Tecnoweight Fitted

[Jason36]

So after waking up this morning with a clear head...I decided to tackle the fitting of the Tecnoweight again. After some advice from Mitch and Bretty (cheers guys) on removing the tonearm....which actually was no where near as involved as I thought 🙂 The existing RB300 end stub was easy enough to remove and after fixing the tonearm back in place the tecnoweight was fitted with no problems 🙂

However what was interesting is that according to the instructions after setting the VTA to maximum and antiskate to zero....I couldn't get the tonearm to balance at all with the smaller weight. So with the larger weight in place the tonearm balanced and I was then able to set to the correct weight of the cartridge at 1.75gm.

So as this modification made a difference...????? The amswer is most definately YES!!!

I cant believe how much deeper and tighter the bass sounds now.....midrange is solid and strong with definable but not overpowering highs.....who would have thought that such an easy upgrade would make such a difference. U2's Rattle and Hum sounds sublime as does Lisa Hannigan's See Sew 🙂 Am I happy.....YES I am.

At least I know get the weekend to listen music with the tecnoweight in place with the Elys2 cartridge, before the Goldring 1042 arrives on Monday / Tuesday 🙂

Also one other thing I noticed is that there really is nothing to this planar 3's.....I was looking at the motor and main platter mechanism after the arm was removed and there is really nothing to it.....I wonder how easy it would be to actually refit all the components into a new plinth (something like the Inspire 50mm Solid Yew plinth)?

 

[bretty]

Well done Buddy!

 

[Jason36]

Cheers Bretty 🙂

 

[mitch65]

+1

was crossing fingers for you Jason, glad it went incident free 🙂

 

[Jason36]

+1

was crossing fingers for you Jason, glad it went incident free 🙂

In all honesty it was a piece of cake Mitch...I really dont know what I was worrying so much about.....I'm now looking at my turntable (having seen how simple they are) and wondering what DIY improvements I could make to it.

I'm now wondering whether dropping the motor from the main plinth would make a discernable difference. Although it doesnt suffer from the noise issues some of the ealier Planar's did...its got me thinking ;-)

 

[mitch65]

+1

was crossing fingers for you Jason, glad it went incident free 🙂

In all honesty it was a piece of cake Mitch...I really dont know what I was worrying so much about.....I'm now looking at my turntable (having seen how simple they are) and wondering what DIY improvements I could make to it. I'm now wondering whether dropping the motor from the main plinth would make a discernable difference. Although it doesnt suffer from the noise issues some of the ealier Planar's did...its got me thinking ;-)

Might give you some inspiration 😉

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/QUEST-REGA-TURNTABLE-UPGRADES-50MM-SOLID-PLINTH-/290551118326?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Turntables&hash=item43a63239f6

 

[Jason36]

+1

was crossing fingers for you Jason, glad it went incident free 🙂

In all honesty it was a piece of cake Mitch...I really dont know what I was worrying so much about.....I'm now looking at my turntable (having seen how simple they are) and wondering what DIY improvements I could make to it. I'm now wondering whether dropping the motor from the main plinth would make a discernable difference. Although it doesnt suffer from the noise issues some of the ealier Planar's did...its got me thinking ;-)

Might give you some inspiration 😉

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/QUEST-REGA-TURNTABLE-UPGRADES-50MM-SOLID-PLINTH-/290551118326?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Turntables&hash=item43a63239f6

I've seen those before and spoken to the guy over at Inspire....I though that was a little pricey for a plinth (but then again I might be wrong) and then theres the argument of how much do you spend on upgrades and are they really worthwhile? i.e. Outlay for the Turntable......off board psu...acrylic platter.....new subplatter.....new feet etc etc......You are probably looking at the price of a Gyrodec SE 🙂 I was looking at this the other dayNot sure how good they are though?

 

[Jason36]

Ooops forgot the link:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SRM-TECH-SILENT-BASE-REGA-TURNTABLES-/230294230550?pt=Turntable_Parts_Accessories&hash=item359e9b1616

 

[mitch65]

Ooops forgot the link: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SRM-TECH-SILENT-BASE-REGA-TURNTABLES-/230294230550?pt=Turntable_Parts_Accessories&hash=item359e9b1616

That's what I was thinking of when I read your post, just couldn't find it. The idea does seem to make sense and liiks pretty good as well 🙂

 

[mitch65]

+1

was crossing fingers for you Jason, glad it went incident free 🙂

In all honesty it was a piece of cake Mitch...I really dont know what I was worrying so much about.....I'm now looking at my turntable (having seen how simple they are) and wondering what DIY improvements I could make to it. I'm now wondering whether dropping the motor from the main plinth would make a discernable difference. Although it doesnt suffer from the noise issues some of the ealier Planar's did...its got me thinking ;-)

Might give you some inspiration 😉

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/QUEST-REGA-TURNTABLE-UPGRADES-50MM-SOLID-PLINTH-/290551118326?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Turntables&hash=item43a63239f6

I've seen those before and spoken to the guy over at Inspire....I though that was a little pricey for a plinth (but then again I might be wrong) and then theres the argument of how much do you spend on upgrades and are they really worthwhile? i.e. Outlay for the Turntable......off board psu...acrylic platter.....new subplatter.....new feet etc etc......You are probably looking at the price of a Gyrodec SE 🙂 I was looking at this the other dayNot sure how good they are though?

Mmmmm...............Gyrodec 8)

 

[Jason36]

+1

was crossing fingers for you Jason, glad it went incident free 🙂

In all honesty it was a piece of cake Mitch...I really dont know what I was worrying so much about.....I'm now looking at my turntable (having seen how simple they are) and wondering what DIY improvements I could make to it. I'm now wondering whether dropping the motor from the main plinth would make a discernable difference. Although it doesnt suffer from the noise issues some of the ealier Planar's did...its got me thinking ;-)

Might give you some inspiration 😉

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/QUEST-REGA-TURNTABLE-UPGRADES-50MM-SOLID-PLINTH-/290551118326?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Turntables&hash=item43a63239f6

I've seen those before and spoken to the guy over at Inspire....I though that was a little pricey for a plinth (but then again I might be wrong) and then theres the argument of how much do you spend on upgrades and are they really worthwhile? i.e. Outlay for the Turntable......off board psu...acrylic platter.....new subplatter.....new feet etc etc......You are probably looking at the price of a Gyrodec SE 🙂 I was looking at this the other dayNot sure how good they are though?

Mmmmm...............Gyrodec 8)

Hmmm I know.....I just love the look for the Gyrodec.....its like a sexy piece of furniture 🙂

However I have got my eyes on a Michell Mycro at the moment.......No arm supplied but it has a Rega Armboard so would transfer my RB300 with Goldring Cartridge over to it. Now I think that would be a nice step up from the Planar 3.

However as I said to Bretty earlier, the Planar 3 has never sounded so good now 🙂

 

[mitch65]

+1

was crossing fingers for you Jason, glad it went incident free 🙂

In all honesty it was a piece of cake Mitch...I really dont know what I was worrying so much about.....I'm now looking at my turntable (having seen how simple they are) and wondering what DIY improvements I could make to it. I'm now wondering whether dropping the motor from the main plinth would make a discernable difference. Although it doesnt suffer from the noise issues some of the ealier Planar's did...its got me thinking ;-)

Might give you some inspiration 😉

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/QUEST-REGA-TURNTABLE-UPGRADES-50MM-SOLID-PLINTH-/290551118326?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Turntables&hash=item43a63239f6

I've seen those before and spoken to the guy over at Inspire....I though that was a little pricey for a plinth (but then again I might be wrong) and then theres the argument of how much do you spend on upgrades and are they really worthwhile? i.e. Outlay for the Turntable......off board psu...acrylic platter.....new subplatter.....new feet etc etc......You are probably looking at the price of a Gyrodec SE 🙂 I was looking at this the other dayNot sure how good they are though?

Mmmmm...............Gyrodec 8)

Hmmm I know.....I just love the look for the Gyrodec.....its like a sexy piece of furniture 🙂 However I have got my eyes on a Michell Mycro at the moment.......No arm supplied but it has a Rega Armboard so would transfer my RB300 with Goldring Cartridge over to it. Now I think that would be a nice step up from the Planar 3. However as I said to Bretty earlier, the Planar 3 has never sounded so good now 🙂

Not been tempted to hold out for a Gyro? (silly question I know)

 

[Jason36]

+1

was crossing fingers for you Jason, glad it went incident free 🙂

In all honesty it was a piece of cake Mitch...I really dont know what I was worrying so much about.....I'm now looking at my turntable (having seen how simple they are) and wondering what DIY improvements I could make to it. I'm now wondering whether dropping the motor from the main plinth would make a discernable difference. Although it doesnt suffer from the noise issues some of the ealier Planar's did...its got me thinking ;-)

Might give you some inspiration 😉

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/QUEST-REGA-TURNTABLE-UPGRADES-50MM-SOLID-PLINTH-/290551118326?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Turntables&hash=item43a63239f6

I've seen those before and spoken to the guy over at Inspire....I though that was a little pricey for a plinth (but then again I might be wrong) and then theres the argument of how much do you spend on upgrades and are they really worthwhile? i.e. Outlay for the Turntable......off board psu...acrylic platter.....new subplatter.....new feet etc etc......You are probably looking at the price of a Gyrodec SE 🙂 I was looking at this the other dayNot sure how good they are though?

Mmmmm...............Gyrodec 8)

Hmmm I know.....I just love the look for the Gyrodec.....its like a sexy piece of furniture 🙂 However I have got my eyes on a Michell Mycro at the moment.......No arm supplied but it has a Rega Armboard so would transfer my RB300 with Goldring Cartridge over to it. Now I think that would be a nice step up from the Planar 3. However as I said to Bretty earlier, the Planar 3 has never sounded so good now 🙂

Not been tempted to hold out for a Gyro? (silly question I know)

Hahaha Now that is the question isnt it.

The Mycro...which I believe until the introduction of the Gyro was Michell's mid range table and believe they were very good. The question is seeing as the Planar 3 is sounding Pucker now and I have just bought a £200 MM Cartridge for it...do I keep it and save up for a Gyrodec.....

or

Do I sell the Planar 3, minus arm (which means I will lose out on it financially) and buy the Mycro and add the RB300 arm on to it????

At the moment having listened to the Planar 3 extensively today, I am thinking keep the 3 and buy the motor isolation kit from SRM and then save for a Gyro SE either new or secondhand 🙂

 

[mitch65]

+1

was crossing fingers for you Jason, glad it went incident free 🙂

In all honesty it was a piece of cake Mitch...I really dont know what I was worrying so much about.....I'm now looking at my turntable (having seen how simple they are) and wondering what DIY improvements I could make to it. I'm now wondering whether dropping the motor from the main plinth would make a discernable difference. Although it doesnt suffer from the noise issues some of the ealier Planar's did...its got me thinking ;-)

Might give you some inspiration 😉

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/QUEST-REGA-TURNTABLE-UPGRADES-50MM-SOLID-PLINTH-/290551118326?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_Turntables&hash=item43a63239f6

I've seen those before and spoken to the guy over at Inspire....I though that was a little pricey for a plinth (but then again I might be wrong) and then theres the argument of how much do you spend on upgrades and are they really worthwhile? i.e. Outlay for the Turntable......off board psu...acrylic platter.....new subplatter.....new feet etc etc......You are probably looking at the price of a Gyrodec SE 🙂 I was looking at this the other dayNot sure how good they are though?

Mmmmm...............Gyrodec 8)

Hmmm I know.....I just love the look for the Gyrodec.....its like a sexy piece of furniture 🙂 However I have got my eyes on a Michell Mycro at the moment.......No arm supplied but it has a Rega Armboard so would transfer my RB300 with Goldring Cartridge over to it. Now I think that would be a nice step up from the Planar 3. However as I said to Bretty earlier, the Planar 3 has never sounded so good now 🙂

Not been tempted to hold out for a Gyro? (silly question I know)

Hahaha Now that is the question isnt it. The Mycro...which I believe until the introduction of the Gyro was Michell's mid range table and believe they were very good. The question is seeing as the Planar 3 is sounding Pucker now and I have just bought a £200 MM Cartridge for it...do I keep it and save up for a Gyrodec..... or Do I sell the Planar 3, minus arm (which means I will lose out on it financially) and buy the Mycro and add the RB300 arm on to it???? At the moment having listened to the Planar 3 extensively today, I am thinking keep the 3 and buy the motor isolation kit from SRM and then save for a Gyro SE either new or secondhand 🙂

Conundrum!

FWIW If you were to go down the Mycro route you would probably be kicking yourself that you didn't go for the Gyro (take my word for it I've been there). Enjoy your weight and cartridge mods and save for the Gyro. :bigsmile:

Oh and I had a similar conversation with Bretty and he went and did what he wanted anyway but that's the point, if it feels right then it generally is (you can always regret later in private.

 

[respe]

Use what you have, save for the Gyro. When you have the money for the gyro compare it with a P7, and a few others. I messed around with a P25, basically a P3 with a posh frock. The technoweight made a difference, but not as marked as changing the subplatter to a groovetracer. The acrylic platter changed the sound, but did not make it better, just different. I reverted to the glass as supplied by Rega. The biggest problem with all the mods is financial. Everything I did could be taken off, and the original bits put back. That meant that I did not loose out financially as badly as I would have done had I had to sell the deck with all the mods in place.

 

[Jason36]

Use what you have, save for the Gyro. When you have the money for the gyro compare it with a P7, and a few others. I messed around with a P25, basically a P3 with a posh frock. The technoweight made a difference, but not as marked as changing the subplatter to a groovetracer. The acrylic platter changed the sound, but did not make it better, just different. I reverted to the glass as supplied by Rega. The biggest problem with all the mods is financial. Everything I did could be taken off, and the original bits put back. That meant that I did not loose out financially as badly as I would have done had I had to sell the deck with all the mods in place.

Hi respe,

That is certainly my plan..save for a gyro but listen to a few other higher end turntable as well. For the time being the Planar 3 is staying put. It now has the technoweight and new Goldring 1042 cartridge fitted....and I may look at a rewire in due course...but only really because when I do change the turntable the modified RB300 will transfer over.

I was of the same opinion re the platter...Acrylic doesnt necesarily improve the sound just changes it....

 

[DIB]

I've just spent a great hour or so at an independent dealer in Warrington, Doug Brady Hi-Fi. What a great bunch of knowledgeable and pleasant staff they have, a real treat to a relatively ill-informed ignoramus like me.

Primarily I had travelled the 20 miles or so in order for them to take a look at my Systemdek, not that it appeared to be performing poorly in any way, but I wanted an expert to take a good look at everything and make sure everything was set up right and give it the once over.

Thursday morning meant it was quiet, so my TT was looked at straight away in the shop, and everything was explained to me in terms that I could understand. I explained that I was happy with the performance but was open to any suggestions with regards proportionate upgrades and tweaks in keeping with the value and capabilities of the deck. It was heartening that the BIG sell did not rear its ugly head. My deck is a good one, in excellent nick and would give many more years service was the verdict. Great, I thought, now then what can I do to get that extra bit of perfomance out of it.

Their recomendations were firstly for a Funk Firm Achromat (5mm), secondly a Michell Technoweight, and finally a re-wire of my RB250 arm. No pressure, but thinking about it I thought that even if I decided to trade on my Systemdek at a later date then any upgrades with mat and arm etc could be removed and used again, so I decided to go with it and buy all three, with a full service thrown in. As the guy said if you want to really upgrade from what I already have then I would need to be looking at the Michell Gyro price range, something as much as I'd love to have I would not be able to afford in the near future.

So come Saturday I should have it ready to pick up and raring to go, can't wait

.

PS: The trouble with going in dealers is that you just want to buy everything thats in there don't you? The Michell Gyro looked great, but they had a Funk Firm Vector III turntable complete with Funk Firm FXR II arm that looked absolutely gorgeous, only trouble was it was over £2K

If my numbers come up Saturday eh! I've never heard anyone mention these TT's or arms but they look fantastic in the flesh...

Also, playing in the background was a 80's vintage valve amplifier driving a pair of Proac Response D28's (about £3.5K worth) and the sound was as good as I've ever heard. Awesome.

.

 

[Jason36]

Brilliant feedback DIB, always good to hear about independant shops that provide excellent customer service without the hard sell. Doug Brady are also only about a 20 minute drive away from myself so always good to know they would be a safe port of call for advice and products.

I agree with what you said about the arm and my plan is to get the RB300 rewired in due course....purely on the basis that when I change my deck to something better....the arm and cartridge will transfer across. Just out of curiosity of how much do they charge for the rewire.

Also from the point of the tecnoweight I doubt you will be dissapointed...its easy to use and alter and provides a big sound difference over the standard Rega Stub end and weight...oh yeah and it looks pretty sweet too 🙂

Thanks for sharing your experience DIB 🙂

 

[DIB]

Brilliant feedback DIB, always good to hear about independant shops that provide excellent customer service without the hard sell. Doug Brady are also only about a 20 minute drive away from myself so always good to know they would be a safe port of call for advice and products.

I agree with what you said about the arm and my plan is to get the RB300 rewired in due course....purely on the basis that when I change my deck to something better....the arm and cartridge will transfer across. Just out of curiosity of how much do they charge for the rewire.

Also from the point of the tecnoweight I doubt you will be dissapointed...its easy to use and alter and provides a big sound difference over the standard Rega Stub end and weight...oh yeah and it looks pretty sweet too 🙂

Thanks for sharing your experience DIB 🙂

Give or take a few pence it is £150 for an Incognito re-wire. You can buy the kits for less and do it yourself, but basically I'm hopeless at that sort of thing so I'm leaving the experts to do all that for me.

(including fitting the Michell Technoweight).

I've not got it back yet of course, but you know when you get a good feeling about a place/shop? Brady's left me with that sort of feeling.

.

.

 

[DIB]

I've got my Systemdek back this morning, it was actually ready yesterday but went back this morning.

What a great job Doug Brady's have done. It looks good, but more importantly it sounds fabulous. My first impression is that the bass is coming through more than before, beefing up the sound a notch or two. The other night I was doing a running comparison between Jethro Tull's 1971 album "Aqualung" and the 1996 Re-Mastered CD. Overall the LP was the winner, more dynamic, but I had one reservation that the bass was a little light on the vinyl compared to the CD. Playing them again this morning and I have no such reservations, the sound is awesome

It's not possible to pinpoint any one specific reason why. There's the new Michell Technoweight of course, but I've got the Funk Achromat too, along with the re-wire, along with the deck being set-up absolutely spot on, so its a combination of factors.

Either way, I'm a happy bunny!

Here's a few pics....

http://s31.photobucket.com/albums/c364/DaveBoden/Systemdek%20IIX/

.

 

[Jason36]

Excellent DIB

Glad to hear your impressed with the results.

Having the standard felt mat and standard wiring on the arm.....I can say that the Tecnoweight does go a great deal of the way to improve the bass.....on mine it seems to be a lot tighter, deeper and controlled without being boomy.....I'm just listening to Gorillaz - The Fall and mightly impressed with the bass 🙂

I'm looking at a rewire on the arm myself in the next couple of months and will definately take a trip to the shop as well......will take the deck in and get them to do a once over and service as well...wouldn't hurt would it now 🙂

Happy listening mate...I have an afternoon with 5 new Record Store Day puchases 🙂

 

[shropshire lad]

Use what you have, save for the Gyro. When you have the money for the gyro compare it with a P7, and a few others. I messed around with a P25, basically a P3 with a posh frock. The technoweight made a difference, but not as marked as changing the subplatter to a groovetracer. The acrylic platter changed the sound, but did not make it better, just different. I reverted to the glass as supplied by Rega. The biggest problem with all the mods is financial. Everything I did could be taken off, and the original bits put back. That meant that I did not loose out financially as badly as I would have done had I had to sell the deck with all the mods in place.

Hi respe,

That is certainly my plan..save for a gyro but listen to a few other higher end turntable as well. For the time being the Planar 3 is staying put. It now has the technoweight and new Goldring 1042 cartridge fitted....and I may look at a rewire in due course...but only really because when I do change the turntable the modified RB300 will transfer over.

I was of the same opinion re the platter...Acrylic doesnt necesarily improve the sound just changes it....

Jason ,

If you are saving up enough for a Gyrodeck and are also listening to other high end turntables you ought to consider putting an Origin Live Calypso onto your list . This is a seriously well engineered turntable which , in my worthless opinion , looks better than a Gyrodeck and isn't as common . I can't tell you whether it sounds better than a Gyrodeck , as I haven't heard one , but it does sound better than a Planar 3 . And so it should for what it costs ,

Nick

 

[Jason36]

Ooooo now that does look nice 🙂

Be interesting to see how it sounds compared to the GyroDec