Democratising Lathe Cutting Part 4
As many are likely aware, though the VR-T560 is made to work with a Technics 1210, this turntable doesn’t provide sufficient torque for loud 12” cuts, without modification or replacement. Many upgrade to a Technics SP10-MKII or SP15, a more pricey turntable and getting tougher to find. In our studio, we previously used three Vinyl Recorders with SP10-MKIIs, a costly expense but to get the levels of cuts we were aiming for a necessity. However we have found cheaper alternatives!
This is our goal with the ‘Democratising Lathe Cutting’ series, to empower everyone by providing the best possible options for cost and performance. With this aim, we've identified two affordable ways to achieve sufficient torque: one involves a 1210 modification, detailed on Lathe Trolls (https://www.lathetrolls.com/viewtopic.php?t=4709), and the other is a complete turntable replacement. Below we are looking into the latter, a cheap turntable replacement.
After thorough testing on three different units, the Numark TT500 turntable is our choice turntable and we are confident that it is an upgrade on a budget! Firstly its torque rating (4.5kg) is significantly higher than that of a 1210 (1.8kg). However that’s not all that matters, as many other factors need accounting for, such as feet, height, platter wobble and so on.
The TT-500 is housed in a rubber frame with small rubber feet underneath that rest directly on the VR base plate. To ensure a proper fit, you need to remove the metal feet from the VR. Despite the lack of decoupling, we found no difference in noise floor or rumble, likely due to the rubber housing.
Regarding platter wobble, we were pleasantly surprised. The platter was very stable across the three TT-500 units we tested, outperforming a 1200-MKII and providing excellent stability all the way to the cutter edges of a 12” disc. The height of this turntable is a little higher, but also comparable to our 1200-MKII, so head height calibration is not a major issue.
Our final tests involved cutting, and we are 100% satisfied with the results. After selling our three SP10 MKII units, we are confident in using these £150 Numark TT-500s.