Nude Turntable Project

Aigenga,
Those rubber bands look like a good idea to control any possible audible vibrations of the thin metal enclosure.
Where did you obtain them?
You say you can hear a difference?

I am assuming that before you tried the TT-101 semi-nude and then fully nude........you listened to it coupled to its original wood plinth?
If so.....could you describe what you heard in the moves to a fully nude model as many readers here have commented on the lack of plinth/no plinth comparisons (are you there Lew??)

Returning to your comments on the reduction of 'noise floor'....with which I agree....and the ability to turn up the volume......I do somewhat disagree on your comment about 'poorly recorded' albums sounding worse?
I have found that generally, even the worst recordings seem to be more listenable via the TT-101?

Congratulations on your 'soon to be' TT-101 Banquo.
They are rare to find in good condition? It took me over a year to finally find one.
Are your intentions to run it 'nude'?.......as it will make an interesting comparison to your SP10MkII?

Just a comment on mats which may be of interest to the 'now' many TT-101 owners here..........compared to the standard rubber mat supplied with the deck, which I found adequate........the best mat I have heard on my TT-101 is the Micro Seiki Cu180.
This mat gave a silence and depth to the sound that was impressive.
Unfortunately.....its weight (1.8Kg).......rendered the brake-stop mechanism inoperable, with the platter continuing to spin after the stop button was pressed.
This bothered me (although some readers appeared unperturbed) and I searched for a different solution.
The Victor pigskin mat (available in black or brown from Tommy at TopClass Audio in Hong Kong)......applied directly to the aluminium platter of the TT-101 gave virtually all of the benefits of the Cu-180 mat with the added bonus of even better 'brake' function.

Halcro: yes, difficult to find but patience pays off. Mine is cosmetically in very fine condition--but there are speed problems. I bought it so I could test your theory about vintage direct drives and 'living dangerously'. That and it was just too cheap to pass up. It was sent directly to Bill Thalmann's hands. I'm confident he can locate and fix the problem. I plan on buying that pigskin mat. Thanks for the advice.

My table is the ql10 so I will keep in plinth for a month or so to get accustomed to the sound. I'll try to set up my pod next to the plinth as well but I suspect that I won't have the shelf space. Ultimately, I plan to go nude because that's how I roll (as the kids like to say). It depends though: I might like the plinthed sound?

Yes, many comparisons to be made. I'll choose ten tracks and make notes with each different set up to compare differences. The sp10 is sounding pretty darned good these days, so I'll be happily amazed if the Victor gives me something better.

Halcro,
The rubber straps are flat bungee cords - available at home-goods or hardware stores. Yes I clearly hear an improvement with them - that tin can needs dampening. Perhaps it would be better to coat it somehow.

My observations on poorly recorded albums is that the better I make my playback system the better I can hear the flaws in the album. I am quicker to chuck bad records now than I was in the past because they are unlistenable. Of course the good albums just open up wonders.

As far as plinth/no plinth, Lew and I just exchanged posts on Vinyl Asylum and he easily stated that bad plinths cause problems but that good plinths can be a benefit. My opinion is that good plinths sound better than bad plinths but at least in the case of good DD tables no plinth is even better.

Lew also made the point (Lew my apologies for quoting you and especially if I, by some stupidity on my part, misquote you) that idler drive tables require a good plinth and that string/belt drives often don't. That may well be so, but it doesn't say anything good about the vibration issues of idler drives, does it.

As I have stated before, somewhere, a plinth is unnecessary and often undesirable because it collects, holds, and returns vibration to the tone-arm and turntable. I hear the loss of this vibration as gain in all things musical - like going to a better turntable. Things improved for me as I went from full plinth to semi-plinth to no plinth. I am not going back.