Upgrade advice 52 or 552 or Radikal 1 Urika upgrade to Lp12

[Alley_Cat]

@Collywobbles

I now run, ( rightly or wrongly, risk or no risk) my old inner platter in the Karousel. Much better, and much happier.

Really? You’d imagine the tolerances of the ‘spindle’ would differ but maybe not. I think it was suggested that a new outer platter might be good with the new inner but I didn’t bother when I went for the Karousel.

I think the problem with Karousel is that many of us ‘went for it’ when it was effectively free if you spent £3000 on other stuff, so it was pretty difficult to decide which bits were changing the sound and to what extent as several parts changed at once.

I’m not certain I like the changes much either even if the sound is less coloured - great on some albums but thin on others which may be more accurate but less pleasing. That said I’m not sure my phono stage is quite right despite having it serviced a couple of years ago (Linto).

[Blackbird]

It’s just groove noise and pops and ticks so nothing to do with the turntable. I guess I became too picky when digital got so great

[Alley_Cat]

There’s been a lot of ropey vinyl released in recent years - loads of surface noise and blemishes.

[Igel]

The noise has a lot to do with the turntable I would say.If the LP12 i set up correctly and the cartridge is in good condition, the musicality shines in a way digital can’t match and the noise
becomes irrelevant to me.
But good that you like my old NDS

[Bevo]

From the mighty Guru himself and I quote

“When the belt is new easy to identify rough and smooth side . Rough side should be on the inside as grips the pulley and platter to assist in rotation “

Makes sense - I guess gets tricky when belt gets older and worn to identify rough and smooth side

[Mike_S]

@LP12 belt -which side?

I’ve found one post saying smooth on the inside on another site. I

@Bevo

Rough side should be on the inside

[Igel]

Position smooth side on the inside ,against motor pulley.

[Bevo]

Have a read of my response above from my Linn Naim dealer of 35 years + - it’s a quote from him this morning

[Igel]

He’s been wrong for 35 + years

[Mike_S]

Well, the good news is that both sides of the belt look the same, and I also rechecked the VTF and it was fine.

[anon17458420]

@Igel

I change the Belt every year,makes a big difference.

What about the braces, these are equally important don’t you know

[Igel]

Look a little closer, there are a difference.

[Igel]

Never tried that

[Bevo]

I would say the other way round ha

[Igel]

Sure,if you think it sounds better then it is better for you.

[catswhiskers]

Just to complicate matters, having found the right side, you can then decide which direction sounds better.
I am sure there was also a double check, take the belt off, hang it over something narrow like the edge of a ruler. The belt hangs with a slightly different curve depending which side is in. Peter Swain @Cymbiosis kindly marked the outside for me, but said to listen to establish which direction. I’ve scanned the setup files from his website, but I didn’t find anything about the belt.
Of course, once you have that sorted, then you can try clocking the platter, you can find the instructions on the Collaro website. That is a some say it works, some say it doesn’t. I found it more obvious when I had a Lingo 4 than with the A Radikal 1.

[Mike_S]

I feel I’m back to square one as to what to do with this darn LP12

[Bevo]

Ha - just enjoy it as it is Mike for some time

You will sort it out

[Dunc]

Add a little bit more weight to the cartridge tracking force, and see how you get on

[Mike_S]

Me? It’s at 1.75, top of the recommended range of 1.25 to 1.75, thought it was at 2.00 when I bought it. Will in sit down more for a bit more cohesion?