I have an opportunity to buy a TD 160 Super with a Black Widow tonearm. How much "play" should there be at the pivot bearing? Is there an opportunity and procedure to adjust this play?
What is best weight damping oil to use with a Grace F9E, the arm is equipped with the fluid trough.
Thanks for any recommendations.
What is best weight damping oil to use with a Grace F9E, the arm is equipped with the fluid trough.
Thanks for any recommendations.
I have a BW currently on a TD150.
The BW has a knife-edge bearing. The knife edges depend on gravity to hold them in contact with the cradle they pivot in. But the knife edges control vertical pivot only. For horizontal rotation expect normal ball bearings with a shaft going through them. So yes, there will be some slop experienced in that you can lift the arm tube a little bit up out of the knife edge cradle. Normal. Same as with SME 3xxx models.
I can't offer any further insights into this arm. My experience with it is minor. Although my model does have the damping trough. I have an ADC XLM-II improved cartridge mounted on mine. I use it without any damping fluid in the trough. No need for it with the ADC.
-Steve
Hi Steve,
I have 2 XLM carts. One is the older one before the company was sold to BMR(?), the other is the gold colored body and the coils with the higher DCR. Both sound great on the LT arm I'm working on but I do think the older one is better sounding. They were handmedowns and only recently put into service with a rather inexpensive stylus from Amazon.com suposedly for the ADC RXL or RZD models. I'm delighted with the way they perform but wonder if there is anything to be gained with one of the more expensive needles. What are you useing and can you offer any advice?
Rgds,
BillG
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Hi,
There is a lot to be gained from better ADC styli.
Finding them is the main problem.
RSX/IMPROVED, JICO stylus | Online Shopping for Japanese Phonograph Needles
JICO IMO are hard to beat for quality and VFM.
rgds, sreten.
There is a lot to be gained from better ADC styli.
Finding them is the main problem.
RSX/IMPROVED, JICO stylus | Online Shopping for Japanese Phonograph Needles
JICO IMO are hard to beat for quality and VFM.
rgds, sreten.
I found a NOS ST XLM II on ebay a couple of years ago. The kind that comes attached to an ADC carbon fiber headshell. Which needs to be dismounted if you don't own the corresponding ADC tonearm. The price, iirc, was around $80 or thereabouts. So this would have been an XLM produced after the BSR takeover.
Black body. According to the info sheet that comes in the box with the cartridge, the replacement stylus assembly is RXM II.
Sq is quite good. Really dynamic and fast sounding. And astonishingly detailed. The combination of this arm and cart is a winner.
It surprised me because back in the day I had an XLM III. (gold body) But I had mismatched the cartridge to a heavy clunker of a tonearm (TP16 mk1) and that only delivered average SQ. A mid level Shure was competitive. I guess I wasn't very knowledgeable about my turntables back then. I was preoccupied with other stuff.
The photos show the TD150 in an older configuration. I'm in the process of updating some external details about it. But the BW and ADC XLMII will stay.
-Steve
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