Best MC for a Linn/Syrinx

Hi John,
re vta for the Grado - I have set the suspension on the Linn and it's sounding nice but trying to get a balanced sound via the vta & tracking weight is driving me nuts.
The best' balance' has the arm pillar set with the arm running uphill to the bearing end, which then fouls the lid.
The bass is great but the vocals are very subdued in the mix.

On the Roksan front - how do you think your suggested Finnish Beech ply - about 18mm, would be affected by a thin Corian plate (about 7mm)bonded to the top of it ?
It's just that the cut out in the toplate goes much wider after the initial 7mm & would be easier to manufacture as two pieces?
I was also thinking about using aceytal as an armboard so that different ones could be made up - a bigger circumference hole at the arm base with a round plate bolted to the toplate - would love to hear the syrinx on the xerxes.
Rgds Simon

Hi Simon,

Your plan for the top-plate sounds good, actually, as MDF is actually heavier than birch-ply, and the Corian being heavy will help the match. Corian is also an excellent material acoustics-wise, especially when bonded to something else. If you can machine the two pieces accurately separately, then go for it, gluing the tow afterwards with contact cement or adhesive of your choice. The two bonded pieces I think will never sag as the MDF did. Your tonearm-board idea sounds good as well, and I am qworking on something very similar for my Lencos, so I can just pop arms in and out to suit my moods. I will then be able to continue to collect classics, such as my recently-acquired Black Widow and Audio Technica (a true beauty: you see one of these come up grab it!). Experimentation in materials for the tonearm board is in order, as while Corian was a great success in a modded AR-XA I had with Mayware arm (this arm beats the pants off Regas), it was a great failure on my Ariston with the same arm, Purpleheart being terrific. So materials depend on the tonearm/table/cartridge interaction, and isn't really predictable.

As to your Grado experience, it's the opposite of mine! I run mine at roughly 1.7 grams, parallel to the surface to bring out the considerable midrange magic, which does however sacrifice some bass reach/impact (but not on the Lenco!). Of course, the Syrinx is very different in design to my Black Widow or my Decca. Perhaps the tonearm cable is stiff and interfering with the suspension? Remember, the Linn is a true suspension 'table, unlike the quasi-suspended Roksan which is less sensitive to this sort of thing. So the thinner the cable, and dressed in such a way as to minimize influencing the suspension (usually curl it slightly under the tonearm like a rattlesnake so the arm sits on it rather than having the cable pull the subchassis in any direction). I think the Linn is more sensitive to these sorts of things than your average 'table as well. I'll be receiving an Ariston RDIIS soon, very similar to the Linn, and we can help each other out getting the best from these 'tables: mats, suspension, damping and so forth. If your Linn is an older one, then the new Linn springs (quite reasonably priced I think) should do quite a lot for the overall sound quality. Finally, try Finnish birch-ply for a tonearm board for your Linn as well: you might find the balance being restored, and the midrange magic pouring out of your Platinum at a normal VTA! Good Luck! How are you solving your motor quandary?

Hi John,
Thanks for all that.
As you say the Linn is very susceptible to the tone arm cable & the 'bounce' is not as good after fooling with the arm height so I will need to realign the springs - these are fairly recent ones.The syrinx badly needs re-wired - not sure about diy, so thinking of the Incognito loom. It must make sense to loose all those solder joints!
Roksan use aceytal sheet for their arm mounts/toplates so this should be a good match material wise.
The power supply units are back with Roksan as they are 95% sure that if the motor still spins, the problem lies with the psu.
I wonder, have you ever tried the Mission tone arm - these are brilliant & can be had cheaply. I used one with all sorts of mm's & mc's - the damping trough give another method for fine tuning.
No joy on the Lenco front as yet.
Regards Simon