considering a Maplenoll


What is the experience some of you have had living with these tables . some of the parts are not so easy to find and are not being made any more . I know they sound supper nice and natural but Who works on them ?! if you need help . Lloyd Walker said I should be very careful , that they are hard to set up and I should understand the mechanics or not to buy one .
does any one own a Cleo? , is it like an Athena ?
alexthe

Showing 2 responses by larryi

I had a Maplenoll which utilized a very cheap, double piston fish tank air pump to supply the air for the arm and the main platter bearing. The pump simply could not do the job. After less than an hour of operation, the air pressure would drop and the arm would freeze in place, causing the record to skip.

I could not live with the air pump problem. But, if you can get a model with a better pump or find a suitable alternative air pump, if you can locate the pump in another room (they are very noisy), if you can buy and/or build a proper dehydrator for the pressurized air, etc., it can be made to work.

The table/arm combination sounds quite good, it is just a big pain in the ass.
Redcarerra,

Amazing, but you are following the same path I have been on. I had a Mapenoll for about three months before I got rid of it. I got a Well Tempered too. It is pretty much a foolproof table, except, I had a few flying insects attracted to the dampening fluid that sank in the fluid and were preserved at the bottom of the cup (a mini La Brea tar pit). This is a very good table/arm combination.

I went on to a VPI HW-14 with a Graham arm (can't say it was an improvement), and I currently have a Basis Debut/Vector arm combination (best table I have ever owned).