How good is the Obsidian plinth of Technics SP10 ?

I will be happy to sell my Kendood to Nandric. But not the Kenwood. I had a copper platter made for the Kenwood on the premise that it would be a better EMI shield than the OEM stainless steel platter sheet or mat supplied by Kenwood. Maybe for that reason, the copper platter raises the performance level of the L07D by a considerable margin; it’s easy to hear. The L07D Owners group recommends installing some sort of EMI shield for best results, so I am guessing EMI is the crux of it. Also, I previously used an EMI shield of a different kind, with good results, but had been going without it for a year or two, because that shield became magnetized and nearly ruined an Orto MC2000. Big mistake to ditch the shield entirely. Copper looks fantastic on the L07D, too.

Ironically, I purchased the MC2000 from Nandric.

I worked directly with a quarry in Pennsylvania, Structural Slate in Bala Cynwyd, PA, I think.  They cut a slab to my specifications: 23x19X3, and honed both sides, as I recall.  I then contracted with a water jet company in York, PA, to cut the slate using a pdf file to program their water jet; I think that pdf was available for the Mk3 chassis from Soundfountain, on the internet.  So that cost me total less than $500.  I then contracted with an audiophile/carpenter in Houston to make me a base out of cherry wood and baltic birch with a cut-out for the mass of brass which acts to dampen the Mk3 bearing, a la Albert Porter's idea. Albert uses a piece of solid iron; I was leery of putting such a big hunk of iron so near to the magnetic rotor of the turntable, so I chose brass, etc, etc.  I drilled the underside of the slate slab for female threaded bushings that I glued into the slate with liquid weld, and I then bolted the wood base to the underside of the slate. Total cost was probably around $800, even including the piece of brass (from On-line Metals) that I drilled and tapped so a threaded rod could pass through it and contact the base of the bearing housing, a la Albert. I am not going to pretend there was not a lot of physical labor involved.

I guess here is where I pipe in to say that I commissioned the construction of a slate slab, 19x23x3 inches, to fit the Mk3 chassis.  I had a hole cut right through the slate large enough to allow me to position just about any tonearm.  Then I had the same company make me some slate tonearm mounting boards.  The slate weighs about 70-80 lbs, so that was a good plinth. But after a while I added a cherry wood base, about 4 inches thick. Into the wooden base I incorporated the dampening mechanism that Albert Porter uses, a block of solid brass (Albert uses solid iron), into which I insert a threaded brass rod, about 5/8" in diameter.  The brass block is firmly bolted to the wood and sits directly under the bearing. The brass rod contacts the underside of the Mk3 bearing well.  That whole thing is bolted to the underside of the slate.  Total weighs maybe 100 lbs. This sits on Stillpoints.

Shane, I strongly advise you to check out the Krebs mod for your Mk3, especially since you are a lot closer to Richard geographically than most of the rest of us.  It really grows on you.

Shane, That looks nice and simple.  Is that a Thales tonearm? Has it displaced the Technics tonearm?  Thanks.

Nandric, et al. If you want to take Raul’s testimony about the AT636, keep in mind that he recommended using them under the naked chassis of an SP10 MK2. No obsidian plinth; just set the chassis down on 3 or 4 AT636s. Raul and I went at each other over this practice; I still think it’s a bad idea, because of the fact that the chassis will want to twist in the opposite direction of platter rotation, and the feet are entirely insufficient to anchor the chassis. So, I must ask, Nandric. Are you using the AT636 under your obsidian plinth or under the naked chassis, a la Raul?