Another tweak for my Michell Orbe

What people are working on at the moment
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gninnam
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#1 Another tweak for my Michell Orbe

Post by gninnam »

Took delivery today of something else to try on the Orbe - a solid piece of machined acrylic (well, apart from the hole for bearing!!).
Just tried if for size and fits well.

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Will see how it sounds over the weekend but looks nice :cool:
gninnam
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#2 Re: Another tweak for my Michell Orbe

Post by gninnam »

Oh - and a picture from the underbelly of the platters

Image

You can see the Orbe platter has a good amount of mass removed compared to the acrylic platter!
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Ray P
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#3 Re: Another tweak for my Michell Orbe

Post by Ray P »

Looks really nice.

Is the bearing OK with the, presumably, heavier acrylic platter?
Sorry, I couldn't resist!
gninnam
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#4 Re: Another tweak for my Michell Orbe

Post by gninnam »

Yes - its only heavier by around 300 grams or so so doesn't worry the bearing.
gninnam
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#5 Re: Another tweak for my Michell Orbe

Post by gninnam »

Played many albums/12 inches and have to say it has improved the SQ no end.

The first album I played was an old fav of mine and probably played the most out of all of my collection (Dead Can Dance - In to the Labyrinth).
First thing I noticed was how detailed it appeared to be with the high hats especially sounding a lot clearer than they did previously.
Each instrument seemed so clear and easy to place and I noticed that the percussion on this album seemed to stand out in a way it didn't before.

After this I played some soul from Barbara Mason - 'A Piece of my Life'
The production stuck out for me as everything seemed so crisp and clean, here voice sounding like she was just in front of me and trying to seduce me (oh err).

There are 2 negatives
1. I knew my turntable speed wasn't bang on but got used to it, the new platter is slightly smaller in diameter which moved the speed closer to what is should be (it was out by about .3 RPM) so I could pick up the slight change but I could always alter the speed, but being the AC PSU/Motor it requires some major surgery (hence why I haven't bothered to change it yet....)

2. The recess for the nut appears to be slightly lower than the original platter - this means the nut is now lower than the platter so when you tighten the clamp it no longer pushes the record down as much. Easy to fix with a washer so will dig around in my stash to sort this out.

But, the SQ has improved - will continue to play a few more records tomorrow and make a final assessment
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