I thought so, although I did a few things at the same time - I upgraded the motor to the Orbe motor as well.
How did the orb motor differ from the stock gyrodec motor?
Was it still a papst ac motor
I think so. It looked rather different though and a fair bit heavier too. It looked like this:
It also required Michell to change the acrylic base to one with a hole. As I say, it was part of extensive changes to turn my Gyrodec into an Orbe.
No disrespect to Michell or the Gyro, I bought my Gyro in the early 90ās and like Richard followed the upgrade path with great satisfaction,although not to the Orbe level. But the RP10 is at least as good, and on some recordings better. John Michell and Roy Gandy were/are TT geniiā¦the RP10 gives me exactly what I wanted whch is superb sound and great convenience. The only downside is that my wife (who loves music but isnāt into hi-fi) disapproves of the RP10 as it doesnāt have the industrial beauty of the Gyro. I think sheās forgiven me but Iām not sureā¦
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completely agree with your wife. The rp10 is all i need and the sound is fantastic for the price. But the look is very average unfortunately.
My past SME 20/ SME V was so more impressive and nice looking.
I can totally relate to that. Last year I did a major upgrade on my system that hadnāt changed since I bought it in 1986. The only component retained was my Michell Syncro because it just looks so fabulous. It did however get a new RB808 arm, DV20X2L cart and a Rega Aria phono stage to go with it and now it not only looks great but sounds great too
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I believe that is a DC Orbe Motor - with the flat pulley top and 5 pins connection.
Michell had to move a DC Motor in early ā00s as the supply of their selected Papst Motor ended. Look also at the Power Supply a rectangular acrylic box is a DC supply. The original QC supply for an Orbe has heat sink fins.
The DC motor for the Orbe differs to the Gyro with speed control servo, requiring a full upgrade of both motor & controller at some Ā£1,600
Anyway there are different camps, some maintain the original AC motors sound the best, and some prefer the DC.
My Orbe, from 2000, has the AC motor (you need to check the output voltages of the QC power supply every so often as they do drift). Trying the DC motor is on the list to do, but lots of other things have come up first.
I run mine with a SME V arm with a Lyra Skala cartridge and an older Helikon as well. I have a modified arm board with an addition arcylic isolation layer. Cable is a custom made silver one from Harmonic Technologies in the US. I have also changed suspension to the Solid Air Pylons, eliminating the bounce. Also changed bearing balls to a Ceramic Oxide in the main bearing, and then Delrin ones in the suspension towers.
I also have a rectangular ISO base under the Orbe plinth, which was a special order, one of two I believe. But a lot of acrylic going on.
Phono stage is a Bakoon EQA 11 Reference, a rechargeable battery powered unit, that works on current amplification, instead of voltage - advantages are no loading settings for resistance or capacitance.
Recently invested in and restored a Keith Monks RCM (the smaller CR502 version), cleaner records is a clear advantage, but some of the new fluids make such a difference (e.g, LāArt du Son)
Simon
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The Syncro is a lovely bit of kit and no suspended turntable to put up with, I do think it needs a much better arm that the Rega 303 I have on mine ,
I had the RB300 on mine with the original thin wiring. It had a dv10x5 on it at the time that I had never really been happy with from the day it was put on. After upgrading every other part of my system the turntable was definitely the weak link. When I took it to the dealer to see if they could see what was wrong their advice was the RB300 with that wiring wasnāt good enough for a cart like the DV10X5 and recommended either a rewire on the RB300 or an upgrade to the RB808. I opted for the RB808 rather than rewire a 33 year old arm. Iām glad I did, the RB808 with the DV20X2L is a great match for the Syncro. Not only that the RB300 even with the original wiring is still very desirable, I sold mine on eBay, started the bidding at Ā£80 and got almost Ā£200 for it by the time the auction ended.
can you post a photo of your heavely modified Orbe? you have changed a lot in it, i am curious.
The only one I have on my phone (in the office presently) is this.
You can see the extra plinth the rectangular ISO base provides and the Solid Air pylons.
I have a set of ārubber bandā pylons too, but these need a thinner O ring fitted and I havenāt got round to that (the sun was shining outside and the Sarum streaming cable came into the system 
)
I canāt show you the bearing ball changes, but these were quite significant.
I will take one from the arm side later, and the Pedersen armboard.
Thanks, Simon
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I have a Well Tempered Amadeus GT. Made in China by Opera I think. Before that I had a P3/24 Rega. The Well Tempered is superior in finished quality and as it should be, far superior in sound quality. Ive not seen the latest WTās in the flesh so canāt comment on the current build quality. I have very recently been up close with various Rega TTās and Phono Stages and to be quite honest I feel the finished quality is really disappointing. Sound wise I reckon Rega are still at the top of their game. Its just the fit and finish that doesnāt meet the price point.
i agree for the fit and finish of the regas. I have the rp10, had the rp8 and rega p3, p25, and p9.
When you look at something like the vpi prime or clearaudio for the same prices as the rp10, itās looks much better.
I canāt say that Well tempered are not well finished but they look strange to me. I remember the Well Tempered reference that was looking very nice and well built. The recent models are not my cup of tea. Just me.
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Next step up from RP6 is P8 or P10 (launch next month)
not sure about cartridge
setup is important
perhaps an issue here ?
Yes, apart from there is no bounce in the thread between the two ebony fixings - so it removes any vertical movement.
The ones I have that use O-rings, are closer to those used on the SME 20 and SME 30 decks - but I havenāt got these to sound as good as the Solid Air ones yet.
These are from a member on the āArt of Soundā forum, and has been making them for Gyros and the Orbe SE-R - but my motor has a top plate so sub-platter height and positioning is crucial. Paticularly when I like to have a larger gap between my primary and secondary plinths.
However all good āfunā and I can certainly recommend any of the modifications I presently have on my deck - armboard, bearing balls (main and suspension), pylons, ISObase.
On my list to look at is:
- SME V rewire to the MCS specification (as part of a back-to-base service)
- Titanium cartridge mounting screws
- Orbe DC Motor (not an upgrade per say, as it the purchase of a new motor and controller outright)
Are you wishing you still had your SME deck?
Simon.
Hi, Iāll play the role of the lone voice in this threadā¦ I suggest you to have a look at a VPI Prime, a very nice and beautifully sounding turntable. Fuss free as well if you accept the initial challenge of a pivot arm.
I have one since February and I am really satisfied.
Bye
Alessandro
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i sold my sme 20/2a one year ago. I have the rp10 now and very satisfied. Easier to use, adjustā¦and more involving too.
of course the SME was overall better, but i feel this turntable is more suited to classical music. The rp10 gives me more pleasure with my 70ās jazz and soul music albums.
The other coin is that i could not find a dealer who could set up optimally the SME V arm for my recent cartridges. I was never assured, since the last years, to have the arm/ cart perfectly set up.
I could manage to tweak perfectly the suspension towers however. But not the arm.
The third reason : after 15 years with it, i wanted to change also.
But there is very little to setup on a SME V once installed.
There is back and forward movement, but no azimuth, so just alignment with a protractor (there are some specifically for the SME V, in addition to SMEās own). The it is VTA and VTF - which are both easily adjustable.
Never had a dealer near my turntable - assembled it, installed the different arms, different cartridges, cables all myself - Mr Fremer of Analog Planet is a great reference.