Nude Turntable and DIY arm-pod

Posted by Lifer (A) on July 15, 2012 at 11:47:45

I just posted this on Audiogon analog forum in a thread on nude tt's, but many people probably don't read that site as well.

The idea is that a plinth is unnecessary and often undesirable because it collects, holds, and returns vibration to the tone-arm and turntable. Many high-end manufacturers have moved away from plinths, and many people prefer "nude" turntables.

Originally this was a JVC QL-10 direct drive turntable with integrated TT-101 motor-unit, plinth and tonearm. Then I detached the motor unit from the plinth but left tone-arm(s) attached to it.

I had the JVC TT-101 turntable supported on sorbothane feet - independent of the plinth, but still sitting in the plinth's cut-out. The tone-arms were mounted to the plinth, which therefore served as a large arm-board.

You can see my previous set-up here: http://s1106.photobucket.com/albums/h373/Garya1/Dual%20Tone-Arms%20Dec%202011/?action=view¤t=P1010813.jpg

Now I have eliminated the plinth completely and support the turntable on three brass points. The single tone-arm is mounted on a Micro-Seiki copper-alloy armboard which is in turn mounted to 1/2 of a 20lb dumbbell. Both the TT and the pod sit on separate parts of a large sheet of granite.

And here is what it looks like now: http://s1106.photobucket.com/albums/h373/Garya1/Nude%20Turntable%20and%20DIY%20Arm%20Pod/

In addition to cutting one end off the dumbbell (close to one end) I had to increase the diameter of the shaft to 1.17 inches from 1.13 inches to properly mount the MS AX-6g arm-board. This was done using 4 layers of aluminum tape (used for hvac ductwork). I also sanded the bottom (rubber coating) flat. All together the pod weighs about 15 pounds. I wanted a heavier dumbbell but the shaft diameter was too large for some and the base was rounded on others. The total cost of the arm-pod was $285 of which $250 was for the arm-board.

I used double stick tape to secure the pod and the TT to the granite to maintain geometry.

Sound-wise the noise-floor dropped noticeably which sharpened the leading edges of the notes and made it desirable to raise the volume while listening. My wife proclaimed this to be a marked improvement (unusual for her). I find it to be far more revealing, which is good for good lp's and bad for mediocre ones.

I would highly encourage anyone interested in doing this to pursue it. An easy and rewarding change.

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Topic - Nude Turntable and DIY arm-pod - Lifer 11:47:45 07/15/12 (10)

RE: Nude Turntable and DIY arm-pod - Lew 19:25:29 07/16/12 (3)

RE: Nude Turntable and DIY arm-pod - Lifer 13:37:57 07/17/12 (2)

RE: Nude Turntable and DIY arm-pod - Lew 06:48:07 07/18/12 (1)

RE: Nude Turntable and DIY arm-pod - Lifer 10:05:12 07/18/12 (0)

RE: Nude Turntable and DIY arm-pod - mr.bear 11:42:45 07/16/12 (1)

RE: Nude Turntable and DIY arm-pod - Lifer 13:14:19 07/17/12 (0)

RE: Nude Turntable and DIY arm-pod - HW 21:34:47 07/15/12 (0)

this seems interesting - Know Won 12:13:03 07/15/12 (2)

RE: this seems interesting - Lifer 18:31:58 07/15/12 (0)

RE: this seems interesting - Lifer 12:25:09 07/15/12 (0)

Nude Turntable and DIY arm-pod

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