for improved staging and
focus.

It's funny that Lloyd recommended using "Super Glue" on the arm/VTA adust
connection. I hope that he at least recommended the good stuff that
actually works that is horribly expensive. I used a very small amount of
JB Weld in that area. JB Weld is amazing stuff, and it is much, much
stronger than Cyanoacrylate.

The stock platter bearing needs to be "trued" by a competant machinist. Get
both plates trued. It cost me somewhere around $30 (in 1990's money) to
have them trued by a machinist friend. If you really want to get tweak,
have another platter bearing made with more surface area.

I am taking a little break from my tweaks but I have some interesting ideas to follow up on. Thanks again for all the thoughts.

Oilman:

My reaction to the Air Bearing advice presented to you is to recall a conversation with Lloyd Walker on several of the same issues. Mr. Walker warned me that those bearing plates have been hardened and are subject to distortion or shattering should they be put on a lathe and turned. As for manufacture to a slightly larger size, the estimates I got were beyond my means. They exceeded the cost of the entire table.

A reader of the postings emailed me to express his tale of woe . According to him he purchased a Maplenoll on Audiogon only to have it delivered damaged . Besides cosmetic issues, the top plate spindel was bent so he attempted to have it repaired. The machinist heated the plate not knowing it had previously been hardened and the top plate went out of true and can not be repaired. Now he's stuck with an unplayable table.

Some of the Tonearm suggestions are interesting. I have a feeling that your friend has mistaken the alignment problems I spoke of in other posting in this thread as manufacturing problems. Nevertheless, his comments are worthly of follow-up.

Lastly, I have received some experimental compounds via a manufacturer that are claimed to deadened vibration(s) on contact. I haven't cracked the cans but intend to "play" with the stuff.

Crem
Thanks, I truely value yours and piedpipers comments. Everyone of the ideas you and him suggested that I tried has worked like a champ. I continue to ask a lot of questions about the maplenoll tables to learn what people have done and how it has worked out. I especially like the mod piedpiper made which moved his motor from the noll plinth. I am also very interested in developing a carbon fiber arm but I am still struggling learning how to solder the fine wire necessary to make these arms work well(just not good with real steady hands). I do have the prototype arm with a graphite headshell. I am working on a type of clamp and VTA adjustment similar to the walker table that will eliminate the looseness in the arm. Thanks again for the advice and ideas