If you would remember, Peter Kisilenko, a professional musician in Canada had shared with us earlier on dual pulley upgrade for his fully modded RP3 TT. As he had mentioned that most probably this would be his last upgrade for the RP3 TT, I didn't expect to hear from him again.
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I was quite surprised (but really glad) when he contacted me recently. Indeed it's good news to me that he'd decided to use my upgrades for his new hybrid mono TT. Also, it's so kind of him promising to send some pictures to share with us here. One important point to take note on his motor base installation is: he had removed the circuit board from the plinth to have a out-board/detached motor. I had also discussed how to do this in my post :"How to make out-board motor". In fact this "outboard motor" can be "shared" by different Rega TT's you have since it is detached completely from the plinth and you won't be playing both TT's at the same time.
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Try it out ... and you may like it ! (the detached motor not only can be shared, but also easy for moving the TT's around). 
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Here's the note and pictures sent by Peter : 

"Hi Michael,

As promised here are some photos of my P2-P3 hybrid mono TT. The table consists of the motor, circuit board, bearing, cover and feet from a Planar 2 and the  Rega 303 arm from my RP3 that are mounted on a P3 plinth that was given to me. The cartridge is an Audio-Technica Mono 3 LP. 

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All the other parts are from you - the acrylic platter,motor isolation, motor thrust bearing, aluminum subplatter, standard pulley and silicon belt. My RP3 now has an Audiomods classic arm.

I decided to mount the circuit board in a small box and use an in-line on-off switch on the power cable (excellent idea! Peter).

Here's how it looks under the table.

Here's a top view showing the subplatter and pulley.

Here's the complete table. 

It's a great sounding TT with rock solid speed stability and zero noise. Your upgrades made a huge difference!

Here are the two TT's side by side. The RP3 on the left has your double pulley installed.

It's great fun modifying Rega TTs and your parts have been a big part of the fun.

Cheers,

Peter      "

Thanks for sharing the experience with us, Peter!

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Francisco from Holland had recently done something terrific to his Rega P3-24 TT. Guess what, he had given up Rega TT's "slim look" and went for "heavyweight"!

When he first communicated with me on his project, I told him very frankly that so far I haven't tried anything heavier than the 51mm (2") fiberboard mentioned in my earlier post. Birch ply plinth? Read about it and its sonic improvement in quite a number of places. Indeed, very tempted to try it out myself one of these days.

Yes, it would definitely sound different as many have claimed. But how different .... ?

Let's take a look at Francisco's "heavyweight" marine ply birch plinth for his P3-24. It seemed to be a "no sweat" project for him as he has completed it real fast. He has also sent me some pictures of his new TT to share with other enthusiast around the world.

Thanks, Francisco!

And here's his invaluable experience:

" the final result is astounding to say the least, i was really not expecting this much difference. just to give you an idea my wife that could not care less about hi-fi, was the first time that she sat down and listened,and made remarks for that matter, all positive also.  the plinth was made from five layers of marine ply birch, and veneered with real wedge African wood, the veneer is 6mm all round ,so is a very heavy , sturdy and solid plinth, as for the people that say that you can't have both the PRaT and timing of regas and the detail, subterranean bass and image focus at the same time ,.....well i so which they could be here to prove them wrong.  i am really a converted to the sound of heavy plinths,in good fairness the base is still rega parts , with of course your parts also, i am now really convinced that the plinth is really the weak link in the rega sound, of course in relation to price also.  i am sorry if i am going to be over the top , but i think that at the moment and having heard some of them at that price ,i can compare my turntable to some costing between 3000 , and maybe going to 4000,5000 euros. i know it's difficult to believe , but it's sounding that good.  to give you an example, i was listening to some jazz album , and noted what i taught was a truck passing by, well it wasn't, i have turned the same music on the same album again, and there it was, real sub bass information, you know how am i shure, ....once more my wife also noted the same. simply beautiful, as you have noticed by now, i am over the top happy with my new diy turntable.  this is one to keep, i wish you could hear it.   i applied a mix of two ''schools'' of thinking, for one the heavy mass plinth approach , for another one the rega ''thinking'' that the motor should be near the subplatter for more accurate turning, so i ''diged'' a hole nearby the subplatter at exactly the same distance as the rega is, and at exactly the same depth that it was when decoupled with your isolation base, also an advantage is that it got more ''compact'' for transport and maintenance. with the heavy plinth i feel like all parts are working to a maximum required,the subplatter for example turns even more smoothly , in fact i almost can't tell it is turning , even when looking nearby and the tonearm is rock solid on the plinth.... i am now officially done , otherwise my wife is going to freak out !"  Francisco

For those who are considering changing not only the slim look, but looking for improvement on sound as well, hope this is a good reference for you.

Good luck in trying ......

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When it comes to Rega upgrades, NAD 555i enjoys the same benefits of sonic improvements too.

Johan Wallstrom of Sweden shares with us his system with the following mods: stainless steel pulley(33.3/45rpm) and belts, aluminium subplatter and acrylic platter :

Pictures : courtesy of Johan Wallstrom of Sweden 

NAD555i with upgrades

Aluminium subplatter

Acrylic platter

Johan Wallstrom' s feedback on the upgrades :

The sub-platter and acrylic platter runs smooth and I have already noticed a reduction in background noise and clearer sound. Bravo! I'll get back to you when I have listened some more......   My system: Naim uniti + Naim StageLine phonostage, Harbeth HL-P3ES-2 speakers, NAD C55i TT Johan Wallström

Thanks, Johan.

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It's my world of MATS!

Record mat is the best record mate - it cushions the record from the platter; it provides record good grip and support. Some (depending on the materials) can even offer dampening/isolating bearing rumble and vibrations from the platter and record ....

"Delicious donuts"

More importantly, many find record mats of different materials or designs do make a difference to their turntables. We might not be able to understand fully the science part of it, but we can tell from what we hear. It's not necessary to apply "exact science" theory here, so long as we like it! Simple.

Music - listen with heart is more enjoying than listen with mind.

There are various record mats in the market. Common ones are made of rubber, felt, wool, cork, leather, acrylic, rubber/cork ....... ; even copper mat is available.

Rubber-cork mat (2mm) : USD 22.00
Acrylic mat (2mm) :  USD 20.00

What is the best for your TT? The answer is : Let your EARS decide. It's not surprising that you get different opinions from different people(often quite subjective). So you would have to try out for yourself to find out what is the best for your system (to your liking). Also different TT excels with different mat, e.g. I find rubber/cork mat atop a 2mm acrylic mat (crazy?), works best for my heavy-platter Lenco L75 turntable.

Leather mat/ spot mat

Have you heard of "oiled"-acrylic mat produces good results on Lenco L75 TT too? (remember to oil only the side facing the platter if you are adventurous to try!)

Rega's thin stock felt mat though looks very colorful and match well with their multi-colour plinths, it's just not my taste. So from felt mat, I move on to wool mat; then leather mat... then acrylic... then cork ... then rubber/cork ....

I've tried and experimented various combo (retiree, plenty of time!):

Wool mat + glass platter

Acrylic mat + glass platter

Cork mat + acrylic platter

Rubber/cork mat + acrylic platter

................. + ......................

"Wool + glass combo" is a bit too bright for me. Cork mat seems better. But music sounds best to me with rubber/cork mat on acrylic platter for my modded Rega TT's. So most of time rubber/cork mat stays on my TT. And I always recommend to my friends to try "rubber/cork mat + acrylic platter combo" especially for those who feel that the high frequency part seems to be a bit too bright.

Rubber/cork mat + acrylic platter combo

However, it also boils down to individual preference.

The good thing is - you can change them back and forth as your mood swings. No hard and fast rules actually.

Another important point not to be overlooked is correct VTA for the thickness of mat added. Small adjustments can be done easily by using stainless steel VTA spacers.

May I welcome you to join this quest in the "mat-mad" world!

Roger Clarke's comments on rubber/cork mat:

Hi Michael,  Here are my impressions of the rubber/cork mat. At first, I had preferred the sound of the felt mat because it had a punchier mid-bass which made male voices sound slightly richer and sweeter but on further observation the rubber/cork mat didn't effect the male voices in a negative way. What it did was to clean the mid-bass region which allowed images to more focused and clearer. The lower bass seemed to dig a bit deeper with even better control. I told you earlier how the sound of the Planar 3 TT was clearer with the addition of the thrust bearing, metal pulley, silicone belt and ruby bearing, well it got even better with the rubber/cork mat added to the equation. More precise and natural with good control of sibilance and that is with an inexpensive(cheap) cartridge. I've listened to an album that I had for years and I can't remember it sounding this good. I'm almost 50 yrs old and grew up with TTs but never gave much thought to how critical and crucial things like VTA and cartridge alignment effected the sound until reading and researching such helpful sites as yours and Vinyl Engine. I just want to thank you for your impeccable knowledge and help and for also bringing the fun back into audio that was stolen from us all when the industry gave us "Perfect Sound Forever" when truth be told we already had it with vinyl, reel-to-reel and cassette. I'll have to budget and get the sub-platter next, then the isolation base and then the counter weight.  Once again Michael, I thank you so very much!!  Best regards,  Roger

Note : 2mm Rubber Cork Mat price is reduced from USD25.00 to USD22.00 wef 16/3/2015

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Mark Lewis of London has recently upgraded his plinth to solid birch ply (contrary to Rega's design of light plinth) for sound purpose. According to Mark, there's huge improvement on the basic plinth. He has also attached some pictures to share with us here: 

" Hi Michael,

I am the proud owner of a Rega Quest Birch plinth Upgraded NAD (which is a P2 clone)....
I have attached pictures showing the addition of your stainless steel double pulley to my set-up...."

Take a look; it's very nice and who knows, you may be adventurous to try it one of these days! By the way I haven't tried solid ply for Rega yet. Should I .... ?

Pictures : courtesy of Mark Lewis of London

Mark has tried aluminium double pulley before and he finds stainless steel double pulley does make a difference :

I found no issue in removing the old pulley, some delicate fingers and it was off. I am also very impressed with ease in which this can be installed. No messy glue! Once the stainless steel version was installed (it took me 5mins), I have been shocked at the difference. The turntable effortlessly glides through my music now. I have actually used the standard Rega aluminum double pulley before, which did have some impact, but your stainless steel really makes a huge difference. Looks great as well of course. I listen to a lot of hard rock and heavy metal, which demands serious rhythm and stability for any deck, I am pleased to say the double pulley has given me the ability to enjoy the music I love at a higher level. I have never heard the speed being so consistent before. My turntable has a new lease of life! Enjoy the pictures and thanks again. Please keep the great ideas coming. Regards, Mark Lewis - London (UK)

Thanks Mark!

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