2. analog
  3. 1078279938

O.K. Fess Up. Come Clean. Sing Like A Canary.

In the last several days I have gotten myself involved in a couple of threads regarding lifting (or forgetting about lifting) the stylus at the end of play. One individual was considering getting rid of his existing turntable, and replacing it with an older semi-automatic model.

He considered himself "lazy & forgetful".

Another individual was very upset with himself because he allowed himself to forget about the stylus for "20-30 minutes" after play.

He considered himself a "moron".

Am I another "lazy and forgetful moron"? Or is this just something that happens on occasion when you choose to endure the world of analog?

As of late, this does not happen to me anymore. I installed a "lifter". Problem solved. But before this point?

I can recall sometime back, arriving home after a weekend in Manhattan with my better half. It was Sunday evening about 11:00pm. We had left the previous Friday evening. We walked through the front door, I put down the bags and noticed something out of the corner of my eye. I looked over at my stereo and exclaimed "Uh-Oh".

Needless to say, I turned on the lights, walked over to the stereo, and as I looked down at the turntable (my head now spinning in a circular motion in unison with the rotating LP), had realized that this phenomenon had been in occurence over the last 50 hours or so.

I then cued the stylus, placed the tonearm on it's rest, turned off the turntable in disgust, sighed, and silently acknowledged the fact my NEW $800.00 Grado was toast.

Alright. I admit it. I can and did admit to such a mistake. Well, the word "mistake" sound a little extreme. Let's call it an "inopportune loss of mental focus". Now..... Let's see who else will step up to the plate.

What is the longest period of time that you have forgotten your stylus in the "rotating circle of death"?
128x128buscis2
buscis2's avatar
buscis2 OP
468 posts
 
Consttraveler, I just experienced a blood pressure spike myself. With all do respect, WHAT ARE YOU DRILLING? Are you drilling the plinth? I mounted the Lifter using a small dab of Blu-Tak, That is it. And it has not moved. Sal from Expressimo suggests using a dab of clear silicone adhesive. I would not and will not drill a hole in this plinth for ANY device.

Using the Blu-Tak allows minor movement Of the Lifter and rotation around it's own axis for minor adjusting. The smaller model works extremely well with my RB900 tapered armtube.

You and I are in absolute agreement regarding the price of this thing. And I would think that the reason he is not providing more accurate mounting information is because these things are so universal. I do believe that he feels if he machines it, you should mount it. Whether that's right or wrong is a whole other subject.

As I had said to another Agon'r earlier. Sal is a very nice person. He will do anything within reason to try to help you out. I would not write this thing off until I called him. I have heard of Sal going as far as machining little spacers or brackets to help facilitate mounting one of his products.

I would say it would be worth at least a phone call, because when properly setup, these things work like a dream.

Best of luck. Regards, Ed.
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
Funny, When I talked w/Sal the gist of the message was, "Try it and I'll refund if it doesn't work out". He didn't have any experience w/the Nottingham design, and sounded far to busy to be messing w/spacers etc. for me. Certainly nice guy, just really busy.
I tried "The Lifter", it didn't work w/my table, but I sold it to a friend w/Basis table, where it fits fine. Guess the one I tried was the smaller one.
Guess I got what I deserve buying a table that doesn't even have a power on switch ;-)
Cheers, Spencer
consttraveler
250 posts
 
Buscis2, Ed:

I have not drilled anything, and I am not recommending it. However, mounting the lifter in the same manner as the arm (I know, I know, on my Rega it would require drilling the plinth) is my opinion of the "best" installation. Once set-up, the little bugger isn't going anywhere.

Murphy's law ("whatever can go wrong, will") says if I use blu-tak or anything temporary, it will fail to function when the arm/cartridge is directly in the line of fire. Talk about a blood pressure spike! Just the thought of the needle being pushed down and across my Super Session album makes my skin crawl. Compared to that, drilling a hole in my P-25 causes me no worries.

I really doesn't matter any way, the lifter is designed to be mounted on the top of the plinth (my Rega is safe and my Thorens TD-520 lifts by itself). Someday when I'm in the right mood, I may dig it out of the closet and try again, you never know.

Dave
twl
3,251 posts
 
Ed, before I got the Teres, I had a Linn LP12 with a Monitor Audio Stylift installed(the original "Lifter"). Prior to that, I only fell asleep one time while listening, and woke up after about 20 minutes - so no damage. For me it is a very rare occurrence to fall asleep while listening, so it's not a big deal even if there is no safety measure in place.

Recently, I got a Audio Technica "Safety Raiser" from A'gon member Lugnut, and have been using that on my Teres. I like it better than the Lifter or Stylift, but it gets in the way of playing 45rpm singles.
buscis2's avatar
buscis2 OP
468 posts
 
Twl, I remember the "Stylift". They have not been mentioned in years. And, I had always wondered about the performance/compatibility of the A/T model. I ended up using the Expressimo "Lifter" because of familiarity with the rest of Sal's product line.

I have modified my RB900 using the Expressimo Heavyweight (the newest model) with adjustable weighting. I have to say, it made a difference that is absolutely stunning. It increases the compliance of the tonearm tenfold. It is extracting very subtle information I had never heard before. I also installed the Rega/Expressimo end stub. I can't confirm that it does anything.

The "Lifter" actually works very smoothly and quietly. It was a pain in the ass to get positioned correctly but after that, no problems.

Regards and Happy Listening, Ed.
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