TT motors from China

[reneb]

Hi, there are a couple of turntable motors from China available on ebay.
Does anyone have an opinion if they are any good?

Timaudio DIY Separate Motor for Turntable (LP Player) - eBay (item 350415702807 end time Mar-21-11 00:26:26 PDT)

Separate Motor for Turntable (LP Player) - eBay (item 180617743461 end time Feb-25-11 20:50:45 PST)

I'm in need of a stand alone motor, any other suggestions are welcome.

[sq225917]

You can buy a Maxon for those prices, so why bother.

[kevinkr]

See my thread on the TimAudio motor pod. Guys you gotta use SEARCH..

Timaudio TT Motor Pod

FWIW these units are clearly bottom feeders, but the one I purchased has worked well so far. I can't say I am at all impressed with the innards, but the housing is nice and better motors are available for when the original expires. Mine has exhibited good to excellent speed stability but is driving a pretty high mass TD-125 platter. I did need to modify it to attain proper speed with a 12" platter - simply removing one of the resistors in series with the speed control pot was sufficient. I have no idea what sort of speed controller if any is incorporated into the motor housing, but I would surmise it is not too different than what you would have found in an inexpensive cassette capstan drive motor a couple of decades back. Mine is speed stable into a constant load over time so I surmise it regulates torque as opposed to velocity. Change the load and the speed does change noticeably.

Note that 4lb test fishing line works great to drive the platter. Do not get the worthless rubber belt they sell!!

I have run mine for 20hrs or less so I have no sense of the relative durability of this motor. It might even be OK, but I have low expectations.

[reneb]

Originally Posted by sq225917

You can buy a Maxon for those prices, so why bother.

Thanks for the input, regarding getting a Maxon instead, yes that would be an interesting alternative. But I missed out on the group buy of a Mark Kelly controller and I'm not sure I could accomplish a controller myself without a really good instruction.
Would a Maxon of the shelf controller be an alternative or can I still get a Mark Kelly one or equivalent that does not require high skills to put together?

[limono]

Well ,it's a ready to go drive unit for $100+ .To build with maxon if you're not machinist and can't build controller you'd need to spend $300-500 or more.

[kevinkr]

Diy HiFi Supply has a motor pod kit (except the controller board) and a fully assembled, ready to run motor pod for $299 utilizing a premotec dc motor. The motor pod reputedly is quite good. You might want to check out this option as well.. (No affiliation, and I have not tried their turntable motor unit.)

Here: Turntable Parts | Diy HiFi Supply

The Mark Kelly controller is no longer available, your only hope would be if someone were to sell theirs.

[lowpoke]

reneb, for what it's worth I've purchased from Lance in the past and he's a reliable source. (Lance runs the 'Legends of China' ebay store, which is the second link you've got in your first post.)

Although I can't vouch for the motor he's selling, he has made me a custom part for one of my tonearms for a very reasonable fee. (He makes his own tonearms too, which I have not tried but am quite tempted to purchase. They look pretty decent and he knows his stuff.)

[MDIX]

Originally Posted by reneb

Hi, there are a couple of turntable motors from China available on ebay.
Does anyone have an opinion if they are any good?

Timaudio DIY Separate Motor for Turntable (LP Player) - eBay (item 350415702807 end time Mar-21-11 00:26:26 PDT)

Separate Motor for Turntable (LP Player) - eBay (item 180617743461 end time Feb-25-11 20:50:45 PST)

I'm in need of a stand alone motor, any other suggestions are welcome.

reneb, I just purchased the "separate motor for turntable (LP player)" eBay item #180617743461 that you mentioned in your post. I will let you know my results once I have received the shipment from China (By the way, Lance is a very honest man to deal with). I required a replacement for the separate motor unit in my Basis turntable and I wasn't willing to pay the $1000 price tag that Basis has quoted to put their newest motor in my existing Basis housing (and that doesn't include an additional $3900 for their recommended speed controller!).

[Helmuth]

maxon

maxon motors for TT use

[zarkov74]

Originally Posted by sq225917

You can buy a Maxon for those prices, so why bother.

have suggestion on maxon part number? I'm planning to upgrade my Rega.