Well Tempered Lab Versalex Turntable, Symmetrex LTD Tonearm, excellent condition

Well Tempered Lab Versalex Turntable, Symmetrex LTD Tonearm, excellent condition. A near mint example of this very highly regarded Versalex turntable/tonearm combination and rare on the used market. It is another great design from William Firebaugh who has been designing turntables for decades and is the ultimate expression of his "Outside of the Box" thinking. TURNTABLE: The Well Tempered Lab Amadeus range of turntables are designed and built with one goal in mind; maximum enjoyment from your analogue record collection. Our unique designs, most of which are patent registered let nothing stand in the way of you and your music.

Our approach, which may on the face of it seem simplistic is in fact the reverse and has taken countless hours of research and thinking outside the square. For instance whilst many manufacturers labour endlessly to design the perfect tonearm bearing, we simply eliminate it! A multi-layer Baltic plywood plinth finished with a walnut veneer top surface. Baltic plywood is dimensionally stable and has a very natural resonance that also results in a natural EQ which is excellent for our purpose.

Servo controlled motor with vibration controlled mounting. 0.004 polyester thread belt. Fully damped LTD tonearm featuring golf ball suspended in silicone fluid for optimum variable damping. Fixed headshell with no fussy setup.

Baltic Plywood plinth finished in real walnut. LTD is a highly refined version of the Well Tempered Lab tonearm, featuring the new Symmetrex configuration. The Symmetrex tonearm has the unique feature of dynamic tracking. The centre of gravity of the tonearm assembly is well above the rotational pivot of the ball and the ball is immersed in approximately 30% in the damping fluid. When the stylus encounters heavy modulation in the grooves the increased drag causes the tonearm to rotate down thus gently increasing the tracking force maintaining a secure and stable condition for every cartridge - William Firebaugh, Chief Engineer.

The Symmetrex tonearm configuration still uses a fully internal damped arm tube and precision made golf ball suspended in silicone fluid for perfect damping, with the added advantage of enhanced trackability over even the most torturous groove modulation. 10.5 effective length 9? DESIGNERS STATEMENT: In 1977, The Bruel and Kjær Company of Denmark published a landmark paper concerning the mechanical stability of high fidelity turntables: The Audible Effects of Mechanical Resonances in Turntables. Using the then new technology of Fast Fourier Transform analysis, Bruel and Kjær analysed a high end turntable to determine the importance of a turntables mechanical stability.

The conclusion of the B&K research was that a high fidelity tonearm should have a low effective mass and be mechanically damped to a Q of 0.5 to eliminate the side-band distortion caused by mechanical instability. Side-band distortion is particularly objectionable to human hearing. As a result of this conclusion, many light weight tonearms were developed but the issue of damping was largely or completely ignored. There is a good reason for ignoring this requirement, damping is not simple to implement and requires a new approach to tone-arm design.

During my research when designing Amadeus I have concentrated on achieving a very high degree of mechanical stability and have been required to use novel techniques and materials. During my experiments, I have constructed many prototypes, perhaps as many as fifty. Controlling The Mechanical Resonances Of The Tone-Arm The Well Tempered tone-arm does not have a bearing in the normal sense. Many tone-arm bearings use high quality ball bearings that have clearances in the low micron range.

However, that is where all the action takes place. The Amadeus bearing has zero clearance and damping for un-rivalled performance.

The tone-arm is constructed with a golf ball partially immersed in high viscosity silicone fluid. Golf balls are very precisely made and are well-suited for this application.

The degree of damping is adjustable. Controlling The Resonance Within The Arm Tube The 10.5 inch arm tube of Amadeus (9 on Simplex) is filled with a special grade of sand to eliminate any resonances within the tube. This technique is very effective and is unique to all Well Tempered designs. Rotational Stability Of The Spindle The Well Tempered round spindle rotates in a triangle hole of Teflon and the corner of the triangle is oriented to the motor.

This arrangement causes the spindle to rotate in a zero clearance bearing. If the spindle is in the normal round hole, the contact with the bearing surface is made of one point, a condition which can cause rotational instability. With the round spindle rotating in a triangle hole, contact is made at two points resulting in zero clearance and a high degree of stability. Bearing Noise The Well Tempered bearing uses a Teflon thrust bearing. The stainless steel spindle has a precision point and rests into a small hole in the Teflon thrust bearing to achieve very low noise.

Acrylic Platter The Well Tempered platter is acrylic which I have found to be very suitable for this purpose. In addition to having desirable mechanical properties, this material is relatively heavy resulting in increased moment of inertia for lower flutter and wow.

Drive Belt During my research, I have measured hundreds of belts of various types, using flutter and wow as the criteria. None have the excellent characteristics of the Well Tempered belt.

The belt is a polyester filament and has a diameter of 0.004 inches. To use this belt requires a knot and this may normally cause a problem. I have overcome this problem with a motor pulley of a special design to accommodate the knot.

In addition to being a superior belt, this material is widely available and easy to replace. I tested the durability of this belt with a test of fifty days continuous operation with no effect. Motor and Motor Drive We use a small dc motor and is driven by a torque servo of my own design.

The motor is mounted to the plinth and is very effectively mechanically decoupled by a ring of isolation material. The combination of belt, motor, motor drive electronics, and isolation results in low flutter and wow. In fact, the lowest we have ever measured. Your cartridge will get the ride of its life! Established in 2003, 2ndhandhifi is the UKs largest stockist of used quality audio equipment.

This means that all items described as. Will be in good working order but may show minimal cosmetic marks resulting from everyday use. Any more significant cosmetic issues will be highlighted in the listing if present.

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Requests to cancel will be rejected. The item "Well Tempered Lab Versalex Turntable, Symmetrex LTD Tonearm, excellent condition" is in sale since Sunday, November 14, 2021. This item is in the category "Sound & Vision\Home Audio & HiFi Separates\Record Players/Turntables". The seller is "2ndhandhifi-uk" and is located in Teesside.

This item can be shipped worldwide.

Brand: Well Tempered
Item Type: Tonearm
Model: Symmetrex LTD