Looking for thoughts from Nottingham Analog table owners

I have owned the Spacedeck and Space Arm for about 6 years now and am pretty happy with it, aside from the cueing mechanism needing to be replaced as I type this and wait for the new unit to arrive.  I have a very slight 60hz hum at VERY high volume levels. I can move the connectors from the TT to the phonostage around a bit and get louder or softer hum, so I have compensated by arranging those in a configuration that results in the lowest hum possible.  When I switch the input to a digital one, the hum instantly vanishes so I am reasonably sure the issue resides somewhere between my cartridge and the outputs on my phonostage.

Oh man, you nailed it perfectly bcowen, the two things that irritate me most about this system are those you mentioned.....azimuth adjustment (or lack thereof) and the collet around the armpost!!!  While I AM able, unlike you, to twist the headshell on the end of the arm (a very suspect process as it imparts a lot of torque to the graphite arm which is very concerning), it is HIGHLY unlikely that you will get an accurate result unless you are just plain lucky.  Having a friend with a Fozgometer, we worked for quite a while before getting a setting that the meter showed to be proper, and then it was close, not perfect but I'll live with that.  The second thing, tightening the collet around the armpost, just makes no sense to me at all because, if you hold the tonearm with your left hand while tightening the collet, you can FEEL the arm moving out of the original position as you tighten the grub screws!  So, reflecting on what Mr. Fletcher has said on many occasions, "the meaning of tight," I have found that by just a VERY light snugging of first one, then the other, then back again to the first, repeating this at least 3-4 times whilst holding the tonearm in the other hand has resulted in not much, if any motion imparted by the tightening to the position of the arm.  That's how I do it anyway, and I only tighten it enough to keep it from moving when I use the cueing mechanism.  This you will need to experiment with but with GREAT CAUTION as one that is too loose can result in the tonearm moving across your record as you try to lift it up with the cueing mechanism and that has obvious undesirable consequences.

Hope that helps you out some in your contemplations. 

Meanwhile, my effort at restoring the old lift mechanism (see my earlier post this week) resulted in failure.  Couldn't find the proper lube here locally and was just about to order some of the Kyosho 500,000 cSt stuff online when under close inspection, found that the end of the piston where it engages with the cam was worn to some extent so decided to pop for a new one from the US distributor in Florida, Hollywood Sound, who by the way are very good to work with and offer a very personalized level of service, taking time to talk with me about the issue I was having and providing some excellent guidance without which I would still be trying to figure out how to get the old one off!  No affiliation, rest assured, just a happy customer who does not hesitate to pass on good recommendations to my friends where they are warranted.  Talked with "Marc," by the way, and he's a gentleman......

Uberwaltz, I tend to agree with you about the comparisons between digital and analog but found that if I use a higher resolution in recording, in my case 96/24, the A/B comparison yields results that are far less distinguishable.  Further, recordings in SACD 256 are even better and may really be the way to go if one intends to archive an entire collection.  That said, it all starts with the source and if you have a lousy recording in the studio, no medium nor format is going to make it sound any better than the original.  Just my 2 cents.

@anovak 

My goto comparison recording is crime of the century by supertramp.

This I have on vinyl, cassette, CD, ripped to vault as wav file and finally stream from Tidal at 192 MQA.

I still find the vinyl to have more life for want of a better description.
All the digital mediums still sound more sterile but that also could be the DAC involved.

Have also just been on a deep clean session of my vinyl collection, about quarter way through but albums have played so far show a nice reduction in surface noise.

A very respectable recording and not surprised it is your goto....I have the original 1974 A&M release, the 1980 Mobile Fidelity, the 2008 180gr. release and they all sound different, however slightly, but different and of the bunch I'd nod towards the Mobile Fidelity on my system with the Spacedeck/Spacearm/Sumiko Blackbird. 

You're right, all DACs are not created equal and that can make a huge difference!  Just the other day a friend brought over his PS Audio DAC and it blew my Oppo clean out of the proverbial water!  And the Oppo was an improvement over the one in my Rotel which for a long time I thought was no slouch.  

Good for you, uberwalz, cleaning, as has been said, "is a ritual" and that holds true for us vinyl-lovers.  Once you start and perfect the process, it can indeed yield grand rewards.  I'm about 60% through my collection. My procedure now is to find an album I haven't cleaned yet that I want to hear, clean it, wait until sunset (which is a magical listening time for me) and give it a spin.  I have found countless new titles in my uncleaned section this way by artists that I otherwise would not likely have discovered and had huge enjoyment!

Let us know over time what your impressions on the Spacedeck are, and enjoy!

uberwaltz and anovak,

”Crime of the Century”  Certainly one of my favs; Highly recommend that you find a MFSL/UHQR. No better recording of it that I have heard. Sure it might be a bit Spendy but it will certainly become your go to copy.

I follow vinyl cleaning methods as outlined by “Rushton”  My prized recordings take 20 minutes per side if I stay focused.  If / when my audiodesk bites the dust; I will go the DIY route. But US cleaning is a must with any method/system.

Happy New Year

Best