http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=9741285363&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.ca%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsea rch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26satitle%3D9741285363%2509%2 6fvi%3D1


This will be my first good quality TT, I researched long and hard before pullnig the trigger. :banana: I can't wait.

Very cool! Let us know how it sounds.

looks great. not a bad price either. congrat's......

Just hope it gets there intact after the PhDs in Customs get thru w/it...

If I undestand correctly the Turntable is European 220v 50 Hz. Are you the same in Toronto? US is 60 Hz.

I have not had much luck using a convertor not specifically for turntables as they typically only change the voltage not the cycles per second, the number of cycles per second is very important to an electric motor.

Nice looking table, hope all goes well, let us know how the turntable sounds.

Jim

Jim, Canada has the same electrical requirements as the US.

Phil. Good luck. Hope it arrives ok.

Cheers,
Joe

I had just noticed that there had been a question to the seller and a power convertor was mentioned.

Jim

I'm not worried about the converter, even if it dosent work out I'm sure there are DIY schematics out there somewhere - I've built variable AC units in labs from scratch before.

Congrats bigphil - I know how excited I was when I got my first TT :banana:

Enjoy the spins man!

In the Ebay ad you'll notice the knob on the front, which if you look at other pics of the Systemdek IIX, doesn't seem to be standard.
Possibly someone has fitted a voltage selector?

In the Ebay ad you'll notice the knob on the front, which if you look at other pics of the Systemdek IIX, doesn't seem to be standard.
Possibly someone has fitted a voltage selector?


I don't think its a voltage selector the seller definately would have said. I hope its nothing serious, that would definately put a damper on things.

I'm going to guess that knob is a custom-added pitch control to compensate for the 50/60Hz difference. I'd love to see the plug you put into the wall and any info on the motor or plinth sticker.
Tom

Hey Big Phil,

I have never seen a Glass TT before. Pls post some more pics when the TT comes. The Scots blew them bag-pipes some but this TT sure feels good.

Make 200% sure that you instruct the Seller to properly pack the unit.

Cheerio :-)
cosmicdust.

A nice table, an added note, Audio Note builds these now, you might have a service/parts resource with them.
http://www.audionote.co.uk/turntables.htm
That's a lot of turntable for 120 bucks.

Nice turntables those, I recently got one myself and put a Rega RB250 with Lyra Lydian on it. Just to throw a few more comments into the mix:

1) That knob is an oddity - it certainly isn't standard. I doubt it's a pitch control as the Systemdek uses an AC motor and this would require some very sophisticated circuitry to accomplish. My guess is a level control wired into the arm cable (if so TAKE IT OUT!) or a level control for an aftermarket fitted internal phono stage. Or it might have no function and simply be there to fill a hole in the plinth! Let us know what it is, I for one am intrigued!

2) The subplatter in this model has very loose tolerances and a significant amount of play in it - you can actually rock it slightly back and forth in the bearing housing. Don't panic - it isn't damaged or defective, it is supposed to be like this. This particular has an oil pump bearing (a spiral which draws oil up the shaft) and if it was too tightly toleranced the hydraulic force of the oil would lift the subplatter out of the bearing shaft.

3) Have fun with it and try to fight the urge to upgrade or change - at least for a while. I've had more expensive turntables than this one and it more than holds it's own against them.

EDIT: Wow, three posts in a year, I really should slow down a bit!

Nice turntables those, I recently got one myself and put a Rega RB250 with Lyra Lydian on it. Just to throw a few more comments into the mix:

1) That knob is an oddity - it certainly isn't standard. I doubt it's a pitch control as the Systemdek uses an AC motor and this would require some very sophisticated circuitry to accomplish. My guess is a level control wired into the arm cable (if so TAKE IT OUT!) or a level control for an aftermarket fitted internal phono stage. Or it might have no function and simply be there to fill a hole in the plinth! Let us know what it is, I for one am intrigued!

2) The subplatter in this model has very loose tolerances and a significant amount of play in it - you can actually rock it slightly back and forth in the bearing housing. Don't panic - it isn't damaged or defective, it is supposed to be like this. This particular has an oil pump bearing (a spiral which draws oil up the shaft) and if it was too tightly toleranced the hydraulic force of the oil would lift the subplatter out of the bearing shaft.

3) Have fun with it and try to fight the urge to upgrade or change - at least for a while. I've had more expensive turntables than this one and it more than holds it's own against them.

EDIT: Wow, three posts in a year, I really should slow down a bit!

Thanks Matt, I really appreciate your insight. No one minds the post count when you make insightful, usefull posts like that :tresbon:

update: I told the seller to package extremely well, as the good AKer that I am I went through all the instructions - remove counter weight, disassemble platter, secure loose objects, package individually, etc, etc (you guys have trained me well) and the seller siad he had to ship me the deck and the platter seperately because there was so much packaging material the package got too heavy - all this at no extra cost even though I offered to compensate.... I am even more eager now I am certain it will arrive safely.

Thanks to everyone else for their insights as well :thmbsp:

the systemdek came in several guises if i remember rightly..including an electronic speed switching version and sometimes shippd with either a mission arm,the linn basic or even the rega rb 250...the button looks out of place on that image though and its my guess that its not standard..the arm itself looks similar to the rotel arm i remember from the rotel rp855 i used to own..i'd ask the seller what exactly the function of the rotary knob is...as that picture looks like the purely manual speed change version which came minus anything except an on off switch...hope that doesn't dampen your spirits too much... :scratch2: if its in good working order though its still a great bargain at that price i reckon
that deck would have been pitched directly at the rega p3 and similar in the uk and got good reviews...i might have a few articles about the deck lying around if you need a scan...just drop me a line

Does this unit have more than one speed? If so, is it a mechanical speed switch or an electrical? If it has electrical speed change, then this should be a non-issue, because is would already be creating its own AC to drive the motor.

But if not, achieving a good clean 50Hz wave to drive this might not be as simple as you think. The voltage difference is trivial, but the frequency difference is not. The easiest solution to the frequecy problem is to obtain a smaller diameter motor pulley.

I started working on an electronic power supply already, the TT only requires 3.3Watts so it shouldn't be too expensive. The Systemdek IIX changes speeds with the pulley, not electronically at least thats what I've read on the net, and to change speed electronically would have costed the manuacturer a deccent amount of money back then so I don't think thats what the switch is for... I'm not too concerned about the knob, I got the deck at a steal of a price, and the guy seems to be an avid audiophile I don't want to bug him anymore, I can wait till it gets here all part of the surprise I guess :).

P.s. i'd love some original scans if you have them

Does this unit have more than one speed? If so, is it a mechanical speed switch or an electrical? If it has electrical speed change, then this should be a non-issue, because is would already be creating its own AC to drive the motor.

But if not, achieving a good clean 50Hz wave to drive this might not be as simple as you think. The voltage difference is trivial, but the frequency difference is not. The easiest solution to the frequecy problem is to obtain a smaller diameter motor pulley.

I agree with goldear, I have been through this once with a European turntable I had bought, I even went so far as to get an AC inverter, I was able to change the frequency of the power as well as the voltage but it put so much noise in the line that it became an issue.

Changing the voltage is pretty straight forward, the motor shouldn't have a problem at all with the 50Hz frequency and then adjust pulley size to attain the correct speed, they may even have this alread calculated if yo are able to contact the manufacturer.

Good luck, let us know if we can help.

Jim

Its nice to see that this forum is moving so nicely, I couldn't find my thread :).

Anyway, the TT arrived two days ago but I havent had any time to breathe, so I'm taking a "break" at work for those of you who were waiting in suspense along with me. Long story short, it arrived with zero damage from customs or shipping (yes, customs opened it). But its REALLY dirty and the power cord has been cut off, I don't really care about that but I'm concerned there might be damage to the motor if the guy was messing around trying to get it going on the wrong power source. Everything else looks ok, I havent had a chance to open up the underside to see what the knob does, but it seems to be either a pot, or some sort of mechanical device. I am in the middle of a complete recap and refurb on my Sansui AU-9500 so I will be ordering more parts and the parts for the power supply for this TT some time this week or next hopefully. Looks like I have a bit of work to do on this TT as well before its working up to par, but thats all part of the hobby for me so I dont mind :). Enough babble, on to the pics....

Notice the shipping costs - platter and matt in one package, everything else in the other with the counter weight properly secured. This shipper was amazing!

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4226.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4228.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4229.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4231.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4232.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4237.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4238.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4240.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4241.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4242.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4243.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4244.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4246.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4248.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4251.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4252.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4255.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4256.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4257.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4260.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4261.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4263.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4264.JPG

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/IMG_4266.JPG

I love the bird feathers!

Looks like an AR arm? Did Audioquest make these for AR? Anyway, it looks good and that sure seems like a good price for it.

My guess is the extra knob is a replacement on/off switch, and that it is already a 60Hz TT as these were sold in the US and Canada back in the 80's. A friend had a IIx and it was more costly when new than the round bodied Systemdeck that now sells for more on epay.

If you're building a dedicated power supply is it going to be a variable frequency unit? That would make it an adjustable speed TT, which is nice!

... the power cord has been cut off...
:wtf: ?! Sounds like someone is trying to hide something....

I have a Systemdek II, which is the "plinth-less" version (the round one) and I love it.
It's been modified by the original owner including damping the entire inside of the chassis and it sounds perfect this way. Perhaps yours could benefit from this tweak as well. The switch was also changed - the original rocker switch has a neon lamp built in which with time would likely either fail completely or start "blinking" thus generating noise.
I love the suspension - the platter and armboard feel like they're floating on air. The speed is rock solid and the motor is dead silent.

It's a keeper!

I just hope there is nothing wrong with yours...
Kris

Its definately not a 60hz system, the guy wouldnt have sold it if it was, but I will have to do some more investigating when I get a chance. I honestly have no clue what the round knob is for, its definatley not power but I dont know what it could be controlling. I highly doubt whoever was working on it knew how to integrate a pitch control that easily, but maybe I'll be surprised once I open it up.

I suspect the power cord was cut to change the Euro plug to a standard one to work over here, the seller told me he tried to make it work so it isnt completely hiding anything. It sounded like he really cared for the system and was sad to see it go, plus the fact that it was packed pretty well... however, the fact that it was so crudely cut and is so dirty conflicts the story. Some people just dont care for their things as well as others I guess.

The suspension system on the platter and on the armboard blows my mind, it is really really soft and plush - really like floating on air. So much so, I was scared to put the platter on in fears of breaking something, seems to fragile but I'm sure it isnt.

Any idea if that AR arm is any good? and the cart? I'll probably need a new one for it anyway.

Any idea if that AR arm is any good? and the cart? I'll probably need a new one for it anyway.

The wiring on that arm is definitely a step up from the wiring on my EB-101 arm! And make sure that the replacement cart has a compliance factor of 12-15 or so...the effective mass of the AR arm is 11 or 11.5, I think.

Keep us posted!

Hi Phil,

That looks good. I can't help thinking funny thoughts about how the bird feather got in there though. I can come up with a hundred different stories on that one ....

Well, set it up and post more pictures!
cosmicdust.

Let us know how it turns out! :thmbsp:

congrats, sometimes one needs to take a chance. Cleaning up the plinth and polishing the cover (if you can't do it correctly take it to a place that sells plexi or lexan, or talk dirty to your car detailer..perhaps she'll do it for nothin..)

The Systemdek was manufactured by Dunlop. Originally I thought the arm was a Profile, but the AR gave it away. It does look similar to the Audioquest arms. Check out
Vinyl Nirvana (http://www.vinylnirvana.com/)

The motors were Airpax, the same or similar to the original LP12, and of course Heybrook. Apparently the motors are best operated at 72 volts AC, much above and the motors are noisy (AC Synchronous). But it needs a push to get it started, so the switch may be a 120/72 Volt AC circuit. Overbuild a power supply, check out Neil McBride's site (if it's still around ---do a search for DIY Armegeddon).

I had though of going to the acrylic platter as AudioNote had on my Heybrook TT2, but a second motor should be added if you do to increase inertia when goin to a lighter platter as AN UK had done with their TT2 (no longer available)

Worse case scenario, you may need a platter bearing, and a motor, and of course an AC plug. At the price you paid, it still is reasonable to throw a couple o'hundred bucks at it to get er back in shape. Enjoy!

congrats, sometimes one needs to take a chance. Cleaning up the plinth and polishing the cover (if you can't do it correctly take it to a place that sells plexi or lexan, or talk dirty to your car detailer..perhaps she'll do it for nothin..)

The Systemdek was manufactured by Dunlop. Originally I thought the arm was a Profile, but the AR gave it away. It does look similar to the Audioquest arms. Check out
Vinyl Nirvana (http://www.vinylnirvana.com/)

The motors were Airpax, the same or similar to the original LP12, and of course Heybrook. Apparently the motors are best operated at 72 volts AC, much above and the motors are noisy (AC Synchronous). But it needs a push to get it started, so the switch may be a 120/72 Volt AC circuit. Overbuild a power supply, check out Neil McBride's site (if it's still around ---do a search for DIY Armegeddon).

I had though of going to the acrylic platter as AudioNote had on my Heybrook TT2, but a second motor should be added if you do to increase inertia when goin to a lighter platter as AN UK had done with their TT2 (no longer available)

Worse case scenario, you may need a platter bearing, and a motor, and of course an AC plug. At the price you paid, it still is reasonable to throw a couple o'hundred bucks at it to get er back in shape. Enjoy!


Thanks so much for all the info! I'm going to do some more research on the motor before I start building the power supply, a switch 230/72VAC sounds like a great idea. I've also read that the motor runs much quiter on 50Hz, but was wondering what speed it has been rated up to I want to run ~67.5Hz to get an electronic 45rpm switch going as well, I think decreasing the operating voltage would make this feasible.

I agree about taking risks, i've read wonderful things about this table and dont mind a bit of time and effort to make it great.

It seems the tonearm came off of a AR EB-101:

http://www.vinylnirvana.com/ar_models_eb101.shtml
http://www.audioreview.com/cat/analog-sources/turntables/acoustic-research/PRD_121295_1597crx.aspx

Sells for upwards of $600, so definately not a "budget" TT.

I really want to dig into this TT, but I've been moonlighting with my sansui too much, just 3 more bipolar caps to go... I was late to work this morning because I was listening to some isley on it - couldnt help attempting to power it up after all that work.




http://vinylengine.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=12350&sid=6b890ca64dce47a439d42be629c443c9

Hi Phil,

Congratulations on your purchase and for finding a seller who actually knows how to pack a turntable :banana: They seem to be a rare breed. Although I notice he didn't remove the subplatter...

Sure is grubby though, it looks like you've acquired a few 8 legged tenants with that unit! Other than that it looks like it's in pretty good condition overall so a good clean should sort it out.

The cartridge I believe it a Glanz GL-70R which was a budget offering from several years ago (according to http://audiotools.com/oldcart_f.html). I suspect you will need a new stylus anyway but I would personally recommend changing the whole cart to something like a Goldring 1006, Ortofon 520 or Shure M97xE. If these are too pricey then an Audio Technica AT95E or AT110E might also be worth a try. The tonearm is plenty good enough for now although the turntable will easily cope with more upmarket models (I've even seen an SME 309 on a Systemdek before).

Good luck with getting the motor controller built. I hope it works out because otherwise you'll have to either track down a 60hz pulley (maybe you could find a trashed Systemdek for next to nothing and salvage it from that) or - if all else fails - you could always replace it with a DC motor and controller. I think Teres do one but I suspect it will be expensive!

Kind Regards,

Matt

the power supply should be 120V/72V if it is switchable. If the TT had been converted to DC then yes changing voltage will changfe speed. The only way to control an Asychronous motor is with a frequency generator power supply. If ya pull the bottom of thable offf , and dig into the guts, themotor should have some markings indicating operating voltage...That should give it away, and the circuit that the switch may control could be the input AC voltage , or be some sort of electroninc speed controller.

All the stuff that is really important is there though. Like I said before, if a motor is needed they are available for 115V /60 HZ AC.

Partial schematics for anyone curious. Smoe guys on another board (diyaudio.com) are graciously helping me out since I've not dealt with any digital circuitry before :)

http://www.tech-diy.com/4060_clock.gif


another partial design

http://www.upshizzle.com/gallery/albums/uploaded/50hz.jpg