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Post by Chris on Apr 20, 2024 10:32:30 GMT -5
I keep finding great deals on my favorite turntable to restore and upgrade. This one sounds spectacular. Original HW-19 Jr (motor date 1991) with upgraded 20 pound platter and acrylic armboard. This is the first Jr I have encountered with the addon acrylic armboard. I re-lubed the motor and boiled and cleaned the clear belt and got near perfect speed results (see speed test below). Additionally, I replaced the steel ball bearing with a ceramic bearing. Ceramic is 10x smoother than steel. I ordered a bespoke Classic Six tonearm from AudioMods UK. I also picked up the fantastic sounding VAS Nova cartridge with a boron cantilever and line contact stylus. This turntable is tomb vault quiet. It's spooky. The bass and drum dynamic impact is very palpable.
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mark
Junior Member
Posts: 82
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Post by mark on Apr 21, 2024 20:08:41 GMT -5
Chris -- That looks excellent, congrats!
What led you to that particular tonearm? I don't think I'm familiar with that manufacturer.
Mark
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Post by Chris on Apr 22, 2024 9:56:53 GMT -5
Thanks Mark. I am really pleased with the results.
This is the second arm I have ordered from AudioMods. I have an earlier HW-19 on which I installed a Classic 5 AudioMods tonearm.
I am continually searching for tonearm components that represent value for money. Unfortunately, the standalone tonearm market has really gotten very pricey in recent years. Most high-end tonearms start at $2K and quickly go to as much as $10K or more.
Right now, I think AudioMods checks all the boxes for a bespoke arm (carbon fiber, VTA micrometer, etc.) but keeps the price under $2K (I paid $1400). Jeff, the owner of AudioMods, says due to parts cost inflation he will have to raise prices soon. The other price value tonearm right now is the Origin Live range which starts at about $500 for the base model Onyx. I recently installed the Onyx tonearm on yet another HW-19 (circa 1983) I revived, and it is excellent.
I love the HW-19 as a platform because of its simple elegance and ease of upgrades at a reasonable cost (I paid $350 for this one). For example, I have determined that one can drill the same armboard up to four times for fitting a tonearm. I have produced techniques to cover previous holes for better cosmetics. Also, I have recently discovered that some of the steel bearings are not captured and can be replaced with better materials like ceramic for a few dollars. There are many other details that I have documented in my three-part VPI HW-19 series on YouTube.
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mark
Junior Member
Posts: 82
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Post by mark on Jun 26, 2024 9:57:02 GMT -5
I'd been looking for a new tonearm to replace the Rega 300 that came with my AR EB101 turntable. The Rega is a fine tonearm, but very little on it can be adjusted other than tracking force and anti-skating. In fact the manufacture suggests you should spend more time listening and less fiddling with the equipment, which is a fair statement but not really my approach to hi fi! Also, the tonearm lift doesn't work that well -- in my hands its virtually impossible to raise the tonearm without it skipping across the record -- not an appealing feature. Its hard to select a new tonearm -- there are several major manufacturers and its easy to find tonearms selling for my than my car cost me. How to choose? Chris' review of the Audiomods Series Six tonearm made me aware of this brand. Jeff, the owner and maker of these tonearms, is a master craftsman who has spent years figuring out how to make an ideal tonearm, and its kind of cool to communicate with the person who is actually building your custom tonearm. With a couple of custom features and shipping, a new tonearm cost me just $1,500, and came in a month or so after I ordered. This tonearm is a marvelous piece of engineering, but its also quite delicate, so you need some steady hands to mount it and set it up. It comes with a micrometer adjustment for VTA as well as a cleverly designed anti skate set up that varies the lateral compensating force as the tonearm travels across the record. The arm lift functions with silky smoothness, and azimuth adjustments are very easy. I spent some time with the VTA adjustment and was surprised with how little effect it had on frequency response, distortion and output of the cartridge, using Analog Productions "The Ultimate Analogue Test LP" with a digital oscilloscope with FFT. You have a couple of degrees of adjustment in either direction, and basically I found virtually no difference going through the entire range of possible VTA adjustments. So, I left it at the manufacturer's recommended basic setting, which keeps the tonearm parallel to the record -- at least the micrometer adjustment setup made this easy to do. Azimuth adjustment is a different story -- output and in particular channel separation are very sensitive to small azimuth adjustments. With this tonearm, the same test record and scope, I was able to balance the separation of the two channels within 2dB, and to improve the overall channel separation to 2dB better than the figure claimed by the manufacturer. The tonearm comes with a lot of options -- in particular various counter weights and mounting plates, to make it compatible with both low and high compliance cartridges, making it a very flexible design. Finally, I think the tonearm just looks good -- the fine engineering and craftsmanship are readily apparent, and the black carbon fiber of the tonearm matches well with the polished stainless steel of the bearing/counter weight assembly -- I've attached a photo. And, I should add, I think it sounds great! Attachments:
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Post by jtsnead on Jun 26, 2024 10:48:16 GMT -5
I bought one also I was going to mount on either my SL1210GAE or my Rega P10 just have not got around to it, plus mine came with a screw missing that holds the anti skating mech to the base of the arm
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