Hi Lew, no I haven't heard a Shindo platter on a Giant Garrard, but I have access to a good machinist who should be able to replicate the Garrard platter with some modifications (heavier metal, larger diameter, etc.) and perform the experiment myself. In fact, this opens up a whole new world of possibilities, as the Sony 2250's main weakness is also its light platter (but with DDs one cannot increase the mass much as it will interfere with the rotation, which is closely calculated...but the Sony platter has other design features which could use improvement). I'll be visiting him soon to see what can be done.
Problem with the Garrard and the whole issue of torque vs inertia, is that it takes a much greater increase in mass, I believe, to compensate for an increase in torque (say three-to-one) and so eliminate the motor's contribution/contamination of the sound. Of course I haven't performed the calculations, which in anycase I wouldn't know how to do, but I am suddenly looking forward to the experiment!! But, Hxt1 has a point: why go to the trouble when you can buy a Lenco :-)?? Anyway, I'll look into it.
On The Budget Discovery Front, I've been experimenting with various budget SET tube amps in an effort to reinsert my fave Klipsch Heresy MKIs (so extremely detailed, a fact which, to my puzzlement, is not reported) into my sound-room, they sounding much too bright and bass-shy using my usual Sony electronics (which, however, with every other speaker sounds tubier than even tubes, go figure). Though a pair of cheapie Radii SETs did indeed swing and were incredible fun, reminiscent in this way of the legendary budget ASL Wave 8 monoblocks - they did not produce any bass to speak of, unlike the astonishing Wave 8s, which in fact produced only half the output of the SET Radii (but twice the fun)!! Then I tried a budget Consonance SET, the stereo Cyber-10, which though rated for the same power (roughly 13 watts) sounded much more powerful and with deeper bass. But the bass was indistinct and lacked impact, when my Spidey-sense began to tingle.
Long ago I had reported on just how surprisingly good the little and much-maligned Dynaco ST-120 sounded (possibly the first solid state amp put on the market), once restored and adjusted by a competent technician. Now the Dynacos are maligned partly because they were sold as kits as well as factory-made, and the kit-built ones often had problems (sloppily built, tending to blow up), which would be assumed by the next buyer, to become part of the ST-120 reputation. The other part of the euqation is that due to their design, they are very speaker sensitive. Now I've found that many of these early solid state designs sound in fact very tubey (like the vintage Sony and Marantz, for instance), which makes sense as back in that day tubes were the reference/context, and the circuit designs started from tube circuit designs. Anyway, I thought to myself, what if the Dynaco - which so far sounded a bit too analytical for my taste so far with other speakewrs (but surprisingly delicate and resolving, making them still a steal at the resale price, itself predicated on their bad reputation...but remember, when I started the Hope Despot thread the Lencos were also considered the Worst Turntable in the World, just the the ST-120 is considered The Worst Amplifier iun the World) - works with the Klipsch?? I hooked it up and was greeted by Ultra Musical slam, bass and detail!! WHAT fun, NOW I have my new Reference system, which is the rebuilt Dynaco ST-120/Klipsch Heresy speakers, which has headroom in spades (the Dynaco weakness, except with the ultra sensitive Klipsches and their like), deep tight bass, and rocks so as to make dancing an Imperative, without a hint of brightness or that analytical sound!! Haven't boogied around the house like that in ages!! Of course, both the Dynaco ST-120 and the Heresies can be had for a song (so to speak), and so this represents an incredible example of the High End on a budget. Plus, being Klipsches, live recordings now sound MUCH more live than they did before!!
In my search for the perfect balance in my sound room during these comparisons as well, I removed the JMW/Decca combo and inseerted instead the MAS 282/Grado Woody combo, and was greeted with that familiar irresistable musicality, PRaT (superior to the Decca in this sense) and a sense of musical excitement I haven't heard in ages (as opposed to audio/hi-fi excitement), reminding me of why I have often written that the Grados are, overall, my favourite cartridges. It is also responsible for my dance routine this morning!! Now the Grados are not the equal of the Decca in terms of transient speed and slam, or resolution (the Deccas are EXTREMELY resolving), BUT, somehow, as one adjusts to the new context, the Grado begins to pull the listener in more completely, and to better communicate the sense of building musical excitemenmt, and it is definitely - given the right tonearm - superior to almost anythiung else in terms of timing (excepting the venerable Shure V15 VxMR). In addition, it is not aggressive but is extremely lively and dynamic (again, given the right tonearm), and is still champ when it comes to retrieving resonances (wooden instruments), to communicating the human voice (with all its natural dynamics) and to retrieving imaging information and air/venue (like live recordings which echo in their cavernous live spaces convincingly).
Now, I have to send my Sony 2000F preamp in to be adjusted and cleaned up, so in the meantime it'll be back to the Pioneer C-91, which along with the Wave 8s once was the heart of one of the most musically-satisfying and exciting systems I have ever had (with the Sound Dynamic RTS-5 speakers). I hope it works out tin the meantime: the Pinoeer has THE quietest MC phono stage possibly ever built, one can turn the volume all the way up with nary a hiss or crackle making its way in, sounding as if there was no power whatsoever.
So, have fun all, and I'll continue to report on my various experiments out in the Arctic Country (snowstorms keep me in, giving me time to kill ;-)!! Remember, at the heart of all this slam, power, musical excitment and boogeying is an idler-wheel drive :-).
