IMG_20191203_133304 by anthony cresswell, on FlickrThe background on this is that it was one of transfi vics early salvation turntables using a diyhifisupply bearing and platter and a teres verus idler motor and psu.
nigel (shaman on here), who commissioned it had some things he wasn't entirely happy about with the sound, namely an edge to the sound that slate gives. I know what he means, my jbe has the same slight hardness to it that the salvation did.
Custom tt, verus idler motor, origin live conqueror mk3c, dynavector dv20x2L by anthony cresswell, on FlickrThe first iteration i did was a skeletal type, i made 4 pods which were joined together with steel rods, one with the arm on, one at the front and one to the left arranged in a triangle with the 4th in the centre with the bearing in. abit like an oracle delphi. more like the idler i built years ago out of an lp12 and a gl69 that some of you may remember. It was crap. bass was loose, and it sounded dull. so i then did a solid plinth that was 4" square by 14" long. basically joined the bearing and arm together. it was better, but there was something off about it.
This one is more conventional than either of the other 2, but blends enough mass with enough damping.
Custom tt, verus idler motor, origin live conqueror mk3c, dynavector dv20x2L by anthony cresswell, on FlickrNext was to get it dialled in once it passed muster. The bearing is an inverted design, i.e, the bearing contact point is at the top rather than the bottom, meaning 90% of the weight of the platter is lower than the contact point which aids stability. I had to play with the height of the drive wheel to get it exactly as i wanted, its driving the platter at the same height as the contact surface so it reduces lateral bearing load to the minimum giving some audible benefits in terms of speed stability and noise.
Custom tt, verus idler motor, origin live conqueror mk3c, dynavector dv20x2L by anthony cresswell, on FlickrAlso tweaking the drive angle by adjusting where the motor sits gave similar benefits, making sure the motor sits exactly square with the platter and plinth improved speed stability and noise.
Lastly, the position of the motor in line with the arm pivot centre and the bearing centre cleaned up the imaging. That was the idea that dictated the plinth shape. Ive done this before with another custom tt that i did for my dad for his 50th birthday, that one had the motor positioned between the arm and the platter bearing rather than on the outside like this one, and it did have a noticeable benefit in terms of the top end, bass tightness and imaging. Its interesting when the motor is moved. i tried it in a few different positions and it was definitely better in line with the centres.
Got there eventually, and its very even handed top to bottom which is what i wanted.
The arm is a 12" origin live conqueror mk3c, nigel had got a good deal on it but had nothing to put it on, this deck was designed around it. I am not a fan of origin live arms to be honest, they seem to engineer things in a way that is somewhat at odds with my ways of thinking (but they make lots of money off them and i make piss all so who am i to comment
) but this one is rather nice. similar to martins 12" jelco on his g99 that i did, and the 12" ortofon and jelco on pauls lenco and garrard. Its sound is more precise than those arms, more "hifi" for want of a better word, but it matches with the dynavector dv20x2L thats in it. And i am a big dynavector fan so alls good for me.......and that clear acrylic platter looks the dogs
Thats the nice thing about doing this for a living, i get to play with stuff that is a million times outside my own personal price bracket, if only for a little while
Oh and i got hold of a little bear mc step up for 20 quid which is surprisingly good. I have one of nicks lda step ups here that is in use on something else and i couldnt be arsed to start pulling cables out to connect this up to it, every time i do i seem to bugger something up and end up with a load of hum and mysterious problems that introduce a ghost into the machine. its not a bad step up at all, it would be not bad at all if it was 3 times the price to be honest. it could be made better with some tweaks, a better psu would probably make a big difference. If you wanted to try mc and needed one its a no brainer to get you going.
very pleased with this TT build
