All Jeff has to do is drill out more holes!
Kidding aside, the MC2000 has a lovely sweet and delicate portrayal of music.
Audiomods Is A Great Company
Awhile back I reached out to Jeff at Audiomods about the possibility of getting a low mass arm for my Ortofon MC2000. Jeff did some figuring and if he dipped into his inventory of previous generation Audiomods parts he could build me an arm that came in at the single digit mass range. Does this mean 9 grams? Or lower? I wasn't going to try to brow beat him into an exact number, but I knew I had a viable candidate that could balance the heavy 11 gram cartridge.
Well, life got in the way and there were some unexpected events. But last week I decided to reach out to Jeff and see if this could still happen. I got a yes answer. So I am on the build schedule for an arm in early August. Will have the VTA micro adjuster, and all silver wiring.
Looking forward to this project as the MC2000 is one of my favorite cartridges. It does certain things that very few if any cartridges can do. I thought I might be able to live without if with the Verismo on one table, and the Proteus getting situated on the SOTA when the OL arm arrives. But I decided I just did not want to have this cartridge on the sidelines. So here we go.
Last week the low mass version of the arm built arrived. I have it temporarily set up on the table, but I need a spacer as the Scheu arm board is just too low. this is a problem with the Schroder arm I have on it also. But Jeff has fabricated one for me and it is in the hands of the Royal mail service. Can't say enough good things about the man. Even so i can temporarily set up the MC2000 with a shim and I have it playing. This is a pairing that works nicely together. This combination sounds effortless together, and the texture and tone of the bass region is fabulous. There is so much detail and expression in this region. Vocals are uncolored and the top end is detailed without being etched. No issues tracking either. Everything i had hoped for.
For what an Audiomods arm sells for, it is hard to imagine a better value in analog. I am certainly enjoying this one. |
Hey Neon, I have wanted a turntable I could mount a Schroder LT or Reed 5T on and nothing out there has the features on the Cosmos Eclipse Vacuum. A few days ago I had a brilliant Idea. I am going to take a Sota Millenium Vacuum, remove it's suspension, mount it on a Minus K platform with a Reed 5T and a Schroder LT. I can trade my Cosmos in on the millenium taking a little of the financial strain off. |
@mijostyn You think the Millenia is available? I am not sure they have produced a new one lately. It seems like they are devoting their time and resources to getting their direct drive one to market. |
@neonknight No, it is not available yet. A new one is immanent. I think it will be Eclipse drive, not direct, but I do not know that for sure. Next time I talk to Christan I will ask. @lewm Correct, a poor man's Dohmann with vacuum clamping and a magnetic thrust bearing. The motor will go right on the MinusK with the rest of the turntable. The fun will be getting it all to balance. I figure the 5T and LT will counterbalance the motor. I'll put the 5T in the normal location. It will just make it on the normal tonearm board. The LT will go at the front, right corner. It would be much easier to do this with a Kuzma Stabi R, but I really prefer the features of the Sota. The Cosmos has been a revelation in turntable performance with its amazing pitch stability and dead quiet backgrounds. The Millenium/MinusK will not be as nice to use as the MinusK is bouncy. I'm not sure if they have a lock out yet. |
@mijostyn : If you’re wondering whether Minus-K has a lockout lever of some sort to freeze the suspension, the answer is no, at least not on the BM-8 models I’ve owned in the past or the slimeline CT-2 I have now. But it’s very easy to bottom out the suspension with the little crank the side, stabilizing your turntable for installing an arm or cartridge. |
Don;t mean to turn this into a Minus-K thread, but @mijostyn : after using M-Ks for a dozen years on multiple turntables, I found the easiest way to balance is to use an oversized top plate of your choosing, placed on the native top plate. That way you can shift everything en masse, turntable and added top plate, to the point of balance. The added benefit is you can choose something that sounds better. I’ve never loved the sound of my turntables directly on the M-K metal top plate, which is damped but still rings. I mean, no one listens to electron microscopes so M-K doesn't care about that. They're lovely and helpful people but audiophiles are a tiny part of their customer base, an amusing and somewhat confusing breed. Right now I’m using a Panzerholz slab. Being a skilled woodworker, you can no doubt fashion something that will function, look and sound just right. |
@wrm57 Thank you for that tip. it sounds like a great idea. My plan was to get everything, now including your top plate, weigh it all together to get the right sized MinusK. Your plate seems like a great device for a constrained layer construct, aluminum alternating with wood would work. |
@mijostyn : yeah, that’s the idea: weigh it all first, including your chosen top plate. They work best near the upper limit of the weight range, like within 10 lbs or so. M-K will do custom ranges for surprisingly little up-charge. Steve might say no at first but if you get him laughing, which isn’t hard, he’ll get his engineers on the job. |
@mijostyn @wrm57 - wrm, my doppelgänger here, is right on with adding a "plate" to the Minus K. I use an HRS platform that I had prior to purchasing the Minus K. Particularly with my table, the Kuzma XL, which is machined brass, I would not want the "ringing" effect of metal on metal- the top plate of the Minus K is a plain metal panel. (I am using their large bench top model, BM-1, with the Minus K supplied stand, a nice piece of welded steel frame with phenolic top that has recesses for the Minus K feet). I assume mijo will use a slimmer version of the Minus K if it is meant to be concealed as part of a plinth. The BM--1 is a big beast. Good luck, Bill |
@whart : Hey pal! Always good when you chime in! |
@whart Right Bill. I will get the low profile unit as it will go into my wall unit, the granite is at bar height, 42" and I am getting shorter by the minute. I am down to 5'6" from 5'8" I would have to get a ladder to use your table. |