I am not sure that your description of Raul's set-up is correct. I thought he had mounted the tonearm on a short skirt of plywood that is also fastened around the tt chassis. In any case, that would be my preference, if I were to go with the ultra-light approach. If you isolate the tonearm from the vibrations of the chassis, then the chassis/platter/LP will vibrate while the tonearm/cartridge stands still. This in theory could maximize badness. Don't you want the tonearm/cartridge to be on the same roller coaster with the bearing/platter? The problems of maintaining geometry only add to the mess, IMO. I saw a nice plinth on eBay for a bit less than $500 from somewhere in the US or Europe. I saw a cheaper one from somewhere else in the world that I did not like nearly as much.
Technics SP-10 Tonearm Pod instead of Plinth/Base
Trawling through the Audiogon forums for information on a suitable Plinth for a Technics SP-10, I came across a post by Raul.
Instead of putting the SP-10 in a plinth, he just put the TT on three feet and then had constructed a separate base that only housed the tonearm. (I haven't seen a pic of this BTW)
Following on from Raul's 'Thinking outside the square' approach, I thought I might be able to buy, or have made, a stand-alone 'pod' or rectangular tonearm plinth that could sit along side the SP-10. Has anyone seen something like this that I could buy 'off-the-shelf'?
The advantage of this is that the tonearm is decoupled from the TT and therefore distanced from any vibrations generated by the TT.
A down side is getting the right geometry for the tonearm in relation to the distance from the spindle; and then keeping the pod in the right spot.
If this is all too hard, I might still go with a plinth. I notice an E-Bay seller in Taiwan is offering a Teak plinth cut for the SP-10. Anyone bought one of those?
All comments welcomed!
Instead of putting the SP-10 in a plinth, he just put the TT on three feet and then had constructed a separate base that only housed the tonearm. (I haven't seen a pic of this BTW)
Following on from Raul's 'Thinking outside the square' approach, I thought I might be able to buy, or have made, a stand-alone 'pod' or rectangular tonearm plinth that could sit along side the SP-10. Has anyone seen something like this that I could buy 'off-the-shelf'?
The advantage of this is that the tonearm is decoupled from the TT and therefore distanced from any vibrations generated by the TT.
A down side is getting the right geometry for the tonearm in relation to the distance from the spindle; and then keeping the pod in the right spot.
If this is all too hard, I might still go with a plinth. I notice an E-Bay seller in Taiwan is offering a Teak plinth cut for the SP-10. Anyone bought one of those?
All comments welcomed!
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- 75 posts total
The plinth Albert Porter had a hand in developing for the SP10 is gorgeous. He may have sold through all of them, but you can always give him a try. I'm not sure if he's having more made. They ain't cheap, as you can guess from the pics....but, up close and personal, they do look and feel very much like you get what your pay for. |
Thanks All! Lewn- I'm pretty sure from reading the blogs that Raul's armboard is separate from the turntable- ie not touching. However, I do see your point of keeping an even playing field by having the tonearm and the platter sharing the same plane. That being said... some brands of TT have a separate pod for the motor when the platter is driven by a belt. I had this idea in mind as I wondered of a pod for the tonearm. Maintaining geometry is still a vexing question. Jax2- The Porter plinth is beautiful, yes. It also looks one step away from being gilded with gold... ie very expensive as you suggest. Rnadelman- I've googled Mr Campbell and found a couple of pics of what looks like a very nice plinth. I'll drop him a line. The other plinth option is a layered plywood plinth with the odd layer of lead or aluminum. A better option than solid/heavy/dense wood plinth? |
Hi Dsa, I am very reluctant to contradict Lewm but the so called 'theoretical arguments'(aka 'scientific') are regulary used in our forum as long as they don't contradict with our preferences. Well I have an 'armbase' next to my Kuzma S.R. and I prefer this combo (Reed L2A+Reed base+ Phase Tech P3) above Triplanar VII+ Benz Ruby 3 'on' the Kuzma. Regards, |
- 75 posts total