Say it aint so--- Teres quality question

Patrick,

Thank you for having the courage to post this publically, though I hope we Teres-philes have never been intimidating. I trust CB will replace the armboard with one of the proper height.

After I got your email I checked my platter and it's pretty flat. Not "perfect" of course, but closer than 1/64". I'm not sure how critical this is, virtually every record is warped by that much or more.

OTOH I quite agree about the armboard issues, since I experienced them myself. The armboard should be finished as flat and smooth as my plinth, which is so perfect it's hard to believe it's made of wood. It's also really important that its top/bottom surfaces be parallel. I had to file a burr off mine, as I told you.

Metric drill bits seem pretty obvious too. I've been posting and advising new buyers for months that Teres is drilling the wrong size hole for Rega/OL arms with a VTA collar.

I too had to buy a longer armboard bolt at Home Depot. For $3800 I suppose one should get the right length bolt. Perhaps fitting one's armboard is meant to be a reference to Teres' DIY roots? ;)

Focusedfx,

Judging by Patrick's very positive reaction to the sonics of his friend's Teres on another thread, I think his concerns stem largely from his considerable expertise as a woodworker. He understands how easy it would be for Teres to do some things even better.

FWIW, I'm still convinced that a 200 series Teres is the bargain of the decade. Except for those armboard glitches, everything about my 265 approaches world class. I got a TT that rivals or mainstream $8-12K tables for less than $4K, and a 255 may be an even bigger bargain.

Sayas' theoretical speculations are interesting, I guess, but every person who's A/B'd a "stable" acrylic Teres against an "unstable" wood one has preferred the wood. There has never been a single exception. If my real world pleasure isn't consistent with someone's theory I let them fret about it. Life is too short.

David has heard a Teres in the company of quite a few other well-regarded TT's. He's heard exactly what I hear. His question about the long term viability of a wood platter is legitimate, but it's ultimately answerable only by the passage of time. While that time is passing in my home, my deteriorating platter receives the best therapy I can give it: constant gyroscopic stabilization at 33rpm.

300 hours and smilin' more every day...

Well, I have a fabulous two-LP set of Narcisco Yepes playing Bach's lute music. His theorbo-lute had cocobolo pegs. Does that count? :)

I'm envious of you musicians. When I sing in the shower the soap even runs away.

Nice responses from everyone since this thread re-surfaced. It's great to see things progressing in a positive direction, presumably with a final resolution in sight. The following possible causes for Patrick's VTA problem all come to mind:

a) An air bubble was trapped during bearing assembly (due to oil on the bearing housing sides and/or the bearing shaft for example). This could prevent the bearing from seating fully. (Joe, putting too much oil in the bearing would not keep it from seating fully, the extra oil would just spill out the top. Trust me, I know!)

b) The platter was made too tall.

c) The dimension from platter top surface to the underside of the platter that rests on the bearing flange was made too thick. This would hold the platter up higher than spec.

d) The hole in the platter for the bearing spindle was too tight, preventing the platter from dropping onto the flange.

e) The armboard was too thick.

f) Gremlins.

I hope Chris and Patrick will get Steve's table running, have a nice dinner and share their conclusions as to just what happened.