Right then, the old stub has been removed from the arm and a new one (along with motor suspension belt and S/E kit - basically a new round platter belt and pulley) is on the way.
I noticed a few things rattling about within the guts of the deck, so did a quick strip-down and found these:
These tiny nuggets had been placed inside the casing that protects the mains cable as it leaves the deck. I believe they are supposed to protect the arm bearings during transit. Best guess is that a previous owner put them ‘somewhere safe’ in case of loss. Not actually a bad shout, but they’ve probably been rattling about in there for 20 years…
The new counterweight rod arrived this morning and the RPM4 is spinning nicely.
Initial impressions are that it sounds very good indeed. The Ortofon 510 mk2 is decent (and in very good condition) and the arm bearings are also in good shape (when balanced without tracking weight applied, the arm glides very smoothly across the platter).
A bit of tweaking still to do, but I’m impressed so far.
The best thing about the RPM4 is the lack of springs. Not a spring to be seen. Set it up once and be done with it.
Springs have no place on a turntable other than as a source of endless faff, fiddle and paranoia. I remember trying to adjust the bounce on my old LP12 and marvelling at the sheer lunacy of the adjustments having to be made from underneath. Then there was the pissing about to get said bounce exactly right. Hours of fun, only to conclude that it sounded not one iota different than before. Bollocks to that.
My current main deck (Orbe) is better (spring adjustment is from the top), but I still hate it. It does sound nice though.
The Pro-ject sits plonked unceremoniously on top of a CD player, which is plonked on top of an amplifier. The whole stack sits on a wobbly stool. The deck isn’t quite level, nor is it isolated (at all) from vibration. The nearest speaker is two feet away. Is the Pro-ject in any way phased by this lunacy? No, it just plays LPs. I fucking love it for that.
Stuff still to address:
I need to fit the new motor suspension belt (the current one is very saggy).
Fit new drive belt.
Clean and oil the main bearing.
Source a new counterweight (current one weighs over 100g, which is too heavy for the cartridge).
Get hold of a stylus guard for the Ortofon 510 mk2 - not having one makes me nervous. A fairly thorough Googling has yet to identify a stockist, however.
See if I can restore the damping on the arm lift (it drops a bit too quickly for my taste).
The above tasks notwithstanding, earlier today I played JMJ’s Oxygene all the way through without giving up halfway (usually because I couldn’t remember why I ever liked it in the first place). Really enjoyed it.
A no-bullshit turntable, which makes me curious to know how better engineered varieties on the same theme might perform.
You’re in at a sweetspot. Proper isolation of the deck (e.g. wall shelf) will be worthwhile, and cartridge upgrades even more so, but improving the actual deck will get more spendy than seems worthwhile - be very easy to sidegrade.
Its supposed to reduce oscillation but I’ve no idea if it actually does. I do know that the old thing still sounds unreasonably good so I roll with it.
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