allenh Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 I missed all the fun Boo But congrats to both on your purchases. All the Clearaudio turntables and carts I have heard and owned I have very much liked so I would hope you are both going to be like kids in sweetshops when they turn up. I've still got an Aurum Beta Classic on my Source and it's a superb cart for the money. Find a local acrylic worker. Or an art student. Or DIY. Yes I did this for one of my Pink Triangles, cost me £50 (around $75) from memory although he didn't have clear pink acrylic so made it in clear blue for me, It's much more sturdy than the original as it's made from much thicker acrylic. There are quite a few companies here in the UK that work with acrylic and I expect the US will be much the same. You might need to do them a little drawing of what you want though. if you think about it...it's basically like buying a cart and getting a free turntable. Exactly, but don't forget that superb tonearm you are getting into the bargain as well. Much jealousness over here, I'm going to have to spend some money now to compensate!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobNY Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I spent a good amount of time listening to the tt15s1 at work yesterday ( I work at a audio store). I really love the way it sounds. I think I am going to bring in my Rega P25 tomorrow and compare. If I like the Marantz a lot better I am going to buy one. I took some pictures for those of you who have them on the way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I'm really intrigued by the cartridge setup. From the setup videos I've watched, it seems almost... too easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted January 27, 2015 Author Share Posted January 27, 2015 seconded. I read a little bit about it and watched a few videos, but any setup tips are welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinch Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Since you brought it up, this video is long, but ESSENTIAL: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobNY Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Setup on the Marantz is ridiculously easy. As for the cartridge, it is setup so that when using the included cartridge you simply install the cartridge all the way to the front. I checked it with a protractor after I put it together and it was spot on. The whole assembly of the table took 20-30 minutes. Very easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 Alright. I got the turntable, went through the setup instructions and have an issue or two. 1) The lifter mechanism does not lift the arm high enough to clear the platter. The instructions are pretty clear when setting the vertical height to use the counterweight as a spacer along with the additional felt spacer if you choose to use the felt mat (I did not). It seems like there really isn't anything to screw up when setting the height. I guess I could just raise it up to address the problem, but I welcome any suggestions 2) The belt slips quite a bit when starting up. uploaded a youtube video to demonstrate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobNY Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Belt slip on startup is pretty common with some belt drive turntables ( My Rega Does it). I think the squeak it makes on the acrylic pulley is making it more noticeable. Although I have never tried it putting your belt in a ziplock bag with baby powder is supposed to help. I just give my platter a spin before I switch on the motor. The TT15 I have at work does the same thing. Not sure about the cue not lifting high enough. I will be happy to look at ours tomorrow to see if anything comes to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 That would be great. For what it's worth, here's a video of the arm lifting. it does an odd sort of pivot when it fully extends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 I found one other account that said that the recommended arm height was too low for them as well, so I went ahead and raised it to about 2.5 cm measuring from the bottom of the lift mechanism to the plinth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobNY Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 What does your VTA look like after doing that? Is the back of the tonearm higher than the front after that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 it I think it's pretty parallel. It's a little hard to tell since it angles away from me which makes it look like it a bit higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circuit bored records Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Man, I was pretty sure the tt15 was going to be my next table but after reading this thread, I'm not so sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 Man, I was pretty sure the tt15 was going to be my next table but after reading this thread, I'm not so sure! don't let my incompetence chase you off. AJXD will likely be tackling his setup tomorrow. We'll see if he has any issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
circuit bored records Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 No worries, I've been looking at that table for long enough anyway, and still wasn't planning on getting it any time soon. ajxd knows for the price I can get a new one for through my work I'd be a fool to pass it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Because he's having setup issues? Not dissing Tardcore, but it's his first rodeo with it. I had issues setting up my RPM1.3 the first time. For the belt slip, it happens. Some people give em a little push. My 1.3 motor does that. Also the cueing mech doesn't seem to even be near the arm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 yeah, that's probably not a great video...I guess I was just trying to give an unobstructed view of how high it goes in case the mechanism itself wasn't fully extending. After doing a bit of reading, I'm pretty sure that using the counter weight as a spacer to set the height just doesn't work. maybe they switched to a lower profile weight at some point and didn't update the instructions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobNY Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 If your arm is parallel with a record on and your cue is fine with it that way then all is good. As it turns out this combo worked very well with the VTA level. I didn't feel the need to adjust it. My Rega with a Blue Point special sounded aweful with the VTA parallel. I had lower the back of the arm a good amount to get it sounding good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Belt slip on startup is pretty common with some belt drive turntables ( My Rega Does it). I think the squeak it makes on the acrylic pulley is making it more noticeable. Although I have never tried it putting your belt in a ziplock bag with baby powder is supposed to help. I just give my platter a spin before I switch on the motor. The TT15 I have at work does the same thing. Not sure about the cue not lifting high enough. I will be happy to look at ours tomorrow to see if anything comes to mind. I always give belt drive tables a helping spin on start up now it makes the belts last a lot longer, also with any table that has the belt on the outside it means you see the slip and with a hidden belt you don't. As to the arm lift isn't there a separate adjustment just for the cuing lever height? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinch Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Yeah, the belt slip thing is completely normal. My clearaudio does it too. After a while the "squeeking" sound will be gone, but still, just give the platter a little spin if you remember to (I usually don't). People pre-spin the platter on their $30k tables, so you definitely don't have to feel like there's something wrong with it. Not sure I completely understand the cueing lever issue... You raised the tonearm because the lever didn't lift the arm high enough when lifted? If that's the case, you should have lowered the VTA adjustment. Either way, always set the VTA by the tracking angle of the needle, regardless of how the cueing lever comes into play. I'm sure there's a way to set the height of the cueing lever itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 I may be overlooking something. The entire arm system sits in a hole in the plinth and there is a screw on the side to tighten it in place. The directions say that in order to set the height, use the counter weight as a spacer between the plinth and the bottom of the cradle/lift mechanism. there may very well be another adjustment they aren't mentioning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinch Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Sorry, my bad, I forgot how VTA adjustment works on this one. I just googled it and yeah, you did everything correctly. I cannot find any info on the cueing lever and whether or not the height of the rest can be adjusted though. I guess it should be manufactured precisely enough to offer appropriate lift and not get in the way when down if the VTA is set just right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 we'll see what AJXD's results are. When it is raised, the lift is even with the rubber piece that holds the arm in place on the rest, so when you release it slides right over, so I guess it is being raised to the correct height. As I said, I suspect that they may have just started using a different weight at some point not thinking about the impact to the setup instructions. I will have more time to fiddle with it tonight. On a side-note. The cart is a bit nerve-wracking. I cringe every time I see it pick up a piece of fluff off the record surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I completely rebuilt/resetup all my gear. Rearranged both my setups to accomodate. I finished (or so I thought) last night and was extremely happy after 6mo of hating my setup location. Why is the cart nerve-wracking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Also my table has been out for delivery since 6... Played hookey today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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