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Ariston RD 11s in The House

mfm22

mfm22

Active Member
Decided to pull the trigger on this . I was looking at Linn LP12 and others but something about the Ariston intrigued me .
It has an SME series lll arm with damping well - this arm may prove to be a challenge :scratch2:
The Cartridge is a Grado gold with moderate use.

Any tips / suggestions on this are welcome . I'm not changing arm or cart. for now just trying to maximize performance . The dampening chamber / fluid is a bit mysterious ,not sure how important it is ?

I have read that some Linn Lp12 parts are interchangeable .

There is very little info / diagrams on the ARISTON. . Things to lube & clean without taking apart ??
 
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mfm22 said:
Decided to pull the trigger on this . I was looking at Linn LP12 and others but something about the Ariston intrigued me .
It has an SME series lll arm with damping well - this arm may prove to be a challenge :scratch2:
The Cartridge is a Grado gold with moderate use.

Any tips / suggestions on this are welcome . I'm not changing arm or cart. for now just trying to maximize performance . The dampening chamber / fluid is a bit mysterious ,not sure how important it is ?

I have read that some Linn Lp12 parts are interchangeable .

There is very little info / diagrams on the ARISTON. . Things to lube & clean without taking apart ??
Click to expand...
Congrats. Lovely table. I really enjoy mine.

I'm afraid I don't have any diagrams to help out, but a few things to check. Cleaning out and relubing the main bearing would be a good starting point. Next have a look at the belt and if it is getting slack pick up a new one. It made a huge difference to my table after I had it awhile. The clutch might need to be looked at (or not). It needs just a touch of oil on the pad, not dry and not oily/soggy. When you've done all of the above read up on tuning the suspension and learn the process. Getting that right makes a big difference. The arm shouldn't really be so much bother and the cart is a fine match to the table. Grado sounds good on a RD11s IMO. Maybe a nice new upgraded stylus eventually?

Pretty tables, aren't they?
 
Thanks , yes I thought it was attractive . The original owner took good care of it .
I tried searching some info / sources on the belt it seems the "s" version has a different size . I see some are called square ?
If you know of a good reliable source for belt please let me know
 
mfm22 said:
Decided to pull the trigger on this . I was looking at Linn LP12 and others but something about the Ariston intrigued me .
It has an SME series lll arm with damping well - this arm may prove to be a challenge
Click to expand...
Congratulations. I think you've made a great purchase. I've used my 11s since purchasing it as a demo model in '76! I've used several arms with it over the years, but it presently has what I started with - a SME 3009 Type II with a Shinon Red MC cartridge. And yes, the belt is square in cross section. I've purchased replacements from Elex Atelier

mfm22 said:
The dampening chamber / fluid is a bit mysterious ,not sure how important it is ?
Click to expand...
The damping can be quite important from an imaging standpoint. I'm not sure how expensive it would be, but I might try to get fresh fluid for optimum results.

mfm22 said:
I have read that some Linn Lp12 parts are interchangeable .
Click to expand...
The companies were related and the motor is pretty much the same. It was the RD11 (not "S") that was more like the LP12 in terms of using the long arm board and a similar bearing. Back to fluids, I would likewise recommend replacing the fluid. I used some synthetic motor oil.

mfm22 said:
There is very little info / diagrams on the ARISTON. . Things to lube & clean without taking apart ??
Click to expand...
I'll echo the earlier call about learning about adjusting the three point suspension. You want the plinth and the platter level. Ideally, the platter would allow a fair amount of movement without scraping. I use a Clearaudio spindle weight and a Denon platter mat.

shiny.jpg
 
marcmorin said:
Equal table, half the price? :scratch2:
Click to expand...

Less than half generally. I got mine in mint condition (off ebay, no less) for considerably less than what the SME 3009 S2 Imp arm on it was worth at the time and that was a few years ago now.

As to mats. The 11s has the rings embedded in the platter so one doesn't really need one, but I experimented with a few choices on mine and a deer skin (from Projekt I think) ended up sounding the best to my ears.

It is perhaps not the most "accurate" table I own, but it puts the music across incredibly well and imaging and soundstage can be breathtaking with a half-decent LP.
 
Hoping to get some time to set up the RD 11 this weekend
Damping fluid seems to be available in many viscocities Too many !

When using a spindle weight , it would make sense to use it on platter when setting up springs If you set up suspension without the weight & then use weight won't platter ride lower
 
marcmorin said:
Equal table, half the price? :scratch2:
Click to expand...
That's 3/4 the turntable, half the price !

The RD 11s has the inferior captive ball bearing, which isn't bad, but is one of the reasons it won't match an LP12

Still a very nice turntable, though, produced after Linn and Ariston had split. The arm on yours is certainly better than most.
 
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The arm is probably best suited to high compliance cartridges, but its surprisingly adaptable, and with the damping and maybe a bit of mass added to the headshell, it can work well with a lot of cartridges. And in terms of ergonomics, its about as good as it gets -- it's a very easy arm to use and feels just right all the time.
 
I love mine. Be aware that depending on the viscosity of the bearing oil you use, it will change the speed. Not that you're looking to upgrade already, but I was very happy with the Music Hall speed box device that allows you to fine-tune the speed. You need a decent test record and something like the (free) PlatterSpeed app to set the speed, or just use a strobe set up.

Once I installed my Audiomods arm on my RD11S, I lost the urge to upgrade. I run an AT33EV lomc on mine -- my room acoustics and speakers are way more limiting factors than my front end now.

As I understand it, different models of the RD11S use different belts. Mine uses the plain flat belt, not the square. The LP12 replacement I bought was too tight. If it works now, it's best to measure it and go on a website that lets you match your belt to a replacement.

Learning to set up the suspension is one of the biggest challenges to getting it up and running. As was mentioned, it makes a big difference in the sound, as well as its ability to handle vibrations.

Enjoy, it's a great table.
 
grottyash said:
That's 3/4 the turntable, half the price !

The RD 11s has the inferior captive ball bearing, which isn't bad, but is one of the reasons it won't match an LP12

Still a very nice turntable, though, produced after Linn and Ariston had split. The arm on yours is certainly better than most.
Click to expand...

So, where did you get this information from? Linn? According to them their tables are the best in the world.....NOT!
 
AudioSoul said:
So, where did you get this information from?
Click to expand...
That information as to the way the bearing is different is quite correct. The LP12 has a radiused tip while the Aristion has a pocket for the ball.

When you remove the platter of a RD-11s for lubrication, you should also remove the ball.
 
This TT is a bit of an enigma ... Which belt flat or square & exact size ?
Called 2 retailers - no stock for the belt. Tried the source earlier in the thread. No answer

The dampening fluid is like liquid gold Which viscosity is unclear.

I was going to remove inner platter to clean & luge spindle Also to clean perimeter of platter where belt rides.
How would I remove the "Ball" ?

I was going to put 2 boards across a couple of benches in work shop to enable working on the underside . Realized this would be helpful when I was adjusting my Thorens suspension
 
E-Stat said:
That information as to the way the bearing is different is quite correct. The LP12 has a radiused tip while the Aristion has a pocket for the ball.

When you remove the platter of a RD-11s for lubrication, you should also remove the ball.
Click to expand...

Odd, my RD 11S had the same type radius tip as a Linn.
 
Then you have one of the first Aristons the RD11, which were made by Linn, so effectively you have a LP12. Either that, or someone has modified your Ariston.m

Edit: the Rd11s was made after the Dunlop takeover. If yours shows the manufacturer as Dunlop, you have a modified deck. If it says Castle Precision Engineering anywhere, it's an RD 11.
 
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mfm22 said:
This TT is a bit of an enigma ... Which belt flat or square & exact size ?
Called 2 retailers - no stock for the belt. Tried the source earlier in the thread. No answer

The dampening fluid is like liquid gold Which viscosity is unclear.

I was going to remove inner platter to clean & luge spindle Also to clean perimeter of platter where belt rides.
How would I remove the "Ball" ?

I was going to put 2 boards across a couple of benches in work shop to enable working on the underside . Realized this would be helpful when I was adjusting my Thorens suspension
Click to expand...

This site tells you how to measure your current belt for the correct replacement:

http://www.turntableneedles.com/-TURNTABLE--RECORD-PLAYER--PHONOGRAPH_c_45.html

If your RD11S is like mine, the ball is "captive," ie you can't get it out. You can still clean the old oil out and replace it. I used a plastic pipette to suck the old oil out, added a little new oil for a rinse, then sucked that out, then added the new oil. It doesn't take much.

I prop my deck up on blocks to access the springs for adjustment. Just make sure the plinth is level before you start. It's a bit of an art to get the springs the right tension while getting the platter level. There's a definitely learning curve.
 
Thanks , I'll clean well & platter tonight .
If it's similar to Thorens not much oil is needed

I have a belt that looks OK wanted a new one for proper tension
 
http://www.gbaudio.co.uk/data/belts2.htm
Belt134 is the number I'm using.And I did ask them which belt would work.When I got mine from them the pricing was reasonable and they arrived quickly.
Not sure if this will be of help to you or not but you can find the owners manual on vinyl engine in the library.

Regards Bill
 
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