Clif's first upgrade on his RP3 TT was underslung counterweight. Though many would choose to upgrade the stock plastic pulley or subplatjer first, I would say counterweight was the right choice too. Hearing is believing, you would be amazed to see the sonic improvement!

Clif's report after the underslung counterweight upgrade:

Hi Michael,  I have been listening to the counterweight for a few weeks and have the following report.  I have a Rega RP3, which has a RB303 tonearm. I don't know if the counterweight sleeve would have fit on the Rega endstub, but I decided to use the new end stub for the precise VTF adjustment. To remove the end stub I first removed the arm from the table to protect the bearing. I then wrapped both the end stub and the armtube with many layers of masking tape and twisted off the end stub by hand. I didn't use WD-40, figuring that the connection would not have corroded in the 2 years I've owned the turntable. The old end stub came out with some effort and the thread was not smooth. I was able to screw in the new end stub with some effort taking care not to cross thread the stub.  I have an old Dynavector DV10x4 Mk 2 cartridge, which weighs 4.6 grams according to the manufacturer. I was able to use the weight without the addtional 9.5 gram screw. Getting the weight in the right place was a chore. I wanted to be fine adjust the tracking force from 1.7 to 1.95 grams, which is the higher range of the 10x4's 1.5 to 1.9 gram range. After a few tries I managed to lock in the weight so it was at the right position and angle.  Of course now I had to fine tune the VTF and VTA. The 4.5g screw made this very easy. A turn is about the resolution at which I could hear a difference. I raised the VTF until the bass sounded bloated and the highs lost detail. Then I backed it off a half turn. I dropped the VTA from 3.5 mm to 3 mm (I'm using spacers) and the sound became dull, so I stayed with a VTA of 3.5 mm. At these settings the sound from the cartridge becomes quite magical.  Quick note on my system. I am running an Antique Sound Labs tube phono preamp into a Bottlehead 2A3 power amp and Unity RS Desktop speakers. It's a flea-powered fast system with little bass. I listen to classical mainly.  With these settings I'm noticing that the overal resolution of the system has increased significantly. By comparison, the old setup was muddled. All instruments now were distinct and separate whereas before they were somehow stuck together. The bass became much better too. The timpanis packed a wallop, but I could now feel their texture too. Imaging improved as well. The instruments were spread between the speakers, and each instrument had its own location instead of being vaguely in a certain area.  I think the biggest improvement came in when the music became complex and loud. Here somehow the RP3 manages to stay relaxed and is able to pick the pieces apart.  This is my first upgrade (except for the VTA spacers). I'm not entirely happy with my setup yet, but the counterweight was a huge improvement.  Clif

Thanks ,Clif !

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Anthony of Malaysia has upgraded his RP6 with my dual pulley, silicone belts and aluminium adjustable feet recently. 

Hi Michael,  I installed everything last sunday and the overall performance is up by a clear margin.  The double pulley improves the timing and rhythm, likely due to improved speed stability.  The feet results in lots more detail and opens up the soundstage. Now there is clearly more depth and width compared to previously. However, there was a slightly bright sound overall which I thought would mellow as the belts "run in".  I had a little problem installing the feet as the cap nut failed. Luckily I was doing it with help from a friend who suggested using two nuts to lock the bolt which allowed the installation of the bolts into the plinth.  Sand in the rubber feet helps a lot. The background is even quieter.  The brightness to the sound went away after I repositioned the double pulley a little lower, allowing the lower belt to come close to the bottom edge of the subplatter. Thanks to your design, repositioning the pulley is easy.  All in, I think one would have to spend a lot more to buy a ready to use turntable that would outperform my tweaked RP6.  Best regards  Anthony

Thanks Anthony!

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Underslung counterweight, dual pulley and silicone belts are the new upgrades for James Anton of North Carolina, USA. Here's his comments:

Hi Michael  Everything arrived fine and as before your instructions were a big help. I decided to remove the original Rega inner sleeve after doing a dry run. Takes a while but the wd-40 and a pair of pliers with a protective towel do the trick. Balanced it out and now up and running fine. Thanks again for all your help.  The stainless steel is a much higher quality product. In terms of the sound, I am still listening and sorting out (I also have a new preamp in the system so it might have to wait until I do some A/B with old preamp).  One question – the Elys 2 seems to be a very light cartridge and I needed to move the new counterweight relative close in. I removed the 9.5g weight as you mentioned. I used the tracking force on the Rega to set at 1.75 and verified with the Shure guage. I wasn’t sure if I should be able to zero out the Rega dial and adjust tracking force purely with the new counterweight but it was getting pretty tight with the tonearm rotation when I tried. This is a bit convoluted so I hope the question makes some sense.  But everything is working fine and the cumulative effect of changes to the Rega has been significant. Best,  Jim

Thanks Jim!

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" I have struggled with wobble in sustained notes with this table (P5) since I got it .... " said Luke Pfeiffer of Fremont, Michigan.

Recently he did the following upgrades to his P5 TT and let's hear what he says: 

1.  Aluminium sub-platter 

2. Dual pulley and silicone belts

Michael,  Greetings and hope all is well. The items arrived back on 7/10 and I finally got everything installed the weekend of 8/7. The differences were immediate and very noticeable, I have struggled with a wobble in sustained notes with this table since I got it, adding the TT PSU helped a little, but the sub platter and new pulley have now eliminated it completely, when I heard that I was amazed. The table felt more solid in its sound presentation after the installation, everything seems to have better timing and when anything sustained comes across the speaker I still smile a little even though its been 5 weeks and several hours of listening time.  As for the install itself, it was surprisingly easy, the pulley swap was a little intimidating, but once I actually did it, I was amazed at how quick and easy it was, your pulley puller makes this an easy task. The subplatter is beautiful and once again that was a snap to swap out, and you provide everything needed.  I just picked up several new disks and have been listening to the newly released Black Crows Live albums as I type this up, not sure if it's the new gear or what, but the dynamics on these albums through my system are amazing, you can feel the back up singers to the left rear of the band, and Rich off to Chris's right. I have a modest hi-fi with my Rega P5 and TT PSU plugged into a Vincent PHO-8 phono preamp. That is plugged into a Vincent SA 31/SP 331 pre/amp combo running a pair of Focal Chorus 826V's. Everything is connected with AudioQuest wires.  Again, these two upgrades made a huge difference with my table and the audible differences were very noticeable to me and all in good ways. I would not hesitate to recommend your products to anyone and look forward to future purchases myself.  Many thanks,  Luke Pfeiffer

Read Luke's post ( lrpLakeside ) in vinylengine ...

Thanks Luke!

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New acrylic plinth for Rega tweakers 

Special request from Andrew of UK has prompted me to make and introduce to you today another version of acrylic plinth which not only enhances the look of your turntable, but also bringing to you beautiful music. Besides, it retrofits your stock Rega lid. 

Let's take a look at Andrew's comments :

My main turntable used to be an RP6.....  When I saw the recent Vinyl Engine post from endrik35 in Manilla (My First Rega upgrade - groovy baby!!) I decided I had to do something similar but I wanted the plinth completely isolated from the Rega cover.  When I originally contacted Michael Lim, he told me that the ‘RP8-RP10’ type plinth that endrik35 showed was in fact a thin 2.5mm shim on top of his standard 18mm clear rectangular acrylic plinth. I then asked if he could use the same CNC programme to cut the18mm material down as well. Anyone who has purchased from Michael previously will know what a helpful, customer friendly man he is so he said he would check and come back to me.  A few weeks later he showed me a black prototype that he was testing which looked to be exactly what I wanted so I ordered the orange bonded plinth c/w upper and lower braces in ‘brushed’ finish, mounting feet, the clear outer frame plus the motor isolation kit.  My original RP6 was only using the plinth, bearing housing and glass platter as I had changed everything else over time. I had borrowed an acrylic platter some time ago and used it for over a week but felt it took a little transient attack away from my music, hence I have kept the glass platter.  - Audiomods Series V arm  - GT Reference subplatter & bearing  - Michael Lim double pulley  - New belts  - Funk platter mat with leather bonded addition plus a thin SRM-Tech soft pad between this and the glass  ....Michael Lim motor isolation  ....Michael Lim plinths & feet  Within a few days of ordering, Michael confirmed despatch and four days later the motor isolation base arrived. I decided to fit this to the RP6 whilst awaiting the new plinth, just so I could evaluate this separately:  1. Motor isolation base  Very easy to fit, following Michaels’ detailed instructions. What surprised me during removal was the simple sticky pad holding the motor to the Rega MDF plinth which was easily prised apart with a screwdriver. The RP6 has given me a lot of pleasure in its’ former state so I am impressed that something so basic could sound so good.  Whilst I was at it, I extended the cables between the motor and PCB board so this could be moved away from the turntable itself (in the housing adaptor supplied as part of the kit).  Once the motor isolation kit was in place, there was an immediately noticeable tightening and greater clarity to the lowest bass notes and that has persisted with every LP played since fitting this. Everything is also more sharply positioned within the soundstage - I was not expecting for this to improve quite so dramatically with vinyl playback. Upgrading the arm on my turntable and then adding a new sub platter and Lims’ double pulley & belts were previously the most positive changes I had made but isolating the motor had taken things a lot further (I play my system every day when at home and I know the sound signature intimately so this is no understatement). Instrument and performer positioning hung within a more believable 3D soundstage on appropriately mastered recordings and this is very addictive to listen to.  I will go so far as saying that in my opinion, isolating a Rega motor with Michael Lims’ isolation base is a must-do upgrade that every owner should consider. I am pleased that I had several days to hear the impact this had made before changing the plinth too.  2. The Plinth  This arrived just over a week after despatch, very well protected and packaged. To ensure maximum rigidity, Michael had even fitted the piece of 5mm ’surplus’ acrylic between the inner and outer plinths - very considerate and professional (It looks like a piece of curvy- funky acrylic art and I cannot bring myself to throw it away !)  The orange 2.5mm top piece had been bonded by Michael as we had agreed using a special adhesive to ensure no air gap or potential for flexing. I bonded the braces myself with a clear adhesive (spread carefully and thinly) and screwed the bearing housing mounting feet, the allen-key brace screws and then the arm whilst the glue was still pliable so both braces are very securely attached.  During this process, I took great care to achieve the same 221.5mm pivot-spindle distance that my Mint arc protractor is designed for. I also had to align the outer frame and cover to ensure that the arm micrometer fitted exactly in the same place as previously (as I have a small transparent ‘turret’ glued to the cover above a circular hole in the top of the lid).  The rest of the turntable assembly followed easily (I have modified a few Regas’ in my time) and I checked with both spirit level and bubble level that the plinth, arm and platter were all exactly parallel. They were, first time. The moment of truth came when I clipped the AT150ANV cartridge stylus back in (removed during assembly) and checked alignment with the protractor. Even under 30x magnification, it fell exactly on the arc so no adjustment was needed, the pay-back for being precise in mounting the arm & a big time- saver.  3. The outer plinth  My music room is quite cluttered, I probably don’t dust/vacuum often enough and my wife refuses to enter ! Also, the carpet seems to generate a lot of wool fibres so playback with the lid closed is very important to me, especially as every record is RCM cleaned. I already mentioned the 5mm spacer - this is the gap between both plinths and as the motor is now isolated this gap ensures that the closed cover is isolated from the platter/arm as well.  Rather than additional heavy looking feet for the outer plinth as this is just a support platform for the cover, I have made some tapered transparent acrylic feet of the correct height and these are tapped and screwed to the three M6 threads fitted to the frame underside.  Everything is now completed and IMO it’s a fabulous looking piece of kit. Even my wife who has ‘tolerated’ 35 years of various bits of hi-fi in the living room expressed her first ever positive opinion, going as far as saying it is a real pity that this has to stay in my man- music cave - praise indeed !  As I write this, I have played half-dozen-or so LPs and am extremely happy. The tightness to the bass I mentioned previously is still there and the only way I can think to describe the finished article is that bass is now no longer congested and each instrument or note seems to be independent to everything else, both tonally and within the soundstage. Previously vinyl and digital sources in my system sounded extremely close but now the sense of openness, ‘air’ and soundstage imaging with vinyl has taken quite a leap ahead, to say nothing of that tighter, clearer bass. Exactly what I wanted.

Read Andrew's post in Vinylengine :  Rega R.I.P.6…… to Lazarus6 !

Thanks, Andrew for sharing your experience with us.

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