Schiit Sol Turntable Review - Episodic.

Discussion in 'Vinyl Nutjob World: Turntable and Related Gear' started by purr1n, Sep 10, 2019.

  1. bazelio

    bazelio Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 16, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,417
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Pro tip with these arms that don't allow for easy fine tuning of VTF. You can set VTF a couple tenths heavy, and then use small pieces of museum putty on the back end of the arm behind the counter weight to fine tune. It's a lot easier than trying to tap the big weight "slightly". Just add or remove small pieces until it's right. It worked on VPI/JMW arms, Origin Live, and others. It looks like it'd work on the Schiit as well, from the pics.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Sep 15, 2019
  2. Scott Kramer

    Scott Kramer Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    May 3, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,446
    Trophy Points:
    93
    41U8BA8PP9L._SX385_.jpg
    Maybe this would be a good fix for the counterweight adjust, replace the buried set screw with a thumb adjustable one. Keep the original solid design without having an allen wrench involved.

    Also the anti-scate fishing line looks too heavy (thick), a much lighter weight would probably be better and work correctly in the little divot.
     
    Last edited: Sep 14, 2019
  3. Ruby Rod

    Ruby Rod Facebook Friend

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2017
    Likes Received:
    220
    Trophy Points:
    33
    Location:
    Canandaigua, NY
    Home Page:
    I use 2 lb monofilament from Walmart, though I always worry about monofilament taking a set. Anything heavier is too heavy. I also find the stuff miserable to handle with my fat fingers. Clean dry linen thread can be a good choice. Never try to lube the thread as it causes stick-slip.

    @purr1n, I'll check that.
     
  4. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    14,130
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    India
    Ah! I think that is the correct technical term for the phenomenon that I was trying to describe in a profile post about real (rather than nervosa) turntable problems.

    And... it's the phenomenon that makes violins work, and glasses sing, right?

    One hell of a phenomenon!
     
  5. Ruby Rod

    Ruby Rod Facebook Friend

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2017
    Likes Received:
    220
    Trophy Points:
    33
    Location:
    Canandaigua, NY
    Home Page:
    Yeah, it's great when you need it, but can be a nightmare to get rid of when you don't. I've made tiny rollers for anti-skate systems, but that can increase costs. Stick-slip can resonate the wire support, so it's important to get the materials and size right.
     
  6. Dr. Higgs

    Dr. Higgs Boson - Member

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2015
    Likes Received:
    781
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Roswell, GA
    After hearing the justification against threaded counterweights, the top mounted thumbscrew option would probably be my pick.

    Should be easy to adjust and considering it mates with a flat surface there’s probably low risk of it throwing off the azimuth like with the VPI design.
     
  7. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,771
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
  8. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,771
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    BTW, keep the critiques running. I'm helping to organize the feedback back to Schiit. Trying to make this a community effort of sorts.
     
  9. Dr. Higgs

    Dr. Higgs Boson - Member

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2015
    Likes Received:
    781
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Roswell, GA
    I have one of those on my classic, works great for fine vtf and azimuth adjustment. Might be more stable than the azimuth adjustment screw.
     
    Last edited: Sep 15, 2019
  10. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    May 28, 2017
    Likes Received:
    7,976
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Vancouver BC
    I'm with @Merrick on the adjustable feet. All those arm adjustments to endlessly tweak for any cart (presuming a longer headshell), yet leveling the TT needs a DIY solution?

    Also, it'd be as good for Schiit as for customers if a single motor rated for 50 & 60 Hz power can be sourced, and correct speed attained by appropriately-sized pulleys. If the final price stays close to what it is now, I imagine demand for this outside North America could be high, and one less variable would reduce guesswork in maintaining inventory to match demand in different markets (production of pulleys presumably being quicker, cheaper and more in Schiit's control than motors).

    An electronic speed controller would I think be better as an optional extra rather than being included in the base model.
     
  11. Ruby Rod

    Ruby Rod Facebook Friend

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2017
    Likes Received:
    220
    Trophy Points:
    33
    Location:
    Canandaigua, NY
    Home Page:
    On leveling, I'm going to put on my Nomex underwear and say, I don't think super accurate leveling is very important. If the surface is level enough that your beer doesn't slide off, it's probably level enough for the turntable. OK, maybe not that much, but it has to be noticeably out of level for side forces to amount to much. That said, a solution used on some optical equipment I've used might be easy. Leveling feet that screw in the posts and have about 6 or 8 holes drilled across. You use a small rod, hex wrench or whatever's handy; insert it in the holes sideways and turn the foot. Naturally the foot has to have a convex face so it rotates without driving the table sideways. Any sensible person makes only two of the three feet adjustable.

    A question on motors I don't know the answer to- would operation at 50 Hz require a different capacitor than 60 Hz?
     
  12. schiit

    schiit SchiitHead

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    9,937
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Texas and California
    Home Page:
    We'll be sending out an email on Monday to owners summarizing what we are working on, and when the first fixes will ship, so yes, please keep the information flowing.

    A few important notes:

    1. Some of the issues are QC problems, like the wobbly platters and misregistered pivot bearings. If you have those, contact us now and we'll get you good parts. Checking for these is now part of a much longer list of pre-ship testing.

    2. We will be addressing the most critical issues first, starting with the tonearm. I'd expect that we'll ship you shorter arms that allow most cartridges to fit comfortably. These arms result in the same effective length when set up correctly. Maybe this is all we need to do on the arm, but I wouldn't be surprised if we ended up with a longer headshell as well. We'll work with Conrad on this.

    3. In addition to the critical issues, we'll also be working out the lack of setup of the turntable prior to shipping and addressing some stupidities like the fishing line and lack of stopper and loop on it. Lisa reminded us there are these things called crimp beads, which would eliminate tying a knot in it. Also yes, I suspect Conrad is right and the line is too thick.

    With respect to Conrad's question, apparently the motor needs to be rated for 50Hz as well as 60Hz, so we haven't experimented with capacitors, though I suspect it would be different for 50Hz. We're using a custom design from Hurst, and it's not rated for 50Hz. So 50Hz needs to have a different motor, or an AC regenerator/speed controller. Please note that an AC regenerator/speed controller is many months out based on our current development cycle, and would be additional cost (not expensive, but...)

    So, in summary: more info is forthcoming next week, thanks again for helping us fix this, we'll keep listening, and apologies for the trouble.
     
  13. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,771
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    I'd agree on the fishing line. It's too thick and tends to coil or curve up, compound issues like the weight just dropping here and there with incidental contact. With the platter, cue rest, and arm-bearing raised, the hook is now of sufficient height.
     
  14. IndieGradoFan

    IndieGradoFan New

    Joined:
    May 25, 2019
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Location:
    Philadelphia Suburbs
    Had some success with the anti-skate today, based on Conrad's post. I ended up tying the finishing line directly to the anti-skate rod instead of tying a loop and hooking loop over the rod.

    One thing I noticed is the mat isn't centered and has a small wobble. As far as I can tell, the wobble is limited to the mat and not the platter itself. Confirmed by swapping stock mat with a spare Herbie's Way Excellent II 2mm mat.
     
  15. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,771
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    Mat "wobble" is fine as a record will press down on the mat. And any record warp will be worse. The mat should be centered though.
     
  16. dmckean44

    dmckean44 In a Sherwood S6040CP relationship

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,425
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Peoria, IL
    Conrad has already stated elsewhere that he chose a rigid foot because it sounded best and I'd rather they choose a motor with the lowest noise rather than one that's most convenient all over the world. There's already more than enough tables on the market that sacrifice sound quality for convenience.
     
  17. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    14,130
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    India
    The trouble with non-adjustable feet is the lack of actually-level surfaces in the world!

    Even washing machines need levelling.
     
  18. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,771
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    Lack of leveling feet is OK given price of the table. Lots of options on Amazon, high-end audio sites, and from Home Depot, at many different price points. I actually think it's better this way since user can choose to isolate or couple the table.
     
  19. Dr. Higgs

    Dr. Higgs Boson - Member

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2015
    Likes Received:
    781
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Roswell, GA
    How's everyone's speed stability looking? Mine is running .4-.6% slow at 33.3 and 45 rpm based on turntabulator. I seem to get the best results if I start with the motor squared up with the closest short foot and the pivot, and move it a couple cm inwards diagonally towards the spindle. The belt starts to visibly wobble if I move the motor any closer, and speed stability gets worse if I move it further away.

    Pivoting the motor so one of the feet is pointing towards the spindle seems to help keep it from wobbling under tension.
     
  20. IndieGradoFan

    IndieGradoFan New

    Joined:
    May 25, 2019
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    3
    Location:
    Philadelphia Suburbs
    33.1 RPM here, 33.0 if I move motor further away from platter, both measured with turntabulator.
     

Share This Page