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Success! Lightweight acrylic plate for Gyro SE...

Posted by tketcham (A) on December 4, 2014 at 19:52:13

Well, after six months of procrastination, I finally got around to installing the acrylic mounting plate I ordered from Michell Engineering to correct a suspension balance problem. I couldn't get my Gyro SE to balance out with the standard mounting plate provided for a SME 309. The chassis had a noticeable lean towards the tonearm and after taking several different measurements of the weight of the plate, tonearm, and chassis lean (see link below), I came to the conclusion that the mounting plate (which weighs 235g) was about 135g too heavy. So I ordered a special lightweight acrylic plate from Michell Engineering and installed it this past weekend.

The plate, which weighs 105g, is nicely finished with a high luster and all the threaded mounting holes were cleanly drilled and aligned precisely with the tonearm base and turntable chassis. Other than taking a little extra care to protect the glossy finish, the acrylic plate mounted up exactly like the standard metal plate. The rest of the setup went smoothly, especially since now the chassis was properly balanced. Adjustment of the springs to get the right suspension was easy and I ended up with that great "Gyro bounce" after just a few tries. I had to make only small adjustments to spring height to get the chassis leveled. Much easier than before.

So was the acrylic plate worth the extra $189 USD? I think it was; mainly because it makes it easier to balance out the suspension and get the proper bounce. And I believe that over time, having the chassis properly balanced will minimize uneven spring wear (elongation). Did I notice an improvement in sound quality? I'm not sure. I've been listening to CDs for the last six months so hearing the sweet sound of vinyl again after all that time makes an objective observation impossible. All I can say is that the 'table sounds fantastic and I actually prefer the new look.

Gyro SE suspension balance problem

I'm curious what other Gyro SE/SME 309 owners have observed with their 'table suspension and balance.

Regards,
Tom

PS: I want to commend Dave Lang at Artech-Electronics and Steve Rowland at Michell Engineering for their prompt replies to my questions and help in coming up with a solution. My reason for posting all of this is so that other Gyro turntable owners with a similar problem might learn from my experience and come up with a different (and possibly less expensive) solution.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Schiit Audio

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