I have a new motor on my LP12 and an excellent condition black liner pre Cirkus bearing...
The 167.5mm belt I purchased from Mike is know almost silent and running at 33.23rpm with 0.07 wow RMS. Also, I've reset the motor position to standard just as it was running with the Linn belt. I had issues with noise and low speed when initially fitted and this persisted despite having run the belt in excess of 36 hours.
How did I achieve this? Well, I talced the belt and then I removed excess talc with half a dozen or so paper tissues - no longer a sticky clammy texture to the belt now. Talc is a lubricant yes, as evidenced if too much is left on the belt - it won't drive! But it also prevents stickiness in the right amount, if hardly any is present on the belt.
It's now also behaving more like a Linn belt on start up. Not saying the start up is important as I usually give the platter a spin up anyhow. But my God the blue belt certainly has an effect on music. Transients are almost explosive, electric bass notes start and end on a sixpence, piano notes decay beautifully with no hint of waver and stand up bass is gloriously woody. I've also noticed a huge improvement in subtle detail, backing singers appear to be playing a bigger part in the mix than ever before. Jazz drum brush work is now very detailed much more than just a "tisshh, tisshh" as I heard before. Now I'm not just hearing the initial strike (tisshh) but also the draw across the drum head too - awesome!
These blue belts are something really special, great work Mike!
The 167.5mm belt I purchased from Mike is know almost silent and running at 33.23rpm with 0.07 wow RMS. Also, I've reset the motor position to standard just as it was running with the Linn belt. I had issues with noise and low speed when initially fitted and this persisted despite having run the belt in excess of 36 hours.
How did I achieve this? Well, I talced the belt and then I removed excess talc with half a dozen or so paper tissues - no longer a sticky clammy texture to the belt now. Talc is a lubricant yes, as evidenced if too much is left on the belt - it won't drive! But it also prevents stickiness in the right amount, if hardly any is present on the belt.
It's now also behaving more like a Linn belt on start up. Not saying the start up is important as I usually give the platter a spin up anyhow. But my God the blue belt certainly has an effect on music. Transients are almost explosive, electric bass notes start and end on a sixpence, piano notes decay beautifully with no hint of waver and stand up bass is gloriously woody. I've also noticed a huge improvement in subtle detail, backing singers appear to be playing a bigger part in the mix than ever before. Jazz drum brush work is now very detailed much more than just a "tisshh, tisshh" as I heard before. Now I'm not just hearing the initial strike (tisshh) but also the draw across the drum head too - awesome!
These blue belts are something really special, great work Mike!