Kenti Posted December 17, 2023 Posted December 17, 2023 (edited) Hello. So, I've been looking for a new turntable lately, and really had some bad luck.. or I'm just too picky. I don't know. So writing here hopefully can give me some guidance. Picked up a SL1200GR first. So the strobes lights where way off, ok its annoying, but not a dealbreaker. Then i had a weight on, and it turned around like the tower of Pisa.. started measuring, and there was a pretty bad wobble. I'm talking 1-2 mm vertical. And you could see it across the room, just annoying to look at. Returned it, got another, and that was just as bad. Only love for Technics btw, and I fully understand you get what you pay for, but 1-2 mm of vertical wobble of platter is not within my ocd tolerance, at this price point. Maybe just a bad batch. Returned that, then I came across the fairly new Thorens TD1500. Got it this week. Haven't had a suspension table before, so that was fun. Sounds good, looks good. Although, it seems there has been some kind of heavy blunt force trauma to the package in shipping. The board underneath, just under one of the springs, had started cracking from inside out. So I guess it was dropped or something, and the spring foot, came in contact with board, and it slightly started cracking. Anyway, not a dealbreaker, if nothing else is damaged, and its only cosmetic under the table. But then i started checking the platter again.... Ok, now its really ocd time... If i go really close, I can see just a ever so slight wobble. Checked with a precise gauge, and its like 0.09mm, 0.1mm max undulation vertical. Now I've been checking a lot of youtube videos about the new Thorens, and saw this in multiple videos. Just a ever so slight undulation on several of them. I have the chance to return my table for a new one. But there is absolutely no guarantee the next one will be any better. Does it affect the sound? I cant hear anything bad, and cant even see the pickup moving up or down at all, very steady. Lovely new arm on that thing btw, the 150. So whats the forums thoughts on this? We all want a perfectly true platter of course, and the table does cost quite a bit. But maybe I'm just obsessing, and need to just play records and enjoy the turntable. I don't know. At the same time, I know down the road these things can get worse. I've tried re seating the platter on spindle 3-4 times, just to check if it was a better fit elsewhere. Maybe even its the force from spinning and springs that are causing it...? Edited December 17, 2023 by Kenti Spelling
Warren Jones Posted December 17, 2023 Posted December 17, 2023 Platter wobble is common in turntables and the cheaper ones will have more than the better built ones. Slow vertical runout is not a problem as the tonearm will move up and down slowly and not displace the stylus, fast chaotic wobble is a problem as the tonearm effective mass will hold the arm stable and the stylus will displace generating an unwanted signal. A Technics SL1200 should not have 1-2mm of platter runout this table is faulty. 0.09-0.1mm vertical wobble is ok for a table. The SP10mk2 has this level of wobble. I measured a Goldmund Reference and it was 0.03mm this is at the top of the tree. Have you considered an SP10mk2. In a good plinth these hard to beat at any price and with a few modification can better some of the high end tables.
Kenti Posted December 17, 2023 Author Posted December 17, 2023 Hey. Thanks for input. After I posted, I went with a different approach. In the manual it says that the tonearm board and top board should be completely level with each other. But i wanted to use a weight, so i loosened the springs quite a bit so that mat, record, and weight made it level with rest of board. This time, i dropped the weight, tightened the springs quite a bit for just mat and record. Suddenly all visible wobbling was gone. Had to get the gauge out to even see anything, and now its down to like 0.03-0.05 mm, which is well within my tolerance. Guess the springs was too lose, and the suspension system caused it to wobble with the force of spinning for example. Anyway, really happy about it now. The sound also opened up quite a bit, better seperation, dynamics, etc. More "air" in the sound. First time owning a suspension table, so its a learning curve Will check out the SP10mk2! Need (want) a second turntable for my vintage setup
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