Schiit Sol Turntable Review - Episodic.

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

  1. nlitworld

    nlitworld Acquaintance

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    @oneguy A new cartridge will really let the Sol take on a whole new level. I went COMPLETELY overkill cause I wanted to try it, but I went from a 2M Blue to a Benz Micro Zebra L. Holy Santa Clause S#!+! What a difference. It's like the table was a redneck hunter who put down it's beer and trucker cap and turned into James Bond in a tuxedo and ordering a shaken martini. When the reviewers all said the Sol will scale with whatever cartridge you put with it they weren't kidding. Point being, this table really lets you splurge when it comes to a cartridge and downstream components and it won't be wasted money. Just wish I had an extra arm to swap back and forth for those beer and trucker cap occasions.

    Also now that I removed the power from the control pod, things sound fantastic. I still had to dress my wired a bit funky using an old record brush to prop them up. But even for my cheaper Project Tube Box S2 phono stage is dead quiet even at max gain. :punk:
    My Hapa cables are one side shielded directional just like @toddrhodes but I can't seem to tell a difference in sound with regards to direction. And now that I have them finally dressed to where I get no hum, I'll be damned if I'm moving anything.
     
  2. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Friend

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    Yea, I've never noticed a SQ difference but as I was learning to DIY some interconnects, the whole directional thing is about shields and floating them at the destination end of the chain. It's a noise thing, but I don't recall specifically how that's supposed to help, electrically. But that's why I was a little surprised that "backwards" was less noisy, at least very unsciency like.

    That said, I rearranged most of the stuff yesterday to keep signal and power as far removed from each other as possible and now I literally have to peg the volume on the line stage to hear any ground noise. So I'm considering that solved, regardless how the cable is run :D
     
  3. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    Oh I don’t doubt it any I fully intended to pick one up just have to space out the purchases. October was headphone and pre-amp and the month before that was a second Sol and speakers.
     
  4. JackG

    JackG New

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    You and me both. In all honesty I've been blissfully happy with the AT-VM95ML (actually the stock VM95EN I added the ML stylus to) combined with a Darlington MP-7 but would love to have another arm to play with.

    I wonder how many of these tables are out in the field. Let's keep this Sol Train running!
     
  5. Inoculator

    Inoculator Friend

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    Which Audio Sensibility cable did you go for? I was just checking out their offerings because I am getting noise on my NAD M33 + turntable setup with my normal DIY KLE connectors/VH Audio Pulsar CU II. Beyond the microphonics, which does seem kind of odd, interested in what you are thinking.
     
  6. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Friend

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    I have the Impact SX, the entry level ones, I think they're 1.3M or something. I always buy "high end" cables used, so I got my pair for $90 shipped. Not sure if that helps.

    The microphonics are still, strange? But to be fair, I have to turn up the line stage a lot to hear it, so I'm guessing it's just something to do with the amount of gain at that point. The cables are pretty stiff and rigid, so that probably contributes as well. But during playback, it doesn't become an issue, so I'm not too worried about it. They're great cables IMO, at least on either my AT VM740SH or my MP-500. And they are dual shielded so that helps in my tidy little rat's nest of wire by all that stuff.

    This is also my second set. I had a set awhile back that had a DIN plug on one end, and I re-terminated them with RCAs on that end. But this set, since I was troubleshooting noise - I wanted to leave my talent for soldering out of the picture. So, happy enough with them to get a 2nd set.
     
  7. Sound_Yourself

    Sound_Yourself New

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    I bought a Schiit Sol recently and I like it. Schiit told me it was the last one. They’re out of tonearms, unfortunately. The tonearm seems like it might be a good DIY candidate, so I will be playing around with a variety of tonearm materials and masses. Endless fun! I would love to hear from anyone who has modded their Sol…
     
  8. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    Building a suitable tonearm would be welcome by all. I thought about sending my tonearm out to a few machine shops to see who chocks replicate it and for how much but never moved forward with the plans.

    Only mods I’ve done are tonearm wires, different turntable mats and a Speed Box.

    Tonearm wires:
    KAB electronics wire - good upgrade to stock wire. Puts no adverse pressure on tone arm swinging due to it being very limp.
    [​IMG]

    30 AWG pure silver litz from eBay:
    I was hesitant to buy this because it looked stiff in the photos but eBay had a special where I got $20 off any music related purchase so for $2.95 I took the gamble. Slightly stiffer than stock wire but doesn’t seem like it will pose an issue. I haven’t listened to it yet since I just added 2 days ago but I have it paired with a Denon DL-103R that my friend let me borrow and will get to it.
    [​IMG]
    https://www.ebay.com/itm/1741506749...llYj8wxQKG&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
     
  9. Sound_Yourself

    Sound_Yourself New

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    Thanks for chiming in! The OEM wires are a bit stiff and they definitely play a role in setting up the arm. I also have a speed box. I built one DIY splitting the motor phases (0° and 90°) for more precise control resulting in a smoother quieter motor. Rather than machining that hoop at the back of the arm out of aluminum, I’m thinking it could be machined from ebony or molded from resin. And it doesn’t really need to be hoop-shaped at all. The arm tube could be made from aluminum tube, wood doweling, or carbon fiber tubing, all readily available and inexpensive. The headshell from flat aluminum, wood, or even a commercially available headshell.

    How do you like that Denon cart? That model is on my list.
     
  10. oneguy

    oneguy Acquaintance

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    Haven’t listened to it yet.
     
  11. lehmanhill

    lehmanhill Almost "Made"

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    Hey Sound Yourself.

    I'm glad to hear from another DIY guy. If I was going to build a DIY unipivot tonearm to emulate the Schiit, I would probably follow in the footsteps of the old Naim Aro. By that I mean use an carbon arrow shaft for the tonearm wand. I actually bought a few with that in mind a few years ago, but was distracted by other projects. If you are curious, competition arrow shafts are larger in diameter (higher stiffness) and many are made from uni-directional carbon prepreg. The other alternative is a custom roll wrapped carbon tube with your choice fabric and geometry.

    If you haven't seen it already, I recommend reading the Korf Blog. He explores many aspects of tonearm design. And yes, I have been thinking of a tonearm project, but I don't know if I will ever actually build one.

    Out of curiosity, are you thinking of missionary or cowgirl for the pivot?
     
  12. Sound_Yourself

    Sound_Yourself New

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    Hi @lehmanhill

    It’s more than music, it’s DIY! . And pure entertainment. In addition to doing something about extra arms for the Schiit, I have three amps and a phono pre in various states of construction on my bench right now. A new speaker build is under consideration as well. It never ends!

    The Naim ARO certainly is a good model for this arm with a similar design philosophy. One aspect of the ARO I particularly like is the way the cartridge mounts in a fixed position without using slots. One of the benefits of being able to build and swap arms on this TT is that each arm could be preconfigured for a specific cartridge without needing any overhang adjustment, and perhaps even including permanently set tracking force, anti-skate and azimuth if you get the wiring right so it doesn’t provide any influence on these settings.

    Thanks for the info about carbon used for arrows. I had been looking into that myself but haven’t really gone that far yet. Also thanks for mentioning the Korf Blog. I just subscribed.

    Missionary and cowgirl sound like positions one may take up with a partner behind closed doors. Is this similar with tonearms but without needing to shower afterwards?
     
  13. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    :D :D :D
     
  14. lehmanhill

    lehmanhill Almost "Made"

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    Me too. It's a sickness.

    You understand it perfectly. I'm not the first person to use that description. I'm not sure which is the best. I think I prefer cowgirl unipivot arms because it should be easier to get the wires into the pivot/wand close to the pivot point. But I'm sure the proponents of missionary have their reasons.
     
  15. JackG

    JackG New

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    That was my plan but couldn't manage to grab another arm. I love this table to death and that's my only negative. Would love another arm.
     
  16. Sound_Yourself

    Sound_Yourself New

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    So the factory Sol is a cowgirl and the ARO is a missionary? That makes sense. I hadn’t planned on changing the pivot configuration. Regarding the wiring, does reversing the pin and cup change the location of the pivot point?
     
  17. lehmanhill

    lehmanhill Almost "Made"

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    Remember, I don't have any expertise here. I'm just a DIY guy trying to figure it out like you. My guess is that the pivot position itself doesn't inherently affect how the wire has to flex, but the way structure around the pivot is done affects how much the wire has to flex. That is the main thing, I think. As the wires bend and twist with tonearm movement across the record, that takes some force which can affect the anti-skating at a minimum.

    I have read little bits of this idea in scattered places over the years. A recent example is at 35 minutes in the analog planet discussion about an unobtanium tonearm at Munich. Unfortunately, all these discussions are like the video, talking about how important it is, but not giving background or details. For example, for years VPI claimed they didn't need a separate anti-skate device and just used a specific twist of the wires to give anti-skate.

    https://www.analogplanet.com/content/worlds-best-high-end-munich-2022-analog-coverage

    By the way, the Schiit arm is very clever with the pivot out in free air allowing the wire to be dressed to taste. It also is a cost effective approach to manufacturing the arm because that looks like the pivot mount is a cut section of thick wall aluminum tube. I wonder about the structural continuity, but then again it looks better than many other examples.

    I don't know if Conrad is still hanging around, but it would be great if he could join in. If you don't know him, Conrad Hoffman (Ruby Rod here) has been studying, designing, and making turntable stuff for decades. Schiit worked with him on the Sol and there is a lot of Conrad in the Sol. Plus he is a really nice guy. If anyone could explain the pivot/wire issues and/or suggest a DIY idea, it would be Conrad.
     
  18. Sound_Yourself

    Sound_Yourself New

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    It would be great if Conrad jumped in here!
     
  19. 565hunter

    565hunter New

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    Hello fellow Sol owners. I've had my Sol a few months and am just starting to get things sorted out. I'm a big DIY guy and have also considered making a spare arm or two. I've got a mill and a lathe that will perhaps help out a bit. Carefully read through this entire thread and learning from the process. Current cartridge is a Grado Green but I've got a DL103R/Paradox Pulse modded cartridge on the way. Looking forward to collaborating with others to the benefit of all!
     
  20. IndieGradoFan

    IndieGradoFan New

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    Switched my phono stage from a Mani to an old M1LPS and then to a MX-VNYL and added a Music Hall Cruise Control 2.0. Very impressed so far.

    Very tempted to try to build some type of replacement junction box with a mini-XLR connector. Or maybe just mounting one on the stock junction box somehow.
     

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