Nude Turntable Project

Bpoletti and Raul,
Thanks for the kind words.
Dear David,
A lot of your questions can be answered by looking through my 'progress' postings on this site.
You will see photos as I procured arms and cartridges and designed the arm-pods and then had them cast in solid bronze and then had them painted in an automotive shop.
1) the TT-81 sits on Tip-Toes (3) which are important to pack to get level.
Also important is to position the cones so that their centerline is directly under the pressed metal wall of the motor housing. This maintains the utmost rigidity and transfer of loads so that no twisting or movement of the casing is possible.
2) No base. The TT-81 sits on a 33mm laminated shelf cantilevered off the brick wall via aluminum brackets.
3) Towers are free-standing and made of solid cast bronze each one weighing 25 lbs and fitted with screwed adjustable spikes for leveling and isolation. A 10mm solid aluminum top-plate to the pods has a centre hole drilled to suit whatever arm you might have and this plate is screwed to the bronze pod.
4) The proximity of each arm-pod is determine by the individual arm's spindle to pivot distance geometry which comes with each arm.
A Feikert aluminum distance gauge is essential for setting these up. Once set, the weight of the pods sitting on 3 spikes makes them virtually immovable in general arm use.
5) No treatment to underside of metal curved motor shield of the TT-81.

If you still have further questions after looking through the progress "links", please feel free to ask.

Good luck.

Halcro, what is the weight of your TT-81? You may be "plinth-less", but with 25 pounds for each arm pod the total mass loading on your laminated shelf must be around 100 pounds, possibly more.

Again, beautiful design and execution.

pryso, I was thinking the exact same thing! \

Having substantial weight on the same platform as the TT may actually do some of the same things as mass loading the TT itself

I'm just sayin

Thanks again Pryso,
Yes you're right. The shelf is certainly 'mass' loaded but with the actual turntable isolated on spikes, there is theoretically a de-coupling from this 'mass'?
And don't the adherents to massive plinths require direct 'coupling' via bolts or screws? Although I do recall someone making plinths who advocates that the turntable merely 'sits' on the plinth without mechanical connection?

Halcro
Just recently I was introduced to the play back sound of a direct drive Technics SP-10 MKII mounted in a Panzerholz plinth.
This experience came about from a purchased item from this fellow audio enthuses with pick up only.

To make a long story short we chatted about audio related stuff and listened to music before I went on my way.

I have similar to your investment for a modern turntable and during the couple of hours of listening to his table and system a realization quickly came over me that made me pause...........

What was first apparent was the tonal balance ,rhythm, pace and overall life in the music that my system only hinted at but never breaking through into that new vinyl play back territory, well new to me.
In other words this direct drive table, so to speak, punched through a cloud cover that I was not aware of.

30 plus Gs for my current front end is serious bread for anyone and right now I feel foolish.

Halcro you bring up some good points here 10-31-10 which prompted me to go through old issues of the Absolute Sound, late 1970s and early 1980s issues though some are missing I did come across a mention of a Harry Weisfeld of VPI fame and his modified Technics SP 10. I need more time to go through them.........Maybe it wasn't all about the search for the absolute sound after all.

In any advent, I have shamelessly invited myself back over for more listening of this direct drive wonder.

BTW great work and interesting topic.

Regards William