3 arms, 3 cartridges, one table, match them up.

Ken,
You've got mail.

11-15-06 Kftool

Hey T_bone. What a coincidence, B 12 H tables. Here's a thought; I don't need another table, but this one brings back memories of the 50's when Rek O Kut, Thorens, and for the big spenders, Fairchild were the best . I will probably build a mold to cast a lead filled polymer base for the B 12 H, my business is slow so this is the time for "goverment Jobs." It will be designed along the lines of the table for three. If you have an interest in a cast base, I'll be happy to provide one for the cost of the lead alone, $1.00 per lb. My company builds tooling for the cast polymer industry; marble bathtubs, vanity tops, kitchen counter tops, etc. With the real thing , granite and marble coming in from China for less than the synthetics "Made In America," I have some time on my hands.

Please keep me posted on your progress.

regards, Ken

Thanks Kftool. One reason I got the idler (also a B12H) was their re-birth and the resulting proliferation of good-natured communities who would give free advice in a pinch! One place which redoes idler wheels is Turntable Basics (without knowledge of their existence, I would have gone Thorens just to get better access to parts). I'm going to have a crack at this one before trying to get more complicated (like yours). And if the devil ever makes you decide to let go of your B12H/Grace704, feel free to drop me a line. I am pretty sure that if I manage to do a decent job on this one, I'm gonna want to do another to see if I can't do it even better...

11-15-06, Kftool,

Tbone, There seems to be a rebirth ,not only of vinyl, but also idler driven tables as I'm sure you know. I still have a Thorens TD 124 with an SME 3009 arm, haven't used it for 20 years. Last month I picked up a Rek O Kut B 12 H table with a Grace 704 arm, I didn't need it but the devil made me buy it. I used to have a B 16 H table in the late 50's and gave it away 10 years ago, I could kick myself for doing that.You may know this , but there is a company that can make a replacement idler wheel if you need to replace yours. They get business from the analog tape machine sector. I don't remember the name offhand but can look it up if you need it, let me know, and good luck.

Ken

11-15-06 Kftool

Dgad, Hi Darren,

The Jade came today and I can't wait to get it up and running, thanks for your help.

My original thought was to get the Dynavector XV- 1s and the mono counterpart, use them both in the DV 507 arm with plug in head shells, which I purchased. The Dynavector rep said the both used the same loading and had the same output. That would enable me to make a fast switch without having to fiddle around changing the settings on the head amp. I'm using Krell KPE Reference units.

After deciding to get the Jade , that concept fell by the wayside. But who knows, things change.

Thanks again, Ken

Kftool, I apologize for the original short response. I actually remember looking at your DIY TT system posting a while back and am just now remembering what it was. Rauliruegas' post had not shown up when I posted. Given what I remember of your effort (and I remember being mightily impressed - and believe it or not, your system thread with pics was one of the prompters of the idea which led me to actually take the plunge less than 36hrs ago to get an old idler wheel TT to work on (gotta start somewhere)), I would very much like to hear your impression of all the possible combinations at some point. I am frankly somewhat surprised that after the effort to design and implement your TT that you would deliberately choose to not spend the time doing a round robin and instead take consensus word for it, even though your table is a far-from-consensus table and the number of people who can offer you combined experience of these arms and carts to form that consensus is probably quite limited... I unfortunately, am not yet one, but I wish you the best in your quest.

T Bone,

I plan on mounting all 3 arms on my table. I chose them because they seemed to be representative of 3 different design parameters. Choosing them, I felt I could adapt a wide range of cartridges to showcase the different kinds of music I may chose to play. Changing cartridges is easier than changing arms, after all if I make good choices, how much of the absolute sound might I really miss.

Thank you for your reply and I hope to have a sensible opinion of the test drive.

regards, Ken

Hi Raul,

How could our paths not cross again. I feel as though you are Obe Wan Kanobe, pardon my spelling, from Star Wars, and I'm the kid dreaming to be a Jedai warrior.

It has been months and thousands of dollars since I thought it would be fun to build a table rather than buying one. I hope it will be done by Christmas. I've had trouble with my Audiogon thread postings pertaining my table project. When it is resolved, I should have some good pictures up showing just how much a person can have his dreams control his reality.

I've thought about the matching of the arms to the cartridges, but never let my choices of either determine what I would purchase. I guess the moment of truth is at hand.

I'm not the type that will round robin the combinations to see what what might sound the best. I think that a concenses of the best combinations will be what I settle on. I never chose the arms and cartridges as synergistic pairs. I just wanted 3 very different arms and cartridges in the hopes that I may be able to get the best of 3 worlds.

I am looking forward to hearing the difference from one cartridge to another , while having all 3 playing the same record on the same table. I just need to know that I have maximized the potential of each cartridge by pairing it in the most appropriate arm.

As I mentioned in a previous thread, I know of nobody on Audiogon who has more arms and cartridges than fingers and toes than Raul. I appreciate your suggestions; I have Wally Tractors for all 3 arms.

I know you enjoy the music, Ken

Ken,

I am not sure but to start off I would put the Triplanar w. the Sonic & the Koetsu (oh how I love this cartridge) on the Dynavector. It needs a high mass arm. This is what I have found. Get the Hifi News & Record Review. Test resonant frequencies on different arms and that will help. Now I am not saying no to the airline, I just don't know much about the arm. Same for the Shelter. I just love the Jade. I hope you are enjoying it as I do. You will love the Sonic as a comparison. I never tried the Sonic in some of my lower mass arms but it would have been very happy in some of them based on the resonant frequency being very low in my high mass arm. When you get the Resonant frequency below 12 the bass really locks in & the imaging & mids become clear.

Dear Ken: First than all: " my hat off " for this self design TT achievement:Paramount Congratulations!!!!!!!

When you already make all the set-up and run for a while I really appreciate that you could share with us your point of view about its quality sound reproduction that I'm sure will be stellar.

Anyway, I have an experience with the 90X, the Koetsu and the 507 but with that kind of platform I think my advise about can't tell you very little. Those cartridges have a different signature sound that could change depending on the tonearm/TT/phonolinepreamp where is running.

I think that you have a great opportunity ( and great fun ) to test/try those cartridges each one with each tonearm and decide, according your music/sound quality priorities, which one belongs to which one, like almost everything in audio the " magic " word is: synergy. I think that you are the best judge about.

Again, congratulations: you finished and transform in reality one of your audio dreams and this achievement there are only a few people that could make it. Bravo!!!! I'm proud to be part of this forum where we have people with that high end talent, like you.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Are you...
1) looking to keep one set of the three and return the other two?
2) looking for the best matching cart/arm combos for each of the three so you can mount all three in the best way?

If #1, you might ping rauliruegas.
If #2, why not try them all and then tell us what you think?