A Copernican View of the Turntable System

Dear Geoch
No offence taken.
Life is short and this hobby is one of the avenues that has allowed me get into the right frame of mind to help deal with my real family and work challenges. We have all probably done what others would call "extreme things" in our hobby. I have a problem with speakers. 7 pairs in 3 systems and I just brought home Wayne PK Quad 57's to try out.

Those of us using this approach will not be offended if you try it and do not like it in your set up. We are content. Unless you can suggest a better way and we will be all over it. I know I would be.

When you go to some of these web sites and see what just a couple of manufacturers charge for these isolated armpods. They are thousands of dollars with no cartridge.

Dear Ct0517, I agree in general about the 'extravagant prices' in analog domain but disagree that manufacturers are the primary cause. Those from abroad hardly get 30% of
the selling price. First there is the import duty +VAT,then
the importeur and then the dealer. Above this also the value of the national currency. I got my Reed arm pod for
less then $500 thanks to the EU and absence of dealers.

Regards,

Dear Nandric - I agree with you - my statement should have been clearer and implied "the end cost to us" when we finally get the product. I realize in a small market like this it must be very difficult for the manufacturers.

An alternative to DIY or a mass manufacturer is locating a local machinist who can do the work. That's what I did. The machinist marks the middle ground between the other two options. My guy didn't charge me much more than the DIY option and mine required much more elaborate machining--it's all in one piece with no separate arm board. Having said that, if I had thought of Ct0517's 'simple' method, I would have probably opted for it. Of course, the simple method requires one to have an arm board, which I didn't have.

Dear Banquo, A local machinist with an CNC lathe would be ideal. In particular for the tonearms with a collar because
such an armpod need to be milled from,say, solid brass. Ie
a 'sandwich' arm pod with different layers is more difficult to make. For such a machinist our 'DIY' person needs only a good drawing with exact dimensions because the
machinist can order any kind of material for the purpose.
This kind of 'construction' will need a plate with the hole
for the arm with the obvious advantage : different plates=
different tonearms. For the plate one can use acryl, aluminium, steel, etc. but I personaly would use solid brass for the 'base' because of the weight (demping).

Regards,