Upgrade: Turntable or Cartridge?

To add a smidgeon to what Doug said, if the motor is however imperceptibly moving toward the platter during play, the speed of the turntable cannot remain constant. Another remedy: double-sided tape to immobilize the motor feet, and if that does not work - duct tape. At all costs, you need to immobilize the motor. Once that is done, check the speed with a reliable device. The best bang for the buck in that department is the KAB strobe. Calibrate speed if possible and you are done, so far as the particular other limitations of your tt will allow.

I had a Benz Gilder with the Emotion. One of the first tables I owned. The Benz sounded good, but when I upgraded to the CMB and Mapleshade brass feet, what a difference in performance.

But honestly, this stuff is all system dependent. Every piece of the puzzle will make a difference, and there really are no shortcuts to a great sounding system.

One of my favorite saying is "it's the journey and discovery that counts in the end."

Enjoy

Herb

Dougdeacon: You are right, that is the best way to deal with the problem. In fact, that is what I normally do, but at times I get a bit lazy and try to turn it off with one hand. Sometimes I can get away with not moving the motor, other times I can't. Only way to be sure is the use both hands every time. A definite inconvenience, but oh well. Just to be clear, the motor is definitely not moving during playback. The only time it happens is when I move the motor myself while turning it on or off. However, putting something like a rubber mat or tape underneath may allow turning the motor off with one hand, and even further isolate vibrations coming from the motor.

Sballs: I too thought about the CMB upgrade. It looks like it currently sells for around $400. Would you say it's worth the cost? What types of improvements did you notice? I had been thinking of saving my pennies for a few months, then upgrading to a VPI Classic 1. I've read so many good things about it.

Lewm: Good ideas. I may try the duct tape, but as I said, the movement only really seems to happen from my own hand pushing it to the side while turning the motor on or off.

Hcalland: What types of improvements did you notice with the upgrades? My fear is that I could dump money into an old turntable that already can't sell for much, and that the money spent on those upgrades will get mostly lost during resale.

As for an update on the cartridge, I think it sounds fantastic so far. I probably have about 15 hours on it, so it still needs more break-in time, but man, what a step up in bass control, extension, impact, and dynamics over the Grado. This isn't to say that the Grado is a bad cart, it's just easy to hear how "romantic" it sounds compared to a more honest cart like the Dynavector. The Dyna has an extremely engaging sound, very lively, detailed, lots of inner detail, but never harsh or bright. It's strange to hear a presentation such as this, since often "lively" and "detailed" are accompanied by "bright" and "harsh" to even a small extent. It really has me wondering how much more sound I can extract out of the cartridge with a better turntable.

Nice choice on the Dynavector 20x2L. Should be a very nice match with your setup.

Hcalland: Which model of Mapleshade feet did you use on your Emotion TT, and what are they sitting on?

In fact, that is what I normally do, but at times I get a bit lazy and try to turn it off with one hand.

Lazy moments are for CD's! There are no shortcuts to good analog reproduction. In fact, the more capable the system, the more care the user must take. My vinyl rig retails for about $18K but I still have to pay attention when I turn the motor on. If I move it by mistake it can take 30 minutes of fussing to re-position it correctly (I use a non-elastic drive belt, so there's zero margin for error).

However, putting something like a rubber mat or tape underneath may allow turning the motor off with one hand, and even further isolate vibrations coming from the motor.

Depending on the system, it may also slur transients and dull dynamic response. The more revealing and accurate the rig, the less tolerant it will be of elasticity *anywhere* in its mechanical connections. Putting rubber feet or even a single thickness of Scotch tape beneath my TT motor turns a vibrant and hugely dynamic table into a sludge. By all means try it, but keep an open mind about the effects you hear.

P.S. Your new cart sounds like a huge step up. (I'm not surprised, most Grados are better at smoothing things over than reproducing lifelike music). Enjoy the journey!