Schiit Sol Turntable Review - Episodic.

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

  1. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    My mind was already spinning this morning on what it would take to get arms made, lol.
     
  2. JackG

    JackG New

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    I second your call to arms.
     
  3. NationOfLaws

    NationOfLaws Friend

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    Kinda feel like I should have invested in a similarly priced Rega or something, but I just assumed Sol would be in production longer than *checks notes* four days.

    Anyone want to buy a still-under-warranty Sol?
     
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2021
  4. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    Not under warranty unless you are the original owner or go through the original owner I’m afraid. I found that out the hard way.
     
  5. NationOfLaws

    NationOfLaws Friend

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    Sheesh.
     
  6. ZekeWoo

    ZekeWoo New

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    "Anyone want to buy a still-under-warranty Sol?"

    Why yes - I would actually...
     
  7. Marvey

    Marvey Super Friend

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    I wouldn't worry about the need for warranty. Turntables last forever. Unipivot arms even longer since there are no ball bearings to wear out. Sharpen the pivot if needed (many VPI owners have done this). Belts can be found from other sources or DIY a belt. The motor is a Hurst part. Any fails are likely to be early.

    And really, we are talking 10-15 years down the line. I'm sure Schiit has a decent spare parts supply to cover the next few years. OOP doesn't mean no longer supported. And anyway, I think it was pretty clear from my review that this was going to be one of those tweakers' tables.

    Kudos to the guys who worked on the Sol at Schiit. I bitched at the Sol hard in this review and they eventually solved the issues - to the point where a customer could open up the box and get it up working without a hitch.

    I know it wasn't an easy decision for Schiit. I think the real problem is that the Sol came out five years too late. The vinyl revolution was in full force already. We know this to be true when the likes Audio Technica comes out with massive line of their own lower cost TTs shortly after Technics resurrected their SL12**. Too bad, the Sol was a good sounding table - but when there's good stuff like this for $399, it's hard to compete. The LP140 is actually good.

    PXL_20210730_190053967.jpg
     
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2021
  8. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    And the success of LP140 took all of the good stuff from vintage SL-1200 tables. The Pioneer PLX-1000 is also a good choice, even if it is marketed as a DJ table...it has a lot going for it for being a brand new table.
     
  9. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    One other thing I will say as I really wanted to get one of these as I know unipivot arms are the stuff...there is also the Thorens TD-203 that uses the TP 82 unipivot tonearm. So for those that were looking into the Sol for that, might want to check out the Thorens. There are some on the used market at decent prices.
     
  10. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  11. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    Anyone have any recommendations for good carts in the $500 or less range? I currently have a Ortofon 2M Bronze and I’m looking to get something else complimentary.
     
  12. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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  13. Inoculator

    Inoculator Friend

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    While I have not heard on the Sol specifically, I gotta plug the Denon 103r, I adore mine. Can upgrade either with a metal body cap, or send off to Zu for their modification (highly recommend, big fan of mine after the mod). Need a phono stage that can handle it though.
     
  14. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    FWIW, I hear awesome things on the Audio Technica AT33-EV if you wanted to move into MC land.
     
  15. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    Not to mention an arm that can handle it, especially with the Zu body.

    That being said, the 103R is my current cart.
     
    Last edited: Oct 2, 2021
  16. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    The Grado line was something I’ve been looking at (Platinum 3 and Sonata 3). I’ve never heard any of their products but idea of a wood cart seems intriguing which is what initially drew me to it. It’s good to know the Reference Platinum did well based on two carts I’ve owned in the past (2M Red and MP-110).

    A google search of good carts to own also put this one on my list. I don’t wholeheartedly put my faith in everything I find in google searches but if its echoed by good people on SBAF then it gives it more street cred.

    I’ve never heard of modding these carts. I kind of like the idea of being able to tweak things to fine tune to tastes.

    I have no problem with MC carts. Both the phono amps I’ve owned could handle them I’ve just never been a position to be willing to drop enough coin to own one. Now that I’m capping my search at $500 MCs are finally doable. I’ll add this to the list with the Platinum 3 and 103R and make a final determination on which way to go.
     
  17. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    I decided to pull the trigger on the AT33PTG/2. I can get one for right under $500 and get $50 in points to use on my next purchase with that company making it in the same price ballpark as the AT33EV. What drew me to this one is the microlinear stylus (I’ve never had one) and the multitude of specs that audio-techica publishes for their carts. Not many companies do that.

    Reviews for this cart seem positive too. We’ll see what happens. I’ll have another tonearm to install this on next week.
     
  18. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    Package from the US came earlier than expected.
    [​IMG]
    Wobble on this bearing is even better than the replacement bearing that I received from Schiit. It was fitted with the AT cart from the second run of Sols where as the the older turntable was fitted with the MP-110 cart from the first run. The tonearm lift around top dead center has a little more friction on the newer one compared to the older one. I prefer the additional friction as it makes it easier to not drop the needle on an accidental bump. No other differences noted. I plugged in he new motor and ran it in the old table seems to function the same. I didn’t try to fine tune RPM with the position of the motor and see how the wow and flutter compared.
     
  19. TomNC

    TomNC Friend

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    @oneguy, I had thought that Schiit discontinued Sol-related production completely. Now I hope to receive an improved replacement motor (and even buy a second arm?).
     
  20. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    @TomNC the turntable that I just bought is a secondhand turntable. Any reference to new was only used to differentiate between the two when describing them.

    What’s up with your motor?
     

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