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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    Not braiding or twisting the wires too tightly makes a difference too, especially at the plug. You see that a lot on LT arms where frictionless motion is paramount. I can see that being a good thing on a unipvot just as easily. Just be aware that some might find that type of haphazard wiring arrangement offensive lol.
     
  2. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    I think I’m sitting at 2-3 hours so far. Break in is real thing so I do expect some changes to occur. Hopefully they are the ones I want.
     
  3. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    Going out on a limb and having a dust cover made by a guy in Russia on eBay without any feedback (fingers crossed). He does free engraving so I’m having the Schiit symbol engraved on the top of the dust cover. 4–6 week timeline for delivery in Japan after 5 days to make the cover. Expedited 2-3 week shipping was $55 to the Japan or $65 to the US. If it comes out well it should look pretty slick.

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dust-Cover...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0
     
  4. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    Yeah it doesn’t look as tidy but it’s functional. If people want to stick their head’s that far up my turntable’s @ss and judge then they may. I did a light twist on my pairs but that’s all. They are together enough for my concern and if doesn’t work out I’ll just make another cable set with the extra I bought and just call that first one version 1.0! Lol. A few dollars sunk but knowledge gained and the community moves forward.
     
  5. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  6. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    (seemingly) Shady Russian shit comes thru FTW, once again! Congrats, that looks stellar.
     
  7. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    They have resorted to cut and paste responses when you ask about extra tonearms for purchase. I fear we are really at the end…
     
  8. crazychile

    crazychile Eastern Iowa's Spiciest Pepper

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    Staying optimistic for those that want one, I could see how they might officially kill off the Sol, but maybe bring it back in a year or two when supplier production levels get back to normal. For as much R&D as they put into it, I'd like to think they'd bring it back if the demand is there.
     
  9. tranq

    tranq Friend

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    Seems the big problem was too many parts/components were outside of their tolerances. That was the big takeaway I took from Mike. Paraphrasing here...He said in their livestream last week that they would only get a handful of parts within spec while they had a bunch that were out of spec....(again paraphrasing) said it would work better if they were a high end manufacturer with a bigger mark up.....

    I wonder if they'd consider doing graded versions A, B, C quality, depending on how out of spec they are....

    I have a beta TT, and both my platters are slightly uneven, one has a larger hole in the middle for the spindle then the other, and the outside diameter of both bearing/spindles i have are different sizes.

    Still the best sounding TT I've ever heard.... but my TT experience is pretty limited so that isnt saying much.
    Another way to say it would be that when I compare an album on SOL to a digital album on qobuz, I only notice tiny differences in overall quality. They both sound different but one isnt worlds better then the other..
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2021
  10. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    Thanks for the summary. I wanted to watch the livestream but missed it.

    I am ignorant on the subject but it seems to me if you buy something out of spec you shouldn’t be charged for it since it was the machine shop that messed up. Schiit shouldn’t bear the cost of their parts suppliers not being able to consistently produce accurate parts.
     
  11. ogodei

    ogodei MOT: Austin AudioWorks

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    You get the quality level of parts and production you pay for. A smaller mark up on the end product means less $$ to pay for high-quality production where the vendor spends more time on set up and builds in the cost to eat out-of-spec parts.

    You get your McDonalds meal from the drive-in window and state "I wanted medium rare, this hamburger isn't medium rare, give me my money back."

    1) McDonalds is geared towards fast food; if you need medium rare go to a different restaurant.
    2) McDonalds may believe the issue is with you, not their product. Billions and billions served.
    3) If you refuse to pay or ask for your money back prepare to find another restaurant in the future.

    Zero-percent of these statements are blaming Schiit for anything. Possibly the vendor dressed up their McDonalds like Ruth's Chris, that happens. Just pointing out that service level agreements in contracts control these things.
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2021
  12. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    Thanks for clearing that up. That type of stuff is not my forte.
     
  13. artur9

    artur9 Facebook Friend

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    Maybe "sell" the design to Shinola. Labelled "Designed by Schiit, Built by Shinola"
     
  14. ripblade

    ripblade Acquaintance

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    That's not exactly how it works. Drawings with specs and tolerances are sent out for tender to different shops to quote on the various parts. One shop might have the lowest price for the bearing and another shop might have the lowest for the platter. They're both marginally within tolerances but at opposite ends of the range, so when the parts are assembled at the Schiit facility the fit may be too loose or too tight. This is why a well established manufacturer does all they're own machining in house....it guarantees a proper fit.

    The business model Schiit is using is setup for failure at the precision they need....they're not a TT manufacturer, that's why they say it's hard. What they should do is contract ONE shop to make ALL the parts. Then, if there's a problem there's only one place to look for the answer. Probably would cost more as it removes the competitive edge that keeps prices low.
     
  15. Metro

    Metro Friend

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    Not a good fit. Shinola is in the lifestyle market where the product must be plug-and-play with very little setup.
     
  16. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Yeah, this, or contract subassemblies with tolerance dependancies. Spindle/bearing/platter as one unit/SKU.
     
  17. winders

    winders boomer

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    Many businesses do not have their machining done in house. That is the reason there are tons of independent machining shops all over the USA working with small business right up to multinational Fortune 500 companies.
     
  18. ripblade

    ripblade Acquaintance

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    Sure, but are any of them TT manufacturers? Schiit has aptly demonstrated what happens when you don't....
     
  19. winders

    winders boomer

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    Manufacturers bring part production in house to save money. That means making enough parts to justify the employees, machinery, and other infrastructure. I doubt Schiit needs enough machined parts to justify doing this. It's the same for diecast parts.

    The aerospace industry hires outside vendors to machine parts for them regularly. Do you think a turntable needs more accurate parts than a rocket?

    There are two issues here: The first is finding a company that can machine the parts to the correct specifications. The second is to give the company the proper specifications.

    The tighter the tolerances, the higher the cost per part.

    If the company making the parts send parts out of spec, your reject those parts. If parts in spec don't work, the specs are wrong. If the company can't make enough parts in spec, find a new company. They are out there. They probably cost more....and are less flexible because they have a bunch of work.
     
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  20. schiit

    schiit SchiitHead

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    List of tiny, fly by night, not-well-established companies buying machined parts out of house: GM, Lockheed, GE, Apple, Ford, etc. This also includes complete assemblies like transmissions, and complete products.

    Yes, we had problems on Sol. This does not correlate to "establishment" or business-worthiness.

    In the end, we were able to produce a good product, but at great pain. We're still debating whether to try to continue with this. It looks like most likely we won't be. If so, I'll remove Sol from the website before the end of the month.
     
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    Last edited: Jul 23, 2021

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