Turntable tonearm fun

[Dunc]

Hi all

I know a few on here like turntables, plus they like a bit off messing about with them, as after all you can mess about with turntables, arms, etc, etc. It can be fun, but also frustrating at times.

Anyway i have for a while fancied having 2 different tonearms, and cartridges on the same deck. Why?, well because they can sound very different, and you can use one for certain albums, etc.
When i had the tron phono stage, this opened up the idea as it has 2 separate turntable inputs. The only problem was it went as it just didn’t work with my cartridge, due to loading, as the tron is fixed.
Then i went back to the superline as i could make my own loading plugs, etc.
Anyway once again i now have a phono amp that has more than one input, in fact it has 4, plus it has lots off different loading settings, so once again i looked into sorting out a second tonearm set up.
Obviously getting a tonearm, and cartridge is easy, but mounting the tonearm, well thats a completely different problem to overcome.
There are a few standalone tonearm pods you can arrange to get made to your request, but they are quite expensive, and i wanted to keep the cost down on this, so i decided to make my own.

With that i got the tape measure out, and off down the shed for a few hours.
A piece off 63mm copper pipe.
Some lead to melt down.
Some plumbing waste, and stack fitting.
This is the result.

Very happy with my effort, yes it could be a more polished product, but considering the time spent, and zero cost involved as everything i had from previous plumbing works, then i have to say its turned out better than i could have hoped.

Its more than half full off lead, so its heavy, and certainly won’t move unless you want to move it.
The feet are height adjustable, so i can get it level.
Plus i have the built in height adjustment on the arm to fine tune vta, and worked that from a middle setting to give me adjustment both ways once i fit the cartridge.
As for cartridge then i got a low hours secondhand Ortofon windfeld for a nice price, and picked up the Michell tecnoarm also for a nice price secondhand.

Just got to print off a set up template for the cartridge and set the tonearm to spindle distance, and will be all set to go.

Cheers dunc

[BigAl]

I know from this forum that you are a practical guy , but I thought for one minute you had made yourself a tonearm

[Fred123]

Impressive !

It’s good to see people making some DIY effort so solve some of these problems

Sadly today it seems most people only seem to be able to buy ( expensive ) solutions

Back in the day HiFi was a much more hands on DIY hobby … we seem to have lost that.

Will be interesting to see how this works out

Good luck

[robert_h]

I’m impressed.
Also I didn’t recognise the turntable or arm so checked through older posts: for reference Thales turntable, Statement arm and exquisite st cartridge - #181 by Dunc

[Dunc]

Make myself a tonearm?
Well i guess i could with some copper tube, and a pipe clip, lol.

But seriously, i am quite chuffed at my pod.

[frenchrooster]

Interesting and fun. I hope you will enjoy. But I wonder if you will not be tempted to listen more to the Thales arm , as it must be normally much much better vs the Technoarm, a modified Rega RB300?

[Dunc]

Yes probably i will, but as said having both gives me options.
As some off my vinyl i just don’t want to cue up using my exquisite cartridge, some albums get shown up too much also with the exquisite cartridge.

I have got the michell arm going this evening and need to dail it more by ear, but its not that far out, if you go by the template i printed off.
But i think i am going to change the feet for spikes, as this will give it more pressure on 3 tiny points, rather than the 3 x 20 pence size feet that are on it now.
It might be better, it might not, but will try it, before i get to far in setting it up.

[Dunc]

Well this morning i decided to swap the feet, so now its sitting on 3 spikes. This has certainly inpoved the standmount as far as unwanted movement is concerned.
Plus i re set the cartridge, and been listening to a few tracks.

Well the sound is quite different from the other arm set up, as you would probably expect.
Less detail , less top end, bit more closed in, it certainly can’t dig out all the information from the grove like the other, but certainly more bass and warmth, the bass is just more pronounced, its not a better bass or as tight, and i might be able to dial some away if i play around with tracking weight.
So it could well fit it quite well going forward as certainly didn’t want the same sound, but at the same time, i didn’t want it too be a total mess. I guess it was never going to be a total mess, as it is a decent cartridge, but it’s certainly a long way off the exquisite.

Just got to modify my spare cover now, so it covers the extra arm, as they both look rather exposed.

[Dunc]

Hi all

Well after getting the correct turntable top for my acoustic rack i couldn’t use my second tonearm as it was now too high.
I have managed to live without it ok, but the more secondhand vinyl i keep buying, the more i want to be able to run it first on something other than my experience cartridge. Plus i do miss not having the second tonearm for the times when the main tonearm set up can be slightly too much.

Anyway on to the mk2 pod.
It’s a bit different to the last one as i wanted more adjustment going forward, and better isolation.
This one shares the same 63mm copper tube for the main body, once again this is filled with molten lead completely from top to bottom.
But this time i have mounted it on banboo, this is a chopping board from IKEA, that i have cut up on the bottom i have inserted 4 adjustable metal inserts that can have either have spikes or flat feet fitted.
Hopefully the banboo base will also help with unwanted vibrations, and work well with the lead filled main body to deaden out all the nasty stuff getting to the cartridge.
Plus i have then added a solid laminate top plate, this can be turned to help with set up or left as in the picture. But the laminate is very sturdy, strong, and flat.

Just got to decide how i am going to finish it, i like the copper finish, and will probably clean it up more and lacquer it. As for the top plate, i think paint it satin black, maybe do the base the same or leave it as is?

But hopefully this will be an inpovement over my first one, plus be much more stable, and if it also sounds better than that will be a bonus.

Cheers dunc

[varyat]

Nice project Dunc.

[Dunc]

It’s because of this new top that i have had to make a new pod.
But this lovely top is so much better sounding than the one i made.
You can tap the top off this whilst playing a record, and nothing gets through to the cartridge.
It’s huge as it’s designed to hold the air force one turntable, so my little deck is a walk in the park for it as it only 26kg