Shelter and Triplanar matching ?

Hi Tenmus.

I finished setting up my Triplainer-Shelter 90X a few weeks ago. The first thing I played was Swan Lake. The arm shook so badly that I ceased playing the table The next day a call to Tri Plainer resulted in the suggestion that I back the damping screw all the way out of the damping trough.When that didn't work I just stopped playing records, until today. Of course, nothing changed over the last few weeks and the same thing happened.

A light bulb went on and, Audiogon forums to the rescue. Lo and behold I found your forum posting of the same problem I experienced. The replies were enlightening.

I have only one question that might have been answered, maybe I missed it. If increasing the mass of the arm was accomplished by putting the heaviest weight, the only one with the chamfer, all the way up to the pivot point of the arm I assume that the chamfer was pointing to the rear of the arm. Would you please confirm this.

I am posting this reply to your forum topic as well as emailing you a copy, as it has been awhile since there's been activity on that site. I am anxious to hear how good this set up sounds.

I was unable to access your system on Audiogon, maybe I just didn't look in the right place. If you have a system description on Audiogon, please point me in the right direction. Regards, Ken Kftool

Kftool,

The normal setup for a TriPlanar has the chamfer pointing toward the arm bearings, not away.

Assuming proper setup, there is no reason for a TP/Shelter to "shake badly", on any record. If the problem is as bad as you describe, changing counterweights and counterweight positions is not the solution. The effects of those adjustments are fairly subtle.

Tenmus' problem was only resolved with a replacement arm. I'd suggest contacting your dealer or Tri Mai. If I had to guess, I'd guess the bearings might be misadjusted. But that is not a user adjustment.

Dougdeacon,

Thank you for the reply, it never occurred to me that there may be a problem with a new arm, but everyone makes mistakes.

The Sota Mellennium table I'm using was a display unit I purchased at the 2005 CES and was set up with a Tri Plainer VII arm . When I later decided to also purchase a Tri Plainer VII, Sota sent the armboard drilled for , and used at the CES show. When I mounted the arm, I automatically figured the board to be drellid properly. After I posted the shaking problem on Audiogon, I thought I'd check the pivot to tt center dimension. The armboard was drilled to 235.5 mm rather than 233 mm as is specified by Tri Plainer. Upon calling Sota I was told to return the armboard so they could check the hole positions and replace the armboard if necessary. I'll have it back in about a week and check the arm again.

Another thread suggested I increase the mass of the arm by sliding the chamferred weight all the way forward, and then use the lightest counterweight to balance the cartridge out to the desired tracking force. I will perform both steps and if the problem persists, I will return it for a bearing check, as you suggested. regards Ken

Ken,

Sota has had compatibility issues with the TriPlanar on some lower model tables with wood plinths and recessed armboards, but there should be no issues on a Millenium, other than the goof you already discovered of course. Geoff Husband of TNT-Audio used a Millenium for his review of the TriPlanar without any problems.

A spindle-to-pivot dimension of 235.5mm would put a Shelter at the very end of the slots, assuming you could align it at all. Perhaps that made things unstable enough to cause your vibration. Let's hope a properly drilled armboard will resolve the issue.

Best of luck,
Doug

The .5 error could be attributed to using a different arm than the one the armboard was drilled for. It seems that Tri does not use any fixture when tightening down the mount. This does lead to vaariations from arm to arm. This is why Thom Mackris had me send him my Triplanar so that he could drill the Galibier armboard properly for the arm that will be used. I'm sure this is something Thom has learned from experience.

Best of luck!

Dan