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Apocalypse Now?—Technics sp10 problem s

I’d been enjoying my Technics sp-10 mkii for a couple of months now but recently it’s sending out signs of giving up the ghost.

When I first bought it, the start/stop function was halting in the sense that I would have to push the button several times in order for it to perform the function. Independently of that, I bought bearing grease and after adding some drops, the halting start/stop problem more or less disappeared. Great.

But then the strobe light went out. It still comes on occasionally but it’s intermittent. Unless that’s a sign of deeper ailments though, I could care less about that.

Worse: if I play a record now after first turning on the TT, the speed is obviously haywire. One symptom is that the gear mechanism is clearly audible in the form of an unusual and grating grinding sound. Playing records when it’s like this is of course out of the question. The good news is that, for now, if I let the motor spin by itself (without the cartridge on) for about 10 minutes or so, the issue goes away. That is, the speed is dead on for the remainder of the listening session (I played it for almost 8 hours yesterday with no problems), and the grinding noise is gone. The bad news is that all this may be just a sign of an impending apocalyptic failure.

So, I'd like to deal with the issue before it gets to that stage. Can someone suggest the cause? Or better: the cure. Or, alternatively, and best of all since I’m not handy enough to actually fix anything complex, can anyone suggest a reputable service shop where I could bring it? I live in Los Angeles. I’m hesitant to ship it because I don’t have the motor clamp for shipping. For all I know, that may be the original cause since the seller shipped mine without the clamp. I guess I could have a clamp fabricated if that’s my only choice.

It’s a wonderful TT and would hate for it to die so soon in our journey together. Final question: if there’s a repair shop, should I go ahead and replace capacitors, etc..? What are people’s opinions on that?

Thanks.
Ag insider logo xs@2xbanquo363
ct0517's avatar
ct0517
2,041 posts
 
Banquo363 - great that you found a contact to work on your TT.

With the ET arm if anything moved the distortion would be audible on the last track. So far so good.


Lewn - the great thing about this project was it was cheap to find out if it worked in my setup. 3 legs for the TT and spikes for the armboard - you probably have spares lying around and about $75 - $100 in material for the armboard. Doesnt have to be pretty, just functional for now. I listen with lights dimmed anyway :)

here is a link to a site that I added some pictures of my project to:

If you want some closeups send me a note and I will email to you.

http://www.canuckaudiomart.com/view_userimages.php?user_id=5181

I got the metal from Metal Supermarkets. The smaller steel armboard was close to 20 pounds. I was obsessed with making it heavy but Halcro rightly pointed out in the nude TT thread about the magnetics problem with steel so I made an aluminum one - twice as big and about 17 lbs. I put a picture of one of the store racks on the site for you so you can see what is available - they cut any size pieces on the spot for you.

I will be making a pod for the VPI JMW 12 pivot arm soon.

Appreciate comments and any tips on making my set up better.

This project was a lot of fun and it got me through the holidays with two teenagers :).

Chris

halcro's avatar
halcro
2,664 posts
 
Dear Banquo and Ct0517,
Great to see you guys trying out the 'Nude Turntable' principle on the Technics SP 10 MkII. It seems your experiences support Raul's proposition that the 'Nude' SP10 may be better than or at least equal to, a plinthed one?
Photos of your set- ups would be informative for all of us and may inspire others to try this meted?
Cheers
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banquo363 OP
371 posts
 
My experience supports the proposition that a nude TT can sound excellent. I can't make comparative judgments because I've never had a plinth.

Chris: your set up is so cool. What's that black piece over the Start/stop button?

Henry: your thread and monumental efforts motivated me; otherwise I probably wouldn't have bothered listening to the Technics nude and went to fabricate a plinth straightaway. I also followed your lead on the Signet cart/AT 155lc stylus combo. I haven't had a chance to use it much but you're right about the impressive soundstage.
rwwear
2,871 posts
 
The black piece over the start button is a safety feature radio stations used to keep from accidentally turning the unit on or off.
lewm
13,118 posts
 
Halcro, IMO, no one has proven anything until someone who has an excellent plinth can tell us that his dd tt sounds better without it. Even then, the result is subjective. Banquo has it right in that respect.

Banquo, I join in those who are glad you have found competent local help. Can you divulge the name of this person? Others in your area might benefit.

I have a local friend who owns a very successful machine shop. They actually make scientific instruments, but at his home he has every machine tool you can imagine, including a computer-operated mill. He has helped me already making odds and ends for my tts, and I am sure I can enlist him in making something to serve as a no-plinth. (He is basically retired, has hired someone else to run his business, just sits home and collects money.) I am thinking along the lines of the Grand Prix Monaco or the Micro-Seiki 1000DQX, basically a frame that holds the chassis firmly in place with three outward going "legs" upon which one can mount arm boards that are therefore coupled to the structure. Brass and alu in combination might be good structural elements. You can buy nice blank slabs and/or rods, etc, of either on-line for reasonable prices.

On coupling tonearm to bearing, perhaps I misspoke. It would be better to say that I think the tonearm should be coupled to the chassis. Do I need documentation for that idea? About 99% of all tts ever made provide that sort of coupling, some better and more emphatically than others. Oddly, all of Kuzma's lesser models do it that way; only the Airline system does the separate pod. Plus there are a few other high-price entries that also use pods to mount tonearms. I don't like the idea. Regardless of gross movements that could screw up alignment, if there is any chance that the arm pod will be subjected to vibration or resonance that is not also simultaneously experienced by the platter and bearing, then there will be motion of the structural center of the tonearm (the pivot) with respect to the LP. How can that be a good thing for a cartridge that is trying at the same time to trace a groove in an LP? I think the tonearm pivot (in the case of a pivoted arm, of course) and the platter/LP should move as one entity only. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it. But this is theory we are arguing, not the idea that any one person's system that employs a separate arm pod could or could not be pleasing to the ear.
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