captouch
Addicted Member
I've had my Thorens for a couple+ years now, and did some of the standard upgrades/mods (heavier birch bottom plate, some dampening of the top plate, new oil in well, etc)
But there's a couple of things I'm wondering about and would appreciate some input.
1) Bounce: my platter doesn't currently bounce up and down - it kind of moves in different directions. I've tried in the past to adjust the 3 springs (tension and direction wise), but never can get it quite right. And it seems to change when moving the table, putting on a new head shell, etc). In other words, even if I could get it close to right, I feel like it's prone to changing when moving the table from where I'd work on it to it's wall shelf or when switching headshells. Don't know if it's supposed to be that sensitive to shifting once adjusted.
My question - how likely is it that I'd benefit from new springs? Wondering if my springs are tired and not as strong as whether that's making it more touchy to adjust right.
Also, what's the opinions on foam in vs out? I removed my foam, but still have them and can replace them if they're better left in.
2) I get low level hum that mostly goes away when I turn the motor on. But sometimes persists even with the motor running. I think it's due to the integrated ground wire in the right RCA and the wires just being old. When I fiddle with the right RCA plug going into my phono pre, it can get better or much worse.
Would you recommend I just put in new RCAs and a separate ground wire to solve this problem once and for all?
3) Would there be a big benefit to rewiring the tonearm? This is above my pay grade, so I'd have to pay someone to have it done, but if it's a big potential upgrade, I may be willing to do this.
4) Thoughts on best cart to use on this out of what I have. I have a Stanton 681EEE, Empire E-2000III (came with the table), Grado F1+, Signet (forgot the model, but will look it up when back home). I know the TP-16 I has a heavier effective mass of 16.5g, so that's a factor. I'm open to buying a higher end cart at some point, but only after/if I can get the issues above sorted out first.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
But there's a couple of things I'm wondering about and would appreciate some input.
1) Bounce: my platter doesn't currently bounce up and down - it kind of moves in different directions. I've tried in the past to adjust the 3 springs (tension and direction wise), but never can get it quite right. And it seems to change when moving the table, putting on a new head shell, etc). In other words, even if I could get it close to right, I feel like it's prone to changing when moving the table from where I'd work on it to it's wall shelf or when switching headshells. Don't know if it's supposed to be that sensitive to shifting once adjusted.
My question - how likely is it that I'd benefit from new springs? Wondering if my springs are tired and not as strong as whether that's making it more touchy to adjust right.
Also, what's the opinions on foam in vs out? I removed my foam, but still have them and can replace them if they're better left in.
2) I get low level hum that mostly goes away when I turn the motor on. But sometimes persists even with the motor running. I think it's due to the integrated ground wire in the right RCA and the wires just being old. When I fiddle with the right RCA plug going into my phono pre, it can get better or much worse.
Would you recommend I just put in new RCAs and a separate ground wire to solve this problem once and for all?
3) Would there be a big benefit to rewiring the tonearm? This is above my pay grade, so I'd have to pay someone to have it done, but if it's a big potential upgrade, I may be willing to do this.
4) Thoughts on best cart to use on this out of what I have. I have a Stanton 681EEE, Empire E-2000III (came with the table), Grado F1+, Signet (forgot the model, but will look it up when back home). I know the TP-16 I has a heavier effective mass of 16.5g, so that's a factor. I'm open to buying a higher end cart at some point, but only after/if I can get the issues above sorted out first.
Thanks in advance for any advice!