"Clearly" a Very Worthwhile RP1 Modification!


Interestingly as Joe of Chicago put it : " 'Clearly'... is a Very Worthwhile RP1 Modification! ...."

"You are right, I'm a very happy man with the new plinth!" Joe said after upgrading to the acrylic plinth.

Let's not waste a single minute, take a look now at Joe's  new "Clearly" upgrade:

New look with the Acrylic Plinth

I have been adding Michael's modifications to my Rega RP1 for over a year now, each one of them taking my modest RP1 to a whole new level. I felt there was still one very important component that could use improving and that was the plinth itself. At first I asked Michael if he had a Planar 3 plinth that he could sell me, which would be an excellent upgrade in itself. He did; however he told me he was testing a new mod, an acrylic plinth, and said he could have one made for me that would be a replacement for the RP1 MDF plinth. I jumped at the chance and ordered one! 

After just two weeks the new plinth arrived and I began the project of replacing my white MDF plinth with the acrylic plinth. First of all, I need to say that the plinth is visually stunning! It certainly passed "the wife-acceptance factor" as my wife said it was absolutely beautiful, something she has never previously said in regards to any part of my turntable! However it was the very low resonance properties of the acrylic material itself that made me interested in using it to improve the sound of my deck. In that area it really excels, and I am very happy with the results. I have the plinth model that is made to accommodate the motor isolation base which, in turn, rests on the acrylic isolation base. A perfect match! Here are some photos of the project and my initial listening notes 

PHOTO 1: 

The plinth comes with three sets of aluminum feet consisting of an upper and lower lock nut with rubber O ring seals. This makes for easy leveling and allows you to screw the aluminum feet mod directly to the lock nuts with the provided screw. Very well thought out on Michael’s part! 



 PHOTO 2: 

Close up of lock nut in place, with screw for threading Michael’s aluminum feet. 




 PHOTO 2B: 

The finished aluminum foot in place with lock nut bolts. Rubber foot inverted and filled with sand, then inserted into aluminum foot. 




 PHOTO 3: 

Next I added the top aluminum brace mod. I used a silicone adhesive for bonding the metal to the acrylic. Note that Michael provides two screws with lock nut washers to help fully secure the bracing to the plinth. 




 PHOTO 4: 

Next I positioned the Plinth over the motor isolation base. Note the pre-cut square opening that allows easy positioning of the base under the plinth. This also allows for very accurate alignment of the double belts with the sub-platter. 





PHOTO 5: 

Close up of the motor isolation base with double pulley and double belts. Perfect center alignment! A lower position of the belts on the sub platter is fine as well. 




 PHOTO 6: 

Rega RB 300 tone arm in place. The acrylic plinth and the acrylic isolation base now act as one unified platform for the TT, providing for a great amount of vibration isolation. This has added one great improvement over the MDF stock plinth for my deck. 





 PHOTO 7: 

For any readers interested in the two modules below my deck, they are, at left, a PSU made by Falcon Industries and its accompanying tachometer (The Road Runner) which gives constant feedback to the PSU to correct for speed inconsistencies in the belt drive. The PSU allows for incremental speed correction. I highly recommend this PSU and tach; they offer many major features not found on the Rega PSU or on the Music Hall PSU, in my opinion. This is not an endorsement of these products, just my evaluation. Note that as a testament to Michael’s double pulley and double silicon belt mods, my TT is reading 33.3 steady out to 3 decimal places! This would be reason enough to apply his dual pulley/dual belt mod. This reading was not possible with the stock or the white Rega single belt. 





SOUND IMPRESSIONS: 

My Initial listening impressions are as follows: 

The addition of the acrylic plinth improves the sound in many areas. Mostly my LP’s play louder without having to turn up the volume as much as previously. I suppose this has to do with the acrylic plinth’s unique isolation properties over MDF or solid wood. I do not know if it is a better material than solid wood or perhaps slate; however I can hear an improved substantial difference over the MDF material. Bass is tighter and deeper without distortion. The midrange is more fluid, and the highs are more accurate and natural sounding. The plinth is definitely allowing the RB300 and my Ortofon M2 Blue to pass on more information to my amp stages. There is detail in the music now that I have not heard previously, and the soundstage is wider with more air and transparency around the instruments. All in all, the improvements are not subtle! I highly recommend this mod. You will not be dissapointed in the sonic improvements it will make to your deck. 

Joe Borzetta, 
Chicago, IL




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Michael Lim Acrylic Plinth



Clear Acrylic Plinth only
Model CAP1 : USD160.00
So far is there anybody requesting for an acrylic plinth ? You may wonder. Yes, those turntable enthusiasts who believe acrylic plinth has low resonance property, making it a good choice for TT plinth, can't wait for me to add this to my list of Michael Lim upgrade accessories. Sorry for the long wait as I have been experimenting it all this while, both with and without bracings. 

Personally, I find it sounds best when braced. But of course the choice is yours! 

Fresh from the oven, here it is! the new Clear Michael Lim Acrylic Plinth!

To maintain "low mass's concept", well-loved by many, the thickness of the acrylic plinth is kept at 18mm(~3/4"). It is designed basically compatible with stock lid of Rega turntables. It is compatible with all new tonearms with 3-point mount as well as old models like RB100/RB250/RM300/RB600. You can also add a 3-point stainless steel spacer and enjoy the wing nuts tweak too. 

It is a suitable for DIY turntable projects and compatible with some Rega  models (P1-P5, Planar2/3, RP1-RP6 ) and some Goldring/NAD models. 



The clear acrylic Plinth (CAP1, picture below) can retrofit the stock rubber feet or my aluminium feet/ adjustable aluminium feet without problem. However, with adjustable feet plinth height  adjustment and levelling are now a breeze!

My P3-24 replaced with Braced Acrylic Plinth

My RP6 replaced with Braced Acrylic Plinth
One of the main concern of acrylic plinth is rigidity and this is well taken care of by coupling it with the top alloy bracing and bottom stainless steel bracing. 


                                 
Another useful feature of the acrylic plinth is now belt tension is adjustable ( a feature found in many higher series of expensive TT's ) be it motor mounted on-board or motor off-board using motor isolation base.

*Reasons for belt tension adjustment :
Firstly, 60Hz pulley has a smaller diameter than 50Hz unit, thus belt tension is different.
Secondly, the belt tends to get loose over time, so the need to adjust the belt tension to optimum.



How is it, this new TT of mine?

Beautiful...... both look and sound wise!

Try out and hear for yourself! Hearing is believing !

Happy Tweaking! Remember to specify the model when you place order.

NEW : Acrylic plinth with Add-on color skeletal top 

Introducing to you now the new clear acrylic plinths with add-on color skeletal tops. Available in glossy blacks, white, red, yellow and orange.

The color skeletal top not only add colors to the plinth but increase its rigidity which is critical to good sonic improvement to the TT. These color tops are glued and bolted to the basic clear acrylic plinth.

You would definitely love a TT which not only sounds good to the ears but also looks beautiful to the eyes! I believe the new "colored"acrylic plinths need no further explanation!


Clear Acrylic Plinth with add-on skeletal top
Model CAPEX: USD185.00







Ken Kimata of Arlington Hts with his upgraded Rega Planar 3 commented:

Hello Michael
I assembled. It is very good!
Ken                                                                                                                                                           







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Upgrading NAD533



Paul's upgraded NAD533

Paul of New York, who owns a number of newer Thorens automatic turntables, bought a manual value-for-money NAD533 deck to tweak. No hassle, NAD 533 shares the same benefits as Rega decks when comes to tweaking.  So he gladly begins with stainless steel pulley, aluminium sub-platter, stainless steel underslung counterweight, acrylic platter and top alloy bracing.

Paul is a fast worker and comments and pictures are sent in real quick! Thanks Paul!

Here are the pictures and comments. Enjoy!


Micheal, 

Find the attached before and after photos, table sounds great, everything is much more defined and open. I have intermediate photos as well if you need any, just let me know, thanks again, Paul



Pulley,sub-platter,counterweight and top bracing upgrades




Acrylic Platter upgrade



Thanks Paul.





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Stainless steel dual pulley - this little but critical component may not mean much to many TT owners, but it's really very sentimental to me. Five years ago (2009), I tweaked my own Rega TT and shared my experience and results on the net. Not knowing that as a result, many became interested to get some of my upgrade products for their  Rega TT.'s...

It turns out I have the whole list of upgrade items now for Rega TT's. I am glad to have this hobby to keep myself occupied after retirement. And in this website, I also encourage Rega tweakers to share their experiences so that others can learn from their experience.

John Burle of Texas has added stainless steel dual pulley and belts to his Rega RP3 recently and he's happy with the sonic improvements : 

Mr. Lim 

Thanks for such a fantastic product. I must agree with all the other testimonies. Tighter bass , lower noise floor, natural extended treble and toe tapping dynamics. The only bad thing is that my lp collection is now all disorganized because I've been pulling albums down much fast than I up them back up. 








Thanks


Thanks, John!




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