gortnipper
loose nut
I have been farting around with my 401 on and off for a couple of years now. I got it pretty cheaply in the first part of 2007 and have been doing this and that to it since then.
But, I have been listening to my 301 which is in a dual slab sandwich Jarrah (I think) plinth for a the last 6 months or so (god - maybe longer) while I have been tweaking the 401's plinth to try and get rid of some resonance issues with it. Or should I say, I have been listening to the 301 while the 401 was sitting there waiting for me to do it. But I finally finished it, and it sat for a while longer waiting for some parts that a mateh dropped over - namly the Pete Riggle VTAF and his OL Silver arm - so we could do a straight A/B between the two decks with as many of the same components as possible.
So, rather than changing arms and risk my cantilever (again), I decided to just mount the mate's VTAF bushing and vertical guide onto the arm board, and then just slot my arm in. This also saved a bunch of time as this part took about 10 minutes - and the cantilever's alignment was dead on! I just had to adjust the overhang about 0.6 mm (pats self on back). All up, about an hours job.
I am using the Rollerblock Jrs, like I was on the 301. Both decks have a Kokomo bearing. Same cork underlay and Herbie's Way Excellent mats. Only differences in the set-ups are the deck and plinth.
Wow. What a difference. The new sub-plinth seems to have done the trick - as the 401 now sounds better than my 301. Total flip-flop. Same arm, same cart, new sound - in a word - Clarity. Everything is crisper, more defined, more dynamic. Vibrant. Toe-tapping. So much as I can tell so far, the rumble I had heard before has disappeared. There is no motor noise unless I put my ear directly on the plinth. On the downside, there is a bit more surface noise on the same LPs I was playing last week - but I am sure it was just being smeared on the 301.
This is now an arms race, of sorts.
First - I am now more tempted than ever by the Jelco 750L. I bet this would up the ante quite a bit on the 401.
Second - I have to figure out what is holding back the 301. First off, I will have to undo my "light-bulb fix" to reduce the line voltage (since it runs fast with out it). I have heard this can have an effect on the dynamics, so that is the cheap and easy thing to address - just have to find a good machinist to turn down the pulley to a correct diameter.
Then, if that doesnt really address it - I will have to make a Baltic Birch or Slate plinth.
My bet is that once I sort gettting the pulley turned down, the lions share of the difference is the plinth. I would bet that with a top-notch BB plinth, the 301 would kick the 401. And then the 401 in a slate plinth would kick the 301.
Arms race: Plinth Wars.
But, that is all conjecture. Sounds damned good now spinning
Wilco - (the album)
Cowboy Junkies - The Trinity Sessions
Kenny Drew - Undercurrent
Horace Parlan - Speakin' My Piece
Band of Horses - Everything All The Time
PS - more plinth pics for the interested at http://www.flickr.com/photos/gortnipper/
But, I have been listening to my 301 which is in a dual slab sandwich Jarrah (I think) plinth for a the last 6 months or so (god - maybe longer) while I have been tweaking the 401's plinth to try and get rid of some resonance issues with it. Or should I say, I have been listening to the 301 while the 401 was sitting there waiting for me to do it. But I finally finished it, and it sat for a while longer waiting for some parts that a mateh dropped over - namly the Pete Riggle VTAF and his OL Silver arm - so we could do a straight A/B between the two decks with as many of the same components as possible.
So, rather than changing arms and risk my cantilever (again), I decided to just mount the mate's VTAF bushing and vertical guide onto the arm board, and then just slot my arm in. This also saved a bunch of time as this part took about 10 minutes - and the cantilever's alignment was dead on! I just had to adjust the overhang about 0.6 mm (pats self on back). All up, about an hours job.
I am using the Rollerblock Jrs, like I was on the 301. Both decks have a Kokomo bearing. Same cork underlay and Herbie's Way Excellent mats. Only differences in the set-ups are the deck and plinth.
Wow. What a difference. The new sub-plinth seems to have done the trick - as the 401 now sounds better than my 301. Total flip-flop. Same arm, same cart, new sound - in a word - Clarity. Everything is crisper, more defined, more dynamic. Vibrant. Toe-tapping. So much as I can tell so far, the rumble I had heard before has disappeared. There is no motor noise unless I put my ear directly on the plinth. On the downside, there is a bit more surface noise on the same LPs I was playing last week - but I am sure it was just being smeared on the 301.
This is now an arms race, of sorts.
First - I am now more tempted than ever by the Jelco 750L. I bet this would up the ante quite a bit on the 401.
Second - I have to figure out what is holding back the 301. First off, I will have to undo my "light-bulb fix" to reduce the line voltage (since it runs fast with out it). I have heard this can have an effect on the dynamics, so that is the cheap and easy thing to address - just have to find a good machinist to turn down the pulley to a correct diameter.
Then, if that doesnt really address it - I will have to make a Baltic Birch or Slate plinth.
My bet is that once I sort gettting the pulley turned down, the lions share of the difference is the plinth. I would bet that with a top-notch BB plinth, the 301 would kick the 401. And then the 401 in a slate plinth would kick the 301.
Arms race: Plinth Wars.
But, that is all conjecture. Sounds damned good now spinning
Wilco - (the album)
Cowboy Junkies - The Trinity Sessions
Kenny Drew - Undercurrent
Horace Parlan - Speakin' My Piece
Band of Horses - Everything All The Time
PS - more plinth pics for the interested at http://www.flickr.com/photos/gortnipper/