Prefix
Active Member
Well, I received the box on Monday but opened it up on Tuesday. Excited is an understatement. When you wait a month on something anticipation builds like a roller coaster.
When I got to it the box was very beautiful.
It had my name on it with all the details. It also came with the "manual" and information. I abstained from pulling everything out and losing parts. I carefully read through everything (really just to build excitement) and then began to dig in.
Packaged were all the goodies. [Tone Arm with wiring, screws, counter weight, anti skate weight...etc.] I was so excited that I forgot that I had to take out my TP-16 and replace it. Now, granted I did a few extra things (damping in a few areas and removal of tp-16 cueing mechanism) to my thorens while it was under the knife, it took me several hours to fix the audiomods arm into my 160.
Here is the table ready to be worked on. Saran Wrap with rubber band around bearing well.
My sub-chassis did not allow for the rega arm so I had to relieve it on the side in order to get the audiomod to drop down into place. I do not own a hack saw and I do not own a dremel. I did not want to wait so what I did was use a pair of heavy duty pliers and began bending back the edge of the sub chassis. After an hour or so I finally got it back far enough to drop the arm in. I was very relieved to be done with the process. All-in-all it was not that bad and anyone with a few tools can do so.
Here is a photo of the Sound Support plate on my deck with part of the arm dropped in.
Next I attached the cartridge with the leads and lightly screwed it down.
I used the protractor that came with the arm. I am not quite sure what kind it is but I think it is a hybrid geared for the arm. I will try the baerwarld from vinylengine tonight or tomorrow to check the difference. Alignment wasn't all that bad but I can see how people can become frustrated. I would like to have a mirrored protractor and a fozgometer but those can come later. The HI Fi News Test Record really helped me set the antiskate. I haven't really messed with it too much but am sure it will be supremely beneficial for years to come.
By this time it was 3 A.M. and I put on Beck's "Sea Change".
wow. I was so happy.
The imaging increased by a couple of feet. I sit about 8ft from my speakers so an increase of a couple of feet in breadth was enormous. Sounds seemed to surround me. Single notes would appear behind my head and then disappear. The album features a strong mix of acoustic and electric so I was able to really understand the dynamic range of the arm and cart combo.
At 7.3 grams, the DV10x5 is too light for the fully weighted counterweight so right now I have the light aluminum shim on and removed a piece (or two?) from the counterweight. It is hard to see the three pieces of lead individually on the counterweight. What I might do is add more weight to the counterweight and increase the shim to the medium brass shim. Who knows though...I am sure I could calculate all of this but I don't mind experimenting. Here is a photo of the tail end minus some lead on the counterweight.
Finally here is a larger picture with everything in it. Note that I removed the cueing mechanism. I plan on covering it with either a circular level or a stainless steel hole plug.
First impressions with my setup...
I really like the look of the arm in person. I think the bead blasted finish works wonderfully with the 160's top plate and platter. The brass looks quite nice and I am glad that I chose to stick with it. I like the plastic arm lock because it actually locks the arm down where as the metal upgrade only holds it. The cueing mechanism of the tp-16 was a luxury. While cueing up and down with the audiomods isn't hard or dangerous it certainly isn't as easy as the tp-16...but it really doesn't bother me. If you are up in the air about it, go for the finger-lock VTA. It is very nice and helpful.
I can't really speak too much about the DV10x5 yet but I am sure that we will be best friends for years to come.
I will continue to write about the sound and try and answer any questions. Please feel free to ask. Also, anyone with suggestions please let me know. If you see anything that looks wrong or looks like it could be improved please let me know. I have never aligned a cartridge nor have I ever put in a rega style arm before.
-sam
When I got to it the box was very beautiful.
It had my name on it with all the details. It also came with the "manual" and information. I abstained from pulling everything out and losing parts. I carefully read through everything (really just to build excitement) and then began to dig in.
Packaged were all the goodies. [Tone Arm with wiring, screws, counter weight, anti skate weight...etc.] I was so excited that I forgot that I had to take out my TP-16 and replace it. Now, granted I did a few extra things (damping in a few areas and removal of tp-16 cueing mechanism) to my thorens while it was under the knife, it took me several hours to fix the audiomods arm into my 160.
Here is the table ready to be worked on. Saran Wrap with rubber band around bearing well.
My sub-chassis did not allow for the rega arm so I had to relieve it on the side in order to get the audiomod to drop down into place. I do not own a hack saw and I do not own a dremel. I did not want to wait so what I did was use a pair of heavy duty pliers and began bending back the edge of the sub chassis. After an hour or so I finally got it back far enough to drop the arm in. I was very relieved to be done with the process. All-in-all it was not that bad and anyone with a few tools can do so.
Here is a photo of the Sound Support plate on my deck with part of the arm dropped in.
Next I attached the cartridge with the leads and lightly screwed it down.
I used the protractor that came with the arm. I am not quite sure what kind it is but I think it is a hybrid geared for the arm. I will try the baerwarld from vinylengine tonight or tomorrow to check the difference. Alignment wasn't all that bad but I can see how people can become frustrated. I would like to have a mirrored protractor and a fozgometer but those can come later. The HI Fi News Test Record really helped me set the antiskate. I haven't really messed with it too much but am sure it will be supremely beneficial for years to come.
By this time it was 3 A.M. and I put on Beck's "Sea Change".
wow. I was so happy.
The imaging increased by a couple of feet. I sit about 8ft from my speakers so an increase of a couple of feet in breadth was enormous. Sounds seemed to surround me. Single notes would appear behind my head and then disappear. The album features a strong mix of acoustic and electric so I was able to really understand the dynamic range of the arm and cart combo.
At 7.3 grams, the DV10x5 is too light for the fully weighted counterweight so right now I have the light aluminum shim on and removed a piece (or two?) from the counterweight. It is hard to see the three pieces of lead individually on the counterweight. What I might do is add more weight to the counterweight and increase the shim to the medium brass shim. Who knows though...I am sure I could calculate all of this but I don't mind experimenting. Here is a photo of the tail end minus some lead on the counterweight.
Finally here is a larger picture with everything in it. Note that I removed the cueing mechanism. I plan on covering it with either a circular level or a stainless steel hole plug.
First impressions with my setup...
I really like the look of the arm in person. I think the bead blasted finish works wonderfully with the 160's top plate and platter. The brass looks quite nice and I am glad that I chose to stick with it. I like the plastic arm lock because it actually locks the arm down where as the metal upgrade only holds it. The cueing mechanism of the tp-16 was a luxury. While cueing up and down with the audiomods isn't hard or dangerous it certainly isn't as easy as the tp-16...but it really doesn't bother me. If you are up in the air about it, go for the finger-lock VTA. It is very nice and helpful.
I can't really speak too much about the DV10x5 yet but I am sure that we will be best friends for years to come.
I will continue to write about the sound and try and answer any questions. Please feel free to ask. Also, anyone with suggestions please let me know. If you see anything that looks wrong or looks like it could be improved please let me know. I have never aligned a cartridge nor have I ever put in a rega style arm before.
-sam
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Plus mine didn't have a stylus guard (it's the "nude" one in my avatar picture btw, if you're wondering what it looks like under the hood). 
