( from Vinyl Engine by TBoneX9 » 27 Feb 2009 00:45):
For those that are interested ... I've done a number of mods to this deck that helped tame its inherited boldness, lower its already low noise floor considerably, while still retaining its class leading musicality.
- Origin Live Ultra DC200 motor kit - using the original OL motor mount.
Using the Source original pulley (much larger than the OL pulleys) slows down the rpm of this very quite motor. I adapted the original motor mount mechanism to help dissipate residual motor vibration. Using a stethoscope, absolutely no motor noise can be heard into the platter/sub-chassis, (w/ a dead quiet bearing) the result is a superbly low noise, wide bandwidth, dynamic open sound.
- Main Bearing Oil.
I use a viscous mix of relatively thick oils. The original thin oil was a bit noisy, actually the majority of oils & oil supplements I tried didn't work to quiet the bearing. However, the bearing can be made dead quiet with the right mixture, and the viscous oil couples and damps the bearing.
- Chassis bracing.
Additional bracket fitted to the corners of chassis, perhaps not really required, since the chassis was already very rigid.
- Chassis/footer grounding.
Removed the bottom cover and feet structure. Attached 3 BDR cones to the outside chassis as feet. (placed on Neuance / Target wall shelf).
- Suspension tuning.
Mr. Moore claimed that the 5 spring setup was stable, and didn't require any additional setup after it left the factory. Granted the 5 springs are more stable than the traditional 3 spring setup, but they still require fine tuning. Like every spring based suspension 'table, this is a very critical area to achieving max performance. Every spring has what is called a spine, in which one side of the spring offers greater tension. The correct orientation of each spine in relationship with each other helps achieve that perfect Source bounce. The goal is to resist horizontal modes/movement, if they occur, they are transferred into vertical modes very quickly. This result is superior and more stable timing, because any amount of horizontal movement will change the relationship between motor pulley & platter.
- Suspension damping
A light amount of cotton baton is used inside every spring to help damp them.
- Motor mount.
The basic concept of the original mount was retained using the same parts fitted to the OL DC200. The last thing you want to do is mount the OL motor - and any resonance/noise- directly to the top plate. The trick here is twofold, the pulley needs to be perfectly parallel with the platter so that the belt rides perfectly true but the retaining bolts that hold the motor in place must never be super-tight, they are hand-tightened snugly (kept in place using locktight) so that the weight of the motor is supported mostly by the thick metal bottom dissipating plate, and not directly mounted to the top turntable plate (which will resonate) typical of most tables.
As you can tell, I've spent considerable time fine-tuning this table to meet my needs. Well worth it, considering it offers a very quiet but dynamic sound, one that I've yet to hear from any digital medium. However, like all suspended belt driven tables, absolute timing issues remain a concern compared to the best digital replay.
TboneX9
Some more mods and comments from TboneX9:
- Suspension tuning.
Mr. Moore claimed that the 5 spring setup was stable, and didn't require any additional setup after it left the factory. Granted the 5 springs are more stable than the traditional 3 spring setup, but they still require fine tuning. Like every spring based suspension 'table, this is a very critical area to achieving max performance. Every spring has what is called a spine, in which one side of the spring offers greater tension. The correct orientation of each spine in relationship with each other helps achieve that perfect Source bounce. The goal is to resist horizontal modes/movement, if they occur, they are transferred into vertical modes very quickly. This result is superior and more stable timing, because any amount of horizontal movement will change the relationship between motor pulley & platter.
- Suspension damping
A light amount of cotton baton is used inside every spring to help damp them.
- Motor mount.
The basic concept of the original mount was retained using the same parts fitted to the OL DC200. The last thing you want to do is mount the OL motor - and any resonance/noise- directly to the top plate. The trick here is twofold, the pulley needs to be perfectly parallel with the platter so that the belt rides perfectly true but the retaining bolts that hold the motor in place must never be super-tight, they are hand-tightened snugly (kept in place using locktight) so that the weight of the motor is supported mostly by the thick metal bottom dissipating plate, and not directly mounted to the top turntable plate (which will resonate) typical of most tables.
As you can tell, I've spent considerable time fine-tuning this table to meet my needs. Well worth it, considering it offers a very quiet but dynamic sound, one that I've yet to hear from any digital medium. However, like all suspended belt driven tables, absolute timing issues remain a concern compared to the best digital replay.
TboneX9
Some more mods and comments from TboneX9:
I didn't like the effect of subchassis or platter damping. The Source was designed as a self-damping turntable. Individual parts ring like a bell when separated, but they are self damped and stop ringing as a complete unit.
The base plate is non rigid and cannot be damped properly anyway ... it gives the Source added warmth. I removed it, and attach three BDR cones to the chassis. Big improvement!
GL1 based gear oils (80-90 grade) only. GL1 designated gear oils do not contain sulphur or detergents. Mix in some Lucas, add the right amount (fill the well up so that the ball bearing is nearly covered).
OL motor sits low in the motor mount in order to be well isolated, and this requires that the subplatter level be low enough so that the pulley / belt line up properly.
The motor mount isolation is indeed critical, it a task/challenge because the looser it is - the more isolation it tends to provide - but it can't be so loose as to have the belts tension move it out of proper alignment related to the platters level. A snug but loose fit works best.
The 5th spring nearest to the armboard ("grounding" spring as Mr.Moore described it) should be adjusted last to perfectly center the unit. The unit should bounce only in the vertical plain - it should also resist lateral movement, notably it should resist lateral movement specifically directed towards the motor & pulley.
The phosphor bronze platter can be polished and dishwashed...but it never stays clean-looking for long. Actually, the most important part to keep clean is not visual, but operational - its where the platter touches the subplatter. Keep this area very clean, and use a very light film of very thin oil to help couple the platter to the subplatter (which effectively helps damp the entire table).
TBoneX9
And here are some other notes of various mods which some owners have found beneficial:
The Motor mount has to be well isolated mechanically.
The existing motor can have the speed adjuster replaced with a better quality multi-turn pot
The top plate and subchassis can have damping panels stuck on,
The platter benefits from damping with strips of damping panel, painting with bituminous liquid, or by filling with non resonant material.
The bearing housing can have a layer of damping heatshrunk on.
Different arm boards of wood or metal can alter the sound.
Damp or remove the ply base plate.
Ensuring the earthing is good. (A separate earth from the chassis, top and motor housing to the preamp earth point - but watch for earth loops if using a metal armboard.)
Gearbox oil, hypoid 90, for the bearing.
Use a Thorens TD150/160 belt.
The suspension should be set up with a fairly even load on the springs. The platter should sit about 4 to 5mm above the top plate.
The springs can be rotated to centre the arm board and also to achieve a true vertical bounce with no wobble.The phosphor bronze platter can be polished and dishwashed...
The 3D psu had a big Sprague Powerlytic cap with screw terminals, 100v 3300uF. The later psu had a smaller solder terminal cap of the same values. Small value caps, 1uF and 0.1uF wired across the big cap improve the sound. (If working on the psu, unplug from the mains instead of switching off and let the motor run down. This allows the caps to discharge.)
A high value resistor can also be wired across the cap to discharge the cap when the deck is switched off.
Always switch off the deck when connecting or disconnecting the lead from the psu
