a couple of turntable restorations

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Vinyl-ant
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Re: a couple of turntable restorations

Unread post by Vinyl-ant »

Decided to try an aluminium bearing housing instead of the acetal one.

ImageCx unipivot version 7/a by anthony cresswell, on Flickr

The carbon fibre tube and aluminium stub and headshell is off the one that our Simon assessed, I'll make a new pillar as I have another v jewel. I'll also make a new outrigger set instead of using the one off that version as I reckon there's some odd resonances coming from it. The wiring and mdin socket will also be reused from the version 6 arm

The reason I've decided to look at a metal housing is that I think that the acetal is blocking the path for some resonances to get out of the tube and down the arm pillar, and having some aluminium to play with, it seemed a reasonable thing to try.

The housing is exactly the same as the acetal one, and has a brass weight insert in it instead of a steel one to compensate for the heavier weight of the metal.

ImageCx unipivot version 7/a by anthony cresswell, on Flickr

I'll also need to make another mounting boss and cartridge carrier, should have enough aluminium left for those

I've also been kindly loaned an Ortofon 2m blue to try on this arm and the brass version so I'll be able to see how they behave with something other than the Dynavector in them which should give me more of a overview of what traits the arm is adding to the whole.

This version will go on the big Lenco so I can kind of A/B then on practically the same deck.

I'll also need another cable, I've been looking for something that has a reasonable cost, found one by a firm called the vinyl adventure, one called 'the rebel'. £40 is at least reasonable

Onwards!
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slinger (Wed Aug 04, 2021 7:31 pm)
Analogue: oracle delphi sme 309, jbe series 3 cx unipivot dv20x2l, roksan xerxes tabriz vm750, jvc ql-y5f rigb at440, jvc ql-y3f vm750, lenco 75, technics sl150

Phono stages: cole lcr, benedict audio hothead

Digital: cyrus cd7, wiim mini x2, topping e30, jds labs el dac 2+

Amplification: nelson pass b1, nelson pass f5

Speakers: 15" fane aperiodic wardrobes

Cans: myryad z40, hifiman sundara + deva, fostex t50rp, sennheiser momentum on ear +over ear, b&w p5 and p7

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Re: a couple of turntable restorations

Unread post by antonio66 »

The Vinyl Adventure would be MCRU's new name

Vinyl-ant
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Re: a couple of turntable restorations

Unread post by Vinyl-ant »

Finally got all the parts made for the arm.
I've called it version 8 as there are a couple of subtle improvements to various ancillary bits as well as the material changes.
Its dry built at the moment, to make sure everything fits together correctly

ImageCx unipivot revision 8 by anthony cresswell, on Flickr

material changes made are as follows.
bearing housing is aluminium on this version with a brass ring weight in the base of the housing instead of steel
the cart carrier is the aluminium one from version 6 instead of the brass one from version 7
The cart mounting plate is now aluminium instead of brass
the outrigger assembly has an aluminium ring instead of an acetal one
the mounting boss is also aluminium instead of acetal, and has a stainless retaining nut instead of the acetal one

The idea behind removing the acetal from the areas I'd used it before was to allow resonance to travel and get out of the arm assembly, as it occurred to me that the damping properties of the acetal parts may be blocking resonances and trapping them in parts like the wand instead of letting them out and into the TT plinth. Wether this is the case remains to be seen.....

I've altered the arm rest again so that it is more low profile looking and less bulky looking

ImageCx unipivot revision 8 by anthony cresswell, on Flickr

I've also moved the fingerlift to the cart mounting plate to make the handling less brown trouser inducing when cuing, and altered the relative angles of the bias guide outrigger and the bias arm to give the string a smoother path.

ImageCx unipivot revision 8 by anthony cresswell, on Flickr

Getting the finger lift onto the cart mounting plate wasn't as simple as it looked, it had to go in at an angle so it didn't interfere with the bolt holes, meaning the lift itself is quite a strange shape to bend, to get the lift at 90 degrees to the cart. Also used a bit of heatshrink over it to give it some grip.

ImageCx unipivot revision 8 by anthony cresswell, on Flickr

Hopefully this version addresses the handling issues of the last version.

just needs gluing up, then it can be wired

Onwards!
These users thanked the author Vinyl-ant for the post (total 5):
slinger (Wed Aug 18, 2021 5:59 pm) • CycleCoach (Wed Aug 18, 2021 6:16 pm) • thebhoyricky (Wed Aug 18, 2021 6:59 pm) • r3xj0hn570n (Wed Aug 18, 2021 8:06 pm) • antonio66 (Thu Aug 19, 2021 12:24 am)
Analogue: oracle delphi sme 309, jbe series 3 cx unipivot dv20x2l, roksan xerxes tabriz vm750, jvc ql-y5f rigb at440, jvc ql-y3f vm750, lenco 75, technics sl150

Phono stages: cole lcr, benedict audio hothead

Digital: cyrus cd7, wiim mini x2, topping e30, jds labs el dac 2+

Amplification: nelson pass b1, nelson pass f5

Speakers: 15" fane aperiodic wardrobes

Cans: myryad z40, hifiman sundara + deva, fostex t50rp, sennheiser momentum on ear +over ear, b&w p5 and p7

Vinyl-ant
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Re: a couple of turntable restorations

Unread post by Vinyl-ant »

Got it all assembled and fitted onto an arm board on the big lenco

ImageCx unipivot revision 8 by anthony cresswell, on Flickr

I've not wired it yet as I've fount that the cart mounting plate needs the bolt rebates need to be a touch deeper, and the bearing pin needs to be reground to the correct angle

ImageCx unipivot revision 8 by anthony cresswell, on Flickr

Also missed the threaded hole for the setscrew that holds the mdin socket into the pillar

I'll get there eventually
These users thanked the author Vinyl-ant for the post (total 3):
CycleCoach (Thu Aug 19, 2021 9:29 pm) • antonio66 (Fri Aug 20, 2021 3:38 am) • savvypaul (Fri Aug 20, 2021 9:17 am)
Analogue: oracle delphi sme 309, jbe series 3 cx unipivot dv20x2l, roksan xerxes tabriz vm750, jvc ql-y5f rigb at440, jvc ql-y3f vm750, lenco 75, technics sl150

Phono stages: cole lcr, benedict audio hothead

Digital: cyrus cd7, wiim mini x2, topping e30, jds labs el dac 2+

Amplification: nelson pass b1, nelson pass f5

Speakers: 15" fane aperiodic wardrobes

Cans: myryad z40, hifiman sundara + deva, fostex t50rp, sennheiser momentum on ear +over ear, b&w p5 and p7

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Re: a couple of turntable restorations

Unread post by r3xj0hn570n »

Outstanding!

Far more original and professional looking than my meagre effort.
IMG_20210820_080115-02.jpeg
IMG_20210820_080115-02.jpeg (143.74 KiB) Viewed 14616 times
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savvypaul (Fri Aug 20, 2021 9:18 am)

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Re: a couple of turntable restorations

Unread post by antonio66 »

It still looks pretty good to me r3xj0hn570n
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r3xj0hn570n (Fri Aug 20, 2021 8:40 pm)

Vinyl-ant
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Re: a couple of turntable restorations

Unread post by Vinyl-ant »

It lives!

ImageCx unipivot revision 8 by anthony cresswell, on Flickr

I've had to use the cable off the other version as I forgot to get another one, just completely slipped my mind.
The cart on it is mi dads VM540ml as I know the cart well and I didn't want to take the dv off the other one straight away.
last cart I used on this deck was the same one, in the acos gst1, so I have an idea as to what is the arm and what is not.

ImageCx unipivot revision 8 by anthony cresswell, on Flickr

Before I set the arm up I gave the lady (the nickname for the deck, Pauls is the 'Grand Lady' and mi dads is the 'Little Lady') a bit of a fettle as it has been stood for 12 months. simple stuff, a clean of the motor spindle with degreaser, a clean of the underside of the platter with degreaser and a going over of the idler wheel with some rubber renue.

ImageCx unipivot revision 8 by anthony cresswell, on Flickr

The bias weight is another nut on a string because I couldn't be bothered to make another one, the only other thing I had to do was to move the pivot slightly higher than I wanted to get the stability back. The extra weight above the pivot because of the aluminium housing for the bearing wasn't quite countered by the heavier ring weight I put in, and it is only 1mm higher than the design spec.

ImageCx unipivot revision 8 by anthony cresswell, on Flickr

I only listened to one track so far just to check its working so I haven't formed any impressions.
we shall see
I also have the ortofon 2m blue to put in it that Pete loaned me, but familiarity first.
These users thanked the author Vinyl-ant for the post (total 2):
r3xj0hn570n (Fri Aug 20, 2021 8:40 pm) • antonio66 (Fri Aug 20, 2021 11:39 pm)
Analogue: oracle delphi sme 309, jbe series 3 cx unipivot dv20x2l, roksan xerxes tabriz vm750, jvc ql-y5f rigb at440, jvc ql-y3f vm750, lenco 75, technics sl150

Phono stages: cole lcr, benedict audio hothead

Digital: cyrus cd7, wiim mini x2, topping e30, jds labs el dac 2+

Amplification: nelson pass b1, nelson pass f5

Speakers: 15" fane aperiodic wardrobes

Cans: myryad z40, hifiman sundara + deva, fostex t50rp, sennheiser momentum on ear +over ear, b&w p5 and p7

Vinyl-ant
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Re: a couple of turntable restorations

Unread post by Vinyl-ant »

Ok some initial impressions
Ive got persuit of accidents by level 42 on and know it very well

This record needs precision to sound its best, there is so much going on in the mix that it can rapidly descend into abit of a mess if the deck cant time properly and start and stop precisely

There is an immediate jump in the sharpness of the start and stop of everything. The leading edges seem to start and stop like lightning. The version 7 one is no slouch in this respect, but its as if this version doesnt have the slight blur to transients. I put this down to the aluminium allowing resonances in the arm tube to get out down the bearing pin and pillar.

It seems to have retained the ease of presentation of the earlier ones, the way it presents everything in such a manner that you can pick and follow a part then pick something else and not have to zero in on it, it doesnt seem to lose track of anything in the mix

It does however have a more analytical feel to it which some people might not like. This may be in part the cartridge interaction as the 540 is particularly good at teasing apart things in the soundstage

This combo is a little into the cold side of neutral if that makes sense

Shove something else on the end of it and i suspect it would change

It doesnt seem to have that slight forwardness in the midrange that version 7 has, wether thats the cartridge remains to be seen.

Handily, it seems to be doing pretty much what i expected it to, rather than sounding completely different
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NSNO2021 (Sat Aug 21, 2021 2:53 pm)
Analogue: oracle delphi sme 309, jbe series 3 cx unipivot dv20x2l, roksan xerxes tabriz vm750, jvc ql-y5f rigb at440, jvc ql-y3f vm750, lenco 75, technics sl150

Phono stages: cole lcr, benedict audio hothead

Digital: cyrus cd7, wiim mini x2, topping e30, jds labs el dac 2+

Amplification: nelson pass b1, nelson pass f5

Speakers: 15" fane aperiodic wardrobes

Cans: myryad z40, hifiman sundara + deva, fostex t50rp, sennheiser momentum on ear +over ear, b&w p5 and p7

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Re: a couple of turntable restorations

Unread post by NSNO2021 »

I remain in awe of your ability to keep on improving what was already a good vinyl rig. It makes my improvements and tweaking seem very modest (which in a way they are) Bravo Ant
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Vinyl-ant
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Re: a couple of turntable restorations

Unread post by Vinyl-ant »

Its a product of being a bloody pedant and having some sort of ocd when it comes to vinyl

This thing has taken nearly 4 years to develop to where it is now from my original idea for it, its almost there.

Im sure i can squeeze a bit more out of it with some slight changes

Ive done some further faffing, tried the 540ml, then the 540 body with the 760slc stylus, and then petes ortofon 2m blue.

The interesting thing about this is that the differences between the carts is immediately apparent, but the intrinsic neutral characteristic of the arm and its teasing everything apart is still there.

It doesnt seem to be adding anything now

Im rather pleased with that
Analogue: oracle delphi sme 309, jbe series 3 cx unipivot dv20x2l, roksan xerxes tabriz vm750, jvc ql-y5f rigb at440, jvc ql-y3f vm750, lenco 75, technics sl150

Phono stages: cole lcr, benedict audio hothead

Digital: cyrus cd7, wiim mini x2, topping e30, jds labs el dac 2+

Amplification: nelson pass b1, nelson pass f5

Speakers: 15" fane aperiodic wardrobes

Cans: myryad z40, hifiman sundara + deva, fostex t50rp, sennheiser momentum on ear +over ear, b&w p5 and p7

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