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Gemini 500 XL 2

J

joemg

Member
My friend gave me a Gemini 500 XL 2 for free (he used to be a dj). It's in great shape and I just ordered a Shure M97xe cartridge to replace the dj catrdige he had in it.

i'm also making some isolation feet, putting a cork mat on it, and making a record clamp.

Is there anything else i should do to maximize the potential of this deck?

from what i've read, it's not a great deck, but all the specs seem good.
22lbs
.02% WRMS
56db unweighted rumble (which I assume will get better with some of my mods)

it looks like a knockoff Technics 1200 (almost identical appearance). Wondering if it would be worth finding a broken 1200 and swapping the tonearms if that's possible?

any advice is appreciated.

btw, this is my first turntable... very new to vinyl.
 
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I don't think it's possible to swap a Technics SL-1200mk2 arm for the one on the Gemini deck. It looks like you are stuck with the Gemini arm whether you want to or not. I have a Gemini deck that I fitted a different arm to a couple of years ago, there was a slight improvement but it was a lot of work for very little gain.
 
soundman2 said:
I don't think it's possible to swap a Technics SL-1200mk2 arm for the one on the Gemini deck. It looks like you are stuck with the Gemini arm whether you want to or not. I have a Gemini deck that I fitted a different arm to a couple of years ago, there was a slight improvement but it was a lot of work for very little gain.
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figured as much... I plan on getting something higher end when the opportunity presents itself (have my eyes on some nice Sansui decks from the late 70s).

anything else i can or should do to this deck until that day?
 
If it doesn't have a heavy rubber-like mat, get one and forget the cork as it can't damp platter ringing.
 
Put the cork in top of the rubber mat if you want and it doesn't mess up the arm leveling procedure. Making things sound "different" with a mat change is easy, "better" not so much.
You can tap the platter with a fingertip with the mat on and off to hear the damping effect of the mat alone. Add a flat record and tap again. The record shouldn't sound like a piece of cardboard in the air, it should sound dull and no ringing from the platter.
 
Pio1980 said:
Put the cork in top of the rubber mat if you want and it doesn't mess up the arm leveling procedure. Making things sound "different" with a mat change is easy, "better" not so much.
You can tap the platter with a fingertip with the mat on and off to hear the damping effect of the mat alone. Add a flat record and tap again. The record shouldn't sound like a piece of cardboard in the air, it should sound dull and no ringing from the platter.
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good to know, i will try that.
 
IMO there won't be anything else to improve the Gemini, save your money and put it towards another table like the Sansui that's higher up the food chain.
 
I own a Shure M97XE and a Gemini XL-DD30 can tell you that the lightweight m97 will not work well, it will be very skip happy, You will be much happier with cart designed for a DJ Turntable, such as a Stanton 500.
 
weasel2htm said:
I own a Shure M97XE and a Gemini XL-DD30 can tell you that the lightweight m97 will not work well, it will be very skip happy, You will be much happier with cart designed for a DJ Turntable, such as a Stanton 500.
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that sucks... what causes it to skip, exactly? defects in the record or vibration? if the table is properly isolated, will skipping be an issue?
 
The Audio Technica AT95E cartridge is a good choice for a DJ deck, they work very well with the Gemini arm. A versatile cartridge.:yes:

Set that to 1.75 grams tracking weight and away you go!
 
how do you know what cartridge works better for what deck? just from experience, or is there a way to know ahead of time?

(i'm VERY new to turntables)
 
The Gemini is a hip hop DJ table. Meaning they like high mass rugged cartridges as a rule. The M 97xE likes low mass tonearms. The AT 95e works great on this one until you can upgrade.
 
The Gemini 500 seems to be a kissin' cousin to Audio-Technicas "PL" and "LP" 120s. On switching tonearms I discovered that the PL120 tonearm base's diameter is smaller than the SL1200's base. If the Gemini's platter resonates when tapped like the PL120's, a cork mat will help a little with dampening, but a 1/8-inch Technics rubber mat is much better. Plus the rubber mat won't leave little brown crumbs on the bottom side of LPs like aged cork mats will. The heavier and thicker 3/16-inch Technics mat overdampens.
 
ec1st said:
The Gemini 500 seems to be a kissin' cousin to Audio-Technicas "PL" and "LP" 120s. On switching tonearms I discovered that the PL120 tonearm base's diameter is smaller than the SL1200's base. If the Gemini's platter resonates when tapped like the PL120's, a cork mat will help a little with dampening, but a 1/8-inch Technics rubber mat is much better. Plus the rubber mat won't leave little brown crumbs on the bottom side of LPs like aged cork mats will. The heavier and thicker 3/16-inch Technics mat overdampens.
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ahh, very good info.

yes, the platter does ring... and if you just put the stock rubber mat, there's still a little ringing if you tap it.

What exactly do you mean by "overdampening"... i didn't realize that could happen.
 
I tried both Technics mats on my PL120. The thick 3/16" mat seemed to take the life out of music - there was no depth, no echo, none of those borderline perceptible things that let you know there are other things in a recording besides a melody and supporting mush behind it. The thin 1/8" mat left lots of space and quiet for tiny sounds and those all too important cymbal sounds for rock music to be revealed. And it had enough mass to turn the platter's inherent ringing into a nearly dead 'thud'. So far that mat is what lets my PL120 successfully compete with my Technics 1210Mk5. It never wins, but it's second place finish is much closer than it used to be.

I also have a Technics SL-B303 (belt driven) and a D303 (direct drive) turntables, both fully automatic. With my AT-PL120 set up the way it is it is difficult to to find a cartridge in my collection which lets them approach what I hear from the PL120. This feels as wrong as having a 1949 Volkswagen Beetle win the 24 Hours of Les Mans, but that's the way things are as I hear them. Maybe I should add that most of my listening happens in Grado 125 or 225 headphones.
 
ec1st said:
I tried both Technics mats on my PL120. The thick 3/16" mat seemed to take the life out of music - there was no depth, no echo, none of those borderline perceptible things that let you know there are other things in a recording besides a melody and supporting mush behind it. The thin 1/8" mat left lots of space and quiet for tiny sounds and those all too important cymbal sounds for rock music to be revealed. And it had enough mass to turn the platter's inherent ringing into a nearly dead 'thud'. So far that mat is what lets my PL120 successfully compete with my Technics 1210Mk5. It never wins, but it's second place finish is much closer than it used to be.

I also have a Technics SL-B303 (belt driven) and a D303 (direct drive) turntables, both fully automatic. With my AT-PL120 set up the way it is it is difficult to to find a cartridge in my collection which lets them approach what I hear from the PL120. This feels as wrong as having a 1949 Volkswagen Beetle win the 24 Hours of Les Mans, but that's the way things are as I hear them. Maybe I should add that most of my listening happens in Grado 125 or 225 headphones.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the explanation, that makes sense.
 
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