Hi LP12 Specialists,
I'm interested to get a quick bit of insight from those of you out there with experience in dressing the T-cable with the new black p-clip.
For those who are not familiar with the core issue, the fixing of the T-cable (or any arm cable) to the plinth by the p-clip and routing of the cable to the arm plug is a make-or-break aspect of the setup of the LP12. The way this has been explained to me is that you need to route the cable so that it (ideally) has zero effect on the suspension and its bounce. The cable always has some effect because it has weight and, especially the T-cable, will cause the suspension to drop a little at the back when attached to the arm (you need to adjust the back locking nut accordingly). Getting all this right is critical. Literally it can make the investment in a top flight arm and cartridge almost worthless (to my ears) if this is not done right. Think of that boogie factor and fluidity (tune dem) to the music which is lost if the arm cable is exherting a force on the subchasis/suspension.
So to the experts out there, who has found an optimum way to get the new p-clip tightened up without it shifting in position?
Interested to hear from those who have mastered the art...
Chris.
T-Cable p-Clip adjustment
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Chris Morton
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- Joined: 2008-02-15 00:25
T-Cable p-Clip adjustment
LP12 SE/Radikal/Urika,KK, Aktiv Isobariks
-
Chris Morton
- Member
- Posts: 33
- Joined: 2008-02-15 00:25
Okay, I'll close this out by quickly explaining what I do for anyone else that is interested:
1) make sure the suspension bounce is perfect (this can take 5 minutes or 4 hours depending on what the gods want to throw at you)
2) for T-cable, pull strands apart to about half way along and bend the cable in a curve to shape it such that it can be located directly under arm socket without an tension. The rotation on the p-clip cylinder should be adjusted so that the arm cable plug enters the arm socket in a perfectly vertical direction. The p-clip should be loose at this point and the T-cable should exit the back of the p-clip and not be threaded through the plinth at this stage
3) place a ruler on the plinth with major calibration marking aligned with the edge of the "arm-board"
4) attach the arm cable plug to the arm and tighten up the allen fixing screw (this latter part will shift the cable slightly so you want it to be in exactly the final position before making any adjustments to the position of the p-clip)
5) check the position of the arm board. If you have good intuition on the right entry of the plug to the arm such that there is no tension on the cable then you should see already no shift in the position of the arm board (when looking at your ruler calibration mark once again). If you see a shift in the armboard (which is really really easy to do) then you will need to make adjustments to the position of the p-clip to move the armboard back to the correct position
6) hold the p-clip firmly with one hand and then use a small, light-weight (8mm I think) spanner to tighten up the locking nut. It needs to be really tight and you'll need to hold the p-clip firmly with your hand to prevent any shifting of its position
7) once the nut is tight, move the arm cable on the back side and see if there is any looseness to the p-clip cylinder (either rotation or shifting). If there is, you'll need to re-position and tighten up further
8) adjust the back suspension nut slightly in the upwards direction (if necessary) given that there's a little extra weight now with the arm cable attached
9) check the bounce--is it free and vertical. It will be different with the extra weight of the arm cable but should still move freely, all springs in sync and without any sideways motion or rotation.
10) dress the cable so that it exits the plinth in the vertical direction and is not putting undue stress on the p-clip
Getting this right seems to be a make or break aspect of the LP12: pitch sweetness, insight, rhythm and boogie factor, extension and dynamics (most of which contribute to the tune dem).
I find that it is actually really quite tricky with the T-cable to get this right. I have to say, I wonder how many decks out there are not optimal.
The rest is standard procedure :)
1) make sure the suspension bounce is perfect (this can take 5 minutes or 4 hours depending on what the gods want to throw at you)
2) for T-cable, pull strands apart to about half way along and bend the cable in a curve to shape it such that it can be located directly under arm socket without an tension. The rotation on the p-clip cylinder should be adjusted so that the arm cable plug enters the arm socket in a perfectly vertical direction. The p-clip should be loose at this point and the T-cable should exit the back of the p-clip and not be threaded through the plinth at this stage
3) place a ruler on the plinth with major calibration marking aligned with the edge of the "arm-board"
4) attach the arm cable plug to the arm and tighten up the allen fixing screw (this latter part will shift the cable slightly so you want it to be in exactly the final position before making any adjustments to the position of the p-clip)
5) check the position of the arm board. If you have good intuition on the right entry of the plug to the arm such that there is no tension on the cable then you should see already no shift in the position of the arm board (when looking at your ruler calibration mark once again). If you see a shift in the armboard (which is really really easy to do) then you will need to make adjustments to the position of the p-clip to move the armboard back to the correct position
6) hold the p-clip firmly with one hand and then use a small, light-weight (8mm I think) spanner to tighten up the locking nut. It needs to be really tight and you'll need to hold the p-clip firmly with your hand to prevent any shifting of its position
7) once the nut is tight, move the arm cable on the back side and see if there is any looseness to the p-clip cylinder (either rotation or shifting). If there is, you'll need to re-position and tighten up further
8) adjust the back suspension nut slightly in the upwards direction (if necessary) given that there's a little extra weight now with the arm cable attached
9) check the bounce--is it free and vertical. It will be different with the extra weight of the arm cable but should still move freely, all springs in sync and without any sideways motion or rotation.
10) dress the cable so that it exits the plinth in the vertical direction and is not putting undue stress on the p-clip
Getting this right seems to be a make or break aspect of the LP12: pitch sweetness, insight, rhythm and boogie factor, extension and dynamics (most of which contribute to the tune dem).
I find that it is actually really quite tricky with the T-cable to get this right. I have to say, I wonder how many decks out there are not optimal.
The rest is standard procedure :)
LP12 SE/Radikal/Urika,KK, Aktiv Isobariks
Excellent instruction, Chris!
Many thanks for posting it!
I do it almost exactly the way you have described it. I have also found that on many of the T-kable P-clips (I believe the very latest model has improved in this respect), the barrel inside the P-clip can not be tightened enough to stop it from moving if there is force applied on either side (the arm side or the side where the cable exits the plinth).
In those cases I put a drop of cyanoacrylate glue (super glue) where the barrel meets the P-clip, as a final step after I've gotten the position right. This locks it up after it has hardened, but it's still possible to separare them, in case it should later need complete disassembly.
Many thanks for posting it!
I do it almost exactly the way you have described it. I have also found that on many of the T-kable P-clips (I believe the very latest model has improved in this respect), the barrel inside the P-clip can not be tightened enough to stop it from moving if there is force applied on either side (the arm side or the side where the cable exits the plinth).
In those cases I put a drop of cyanoacrylate glue (super glue) where the barrel meets the P-clip, as a final step after I've gotten the position right. This locks it up after it has hardened, but it's still possible to separare them, in case it should later need complete disassembly.
Thanks for the detailed post. I agree it is quite a good post on clamping the T.Kable. Instead of using a ruler I use a hex key as a "feeler" gauge between the armboard and either the top plate or the plinth. I find the right size key to just fit on whichever side it works and make sure it still just fits after attaching the cable. This way I know that nothing has shifted to either side.
The instructions for the vertical position of the cable as it goes through the P-Clip are what I use with the newer gray P-Clips. With the bigger white ones that originally came with the T-Cable and fit towards the front of the table I found that a twist of nearly 270 degrees seemed to work the best.
The instructions for the vertical position of the cable as it goes through the P-Clip are what I use with the newer gray P-Clips. With the bigger white ones that originally came with the T-Cable and fit towards the front of the table I found that a twist of nearly 270 degrees seemed to work the best.