Akiva

[Chris Morton]

Hi Lejonklou,

I understand your point about alignment. You have a little play with the Akiva in the Ekos SE and Ekos headshell but not a whole lot. Nevertheless, it seems impossible to exactly track the arc on the Linn alignment/speed checker disk! You also have to make sure you get a disk from Linn that was drilled properly. Many are off-center (yikes, sorry Linn for the bad publicity).

Actually, I find the whole L12 setup thing rather a pain in the ass. There must be huge numbers of LP12s out there that are performing at a fraction of their best because dealers just can't dedicate the time to getting them right. The combination of getting the bounce right with spring/bush rotation and without any knocking (what a pain this is) then making sure the arm cable is very carefully dressed and tightened to ensure a continued free movement of the suspension (and after the allen nut is tightened and the base fitted and tightented) is all rather a lot of work for a dealer. Then adjusting the position of the motor which it seem is critical not just for speed but also for for tension on the belt which I presume effects the way the motor is isolated from the platter.

I guess the best dealers can do this efficiently with experience. Not me, it take hours of work.

Pheew.
Chris.

[lejonklou]

it seems impossible to exactly track the arc on the Linn alignment/speed checker disk!

Yes... and that has been around since the Arkiv was introduced - the third fixing point is not correctly positioned in relation to the stylus tip. To get the smallest possible tracking angle error, the Akiva usually needs a slight twist clockwise in the headshell.

You also have to make sure you get a disk from Linn that was drilled properly. Many are off-center (yikes, sorry Linn for the bad publicity).

Yes, I'm sorry too, but also bit irritated that these superb constructions have flaws that could easily be fixed if someone paid attention to the feedback. My latest alignment disc was 0.5 mm off-center, I had to correct it.

I guess the best dealers can do this efficiently with experience. Not me, it take hours of work.

For me too. Even back in the days when I worked in a shop and had several LP12's to service each day, it still took a long time to set them up carefully. Not an easy product to be efficient with!

[ThomasOK]

I have to sadly agree with pretty much all the comments above. We managed to melt our old Linn speed checker disk and our new one is not much fun either. The arc on ours isn't printed properly and is not a true arc - it flattens out a bit in the middle before going back to where it should. The speed section also skips a bit once per revolution. Especially considering how much Linn charge for the speed checker disk and the checker itself, I am likely going to purchase a ClearAudio one instead for my turntable travel set up kit as it also uses a 300Hz light and disk. In addition the disk has a groove so you can set the speed with the stylus on the record and it can be flipped over for 60Hz use if you don't have your light handy. As for the alignment, I have an original aluminum Dennesen alignment tool that works quite well - it is similar to the Wally-tractor unit many use now.

And even having self-created torque guidelines to go on in setting up the LP12 it still takes a couple of hours per table to get it right. Also, while you would think that the Keel would simplify it a bit as there is no separate armboard or arm collar to worry about you would be wrong. The Keel is much more sensitive to suspension bolts that are not truly straight and to springs or grommets that don't move properly. When you get everything right it bounces like a champ and is pretty stable but if anything is wrong at all it often will hardly bounce at all.

[Chris Morton]

While I don't have years of experience with LP12s I must say that I did have a bit of a wrestling match with my Keeled LP12. I had a lot of trouble with knocking on springs and ended up just taking the spring/grommet assembly off and replacing it with another one on two occassions. Funnly enough, after a period of time where I was swearing royally in a Scottish accent I managed to get things to settle down so that the springs were behaving themselves and I could focus on the bounce rather than getting rid of the knocking (which was largely caused I think by grommet/spring connections not with suspension rod knocking against grommet).

[ThomasOK]

The knocking is generally always caused by the spring grabbing on the edge of the upper grommet. It can often be fixed by switching the spring, grommet or both. You can compress the spring and grommet between your thumb and fingers and feel when it grabs. Trying different combinations of spring and grommet will let you minimize the problem. I keep a batch of springs and grommets in stock so that I can take care of this.

Some people have trimmed back the edges of the upper grommets to eliminate the knocking but I have never been completely thrilled with that idea (although I haven't tune tested it to see if it makes a difference). I have found, especially on Keels, that suspension bolts that are not very straight up and down can make this knocking worse as well as messing up the bounce.

[Charlie1]

Having finally obtained some Silly Putty, I'm just a little anxious that when I lift the arm off the putty, the cantilever is pulled downwards towards the deck before the stickiness of the putty gives way. Even when I use just a tiny amount, it still causes the same thing.

My dealer always said that it was OK for the cantilever to be bent upwards as it is designed to accommodate this action, but you should never pull it downwards - i.e. when wiping fluff away with a soft brush. Any thoughts?

[lejonklou]

I'd say it's safe if you only let the diamond tip sink into the putty.

As the putty is quite "thick", it sinks quite slowly. Don't let it disappear completely, then you will probably risk damage when pulling it up.