hipsterasfolk Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 I didn't see a thread for this already in the sub-board. This can be for those considering upgrades for their set ups in relation to their TT. But what are some good upgrades that you have or plan to do for your TT? (i.e. speedbox, platter, etc.) I'll kick it off with a question: I've been researching an Acrylic platter for about a month or so, all the forums I've been reading seem to be primarily made up of Aussies or Europeans and linked to foreign sites. Right now I'm trying to figure out if a Acrylic platter would be a decent upgrade for my Debut III? I really don't noticed much static except when I play Miles Davis or acoustic based albums. So does anyone have one that they would recommend? So any help is much appreciated yocaseycasey 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearchuck Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 There are plenty of turntable upgrades and tweaks you can play around with - low capacitance rca cables (blue jeans cables or monoprice are good), different types of platter mats (I use Herbie's Way Excellent II, but you can experiment with cork, leather or even shelf liner), damping material under the platter and / or plinth, damping the tonearm, replacing old capacitors, mounting your TT on a wall shelf, sorbothane hemispheres (or even raquet balls cut in half) or cones to absorb vibration or decouple the TT from whatever it's mounted on, mounting it on a heavy slab of granite ... the list goes on. I've mentioned it before, but there are two basic things you want from a turntable: for it to be as quiet as possible (quiet spindle bearings, no rumble from the motor, no resonance from the platter or tonearm, etc etc) and for its speed to be steady and accurate. Most upgrades address these two things. If you go with the acrylic platter, the benefit isn't decreased static - although I'm not denying that it may be less static-prone than an aluminum platter - but rather, an acrylic platter is virtually resonant-free, esp. compared to whatever the stock platter is for the Debut. The real question is whether or not you'll even notice the difference. It takes a while to train your ears to hear these things. The plinth on my Dual 1229 rings like a friggin' bell and I notice it all the time. I definitely didn't at first though. For most of the tweaks I mentioned above, it's not like it's going to be a night-and-day difference, but it's always fun to experiment. Sometimes it's a collection of upgrades that ultimately lead to a really sweet-sounding TT. You just need to play around a bit, and it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. Monoprice cables are super cheap. You can buy cork at Home Depot. Damping material is pretty cheap as well. Of course, I didn't even talk about upgrading the cartridge and / or stylus. I guess that would count too. Upgrading the tonearm as well. Those two things will cost you some coin, but the difference / improvement in sound will be much more apparent than everything else I listed above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonbeams Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 I have a Debut III espirit which is a debut III with an acrylic platter. If anything else, it's stunningly gorgeous, especially with translucent vinyl as when light hits the record, it seeps through the entire platter, giving the illusion that your record is an inch deep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tankerdesk Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 I also have the acrylic platter for the debut III. I could immediately hear the difference. Very pleased with that upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannibal Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 I could immediately hear the difference.What difference did you hear? please describe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannibal Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 My recommendation to anyone that has a DebutIII is to upgrade the cartridge. No amount of tweaking or accessories can fix or improve that thing, which is the weakest link on the DebutIII and RP1 IMO. First change the cartridge(or at least upgrade the stylus to the OM10 or 20), then think about other things to improve your setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tankerdesk Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 I could immediately hear the difference.What difference did you hear? please describe. hmmm, here goes. For lack of a better way to describe the change it brought everything 'closer'. The bass smoothed out and seemed richer. Everything seemed fuller, I guess. I should dig out the old platter and compare them again, its probably been about a year since I switched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannibal Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 Having a better foundation (less resonance and vibration) will give you exactly what you described where everything sounds tighter, especially bass. With the low and mid frequency tamed and controlled, it makes everything sound fuller, without clouding the sound like wild, loose bass and mids will do. A different way of getting similar results or a way to extend your results even further is to place your turntable in a manner that helps to avoid vibration. I know that space may be an issue for some, but it doesn't have to cost you a lot. For an isolation platform, buying a thick piece of wood or gluing together a butchers block from Home Depot and buying some spikes from Amazon is not only cheap, but can be a fun project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chubbler108 Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 Does anybody have any experience using the Pro-Ject acrylic platter on an Xpression II? Does it make a big difference on that table? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymbalism15 Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 My recommendation to anyone that has a DebutIII is to upgrade the cartridge. No amount of tweaking or accessories can fix or improve that thing, which is the weakest link on the DebutIII and RP1 IMO. First change the cartridge(or at least upgrade the stylus to the OM10 or 20), then think about other things to improve your setup. How much will that be fixed on the carbon? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannibal Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 The Carbon has the ortofon 2M Red. Still entry level, but much better than the OM5e on the DebutIII. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakes8993 Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 I didn't see a thread for this already in the sub-board. This can be for those considering upgrades for their set ups in relation to their TT.But what are some good upgrades that you have or plan to do for your TT? (i.e. speedbox, platter, etc.) I'll kick it off with a question: I've been researching an Acrylic platter for about a month or so, all the forums I've been reading seem to be primarily made up of Aussies or Europeans and linked to foreign sites. Right now I'm trying to figure out if a Acrylic platter would be a decent upgrade for my Debut III? I really don't noticed much static except when I play Miles Davis or acoustic based albums. So does anyone have one that they would recommend? So any help is much appreciated I have the 1Xpression III and it has the white/clear acrylic platter. I don't know if it helps any, but it looks fucking cool. As to upgrades I have the Speedbox II and the "Record Puck". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakes8993 Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 Does anybody have any experience using the Pro-Ject acrylic platter on an Xpression II? Does it make a big difference on that table? I don't know about the II but see my response above on the III. I figure that if it doesn't hurt the play of the record, why not make the TT look good? Especially if you are buying Pro-Ject stuff. They are a good mix of functionality, quality, "affordability", and just general bad ass looking-ness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tankerdesk Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 Does anybody have any experience using the Pro-Ject acrylic platter on an Xpression II? Does it make a big difference on that table? Will the acrylic platter work for that TT? I'm sure it would, but I guess you better check first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymbalism15 Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 I didn't see a thread for this already in the sub-board. This can be for those considering upgrades for their set ups in relation to their TT.But what are some good upgrades that you have or plan to do for your TT? (i.e. speedbox, platter, etc.) I'll kick it off with a question: I've been researching an Acrylic platter for about a month or so, all the forums I've been reading seem to be primarily made up of Aussies or Europeans and linked to foreign sites. Right now I'm trying to figure out if a Acrylic platter would be a decent upgrade for my Debut III? I really don't noticed much static except when I play Miles Davis or acoustic based albums. So does anyone have one that they would recommend? So any help is much appreciated I have the 1Xpression III and it has the white/clear acrylic platter. I don't know if it helps any, but it looks fucking cool. As to upgrades I have the Speedbox II and the "Record Puck". How would you change the speed without the speedbox? Also, does the record puck make a noticable difference? a $75 difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakes8993 Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 I have the 1Xpression III and it has the white/clear acrylic platter. I don't know if it helps any, but it looks fucking cool. As to upgrades I have the Speedbox II and the "Record Puck". How would you change the speed without the speedbox? Also, does the record puck make a noticable difference? a $75 difference? You move the belt up and down manually. Remove the platter, move the belt, replace the platter, play the record. Repeat. I got used to it, but I got a deal on the speedbox and really didn't like putting my greasy fingers all over the acrylic each time I wanted to change the speed so I bit the bullet. Often i would just play records with like speeds so i didnt have to keep going back and forth. Well I didn't pay $75 bucks for the puck ($50) but it does actually help with some warping and tracking plus it looks nice with the set up. I don't regret spending the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymbalism15 Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 How would you change the speed without the speedbox? Also, does the record puck make a noticable difference? a $75 difference? You move the belt up and down manually. Remove the platter, move the belt, replace the platter, play the record. Repeat. I got used to it, but I got a deal on the speedbox and really didn't like putting my greasy fingers all over the acrylic each time I wanted to change the speed so I bit the bullet. Often i would just play records with like speeds so i didnt have to keep going back and forth. Well I didn't pay $75 bucks for the puck ($50) but it does actually help with some warping and tracking plus it looks nice with the set up. I don't regret spending the money. Helps with warp? I read somewhere that it can force the middle down and the edges up into a sort of bowl shape but I'd be interested to hear what you think! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakes8993 Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 You move the belt up and down manually. Remove the platter, move the belt, replace the platter, play the record. Repeat. I got used to it, but I got a deal on the speedbox and really didn't like putting my greasy fingers all over the acrylic each time I wanted to change the speed so I bit the bullet. Often i would just play records with like speeds so i didnt have to keep going back and forth. Well I didn't pay $75 bucks for the puck ($50) but it does actually help with some warping and tracking plus it looks nice with the set up. I don't regret spending the money. Helps with warp? I read somewhere that it can force the middle down and the edges up into a sort of bowl shape but I'd be interested to hear what you think! Nothing too outrageous with warp but I have noticed that albums that did come up a little stayed down with the puck. Then again, some didn't. I can't imagine a bowl effect happening though. That would be some poorly constructed vinyl if that happened. The puck isn't that heavy. Just make sure that the manufacturer doesn't give any warnings against the pucks or clamps. Pro-ject recommended its use on my particular table. There were other Pro-ject tables that they said not to use the pucks on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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