Post your turntable setup...can't get enough of those spinners!

Discussion in 'Vinyl Nutjob World: Turntable and Related Gear' started by shaizada, Sep 28, 2015.

  1. bazelio

    bazelio Friend

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    It's called a Mooo Mat. It was a tip from a local VPI aficionado. I hadn't considered anything but vinyl on aluminium previously, but thought I'd give it a shot. I have to say I like it. The difference in sound is significant, and once I increased VTA just enough, the overly warm sound goes away and I was left with a very balanced sound that has more body and less treble splash than before. Some might consider it a bit warm even then, but I'd disagree. If you're used to hearing the effects of platter ringing, you will need to get used to some damping, and once you do it really does sound right and is still plenty lively with my cart and the metal arm. I recently tried a couple other mats without success and returned them.

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    Last edited: Mar 18, 2017
  2. Vansen

    Vansen Gear Master (retiring)

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    My modest, but decent sounding turntable setup is about dialed in. The speakers need to be gone, but just about everything else is nice. Ignore the hideous carpet!

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    Last edited: Mar 18, 2017
  3. pedalhead

    pedalhead Friend

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    Have to say, I'm really chuffed with how great this Thorens is sounding. I was afraid it might not stack up against my digital system...well, no worries there.

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  4. JayC

    JayC Resident Crash Test Dummy

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    Small update with the Debut Carbon Acrylic platter setup: I replaced the 2M Red with the Nagaoka MP110!
    [​IMG]

    To throw out information to people who might head down this road, I had shot some messages to @Marvey and @shaizada while trying to figure out what to get. Marvey did recommend the AT440MLB for the my table because he said it would be brighter and more detailed than the Nagaoka which he felt might be too warm. Since I couldnt find the AT to hear for myself, I took a bit of a chance and went with the Nagaoka. To quote his message about the AT440's stylus (I hope you dont mind me copying your message to repost, Marv!) - "Those kind of styli are really good with older records which have been played with spherical styli in the past. They dig a bit deeper into the groove - the parts that typically aren't as worn out. The downside is that you get surface noise, not only from dust, but also imperfections in the manufacturing process."

    I was a little worried when I picked the Nag because I saw that the resonant frequency with this table would be 18Hz (usually supposed to be 7-12Hz, but I'm not sure how this affects things) partly because the dynamic compliance was quite low (again, not sure how this affects things or if it affects something else). I'd love to know though, so if someone can throw some information or links my way, that would be great!

    I installed it anyway after picking it up.. I'm now a week in, and I do think it is a little warm - but only only just a tad. I think it doesnt drown the highs or seem veiled so far, and I'm guessing it needs some play time to show its true colours. The warmth is noticeable though when I play something like Periphery's Juggernaut, which is an album that is relatively warm/bass heavy to begin with, but otherwise it isnt really noticeable. Feels quite natural for the most part and I like it. I'm happy for now until I hear a better setup of course :)
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2017
  5. bazelio

    bazelio Friend

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    @jayeshrc I'm not familiar with your tonearm but if you can adjust the vertical tracking angle higher so that the cart body is slightly "tail up", you might get closer to the sound you're hoping for. Certainly experiment a bit and get a feel for how certain adjustments can affect the sound. VTF too, potentially. Analog is very responsive to small changes. And then give it time. There is a break-in period.
     
  6. JayC

    JayC Resident Crash Test Dummy

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    Interesting, I might have to try that with some "jugaad" (hack) methods, since I looked quite hard and do not see a way to adjust VTA other than by adding a small shim on one side of the cart. I'll try comparing first by adding the felt mat under a record and see how that changes things (it would be in the opposite direction, but I wanna experiment a bit because I'm such a noob here). Thanks for the info, @bazelio ! :)

    Also, I saw some information about Japanese manufacturers measuring dynamic compliance at 100Hz, while others measure at 10Hz and that's what leads to a much lower dynamic compliance number of the Nagaoka MP110 (6.0 x 10-6 cm/dyne) vs Ortofon 2M Red (20.0 x 10-6 cm/dyne). Apparently conversion of the compliance number can be done by applying a multiplication factor of 1.5-2?

    I didnt see anything mentioned on the manufacturer websites and I'm guessing that if they do measure at different frequencies, you'd have to remeasure to actually compare and not use some preset factor because theres just too many variables, but I guess its good to know..
     
  7. JayC

    JayC Resident Crash Test Dummy

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    Okay, so after looking closely at the current VTA, I saw that it was far from "ideal" (for some reason people say that ideal is 92 degrees, with the cart tail up a bit, but here we're talking about perpendicular)

    [​IMG]

    I spoke a bit with @bazelio and he advised going perpendicular and then fine tuning from there, so I spent some time and after a couple tries with different shims (all paper/cardboard based in my case) I finally got to about perpendicular and I definitely hear a positive difference! Things sound more even, with the previous warmth tamed and the highs clearly audible. I have to take back what I said earlier, this NOW sounds natural.

    [​IMG]

    I may end up tuning more later, but I think I'll stick with this for a little while, since I'm not sure I want to re-shim (the shim is now pretty thick as is..) and adjust all over again. I definitely see the value of having adjustable VTA on a turntable now. Would have made things MUCH simpler without needing me to have to readjust everything all over again each time.
     
  8. %20 Oddity

    %20 Oddity Friend

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    Wow so I can finally post here! For my 23rd birthday my father did the first thoughtful thing in my life and got me this here object as a surprise gift:

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    (The watering can is not a safety risk, I don't have any plants) I set it up, and, uh, realized that I don't actually have a preamp to plug it into lol. So any listening's gonna have to wait a bit. But hey, my first turntable! It's all downhill from now on, right?
     
  9. shipsupt

    shipsupt Admin

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    Welcome to the rabbit hole!
     
  10. bxh

    bxh Friend

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    I picked up some Herbie's Tenderfeet to replace the spikes that the previous owner installed on my VPI.

    Not sure about any audible improvements but I do prefer how much more streamlined it looks.

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    Last edited: Mar 31, 2017
  11. adpo

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    Swapped the blue point no 2 that came with the tt for an at440mlb, liking the sound out of it a lot more on my setup. Biggest difference benefit has been the improved tracking and the lack of inner groove distortion compared to the sumiko cart. Next thing I plan on doing as funds avail themselves is upgrading from my shoddily modded tc750 to an RSA Nighthawk.
    [​IMG]
     
  12. EeePee

    EeePee Acquaintance

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    I flip between a Grado Sonata and AT 440 and keep saying to myself, this AT cart is totally alright. Almost to the point of not wanting the Grado on there.

    Certain lushness about the Grado though…
     
  13. %20 Oddity

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    I dunno if it's the right topic since we have a kinda-dead preamp forum, but hey, it's a part of a setup, right? We can pretend the gain knob is a spinner.
    I acquired a preamp and an RCA switch is on its way from Hong Kong! It's possibly the worst looking piece of electronics I've laid my eyes upon, but... It's pretty much the only pre any polish board would recommend for under 60 bucks (i am still a poor) and I snagged it pre-owned still in a box for 2/3rd of that. So that's kinda a success. I don't know if it sounds good or terrible, because that's the first of its ilk I ever had any contact with lmao.

    [​IMG]

    The LED got taped up because it glows brighter than the sun.
    Anyway, records. I don't have much of them cuz ever since I discovered MP3 players I was a "lmao physical media" kind of a person, but there's something soothing in physically loading up music to listen to. Even if I have to get up from my chair mid-album to switch the sides. Also idk, music sounds kinda different. More timbre-y. Definitely grainier. The frequent tiny pops are a bit of a pain in the ear on my ~*staxes*~ but I chalk it up to the fact that almost all the records I own are older than the building I live in, me, and almost everything I own, apart from a 19th century Shakespeare dictionary I found in an antique store once.

    It's cool.
     
  14. shipsupt

    shipsupt Admin

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    Congrats on getting your vinyl rig up and running! Next up, you can get expert on cleaning that old vinyl up to minimize the noisy pops and clicks.

    As for how your pre-amp looks... who cares, as long as it's making music!
     
  15. Wfojas

    Wfojas Friend

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    and

    There is a Furutech Record Demagnetizer that was covered a few years back, where they determined that vinyl had magnetic traces

    http://www.analogplanet.com/content/you-can’t-demagnetize-vinyl-you-can-demagnetize-record—-furutech-demag-alpha-and-stein-de3#HFdCJWp0VCMuidyc.97

    And by some quirk I was at Mike Hobson's shop in Hollywood yesterday, so I started to look at the prices for the Clarity Vinyl pressings (I think he no longer owns Classic Records). I don't really know if there are colors that are more ' magnetized' or not, or if this is even true, but the Clarity pressings are pricier.

    Oh, and they are still the Furutech distributor for the US, for most, if not all lines.
     
    Last edited: Apr 7, 2017
  16. shipsupt

    shipsupt Admin

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    That reminds me that I've got a Furutech Destat II machine in a box that I've never even tried! I really need to break it out and see how it works.

    Anyone use one?
     
  17. bazelio

    bazelio Friend

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    Try it and let us know. I am battling static too, and have started to consider one of those myself. Some days it's particularly bad. Last night I had to peel a record off the platter as it crackled as it released from the cling. This after a few static free weeks.
     
  18. shipsupt

    shipsupt Admin

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    Will do!
     
  19. Torq

    Torq MOT: Headphone.com

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    Tried the Destat II & III out of curiosity. They certainly work, but I wound up sticking with the Milty Zerostat 3 (cheaper, smaller, no faffing with charging).

    Works wonders, if you use it correctly.
     
  20. shipsupt

    shipsupt Admin

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    I've been using the Milty forever. I was hoping for better and easier with the Destat.
     

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