A few months ago I started a diy Rega based turntable project. That project ran into problems. Once I'd completed it and was ready to do setup I found that the Rega dust cover was only tall enough for the low profile Rega arms. I had no intention of giving up my choice of Jelco arms so.... At first I tried to rethink the design. All attempts came to a dead end. About that same time the Sony TTS 3000 I'd been using for the last few years stopped working. Arrrrrg. So I gave up on both & decided to combine what I liked about both into a new design. These photos are a product of that design and a later second build with the same basic design.

 

The platter is 15 mm acrylic. The motor is a new Dutch motor the same model as Rega used in the old 110 volt models. This is the same or very similar to what Linn Sondek and Thorens uses. I added a bearing at the bottom of the motor which is what Linn Sondek does with their motors. The motor is mounted on a separate sub-chassis the can be adjusted to change the distance between the motor and the sub-platter. All mounting surfaces are covered with cork dampening. The spindle is a double 45 rpm (2 belts not 1) from Tango Spinner (Argentina). The motor mounts are double isolated and mount the the adjustable board NOT the top like Rega does it.

 

The sub-platter is stainless steel from Tango spinner as are the ceramic sleeve and bearing. Compared to the original Rega the spin is remarkable.

 

The plith is 2.25” MDF w/maple veneer. My guess it sit weights about 20 pounds. The feet are virapods. I really like vibrapods. They're cheap and they work really well.

 

This is desinged to be used with a Music Hall Cruise control. The Cruise Contol is a lower cost alternative to the Rega speed control. Also, the Rega speed control ONLY works on their 24v motor.

 

“Out of the box” the setup reads 45.4. The pully has a single speed 45, which is all that need with the speed control. 45.4 is actually fairly good. I did not test it with the standard spindle and sub-platter. If I had I suspect it would have been worse. With the Cruise control I was able to get it to 45.07. The speed does NOT vary at all as expected. 45.07 is 7/100 of 1 rpm. +/- 2 rpm is not unusual.

 

Motor: 250 rpm Synchronous. Part #: 9904 111 31813

 

Dimensions : 14.25” deep; 18” wide; 2.25” high w/o the base or feet

Distance between main bearing and pulley (centre to centre) : 66 - 75 mm varuable

Distance from main bearing to tonearm (centre to centre) : varies based on tonearmb.