Schiit Sol Turntable Review - Episodic.

Discussion in 'Vinyl Nutjob World: Turntable and Related Gear' started by purr1n, Sep 10, 2019.

  1. ripblade

    ripblade Acquaintance

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    I'm using an SDS Isoplatmat, which is a constrained 3 layer (3mm) powder coated aluminum mat. I bonded it to the platter using a very thin layer of Mono acoustic sealant, which is a butyl rubber monomer that never dries, skins or hardens. The combination is completely inert, allowing the dynamics in the recording to pop from a dead quiet background. Long time ago on a different table I compared the SDS to a Boston Audio Mystic Carbon mat at over 3X the price. The BAM was slightly more revealing of natural timbres in acoustic instruments but not enough for me to justify the additional cost. In all other aspects of sound it was virtually identical in performance.

    It's similar in price to the Achromat, a little thinner and maybe slightly heavier. Another alternative worth considering. I had to raise the platter so it lay flush with the bearing cap to make it work. I don't know if this is still an issue with post-beta Sols.
     
  2. ohshitgorillas

    ohshitgorillas Friend

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    Apparently, the Pro-Ject Speed Box S works with the Sol's motor! It definitely sounds cleaner... I also no longer get a loud pop thru my speakers when turning the motor off. Looking forward to the upgraded pulley, too.

    20201121_130002.jpg
     
  3. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    A crazy idea just popped into my head.

    The limitations of the Sol for international markets was that AC motor. Since the Speed Box S uses an SMPS with flexible voltage input requirements you should be able to use the SMPS to accept most if not all forms of international mains power and the Speed Box to output what the Sol needs to run properly.

    Does this sound off the mark? I held off from getting a Sol because I am moving to Japan for 2 years but if this will work then I may be able to get myself a new turntable :)
     
  4. ohshitgorillas

    ohshitgorillas Friend

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    I think the issue is not the mains voltage, for which you could easily get a different wall wart, but the difference between 50Hz and 60Hz mains. I'm not sure if even the Speed Box S will run correctly if fed with a 50Hz power supply, but a wall wart with the proper voltages would run at weird speeds.

    Edit: Oh, while I'm here, I did email Schiit the other day asking if the new pulley could be included with my Jotunheim 2 shipment. They said they are still waiting for parts, so the new pulleys aren't available yet... FYI for anyone who has been checking their mail for the new pulleys.

    Edit2: An international version COULD be as simple as having a different pulley, though, no? A 50Hz-based pulley, and a 60Hz-based one? I don't have the skills to make one but I'm assuming one of the geniuses around here could figure it out... that would be far and away the simplest and cheapest way to offer Sol internationally in my mind.
     
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2021
  5. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    I think one @oneguy is saying is that an SMPS does not matter the mains voltage or frequency.

    Anyway, a different sized pully is how other companies like Rega and Pro-ject do their stepper motors for proper speeds with different frequency mains.
     
  6. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    The pulley/speed thing has come up before. They're not supplying different size pulleys with the same motor because:
    As for using a Speed Box in a 50 Hz country - because its input power is DC, using a US Speed Box to generate 60 Hz AC should work Ok if it has enough power for the motor: the spec for the Speed Box says it's good up to 3W but the transformer supplied with the Sol is 8W. I'd guess the motor would be fine with much less than 8W, but probably best to ask Schiit before buying a Speed Box to try.

    Edit: Speed Box has been tried successfully with the Sol motor - see @oshitgorillas post immediately below (d'oh, I missed that on his post with the nice photo earlier :rolleyes:).
     
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2021
  7. ohshitgorillas

    ohshitgorillas Friend

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    For what it's worth, the speed box actually seems more powerful than the stock wall wart... with the stock, I had to give the platter a push to get it started every time. The Speed Box has no issue doing this on its own (I still give it a push before pressing the power button).
     
  8. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    @ohshitgorillas @rtaylor76 @Biodegraded

    Thanks for the responses. I should have been more clear with the process in my head but you guys worked it out (get out of my head!).

    Summary:
    -Speed Box’s SMPS shouldn’t care what freq it’s fed; it’s always going to output 18VDC
    -Speed Box takes care of outputting something the Sol’s motor can digest and operate as Schiit intended
    -Folks living abroad can run the current production form of the Sol without the need for Schiit to change anything
     
  9. gaspasser

    gaspasser Flatulence Maestro

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    I found this awesome setup video by Conrad, who I’m pretty sure is the designer of Sol.

    I got a Sol coming to putz around with.
    I will compare directly with my Classic 1 and report back.

    Edit: Here is the link to the video on Conrad’s site (up since at least last April per HF) for the anti-YT crowd
    https://www.conradhoffman.com/Sol Support/Hardcore Sol Setup.mp4

     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2021
  10. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    Speed box coming in a week and Sol on back order. I should be rocking a Sol in Japan sometime in May.
     
  11. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Friend

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    Evidently there is a nice review of Sol upcoming in the March Stereophile? I've not seen it yet, but looking forward to it.
     
  12. supertransformingdhruv

    supertransformingdhruv Almost "Made"

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    It’s a pretty positive read. Tl;dr take is it’s not a table for beginners, even if it’s priced that way. Some criticism for how fiddly it is.
     
  13. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    Schiit Sol now working in a country other than the US on 50hz power thanks to the Pro-ject Speed Box S!

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
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  14. SpeedSmith

    SpeedSmith New

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    Nice! Glad you were able to get 50hz working via the Speed Box. How are you liking the Sol? Great choice of albums for the photo. I think we use the same tablet stand to display records.

    Side note: has anyone heard anything more about the updated pulley?
     
  15. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    I’m loving it for far. I’m the second owner of this original production run unit but looks like all the updates are in place (except maybe the bearing). I double checked everything following the Conrad’s video and the only thing that gave me guff was leveling the tonearm to the record. I ended having to drop the platter height to 1/4” above the plinth to get the tonearm level with the MP-110 cartridge. The platter wobble appears to +/- 0.02” to maybe 0.024” which according to a previous post by Schiit is out of spec. That causes me a little concern. How much should I push to try and get that replaced?
     
  16. TDeb214

    TDeb214 New

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    Oneguy, since you moved the platter down a bit, try loosening and retightening the screw, making sure the shaft is as vertical as possible. On new units this is done at the factory.
     
  17. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    I’ll have to get a carpenter square because I don’t believe I put one in my bag of tools from the US. Although, if the shaft is off axis would it just mean one of half of the rotating disc will always be lower regardless rotation? The wobble to me means the platter is unbalanced and there is play on the shaft such that as it rotates around the heavy side is always lower.

    Or the hole through the platter is not perpendicular to the flat plane of the platter surface.
     
  18. ripblade

    ripblade Acquaintance

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    It could be any or all of those reasons. In my case the hole was too big for the bearing journal. I was able to drop it easily over the bearing without loosening the bearing cap as instructed.
     
  19. fallington

    fallington New

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    Has anyone installed an automatic tone arm lifter to the plinth?
     
  20. SuperRoo

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    [​IMG] [​IMG]
     

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