Well, you have to start somewhere I guess…

So. First a quick recap. I recently had the opportunity to procure a ‘Brand New in Box’ (Factory Sealed)
Technics SP-15… apparently an unused spare part from a local radio station, with excellent provenance.





So, all I needed to do was source a suitable plinth & arm, and I’d be certain to find myself in Direct-Drive heaven!

Oh, I’m sure also it’s worth reflecting on where I’d come from, for context!

Last year, I ended my 15 year relationship with a very tricked-out Linn Sondek. Upon reflection, she was such an awesome record player, but we had grown apart, and just wanted different things. Thankfully, she went to a very good home, with steviewunda of this parish. Hopefully they are both still on good musical terms.





Then, most recently, I had a very lively & exciting covid-lockdown-fuelled fling with a gorgeous (and much admired) Garrard 301.





But I digress, folks… back to the matter in hand! 



To be continued…

Not sure why you didn't stop at the Garrard!

'Cos Technics DD
😄

Jul 13, 2021 0:48:08 GMT 12 Citroen said:

Not sure why you didn't stop at the Garrard!

Yeah, a fair enough question! 

I guess partly curiosity, partly convenience, partly just because…
- it’s just stereos, and I can. 🥸

I had considered making a case to the domestic investment committee for keeping both, but couldn’t even justify that to myself.

So, where was I… ahhh yes, the SL-1015.

There are 3 plinths to choose from. The original heavyweight SH15-B1; 16kgs of solid rubber with isolating feet, finished in rosewood veneer and a retro smoked plastic dust cover! Or the cheaper-to-transport-from-Japan 10.5kg SH15-B2 and B3 (same, but in 80’s black finish). No prize for guessing that I went for the heaviest option! 

The standard arm system is the EPA-A500, which has interchangeable wands available for different cartridges - optimised for both weight and compliance (resonant frequency). I had toyed with the idea of getting the older EPA-100, which is usually mated with teh SP-10, but ultimately liked the idea of having a “period-correct” set-up.

My current cartridge is a Hana SL, at 5 grams and a compliance of 10 @ 100hz, it is probably just within the range for the most common & high compliance wand (EPA-B501H). For reference, the SL cart also works very well on the lightweight SME 3009 Mk 2 improved, while the ML (much lauded?) would be just a bit too heavy. Maybe in the future I’ll think about getting a 501M, but I’m trying not to get too far ahead of myself again.

For newbies who haven’t shopped on Yahoo Japan, I can recommend using a consolidator like zenmarket.jp to put your order together. For context, it was approx US$200 cheaper (~25%) to buy the same 500-series tonearm through Yahoo than eBay. 

Anyway, after months of careful planning and patiently waiting...

Nice and minty !

Jul 13, 2021 8:47:47 GMT 12 raveydave said:

Jul 13, 2021 0:48:08 GMT 12 Citroen said:

Not sure why you didn't stop at the Garrard!

Yeah, a fair enough question! 

I guess partly curiosity, partly convenience, partly just because…
- it’s just stereos, and I can. 🥸

All very good and valid reasons!

Underbelly plinth detailing with arm-base and SP-15 motor-body secured (M5 bolts for the SP-15 not supplied, I discovered)…





Heavy duty RCA with in-line tonearm earthing connected...

Arm, base & body all tightened up and ready to roll.
I knew that special “1200”  Funk Firm Achromat would come in handy!



The sophisticated engineering and finish on the titanium-nitride Technics arm is very impressive, with a high degree of intuitive user adjustment available.


Now all that’s left to do is to attach & set up the Hana cartridge, and spin some records! 😎

Looks really nice.

You can see a resemblance to the classic SL1200/1210 arms in that arm.

What are those speakers they look nice too?

www.jeremyyoungdesign.com

Is that a record weight/clamp ?

Jul 13, 2021 8:47:47 GMT 12 raveydave said:

For newbies who haven’t shopped on Yahoo Japan, I can recommend using a consolidator like Zenmarket.co.jp to put your order together. For context, it was approx US$200 cheaper (~25%) to buy the same 500-series tonearm through Yahoo than eBay.

Firefox reports: "We can’t connect to the server at zenmarket.co.jp."

But I did love the view in the earlier photos:

Is that a Rogers loudspeaker?

I think a friend in Germany had something similar.

Nice arrangement, anyway!  ;=})

That looks gorgeous! I am looking forward to hearing how it compares to your other turntables

Ditto

Jul 13, 2021 22:46:52 GMT 12 RdM said:

Jul 13, 2021 8:47:47 GMT 12 raveydave said:

For newbies who haven’t shopped on Yahoo Japan, I can recommend using a consolidator like Zenmarket.co.jp to put your order together. For context, it was approx US$200 cheaper (~25%) to buy the same 500-series tonearm through Yahoo than eBay.

Firefox reports: "We can’t connect to the server at zenmarket.co.jp."

But I did love the view in the earlier photos:

Thanks RDM, my poor memory. It should just be zenmarket.jp 

I will edit my earlier post as well, to save any more confusion.

Jul 13, 2021 20:51:13 GMT 12 jerm said:

Looks really nice.

You can see a resemblance to the classic SL1200/1210 arms in that arm.

What are those speakers they look nice too?

Thanks Jerm. The EPA-500 series arm designs are pretty special, including the threaded-base VTA  adjustment you refer to on the other turntable thread. 

The speakers, as RDM correctly identified, are Rogers. They are a domestic, passive crossover version of the BBC LS5/8, called a Studio 2a.
There was an earlier iteration called a PM510, which also shares the same Audax tweeter as the big classic BBC monitors (LS5/8, LS5/9), mated to a 305mm (12") woofer in a birch-ply enclosure.
I think later versions of the 2a had a metal Celestion tweeter, possibly because the Audax tweeter was very expensive and/or went out of production.
Being fairly sensitive (92db), they are quite low-power tube friendly, and I personally prefer them on the end of a lower damping factor SET amp.

I recently (2 years ago?) bought the Graham Audio LS5/8 open frame stands (pictured) - which were an improvement over the previous massive, four pillar stands I had originally bought with them. 
The Rogers have been my main system speakers now for 15 years. The equipment line-up has changed substantially since that picture was taken, the speakers are now easily the longest serving member of the team. It's hard to imagine what I could actually afford to replace them with - similar modern offerings from Harbeth, Graham & Spendor cost moonbeams! 🤑

Anyway, this is a turntable thread, I will return later with an update...

Jul 13, 2021 21:49:41 GMT 12 michaelw said:

Is that a record weight/clamp ?

Oh no, that’s just the little 7” single donut-spacer for jukebox records that came in the box with the SP-15. 

I thought a silver centre weight would look quite nice though. 🤓

So, onto cartridge set up and some final pics, with the deck all set up.
I had always left the serious stuff to the experts, but in the spirit of this thread, I wanted to give it a proper try.

Firstly, alignment with a standard plastic protractor is quite daunting.
I started out with the hopeless paper one that comes with the tonearm, then moved on swiftly to a plastic version
I could not work out how to get the tonearm over the spindle, to measure the overhang.

Until I was lucky enough to borrow this fantastic apparatus.
What a bloody revelation… Such a cool piece of kit!





I settled on the Stevenson alignment, which seems to be the one most of the reading I had done recommended for this era of Japanese arm.

Once the cartridge overhang and alignment was properly set, tracking weight and VTA were simple user adjustments from the armbase.




Exciting times! 🤩

And here is the final result!

I was wondering about the Dr F in the title

Stevenson ?
What sort of music do you listen to ?

Cool little spirit level, where did you get that from ?

Oh, just remembered it's no good for my arm which has a tapered armtube

The Line Mag amp is a beast !

That’s all for now folks.

I’ll have to report back in a couple of weeks about how it sounds, but initial impressions are favourable.
Thanks for looking. And to the team for keeping this forum going. Much appreciated! 😇

I find the Dr F alignment gauge invaluable.

And you have the same Flying Nun pic as me. I'm still trying to identify all the pics in it.

System looks great and can't wait to see how it sounds!

Jul 12, 2021 20:21:35 GMT 12 raveydave said:

Oh, I’m sure also it’s worth reflecting on where I’d come from, for context!

Last year, I ended my 15 year relationship with a very tricked-out Linn Sondek. Upon reflection, she was such an awesome record player, but we had grown apart, and just wanted different things. Thankfully, she went to a very good home, with steviewunda of this parish. Hopefully they are both still on good musical terms.





Then, most recently, I had a very lively & exciting covid-lockdown-fuelled fling with a gorgeous (and much admired) Garrard 301.





But I digress, folks… back to the matter in hand! 



To be continued…

Hey raveydave
Nice thread. Appreciated.
I still have a VERY tricked-out LP12 - much of which defies LINN convention.
I was just wondering if you have a previous thread or any info what tricks you applied to your LP12, before she departed?
Having recently heard a TECHNICS SP-15 here in China, I am also very keen to get your take on the "newcomer".

Hello Sondek, I remember you went a bit further with your LP12.
Glad to see you’re still lurking about, even if it is from China!

Thinking back through the mists of time…

We both had the Cetech carbon fibre sub-chassis made & fitted by Steve Millward, here in Auckland.
And the Boston Carbon Mat… both of these tightened up the focus (less fuzzy?) and bass, more “definition”.

Using a dedicated wall mounted shelf made a huge difference to footfall. I also added a Trampolinn 2 aluminium baseboard to mine, but I do recall you didn’t like what it did to yours. I think you went open / naked and spiked on the bottom, again from memory?

Pretty early on, I replaced the Linn Valhalla with an internal Hercules 2 power supply for affordable push-button speed change. Then eventually moved onto the external Mose PSU. You went with Origin Live DC, iirc?

I’d also swapped out the Linn tonearm RCA cable for a fancy Nordost Frey. I think all the little improvements added up over time, and it certainly the constant fettling is all part of the fun for me.

I would be keen to know how it sounds now, with that freshly rebuilt Troika on the end of the Ittok arm - such a classic combo! 😍

raveydave

You have an amazing memory - most of which is correct.
One exception: I never changed the sub-chassis, so I guess I need to ask if that was a major improvement for you?
There have been many LP12 sub-chassis options come and go over the years and I've resisted them all. Perhaps now is the time?
Frankly, I always wonder if the LINN ITTOK arm is up to the rest of our LP12 hot-rod.
Anyway, sorry for the diversion.
Back to the fabulous TECHNICS SP-15...

Thanks Tony, my memory must be getting a bit rusty after 13 or 14 years! 🤪  Unfortunately, you won’t find much love for the Ittok on this forum… but if you had an itch that needed scratching, would you consider a foam & rewire / service by Audio Origami in the UK? I’ve only read good things.

Anyway, just to close out this thread on the SP15 and leave my early listening impressions.

I decided to bite the bullet and get in an arm-wand that is potentially better suited to the medium compliance Hana SL.





I’ll probably put a higher compliance MM cartridge on the original / standard 501H, and swap them out as & when…

While there was nothing particularly wrong with the way the previous arm-wand sounded, I am really pleased with extra body & weight that the ‘M’ has given to the presentation. Luckily! 🤑

I think the overall design of the arm mechanism was the biggest unexpected delight. Really intuitive & smart. It would be awesome to check out some of the proper golden-age Japanese premium tonearms now!

The SP15 turntable itself is a pleasure to use, much less of an “agricultural” design than the 301.
My 301 had a very lively and “exciting” presentation. Which is part of the reason for their popularity, I’m sure.
The SP15 is still “fun” to listen to, but perhaps doesn’t have quite the same urgency & drive that I heard with the 301.

The Technics seems rock solid in its pitch… I can only imagine the vice like grip that you SP10 owners must enjoy!

I think my old Linn LP12 bests the SP15 in terms of ambience and “space”, and perhaps better low level detail retrieval.
These are all very unscientific observations though, given there are so many variables - and my unreliable memory. 🥸

Overall, I’m very pleased to have made the leap to DD… I only wish I could have kept all 3 decks!!!

Aug 26, 2021 13:05:33 GMT 12 raveydave said:

The Technics seems rock solid in its pitch… I can only imagine the vice like grip that you SP10 owners must enjoy!

I think my old Linn LP12 bests the SP15 in terms of ambience and “space”, and perhaps better low level detail retrieval.
These are all very unscientific observations though, given there are so many variables - and my unreliable memory. 🥸

That pretty much sums up my first impressions of SP10 v Well Tempered.

Well done  

Aug 25, 2021 13:46:20 GMT 12 raveydave said:

Hello Sondek, I remember you went a bit further with your LP12.
Glad to see you’re still lurking about, even if it is from China!

Thinking back through the mists of time…

We both had the Cetech carbon fibre sub-chassis made & fitted by Steve Millward, here in Auckland.
And the Boston Carbon Mat… both of these tightened up the focus (less fuzzy?) and bass, more “definition”.

Using a dedicated wall mounted shelf made a huge difference to footfall. I also added a Trampolinn 2 aluminium baseboard to mine, but I do recall you didn’t like what it did to yours. I think you went open / naked and spiked on the bottom, again from memory?

Pretty early on, I replaced the Linn Valhalla with an internal Hercules 2 power supply for affordable push-button speed change. Then eventually moved onto the external Mose PSU. You went with Origin Live DC, iirc?

I’d also swapped out the Linn tonearm RCA cable for a fancy Nordost Frey. I think all the little improvements added up over time, and it certainly the constant fettling is all part of the fun for me.

I would be keen to know how it sounds now, with that freshly rebuilt Troika on the end of the Ittok arm - such a classic combo! 😍

Hi Dave - you're welcome to call in and have a listen anytime when we're out of lockdown ;-)

Cheers

Steve