Well tempered classic

[TOPSHELF]

Hi all, i am installing a new cart on this TT on monday. Whilst i am at it i thought i would change the damping fluid for the correct one. I know it has 10,000cst in the pot instead of 100,000. I've been reading about this table all week and i have managed to locate the manual, some helpful tips from JD audio, the protractor and alignment tool.
Does anyone have any other tips or ideas? I know@happy has assembled one. Any one else care to chip in?

Thanks in advance. Ian.

[TOPSHELF]

Including getting the pic the right way up....

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[TOPSHELF]

Well the deed has been done and I'm very, very happy with result but scathing with the person i paid good money to set this up properly for me.
It was quite tricky from the word go as i fingers and hands of a stonemason and the deft touch of one too.

1st up the oil in the bearing had gone! I unscrewed the large grub screw that has a nylon bush on top of it. This sits at the base of the bearing housing and also allows you to raise and drop the platter +/- 3mm to find there was no ptfe tape around the thread. Mmmmm nice one.

There are also two grub screws that can be adjusted to get the spindle dead centre in the female part of the spindle these were well out of centre and this has caused a slight wear on the nylon bush. The nuance of this table is that the tension of the belt holds the platter in place.

As i had suspected the damping fluid was wrong and after removing the fixing screws i was able to empty the pot.

The next task of replacing the 2 pieces of fishing line that adjusts the azimuth was always going to be daunting. So i took a picture and snipped them off....... When i removed the puck from the fluid pot it was clear there are two small holes drilled in this where the fishing line should pass once secured by the 2 screws on the base of the cup . Mine had been coming straight up the outside of the puck doing a couple of things.

1 Greater emphasis of adjustment as the little holes are are about 4mm inside of my ahem original set up.

2 The little holes are about 15 degrees different than the original orientation and i now know this is why my bias was always too strong.

After much fiddling readjustment i fixed my new MP500 to the head shell and dialled in 1.5g. It was now time to put the arm back on the post and check the angle of the tonearm with a WT protractor. This was found to be about 3deg out so i moved the whole assembly into the correct position.

Next it was time to pour the new damping fluid in the pot. This took quite a few pours as i didn’t want to over fill and thus over dampen the arm but once it was done the "drop" test measured up. There is a formula for working out the damping and it's possible to increase or decrease this by minor adjustments of the fishing line that holds the puck in the pot.
Finally i checked the vtf again and went for 1.5g for now. I then checked the vtf, cartridge alignment, table level, azimuth and vtf again. Minor adjustments in any part of this table will change the force applied to the cart.

Next it was time to play some tunes. I'm just listening to US3's blue note release of Hand on the torch and it sounds superb. I'll write more musings on the cart soon.

Hope this helps anyone with a wtc as they are not as difficult to set up as one would think.


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[TOPSHELF]

[tubularbells]

Your a brave man but thankfully it appears to have paid off. Keen to hear one of these tables someday.

[michaelw]

these things aren't that hard to set up.

patience is the key.

 

is this a square motor block with U shape, open motor cutout in the plinth version ?

that is a well-tempered turntable.

 

'classic' was the name used by transparent marketing when they took over production and introduced a round motor in a plinth with enclosed round motor cutout.

 

the classic name was later used by stanalog when they took on the well tempered brand.

[TOPSHELF]

Thanks everyone, patience was indeed the key and the right tools. I also put a new belt on her and some nice soft plastic type door closers on each corner of the plinth for the after market dust cover to sit on.
Yes this is the square motor version.

It's difficult to measure where the improvements have come from because they really are quite noticeable.

The new cart is playing a role but that sound, my oh my, fast smooth and very steady. There is a violin part to Nina Simones "Baltimore" that has never sounded so pitch solid. The table now starts on a dime and i have ditched the cork mat in favour of the record sitting straight on the acrylic platter as it is slightly concave.

More gushing to come. If anyone is near Randwick we can make it happen they are welcome to a listen.

I was so close to letting this table go but everything i had read about it suggested it wasn't set up correctly. I'd say I've read about this table for a month and finally today it has all paid off.

[Citroen]

27 minutes ago, michaelw said:

these things aren't that hard to set up.

patience is the key.

 

If its anything like the Amadeus, I have to wholeheartedly agree.

 

Not difficult.

 

But any change in the golfball/gloop interface required many minutes of settling in time before reaching any sort of homostasis.

[TOPSHELF]

You are correct and in between adjustments and waiting for everything to settle down i was able to, change the bed, put 3 loads of washing on, hang it out, do the dishes and take the rubbish out!

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[Citroen]

Its even more likely that in winter time you'd be able to not only do those daily household chores but even have time to read all 848 pages of the Luminaries.

 

No, on reflection that's just too extreme an exaggeration, as I don't think that I'll ever finish reading the Luminaries!

[TOPSHELF]

Your a brave man but thankfully it appears to have paid off. Keen to hear one of these tables someday.

If you are ever in Randwick NSW please call in for a cup tea and a listen, you would be most welcome.

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[michaelw]

i had luminaries on audio book.

made more sense when you played back in random mode

 

back to the wtt, i prefer the original to the new models.

with an arm re-wire and the addition of a reference clamp it's still competitive against newer turntables.

 

[TOPSHELF]

I'd love to hear this against something tasty. My friend had an RP6 and this trounces it and another friend an LP12 but to be honest there are so many variables and for a true account they would have to be A/B in my system.

I really feel my system has gone to another level but not just in detail which can sound fatiguing but in synergy.

It just sounds so right I'm not sure whether to get my pre/amp serviced or get a new phono stage. I really like the look of the Tron Convergence and some of the reviews sound very good indeed.

 

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[michaelw]

i had mine up against a technics sl-1200 mk5g ... amadeus gta ... technics sl7... sp10 mk2 ...

 

 

[Happy]

well done mate truth be told i've not spinned a single disc for quite a while lol

[TOPSHELF]

i had mine up against a technics sl-1200 mk5g ... amadeus gta ... technics sl7... sp10 mk2 ...
 
 

Very nice set ups indeed. You have the same well tempered as me with the square cut out motor and is that another WT?
If i cannot see the other tables am i to presume you liked the WT sound more?
Just out of interest what carts and phono do you use on them?
Thanks for the reply.
Ian.

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[TOPSHELF]

well done mate truth be told i've not spinned a single disc for quite a while lol

That is outrageous and sad David. I hope all is well mate..... Have you gone digital?

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[caminperth]

On 27/02/2017 at 11:44 AM, TOPSHELF said:

 

How do you find the MP500? I'm currently running a 2M black and have been coveting an MP500 for a while....

[EV Cali]

[Citroen]

1 hour ago, michaelw said:

i had mine up against a technics sl-1200 mk5g ... amadeus gta ... technics sl7... sp10 mk2 ...

 

 

 

@michaelw And the WT Classic won?

 

What order would you rank the others?

 

 

[michaelw]

27 minutes ago, TOPSHELF said:

 

Very nice set ups indeed. You have the same well tempered as me with the square cut out motor and is that another WT?
If i cannot see the other tables am i to presume you liked the WT sound more?
Just out of interest what carts and phono do you use on them?
Thanks for the reply.
Ian.

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hi ian,

 

at the time (2011) i had a shelter 501mk2, denon dl-a100 (100th anniversary version of the dl-103) and a dynavector dv20x2 low.

 

phono stage was a plinius jarrah into krell kav-300i or jadis da60.

[michaelw]

26 minutes ago, Citroen said:

 

@michaelw And the WT Classic won?

 

What order would you rank the others?

 

 

 

until i got the sp10 sorted 

 

1. sp10

2. well tempered turntable

3. well tempered amadeus

4. technics sl-7

5.

6. technics sl1200

 

 

 

 

[TOPSHELF]

 
How do you find the MP500? I'm currently running a 2M black and have been coveting an MP500 for a while....

I'm very, very happy. I went from the 2M bronze to a Stanton 881s which for me was a big step up. The 881s is fast and punchy with great detail in the highs but it was a bu**er to get right on the WT as it tracks soooo low and every record had to be perfectly flat. The bass was amazing and vocals nice the very top end or micro dynamics were pretty sparkling too, all in all a smashing cart.
The MP500 is a beauty and tracks like a train high up on its tracks, its such a sweet and luscious sound and very addictive, vocals are amazing and i feel alot more emotion within the vocals.
The Soundstage has widened by a big margin and i am hearing greater seperation within the mix. A great recording sounds superb and i can now clearly hear a chanel imbalance in my power amp that i "suspected" was there.
I need to play a few more genres yet, a quick spin of an electronic recording wasn't great but wow, jazz, acoustic and reggae have surpassed my hopes. I think there is still some tinkering to do with the vtf and vta to dial in what i like to hear and then i want to have a listen to some 80's stuff and blues and folk.
I had a couple of grinning moments on monday from a jazzy hip hop record from US3 and a jaw dropping moment from Neil youngs Harvest. The decay and arrangements in that record were stunning and there was absolutely no congestion in the whole album it just played and hung there in 3D.
I've only had a chance to play with the cart for about 1 1/2 hours and i just couldn't wait to put the next record on sometimes just listening to one track. So there is much more listening to be done.

[Citroen]

24 minutes ago, michaelw said:

 

until i got the sp10 sorted 

 

1. sp10

2. well tempered turntable

3. well tempered amadeus

4. technics sl-7

5.

6. technics sl1200

 

 

 

 

Interesting the Amadeus wasn't as good as your WT.

 

In what ways?

[TOPSHELF]

Interesting the Amadeus wasn't as good as your WT.
 
In what ways?

I've read that quite a few times on a couple of forums. Maybe the larger mass sandwiched plinth? I beleive its a NZ wood with lead plates in between it.