MattyW Posted June 6, 2017 Posted June 6, 2017 Ok, so as some of you are aware I've sourced a turntable from Croatia. The S.A.M. Aldebaran. When I got home from work yesterday afternoon I had three boxes waiting for me. I got to unpacking and assembly right away. The turntable was extremely well packed. There's no way I could ever repack it if I needed to. Little bits of foam went everywhere so out came the vacuum cleaner. Once everything was on boxed and unwrapped I began assembly. This took me some time as there were no real assembly instructions. I must say that the build quality of everything was top notch. Being a mid tier model cheaper materials were used. The stone isn't real stone for instance though rather the stuff kitchen or bathroom bench tops are made from. What looks like a frosted glass cover is actually plastic/acrylic. Of assembly the thing that look the longest was mounting my vintage Koetsu Rosewood on the Calista II tonearm. I've never had an arm without a removable headshell and I'd have to say that replacing the body on a Denon DL103 is an easier and less nail biting task. Nail biting, due to the value of the cart being mounted. Took me a good 40 minutes of farting around. Now for first impressions of playback I'll start with the pros and move to the cons. Please note that by the time everything was ready to go it was quite late so I only had time for one side of Frank Sinatra's Songs for swingin lovers and another Deutsche Grammophon collect of Johann Strauss waltzes conducted by Herbert Von Karajan. Pro: The platter spins up quickly and stops as quickly Inky black backdrop to music with perfect tone and timing. This is an extremely accurate and neutral table and reveals absolutely everything that is there Absolutely dead spot on speed stability Cons: This thing has the noisiest motor I've ever heard in a turntable. It's not just audible between tracks from my listening position 3m away, though during quiet passages in the music also. I'll be having a chat to Ivan at S.A.M. regarding this. Based on my initial experience dealing with him he's top bloke so I think we'll be able to sort this out. The spindle is quite thick which means records can be pressed on no worries. My thin Deutsche Grammophon pressing on the other hand took me a good 10 minutes or so of waggling to get off the spindle The other con is the table lacks the outright musicality of the Ariston table it's replacing. I suspect a large portion of this is simply my preference for the way Fidelity Research tonearms present music. The Ariston RD110 SL + FR-24 Mk2 is sublime. I believe my disappointment in the sound is purely down to my preferences so I guess I'll be tracking down another FR-24 Mk2 arm unless I can find someone can make a bracket for my spare FR-24 Mk1 so the arm rest attaches to the arm post. Anyway, I believe that the foundations of this table is strong. I just need to address the motor and arm for the perfect table Sent from my Redmi Pro using Tapatalk 8
eltech Posted June 6, 2017 Posted June 6, 2017 @MattyW If the motor is using a DC power supply as shown in the photos you may be able to insert a resistor (perhaps 2-10 ohms) in line with the power supply to reduce curent to the motor which may reduce the noise. If you sit the motor pod on a piece of foam / mouse mat etc, that should also reduce the noise quite a bit. 1
MattyW Posted June 6, 2017 Author Posted June 6, 2017 [mention=155164]MattyW[/mention] If the motor is using a DC power supply as shown in the photos you may be able to insert a resistor (perhaps 2-10 ohms) in line with the power supply to reduce curent to the motor which may reduce the noise. If you sit the motor pod on a piece of foam / mouse mat etc, that should also reduce the noise quite a bit. I'll definitely give it a try. As things stand it's incredibly loud. I may open up the housing and apply Dynamat Extreme or something like that. That would kill any vibration. Do you think that would be of benefit? Sent from my Redmi Pro using Tapatalk
eltech Posted June 6, 2017 Posted June 6, 2017 3 minutes ago, MattyW said: I'll definitely give it a try. As things stand it's incredibly loud. I may open up the housing and apply Dynamat Extreme or something like that. That would kill any vibration. Do you think that would be of benefit? Sent from my Redmi Pro using Tapatalk I think isolating the motor pod from the plinth will do more to stop any vibration getting into the platter. Can you apply some dynamat under the pod? I't depends what is causing the noise and vibration. Opening up the pod might reveal the cause? Perhaps a rubber motor mount is not seated properly or something else? 1
eltech Posted June 6, 2017 Posted June 6, 2017 @MattyW If you are happy with the platter bearing etc. and of course, hopefully you will get a resolution from the manufacturer, but you may wish to consider buying a turntable motor from Maxon. These motors are used in the most expensive belt drive turntables by Australian and US turntable manufacturers. I think you will know who I am talking about. I'm about to send you a PM about this. 1
MattyW Posted June 6, 2017 Author Posted June 6, 2017 Maxon.... Are they as quiet as the Jasmine motors people discuss? Sent from my Redmi Pro using Tapatalk
eltech Posted June 6, 2017 Posted June 6, 2017 2 minutes ago, MattyW said: Maxon.... Are they as quiet as the Jasmine motors people discuss? Sent from my Redmi Pro using Tapatalk Matty, Maxon are the best motors. Fully digitally controlled. Silent, and accurate speed. I sent you a PM about this. 3
MattyW Posted June 6, 2017 Author Posted June 6, 2017 Excellent, I think it may well be worth the effort.Sent from my Redmi Pro using Tapatalk
eltech Posted June 6, 2017 Posted June 6, 2017 4 minutes ago, MattyW said: Excellent, I think it may well be worth the effort. Sent from my Redmi Pro using Tapatalk Well, its worth a try. Alternately you could use a typical Rega / Linn Premotec motor and get a pulley made up for it. but they are fairly weak motors so it might need a push to get started if you go for a premotec. 1
eltech Posted June 6, 2017 Posted June 6, 2017 @MattyW http://www.maxonmotor.com.au/maxon/view/content/index 1
Hergest Posted June 7, 2017 Posted June 7, 2017 If it only arrived yesterday and has been set up for less than 24 hours I wouldn't touch a single thing on the noisy motor as there is every chance that it will quieten down significantly with just a small amount of use. 3
Guest Posted June 7, 2017 Posted June 7, 2017 Completely agree with @Hergest - do nothing yet, other than keep playing and first action should be to communicate back to the manufacturer. You shouldn't need to do anything and if its as loud as you say, something is clearly wrong. Refer back to step one! 3
MattyW Posted June 7, 2017 Author Posted June 7, 2017 I'll get some more hours on it. This has the potential to be a truly amazing table and I can hear the latent potential there. Just need to sort out the issues and fine tuneSent from my Redmi Pro using Tapatalk 1
mloutfie Posted June 7, 2017 Posted June 7, 2017 That looks great. How much the total cost of it including shipping? 1
MattyW Posted June 7, 2017 Author Posted June 7, 2017 That looks great. How much the total cost of it including shipping? $2,300 all up. The big selling point is its ability to take up to 4x arms. I'll probably add another medium mass as well as a heavy with removeable headshellsSent from my Redmi Pro using Tapatalk
mloutfie Posted June 7, 2017 Posted June 7, 2017 That's including import duty. That's an awesome price 1
MattyW Posted June 7, 2017 Author Posted June 7, 2017 Very hard to beat I think. It is a shame that the outgoing table is currently a more engaging experience. I think it's primarily in the arm. I'll get another FR-24 on this table and I think I'll get the best of both worlds Sent from my Redmi Pro using Tapatalk 1
Wimbo Posted June 7, 2017 Posted June 7, 2017 Just keep playing it Matt and let it bed in. Email the manufacturer about the noise. As the others have said, Give it a chance. Take it off the base. Just put it on the top of the stand. See what that does. Do you balance the turntable or the base? Maybe the base is amplifying the motor. You can still get DC ripple through a AC/DC power supply. Try a better regulated power supply for the motor. Heaps of things to try Matt. That Koetsu looks sweet in that arm. 1
MattyW Posted June 7, 2017 Author Posted June 7, 2017 Just keep playing it Matt and let it bed in. Email the manufacturer about the noise. As the others have said, Give it a chance. Take it off the base. Just put it on the top of the stand. See what that does. Do you balance the turntable or the base? Maybe the base is amplifying the motor. You can still get DC ripple through a AC/DC power supply. Try a better regulated power supply for the motor. Heaps of things to try Matt. That Koetsu looks sweet in that arm. The turntable feet are adjustable as well as the motor. I suspect that the base adds nothing to performance as my equipment rack shelves are made of MDF which has great damping properties. The rack is also seriously heavy.Sent from my Redmi Pro using Tapatalk
stevoz Posted June 7, 2017 Posted June 7, 2017 @MattyW Great looking deck Matt. Did you win Tattslotto?? Actually, don't answer that...... Hope you get the motor issue sorted! 1 1
MattyW Posted June 7, 2017 Author Posted June 7, 2017 Not too concerned about appearance with this one. It will never look as beautiful to me as traditional looking tables like the Ariston I'm selling and my JVC. This one's all about potential sound quality and flexibility with additional arms.Sent from my Redmi Pro using Tapatalk
stevoz Posted June 7, 2017 Posted June 7, 2017 @MattyW Have you decided what your selling the other two TT's for yet? Curious...... 2
metal beat Posted June 7, 2017 Posted June 7, 2017 Nice. Hope you get the motor noise fixed. Looks like the designer has taken hommage from the Micro Seiki tables. If it sounds anywhere close to Micro Seiki you will have a great table indeed. 1
MattyW Posted June 7, 2017 Author Posted June 7, 2017 The Ariston is currently listed on SN's classifieds despite it currently being the best sounding table I own. Thing is, the JVC and S.A.M turntables have more upgrade potential in terms of tonearms etc so those are the ones I'll be keeping. My wife limits me to two tables so flexibility is important. I've already a bad case of sellers remorse with regards to the Ariston, though it does have to go to keep wifey happy. http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/index.php?/topic/124142-FS:-Ariston-RD110-SL-turntable-+-Fidelity-Research-FR24-Mk2-tonearm-+-Pickering-XSV3000-cartridge Sent from my Redmi Pro using Tapatalk 1
MattyW Posted June 7, 2017 Author Posted June 7, 2017 Ok, the table is a much much better match with my Supex SD900 Rosewood. Motor still annoyingly loud though. I can hear it over the Sinatra's Songs for swingin lovers and that's not exactly quiet music. I suspect if I opened the motor box up and filled with noise deadening foam it would be great Sent from my Redmi Pro using Tapatalk
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