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Another shot on the Cadberg CD-9 with SME 3009 Improved and Ortofon OM40

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Perception can be so different here. However, this is not surprising when one consider that this impression depends on so many factors. Tonearm, headshell, pickups, cables and phono stage play a very important role here.

I have always found the original rubber mat to be too a bit on the dull side with clearly a lack in resolution; cork was also relatively dull sounding to my ears. I always liked a leather mat (rough side up) better.

Was playing some LPā€™s yesterday and Iā€™m really happy with the sound, motor noise is significantly reduced with the Silent Base which was really easy to fit though it does need a final tweak as the pulley isnā€™t completely centred.

Iā€™ve just given the batteries on my other phono stage a full charge so Iā€™ll connect the Technics/Hadcock deck up this evening and A B them again to see if the Rega really has improved a lot.

A year 2000 Rega P2 has no business sounding better or even equal to my modified Technics 1210 / Hadcock 228 deck if it does then thatā€™s real proof that these mods really work.

Are the mods cost effective I spent about Ā£550 to Ā£600 on the P2 build which puts me into P3 price range though the P3 doesnā€™t come with a Neo.

I find centering the belt improves imaging significantly.

Only when the rubber belt runs in the middle of both the sub-platter and the pulley it does also run in the optimal place on the crowned pulley. But this litterally causes more likley a change in speed and pitch.

This is also true because it minimises pitching of the Subplatter Shaft.

Yes as soon as I get a spare hour Iā€™ll lift the deck off and get it dead center itā€™s only off by a fraction but itā€™s enough.

Ok, you refer at an effect where the plate axis is hitting against the bearing wall when loaded from one side by the belt. If such bearing noises are eliminated, the resolution increases theoretically

But from a technical point of view, the inner platter with the bearing axis is a gyroscope that is controlled according to Eulerā€™s principle by its mass distribution and angular momentum. According to the so-called precession principle, a torque acts in the opposite direction of the perpendicular (caused by e.g. the belts tension) to the tilting direction of the axis in rotation compensating wobbling of the axis. The assumed optimal position of the belt on the sub-platter surface would even be speed-dependent. As a guide, however, one can assume that this belt position must be approximately at the same pane/ level of the center of gravity of this gyroscope.

However, the belt tension itself will probably not be high enough to cause this effect. It would most probably require a significant change in angular momentum occuring simultaneously.

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Would the belt not fall off if the pulley wasnā€™t at the correct height/distance from the sub platter. Iā€™ve had belt driven decks where the belt sits dead centre and also low down on the sub platter and have not noticed deterioration in sound.

When I say it isnā€™t centred I mean that if the silent base is absolutely true to the platter the pulley just catches the sides of the pulley hole if I move the deck a mm either way then it spins fine so I need to sort that out at the weekend. Iā€™m not entirely convinced that the old P2 plinth hasnā€™t sagged a tiny bit so it was always my intention to buy a new plinth at some point so I may just wait until then and rebuild the whole deck.

Rega P8/Aria/Apheta3ā€¦Paul Simon sounding gorgeous :slight_smile:

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Collaro 4T200 with RB300

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Jon Palmer 3 with a SME V and Grado Reference cartridge feeding into a Quad 24P phonostage and then a SN3 into Graham Audio LS5/9 speakers with Graham Audio Sub 3 passive sub-woofers.

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We need more pictures of the Collaro!

Presumably you prefer the quad to the SN3ā€™s inbuilt phono?

The Grado is MC so will not work into the SN3.

Your wish is my command. Note this is a project in progress! Collaro is mounted in IKEA worktop and infilled with MDF. An AT95E is stopping the arm hitting the recordā€¦

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That explains it! Always thought Grado only did MM.

I thought they were low output moving iron, similar output to an MC but the Grado web site gave odd loading requirements that most MC phono stages would struggle to achieve, maybe the website is misleading.
Is there a belt missing?

LOL

Memories! My Dadā€™s turntable. We are talking late 50s I think, with the curved cream arm.