Hi all:
Here is an interesting ultra-lightweight turntable project that I just finished (well, almost).
It was VERY easy. The donor for the bearing, hub & spindle as well as the motor & control was a B&O Beogram R4000, found in a junk shop with broken arm for $15 (cdn).
The plinth is a single chunk of 3/4" pine shelving, cut to shape with a band saw (a jigsaw would work just as well).
a 7/8"hole for the arm (in this case a Mayware Formula 4 - thanks Dave!) and a 5/8"hole for the bearing - that's it!
The suspension springs were stolen from the bottom of an old BSR console table - the only useful parts on it and they are stuffed with a bit of polyfoam to dampen them a bit.
Here is an interesting ultra-lightweight turntable project that I just finished (well, almost).
It was VERY easy. The donor for the bearing, hub & spindle as well as the motor & control was a B&O Beogram R4000, found in a junk shop with broken arm for $15 (cdn).
The plinth is a single chunk of 3/4" pine shelving, cut to shape with a band saw (a jigsaw would work just as well).
a 7/8"hole for the arm (in this case a Mayware Formula 4 - thanks Dave!) and a 5/8"hole for the bearing - that's it!
The suspension springs were stolen from the bottom of an old BSR console table - the only useful parts on it
and they are stuffed with a bit of polyfoam to dampen them a bit.Attachments
Here is a photo of the works underneath the original B&O aluminium platter and felt mat. Notice how tidy the motor controller board is.
Hey, guys - this is a DC motor with electronic speed control for a couple of hours work and less than $20! Ok, so the Mayware is worth more than $5, but I think this table is a great candidate for Nanook's balsa-wood tonearm, and that does cost less than $5,
The guts of the B&O tables are quite well made - its just all the compromises they made for that slick Danish styling that made them sound bad.
As for sound, this thing eats all of my other tables for breakfast, then lays there chewing on the bones. It is way more detailed than the Pioneer PL-51 with Grace 714 tonearm, much lighter and airer that the Ariston RD-11 / Grace 707 and snacks on the Rega just for the fun of it. In other words the table sounds terrific.
Hey, guys - this is a DC motor with electronic speed control for a couple of hours work and less than $20! Ok, so the Mayware is worth more than $5, but I think this table is a great candidate for Nanook's balsa-wood tonearm, and that does cost less than $5,
The guts of the B&O tables are quite well made - its just all the compromises they made for that slick Danish styling that made them sound bad.
As for sound, this thing eats all of my other tables for breakfast, then lays there chewing on the bones. It is way more detailed than the Pioneer PL-51 with Grace 714 tonearm, much lighter and airer that the Ariston RD-11 / Grace 707 and snacks on the Rega just for the fun of it. In other words the table sounds terrific.
Attachments
You all still suck...
or more correctly, I do...(as they say, a sane man in an insane world appears insane....)
Jesse, as always beautiful work. When I grow up I want to be just like:
P10 and bretheren
SCD and you
Stephen Hawking
Frank Lloyd Wright and Gustav Stickley
Peter Walker
etc
etc
Pretty sure it ain't gonna happen.
Jesse, where'd ya get the motor and controller?
stew
or more correctly, I do...(as they say, a sane man in an insane world appears insane....)
Jesse, as always beautiful work. When I grow up I want to be just like:
P10 and bretheren
SCD and you
Stephen Hawking
Frank Lloyd Wright and Gustav Stickley
Peter Walker
etc
etc
Pretty sure it ain't gonna happen.
Jesse, where'd ya get the motor and controller?
stew
confession good for soul
This seems a good place to confess: I castrasted a B&O turntable to get the head of the tonearm so I could fabricate a lightweight "headshell" so I could use my MMC1&2 cartridges in my Yamaha PX-2 TT. Here should be pics of parts and ending weight on arm. (1st try on publishing pics to net) phil
Well-I spent 1/2 hr trying to shrink the pics and give up! The last photo would show total mass @MMC-2 stylus of 12.0g
This seems a good place to confess: I castrasted a B&O turntable to get the head of the tonearm so I could fabricate a lightweight "headshell" so I could use my MMC1&2 cartridges in my Yamaha PX-2 TT. Here should be pics of parts and ending weight on arm. (1st try on publishing pics to net) phil
Well-I spent 1/2 hr trying to shrink the pics and give up! The last photo would show total mass @MMC-2 stylus of 12.0g
Hi all:
Sorry for my tardy reply - I have been remodeling the house for the past few days (or at least my wife has, so you all know what that means )
Stew - as you probably have picked up by now, the workin'parts are from a Bang & Olafson tt - in this case a Beogram R4000.
I was told it was one of the bad tables - no good for nuttin', so I was using it in my workshop for a source. However the one I had came with a broken arm, so I had to cobble an old dual tonearm on to it. And it sounded not all that bad. That's what got me thinking.
When I had a good look under the plastic, there was a nicely made DC motor, a simple and stable speed controller and all easily removed from the junky plastic box that B&O put it in. Lastly, the spindle bearing was held in with 3 soft aluminum rivets - very easy to drill out - and voila! all of the needfuls for a cute little turntable.
Looking at it, it reminded me of a Funk table, so that is sort of the result I was gong for.
I plan to make an MDF platter and see if that has any beneficial effect, but for now the aluminium disk from the B&O, with a skin of Duct Seal on it's underside for damping, works better that any other table I have had in my system.
pfcs49: if you have a partially dismantled B&O, you have everything you need (except the arm). Gut it carefully, remove the spindle bearing from the sub-chassis and remove the white plastic gear from the bottom of the spindle shaft (this just has a small drift-pin in it - easy to tap out with a punch or nail).
Terry: of course it will come to the next 'fest, but you don't have to wait... What would you like to know?
Jess
Sorry for my tardy reply - I have been remodeling the house for the past few days (or at least my wife has, so you all know what that means
)Stew - as you probably have picked up by now, the workin'parts are from a Bang & Olafson tt - in this case a Beogram R4000.
I was told it was one of the bad tables - no good for nuttin', so I was using it in my workshop for a source. However the one I had came with a broken arm, so I had to cobble an old dual tonearm on to it. And it sounded not all that bad. That's what got me thinking.
When I had a good look under the plastic, there was a nicely made DC motor, a simple and stable speed controller and all easily removed from the junky plastic box that B&O put it in. Lastly, the spindle bearing was held in with 3 soft aluminum rivets - very easy to drill out - and voila! all of the needfuls for a cute little turntable.
Looking at it, it reminded me of a Funk table, so that is sort of the result I was gong for.
I plan to make an MDF platter and see if that has any beneficial effect, but for now the aluminium disk from the B&O, with a skin of Duct Seal on it's underside for damping, works better that any other table I have had in my system.
pfcs49: if you have a partially dismantled B&O, you have everything you need (except the arm). Gut it carefully, remove the spindle bearing from the sub-chassis and remove the white plastic gear from the bottom of the spindle shaft (this just has a small drift-pin in it - easy to tap out with a punch or nail).
Terry: of course it will come to the next 'fest, but you don't have to wait... What would you like to know?
Jess
I do know and I have the Soundsmith one. If I get my other pics up, you'll see that it puts the PX2 arm in the med weight class while the 4 B&O carts are hi compliance and require light arms.
A lightweight headshell/Soundsmith mounting/MMC2 total 14.0g.
The fabbed one totals only 6.4g, although it will get heavier when I add some epoxy. Is your adapter less than 5g? phil
A lightweight headshell/Soundsmith mounting/MMC2 total 14.0g.
The fabbed one totals only 6.4g, although it will get heavier when I add some epoxy. Is your adapter less than 5g? phil
I'd have to dig it out to weight it, but with a MMC3 it still wouldn't balance on my RB250. I had to put some of the old technics headshell weights on to even get it to work. It, and the MMC3, were mounted on a TP16 Thorens arm and sounded fabulous. The MMC3 has since lost one channel, and got the shoved in a box without a cover treatment.
Jesse,..most interested in the $20 DC motor and controller...
Every thing else looks great though. Isn't low mass fun?
The key here is as I believe and as chrisb does too, I think (in contrast to SCD's opinion at the time), that low mass enclosures for loudspeakers are quite interesting and in lots of cases superior to highly dampened and massive ones. Sometimes the mass can suck the life out of a component or system...
as always great to hear from you. Thanks for the PM as well.
stew
Every thing else looks great though. Isn't low mass fun?
The key here is as I believe and as chrisb does too, I think (in contrast to SCD's opinion at the time), that low mass enclosures for loudspeakers are quite interesting and in lots of cases superior to highly dampened and massive ones. Sometimes the mass can suck the life out of a component or system...
as always great to hear from you. Thanks for the PM as well.
stew
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