A Copernican View of the Turntable System

Pity we did not know enough to find each other at RMAF. Next year all of us need to do a better job of making plans in advance of the event. I went to the Mexican restaurant for the vinylphile meeting on Friday but could not identify anyone to talk to except Win Tinnon, with whom I had made prior arrangements.

Funny that altho I have strongly rejected the idea of an outboard tonearm pod, I have involuntarily been dreaming up a way to make a really heavy one using a cylinder made of bronze that can be purchased direct from a metals company here in the US, in a wide range of diameters and almost any reasonable height. The mind cannot rest.

Dear Lewn - you wrote

"I have involuntarily been dreaming up a way to make a really heavy one using a cylinder made of bronze that can be purchased direct from a metals company here in the US, in a wide range of diameters and almost any reasonable height. The mind cannot rest".

www.metalsupermarkets.com

And reasonable cost too. They make it real easy for you by cutting on the spot.

I have a picture of one of their shelves in my gallery link that I posted earlier. Here it is again.

http://www.canuckaudiomart.com/view_userimages.php?user_id=5181&image_id=39023

Lewn - I bet you will continue to be tormented by these visions until you try it out - :).

As an update I have been contacted privately by two individuals who are trying this out. Plinthless and separate armpod. I have encouraged them to post but they choose not to - at least not here. One of them uses a panzer plinth with his SP10 and also has a Raven.

Looking forward to hearing from them during the winter and I hope they decide to post their impressions here if they read this.

Cheers Chris

Well it would be most interesting to hear from Mr. Panzer plinth. I assume its made of hard wood, not from a 20-ton armored tank.

Did I actually write "bronze"? I meant "brass". I have already bought some brass pieces from that company, in order to make subweights to go below the bases of tonearms, and to make an energy sink to go in the plinth for my SP10 Mk3, with a threaded brass bolt pushing up gently on the bearing housing, a la Albert Porter. They also sold me the treaded brass rod from which I and my friend made the needed bolt.

Halcro,

I just came across this thread and thought I'd chip in my penny's worth. I've recently been testing my Technics SP10 Mk2 with and without plinth. I would definitely say that "without" plinth is the way to go. The music almost seems to be released with the loss of the plinth and staging and timbre are enhanced in a way that just sounds more natural/real (almost like, 'free your TT/ free the music'). Better still, you improve the sound while saving money: that can't be bad.

I simply sat it on some Audio Technica AT616 precision pneumatic footers and attached an ash armboard. I would strongly recommend you give it a try. I was a sceptic but hearing is believing.

.

Halcro,

Sorry, I was responding to your relevant posting on your Systems page and now see that you are already trying this and that we agree. I suppose the removal of any potential vibration and the minimalist approach to analogue might seem obvious.

Congrats