Tony Tune-age System

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Tony Tune-age
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

Thank you Charlie1, in addition to the Rolling Stones pictures, I picked-up two new pictures as well. The first picture (left of Hendrix), is Jefferson Airplane [1969] performing at Grant Park located in Chicago, Illinois. The second picture (right of Hendrix), is the Grateful Dead [1974] performing at the Winterland Ballroom located in San Fransico, California. And both of these pictures were taken by photographer Don Aters.

I was able to see some of Don's photographs on display at the Fur Peace Ranch, during their summer festival weekend. The ranch as they call it, is both a guitar school and concert venue, which is operated by Jorma Kaukonen and his wife. Don had some really great photographs (not framed) at reasonable prices. I proceeded to select a couple of unique pictures, then had them properly matted and framed for display in my music room.

Happy Holidays to All
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by lejonklou »

Very cool Tony.

Happy holidays to you all!
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

I have been reading various comments regarding the possibility of a Radikal motor being in physical contact with one of the Trampolin feet on LP12's with 64mm high plinths, and how this situation could have a negative impact on sonic performance. So needless to say, I decided to have my deck checked out by ThomasOk.

Although my plinth is 65mm tall, there was still a possibility of the motor being in direct contact with the back left Trampolin foot (when facing the deck).

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So, in order to know if the two parts were touching ThomasOk placed a narrow strip of paper between the motor and foot, then fed it through the Trampolin opening as shown below.

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Thomas attached the Trampolin back onto the plinth, and then gently pulled the strip of paper through the opening. There was some initial resistance, which confirmed contact between the two parts. So, he put strips of balsa wood along the inside perimeter of the Trampolin as shown below.

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When he was finished with the wood strips, ThomasOk attached the Trampolin back onto the plinth.

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After completely assembling the deck, ThomasOk played an album to make sure everything was operating correctly. My first impression was an improvement on vocals, but really couldn't be sure. Primarily because my deck was hooked-up to his bench system, which isn't that elaborate.

However, once the deck was in my home system, it became much easier to hear any differences that might exist. And while the differences I heard weren't subtle, they weren't overwhelmingly obvious either. But that said, the differences I heard were for the better, and very important! The vocals were in fact better (i.e., more realistic and natural sounding), and the timing was vastly improved as well. It wasn't until I was listening to the new Jimi Hendrix album "Both Sides of the Sky," that I noticed how deep and defined the bass notes were.

While my deck certainly sounded good before this necessary modification, I know exactly how much the Radikal motor touching the Trampolin foot degraded the sound. And needless to say, it surprises me that nobody noticed this particular design flaw until recently. Moving forward, perhaps the Linn plinths will be made taller (i.e., 66.5mm). In addition, it will be interesting to see if Linn takes this issue seriously and finds a fair solution for customers that have this problem.

So, what is the bottom line? My deck sounds better than it has ever sounded, and it's unfortunate that some Sondek owners might not be experiencing the true potential of their deck. It is a krazy world indeed!
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by beck »

Great pictures Tony Tune-age and good work Thomas. As we all know being on a forum like this the devil is in the detail.

By writing this post you are helping in making others aware of the problem. It is an important piece of information that cannot be said too often.
Playing cd’s…………
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by ThomasOK »

This was an interesting LP12 for me as it is helping to narrow things down. It has a 65mm plinth, maybe even just a hair above it, which is probably the most common size. I did the paper strip test and found that there was some resistance to the pull but less than any other LP12 I had done that had any resistance. The Khan top plate might have had an effect on this as it might make the motor sit just the slightest bit higher, but I'm not sure. On this table I was able to pull the paper out but there was just a bit of grab, most others you couldn't pull out the paper without risk of ripping it. There was just the slightest bit of contact but there was still contact. I let Tony know that there might be little or no difference but since he lives a few hours away he didn't want to take the chance and asked that I do it. I did the mod as shown in the photos above and checked suspension, tracking and anti-skating. Everything was fine as I had already done the counterweight adjustment on this table and all sounded good. No changes except the mod. As you can see from the report above even relieving this small amount of contact had the same kind of improvements we have heard in the other LP12s that have been fixed. All said it does appear that any contact at all is a bad thing and should be rectified.
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by lejonklou »

Great pictures and write-up, Tony Tune-age!
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

Thanks Beck and Lejonklou, have a great weekend!
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

Every since the installation of a Kandid cartridge, and resolving the Radikal motor and Trampolin foot issue on my LP12, I have really enjoyed the improvements. But before making any additional turntable improvements, I have been focusing on improving the fm tuner. Currently, I'm using the plastic "t-shaped" antenna and it does function okay. However, I was wondering what type of antenna to purchase that would make a legitimate improvement.

I have tried the amplified antennas, but the performance wasn't that good. And although I could get an outdoor antenna installed on the roof, I don't want anything installed on the roof. There's the possibility of storm damage, or wind damage to the antenna and roof.

So, is the current "T-shaped" antenna the best option for an indoor antenna or is there something better?

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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tendaberry »

I would take a look at the Magnum Dynalab ST2: http://www.magnumdynalab.com/st-2-omnid ... m-antenna/
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Ianw »

I also have a Khan plate and I found strong resistance on the paper test as reported in a separate thread. I will check and report on my plinth height, it’s a 2014 Oak Linn.

I think I also have some photos that I took to document the mod. Will try to look them out.
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

Tendaberry wrote: 2019-03-10 18:30 I would take a look at the Magnum Dynalab ST2: http://www.magnumdynalab.com/st-2-omnid ... m-antenna/
Thank you for the link. I have been looking at the reviews, most of which are positive. I'll have to determine how to mount it in the house, if I decide to purchase one.

In addition, I did read an article about using the old rabbit ear antennas, apparently they work well for some people. Has anybody tried that type of antenna?

Thanks again
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tendaberry »

From Magnum Dynalab there's also the SR-100 antenna, which is much easier to install: http://www.magnumdynalab.com/sr-100-fm-antenna/
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by The FlatEarther »

Tony could you not mount a four dipole in your attic. It will be massively better than the T Strip
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

Tendaberry wrote: 2019-03-11 18:15 From Magnum Dynalab there's also the SR-100 antenna, which is much easier to install: http://www.magnumdynalab.com/sr-100-fm-antenna/
That antenna looks interesting as well, thanks for the link. I'll want to look at both of them before making a decision.
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

The FlatEarther wrote: 2019-03-11 22:14 Tony could you not mount a four dipole in your attic. It will be massively better than the T Strip
KR
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I have thought about that Steve, and it's a great idea. However, my attic is very small and full of "blown-in" insulation. So needless to say, I can't put anything in my attic. I'll have to really think about the best way to move ahead with a different type of antenna.

I really appreciate all the ideas, it does help!
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

Ianw wrote: 2019-03-10 18:39 I also have a Khan plate and I found strong resistance on the paper test as reported in a separate thread. I will check and report on my plinth height, it’s a 2014 Oak Linn.

I think I also have some photos that I took to document the mod. Will try to look them out.
What approach will you take to resolve the problem? Be sure to post the pictures if you can.

Cheers
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Ianw »

I did exacly as per Thomas OK guidance on the thread.

I tried to post photos but got an error message hence its just my text that posted minus photos.

https://www.lejonklou.com/forum/viewtop ... lsa#p40623
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by tokenbrit »

Did you try making the photos smaller as suggested, Ianw? (file size smaller, not smaller pics)
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by ThomasOK »

We have been selling the Magnum Dynalab ST-2 antenna for some time and people have generally been quite happy with it. I don't have any experience with the SR-100 but the owner here played with one and was not impressed so we have not carried them. The ST-2 can be mounted near the Hi-Fi but it will usually perform better the higher you can get it, like most antennae.

The problem with FM antennae is that the perfromance is quite variable since the FM signal is basically a line of sight affair. So position and interference from building structures, plumbing, etc. can all change the outcome. Therefore there is no one solution that is best for all circumstances, you just have to try it and see. That is, unless you want to consider a good multi-element antenna, specifically designed for FM, and mounted on a high mast attached to a rotator - which will work as well as possible in pretty much any circumstance. Except. of course, for all the many cases where it isn't allowed or acceptable. ;-)
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

Thank you for the information Thomas, I'll try to check out both antennas before making a decision. I do know that antenna placement and position is very important to good performance. So, I'll have to determine the best possible antenna location in my music room, whether it's the Dynalab ST-2 or SR-100 or some other antenna.

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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tendaberry »

I just bought the SR-100 myself and got clearly better sound quality from my Linn Akurate tuner. It does require careful positioning though. I'm not impressed by the build quality, but still happy with it nevertheless.
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

Tendaberry wrote: 2019-03-24 17:59 I just bought the SR-100 myself and got clearly better sound quality from my Linn Akurate tuner. It does require careful positioning though. I'm not impressed by the build quality, but still happy with it nevertheless.
Tendaberry,

How long is the cable on your SR-100 antenna? And where in your house did you mount the antenna?
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tendaberry »

The antenna is very sensitive to positioning, so it's worth bringing a friend who tries different positions, while you are listening. My SR-100 is hanging in the window behind the curtains.
The cable isn't that long, maybe 1 m, but I have a longer, high-quality antenna cable from the Akurate tuner leading to it.
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

Tendaberry wrote: 2019-05-03 10:18 The antenna is very sensitive to positioning, so it's worth bringing a friend who tries different positions, while you are listening. My SR-100 is hanging in the window behind the curtains.
The cable isn't that long, maybe 1 m, but I have a longer, high-quality antenna cable from the Akurate tuner leading to it.
Thanks for the information Tendaberry. I do know positioning of the antenna is important, and I'm trying to decide which antenna would be best suited for my listening room.

Cheers
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Re: Tony Tune-age System

Post by Tony Tune-age »

I'm still deciding which antenna to purchase. Ultimately, it will depend on which one fits into my music room the best, and how much cable will be required. However, this project has recently taken a back seat temporarily.

In the mean time, another very important project has taken priority. I'm upgrading my Ekos SE tonearm for the Ekos SE/2 tonearm. In addition, I'm upgrading my Akurate Radkal for the Klimax Radikal as well. I'm hoping this project will be completed within a week or two. Details and pictures will be provided.

In addition, I will be listening to a pair of Singularity phono preamplifiers. This should be a very interesting and exciting experience indeed. Details and pictures will be provided.
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