Aye... a shame its covered up... Like the Sole upgrades people are having done to their LP12s, its all hidden from view!!!
Well there are some clear issues the Brass Platter to sort has but it sounds a lot better than the Iron and Ally platter so its a keeper. Surface noise is nonexistent and the Denon DL103 tracks a whole lot better but the groove wall noise is still there (not surprising considering the size and shape of the diamond in use). Speed stability is a lot more there it takes maybe half a second longer to come up to speed but that's no biggie and it never wavers.
The overall effect is its a much tighter and blacker sounding deck. Much better sense of start/stops, spaciousness and all that tosh as well, but its just... well... snappier... I was expecting a lot from this and I think for what it cost me it delivers about what I paid for it. Not a bargain but about right.
Some Banco de Gaia that used to track badly (Maia: Side 3, Lai Lah) are really very much happier and the needle stays in the groove. No shimmers or crackles around the voice samples with the subterranean bass. HIA as well... just transparent and all around me which I had not had for a long time. The grey patch in my vinyl is over.
The worst thing about it is actually functional: The strobe is not visible from the window at the front -- its set too far back!!! So I'll need a strobe platter and stroboscope to add to my TT toy basket.
Lots to listen to tonight but so far so good. Hopefully balancing it tomorrow will not change it too much (I'm only doing it for my paranoiac self and maybe keep the bearing wear to a minimum).
Well there are some clear issues the Brass Platter to sort has but it sounds a lot better than the Iron and Ally platter so its a keeper. Surface noise is nonexistent and the Denon DL103 tracks a whole lot better but the groove wall noise is still there (not surprising considering the size and shape of the diamond in use). Speed stability is a lot more there it takes maybe half a second longer to come up to speed but that's no biggie and it never wavers.
The overall effect is its a much tighter and blacker sounding deck. Much better sense of start/stops, spaciousness and all that tosh as well, but its just... well... snappier... I was expecting a lot from this and I think for what it cost me it delivers about what I paid for it. Not a bargain but about right.
Some Banco de Gaia that used to track badly (Maia: Side 3, Lai Lah) are really very much happier and the needle stays in the groove. No shimmers or crackles around the voice samples with the subterranean bass. HIA as well... just transparent and all around me which I had not had for a long time. The grey patch in my vinyl is over.
The worst thing about it is actually functional: The strobe is not visible from the window at the front -- its set too far back!!! So I'll need a strobe platter and stroboscope to add to my TT toy basket.
Lots to listen to tonight but so far so good. Hopefully balancing it tomorrow will not change it too much (I'm only doing it for my paranoiac self and maybe keep the bearing wear to a minimum).