Any pictures? Is this the Ariadne with the reference package, with the lead motor mount, heavier solid lead platter, signature arm and lead record clamp? Is the plinth white or granite? Did it come with the oil trough? If so, is the trough on it's own mounting platform? Do you have the platter bearing grease? Do you have plenty of hose? They recommend 500 feet for smoothing the air flow.
You should put an automotive fuel filter on the intake of the air pump. A trap for oil, positioned just after the pump, and another for condensation 10-20 feet downstream from that, are highly recommended. I made my own from PVC plumbing parts, similar to the plenums but smaller. The plenums come next, then a charcoal water filter to eliminate oil smell and another automotive fuel filter for particulates come next. The splitter valve should be removed from the table and positioned next with the bulk of the hose going to the arm which is much more sensitive to air smoothing. Look for a pump that can handle 50 PSI if you can find one. As you divert more air to the platter the PSI will go down overall. The valve should be less than an eighth of a turn from closed. Set it as low as you can and still get platter rotation. Put your ear right up to the bottom of the platter and listen for any subtle scraping. If you hear anything, open the valve 1/16 of a turn or less at a time until you no longer hear scraping. Minimizing the air to the platter will drive up the PSI to the arm. I installed a PSI gauge on the last plenum. You could put a 0-60 or 0-100 gauge on the hose to the arm and a 0-15 on the platter hose if you want to know exactly what's going on. Be sure that all connections are tight as even tiny leaks will drop your PSI quickly. Check them all with dish soap for bubbles.
Be sure to level the table front to back with a bubble level and side to side by floating the arm with a clip on weight on the counter weight until it doesn't drift in either direction. Carefull grooming of the arm wire is important. I've replaced mine with the finest Acrotec wire straight through to male RCAs to the phono stage which I've positioned conveniently. The arm should be gounded via a very thin wire to the screw in the back that goeas into the lead layer of the plinth if it has one. This is then grounded to the motor and to true ground along with the phono stage/preamp.
After all adjustments of Azimuth, VTA, VTF and oil trough level have settled in, you can firm up all the arm joints with super glue. This makes a noticable difference in tracking and transparancy of the entire range. Removing the motor and building a heavy outboard mount for it will bring another level of transparancy. If you have the lead motor mount you can use this as part of your outboard mount, or make one out of 1/4 inch thick lead. Replacing the spikes or aluminum cones, if it has them, with heavy brass cones will take it to another level as well. You could also try mounting the whole table on a thick maple block suspended on a bunch of sorbothane squares sufficient to withstand the weight, as Lloyd Walker does with his table.
After all that, you should have very little maintainance except for clearing the oil and water traps periodically by unhooking the output tube of each in turn, running the pump and turning them upside down, evacuating the contents into a recepticle of some sort. If whatever the table is mounted on is not dead stable, it is a good idea to check the side to side level occasionally.
Good luck and enjoy!
