Sirius and Walker

Hi everyone, very interesting topic! I have obtained a used ET2 with Bruce’s upgrade 2.5 bearing, but have yet to set it up.

I am very interested in the discussion on the I-beam compliance. As far as I can tell, the arm on the Walker Proscenium turntable (which is of similar design to the ET2) has a direct couple counterweight. Since the Walker is being regarded as one of the best, I was thinking of modifying the ET2 in such manner.

I wonder what are the pros and cons to the 2 different approaches.

Dear Unoear,

I took a careful look at the photos of your tone arm, and here are a couple of suggestions:

1. I see that the wire are nearly completely covered by the black shrink wrap (or it may actually be a host, I am not sure as I don’t have my 6000 arm right in front of me), and only a couple inches of the bare wire was showing. In my 6000 arm the shrink wrap only covers the wire an inch or so where it exits the guider at the back and before it enters the armtube holder, so there was mainly bare wire hanging all the way. I think it you could strip out the shrink wrap (or it can be pulled back if it is a host), there will be much less resistance.

Curiously, I have seen a photo of Mike’s Rockport, which seems to show a lot of bare wires hanging:
http://pic8.audiogon.com/i/c/f/1297789006.jpg

2. In your photo, the black airhost was leaning on one side. If you can arrange it to hang like an n, then there will be much less resistance. There is actually a small nozzle where the airhost enter the armtube holder, and the airhost can be pulled free. So, you can do a little twisting on the airhost at the nozzle to make it hang like an n. The same applies to the wire, but it needs more coaxing!

This is how it looks like in my system:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f20/daiwok/Hi%20Fi/IMG_1823.jpg

Hope these help.

Cheers!

Dear Unoear, Dertonarm,

Do you mean the Rockport arm would “skip track” or has serious distortion towards the end of the LPs?

I have been using the Rockport 6000 arm on their Capella II turntable for nearly 10 years now. While I can’t say the wire has no effect on tracking, I have never had any problem with the arm tracking the whole record. Of course, I need to clean the spindle with alcohol occasionally.

As such, it is quite unimaginable that it would happen to the Sirius III !

Cheers!

Syntax said: The table was in a condition which was unable to navigate more than 3 tracks...

First the disclosure, other than a happy user of the Rockport Capella II and the 6000 arm in Hong Kong, I have no connection with Andy Payor, Jonathan Tinn or Mike Lavigne.

If what Syntax said is true, then I am absolutely sure this Sirius III, at least the arm, is not set up properly or it is somehow defected! While we can have difference preference on tables, and one could prefer XXX over the Rockport etc., it is hard to imagine a highly regarded table like the Sirius III cannot navigate more than 3 tracks?!!! The Sirius III was in production for many years before it was discontinued, how could it have this serious problem and kept on selling, especially at $75,000 if I remember correctly!

As I mentioned in my earlier post, if Unoear’s Sirius III arm is set up like what he posted in another thread

http://i44.tinypic.com/cj5s8.jpg

then I am sure the wire arrangement is not what Rockport has intended. As a matter of fact, I have never seen wires arranged like that on any Rockport arms.

Again, I am not claiming the wire does not affect the arm’s tracking at all, but I have had no problem with my 6000 arm for nearly 10 years, so it is unbelievable to me that the wire, if set up as Rockport has intended, has such an effect as to prevent the arm from navigating more than 3 tracks!