Exotic turntables. Eye candy

Very cool pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the link. I'm currently building up a Technics SP10 and enjoyed viewing some of the cosmetic touches these audiophiles came up with.

Hi Albert, These guys are those from a different camp. I guess highly obsessive. BTW the SP10 MK2 can be a very nice sounding table. What are you going to use as a plinth? Pls let me know how you like the sound.

Cheers

Very nice!

Genesis

BTW the SP10 MK2 can be a very nice sounding table. What are you going to use as a plinth? Pls let me know how you like the sound.

One of the guys in my audio group is a fine furniture builder by trade. He and I came up with a design based on all the plinths we could find on line. Seems the consensus is the Technics needs a very heavy plinth and most favor Baltic Birch plywood.

Mine will be constructed from Baltic Birch layers plus one layer of military damper compound we found locally. The original use was for US Navy and it's job is damping. Also adding a layer of aluminum and next to lowest Birch sheet will be routed with a pin router and filled with lead damped with polyester.

The whole plinth will then be wrapped with Wenge, a very dense black African hardwood.

http://www.woodworkerssource.net/Merchant3/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=WS&Category_Code=Wenge

I will likely start another project thread to show it's progress, just as I have with my system, the Lenco project and the Ampex 351 project.

Right now I'm waiting on the SME arm I have on order and deciding on cartridge.

Albert, Yes, you're right. The SP10 needs a dense and heavy wooden plinth. Baltic birch or maple ply/layers are definitely best suited for the job. Yes, I have seen the Wenge in a wood mill and it is a very nice wood. Somehow, wood adds a nice harmonic texture to the music. I now have my eyes on a piece of cocobolo for my armboards.

Please let us on Audiogon know how your project goes.

Oregon, your Lenco looks cool! How does it sound?

Cheers to everyone!

Albert and Genesis:
I have a couple of questions regarding SP-10 plinths. I have been doing research prior to building a plinth for my SP-10 Mk2A.

My first question is why would a SP-10 need a dense and heavy (massive) wooden plinth? So far as I know, it is very smooth in operation (particularly with the brake removed) compared to rim drive tables which could benefit from mass. I've seen photos of studio SP-10s mounted in metal frames which don't appear to be all that massive, although those may not have offered optimal performance. Is everyone simply copying the idea from the Obsidian plinths offered by Technics?

Second, most information on plinth building comes from the Home Depot TT series where CLD is strongly recommended. But on the DirectDrive site an all Birch ply construction is favored (they don't discuss CLD options). Can either of you comment on benefits or negatives about including 2-3 layers of MDF in a CLD Birch ply sandwich? This assumes that mass is indeed beneficial.

Thanx for any input.

Pryso, I can't tell you constrained layer or multi ply birch are superior with the SP10 MK2, I've not even completed mine yet.

Audiogon member Vetterone has done a LOT of experiments with plints. You can contact him via the Audiogon server by looking up his name.

My experiments with my Lenco proved to me that heavier plinths were superior to the lightweight original. I wish I had gone even heavier with the Lenco construction, so I intend on going over the top with the Technics.

I think the Technics with plinth and arm will be close to 100 pounds, we're even adding brass plates to attach the arm board and a brass plate in the bottom to draw energy from the direct drive bearing in addition to the other materials in the plinth.

From what I've read on the internet by tweakers, the MDF is a blessing and a curse. Some like it and some don't. To read about some of these projects, go to Google and type in Garrard 301 plinth, Technics SP 10 and Thorens Plinth. After clicking links and multiple pages of each search, you will likely find more material than you want to read.

When my arm arrives I'll do nice photo's so you and everyone else can see how my project is progressing. I've studied several dozen photo's and I suspect my project will look somewhat like what others have come up with. You can't deviate too far and fit the table :^).

Here's a very popular page on Technics, you may have already been there.

http://www.soundfountain.com/amb/amb.html

Well, you can use anything you wish to build a plinth. High mass is recommended because that is a way to damp off the vibrations. As with all materials, there is a main resonant frequency associated with each different material. This is very important. IMO, using wood in general is best suited because the resonant frequency is more pleasing to the ear.

You can try using different wood but I recommend Maple, oak, birch and other hard woods as a start.

Albert,
Do you feel that any of your projects with direct drives or idlers could surpass the sound that you get from your belt-driven Walker table?

The direct drive Technics SP10 system is still being constructed, this is going to be a very beautiful plinth but it will be at least another two weeks before I hear the musical results of our labor.

Aside from the design time and tremendous labor spent on the plinth, we waited nearly two months for the arrival of the SME312S arm from England. Once the new SME mounting template was in our hands, we were able to complete positioning the arm puck, choose the laminates and brass for construction of the puck and determine things that were hanging, such as tone arm exit hole position. It's tough unless all necessary parts are at hand.

The Lenco was a great sounding turn table but it didn't stand a chance against the Walker because it was fitted with an inexpensive arm and cartridge. The Technics will have an absolutely "all out" plinth, sitting on a custom base from Gingko for isolation and teamed up with the new Air Tight PC-1 cartridge and SME 312S magnesium tone arm.

If the Technics fails to please, I suspect it will be due to the Technics design, direct drive et all. I don't expect it will sound the same as the Walker and it does not have to perform as well for me to consider it a success.

Worst case, I can sell the Technics and match up the SME / Air Tight with a modern belt drive table.

Good luck with the project!
I'm still doing lots of reading and listening in order to find a new table.

Genesis,
You asked "how does the lenco sound?" Lovely, fantabulous are words which come to mind.
Once I start playing vinyl, it's hard to stop picking out more LPs. It is very addictive in the sense that one is drawn in to the music. Attack and decay, bloom, seperation in the soundstage are all there. Difficult to put into words.

BTW, I just tried to post photos of 2 other Lencos, but I don't see them in "my system". I can access them through my password, etc. but not sure if you can see them. There is a "Bamboo and a Burgandy" table.
Please let me know if ya'll can see them.
Enjoy!!!

Oregon, nice Lenco! I enjoyed mine too. Here is a link to mine in case you and Exlibris have not seen it,

Albert's Lenco

Thanks Albert.