SP10 Mk II vs Mk III

hi Lew,

the only person who has experience with this question at this time that i know of is Steve Dobbins who is the one who built the plinth for my Mk2 and is presently building the plinth for the Mk3. i shipped him my Mk3 a few weeks ago. it will likely be a couple of months before it returns. he does take the Mk3 plinth to another level of refinement by separating the platter and motor from the case-work. so you just see the platter sticking up from the plinth. Steve feels that with the additional torque of the Mk3 motor shedding the case-work improves noise control. all that torque causes that case to flex and directly attaching the motor to the plinth eliminates that issue. i'm taking Steve's word for that. this change in plinth design makes it less than a direct comparison to my Mk2 for me later. Steve came to this design conclusion based on trying the Mk3 both ways.

with analog; everything matters. and at the top of the food chain; it all matters alot.

i know that Albert is nearing completion of his Mk3 plinth and might be listening now. it will likely take him a little time to get the Mk3 dialed in. then i'm sure he'll be sharing his results. btw; Albert's plinth design will not separate the platter from the case-work. i think i agree with Albert's opinion that the 'look' is better with the case-work attached.

the Mk2 sounds wonderful; i have not actually heard a Mk3 so i have no sense of the differences.

i do know with my experiences with the Rockport, the Mk2 and the Garrard that any time you lower noise and improve speed solidity and speed accuracy the music is more alive and involving. i expect that those will be the areas where the Mk3 shows it's worth.

added note; when i started to write this post Albert had not yet posted his above comments.....

Jeffrey,

it was difficult for me to find a Mk3. one i pursued ended up being a scam in S.E. Asia. i did find one in Japan but it was $8k and for some reason it could not be sold outside of Japan.

then i got lucky; there was one listed inside an audiogon ad for an Audio Note cartridge. so it never showed up on any searches. a friend told me about it. i bought it immediately for slightly more than asking price. even then; it was in Denmark and it took me 6 weeks to finally get it shipped.

the best likely way to find one would be to stay in touch with people who are involved with them now. they might hear about others out there.

including shipping i paid about $6k. it included an obsidian plinth and Kenwood arm which i will be selling. depending on what those items sell for; my net for the Mk3 will be about $4500-$5000. that is likely about what a good one will cost + or - around $1000. one caution is to make sure it includes the power supply in working order.

that may sound like alot but from what i am told a Mk3 in the right plinth might just give the (uber $$$) Rockport a run for it's money. so it will turn out to be a bargain.

the plan for the Steve Dobbins plinth for my Mk3 will be to remove the motor/platter from the Technics case. according to Steve; who has done a few of these Mk3's 'nude'; is that it further separates the Mk3 beyond the Mk2. since the Mk3 has quite a bit more torque than the Mk2, the casework is under much more stress, and limits control of resonance. directly attaching the motor to Steve's plinth design pays definite benefits. i did briefly hear Steve's own Mk3 with this design back in September in his room and it did sound wonderful.....but it was a very brief listen and i had just driven 500 miles....

in any case i am taking Steve's word for this and going 'nude' (without the casework) on the Mk3.

i do like the look of the stock Technics casework and how it integrates into my Mk2 plinth and how other Mk2 and Mk3 designs look with the case; such as Albert's.....compared to the 'nude' look. Steve is reworking his design from an aesthetic perspective for his next round of 'nude' Mk3's.

on a related note; i have put my Mk2 up for sale as those funds will pay for Steve's work on the Mk3 (and keep SWMBO happy). so i will not have both the Mk2 and Mk3 at the same time. i can still 'guess' later about how they compare but that is the best i will be able to do.

Johnp,

great report on the shootout between the Dobbins tt's.

as i own(d) all three of those exact tt's (i sold the Mk2 last year and still have the Mk3 and 301) your report has interest to me.

first a comment; i never percieved my Mk2 with Schroeder Ref SQ arm as 'dry'. audiophile terms are not exact things and one man's dry is another man's 'detailed and transparent'....in any case, the Dobbins Technics SP-10 Mk2 was involving and natural sounding to me. OTOH i've not had a Strain Guage cartridge in my system.

a question; did the Dobbins Garrard 301 use the Loricraft UPS 301 AR power supply? i've only heard mine thru my Loricraft so i'm just wondering about how the presence or not of it might affect things.

one more thing......thanks for the report on the Dobbins 301 platter. Steve is supposed to be visiting me in a few weeks and he'll be bringing the 301 platter which i'm planning on purchasing.