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My journey into Photography, Horology, and Audiophilia |
My analog journeys
October 24, 2018
Fixing the Performance DC + TT3 arm board distance issue
After a few exchanges of email among the distributor and Clearaudio, the issue is acknowledged by Clearaudio and they promised to send a new armboard. Now whether that armboard is blank or pre-drilled, I wound know until it arrives.
As a temporary fix, I used my guide from the Clearaudio TT3 documentation designed for mounting the TT3 on other turntables. It's a piece of cardboard with measurements and holes in it as specified by Clearaudio.
The measurement guide clearly reveals that the generic armboard holes designed for the Champion is off when used with the Performance DC.
I made some markings on the armboard to see where the holes should have been.
This is the edge-to-edge distance of the default holes for the armboard. This works well with the Champion. On the Performance DC, it is too far away from the spindle by Clearaudio's own prescribed measurement.
This is the new measurement, it's off by nearly a centimeter. 8 mm is the required adjustment to be precise.
I was able to achieve the correct distance by pivoting the tonearm base on one screw. This is the quick fix that will prevent the cartridge arm from hitting the bubble level long before the lead-out groove.
Here's the updated top-view photo of the proper setup of the TT3 on the Performance DC where the armbase is now closer to the spindle. With this quick fix, my playback is normal and the issue does not manifest anymore.
However, I wouldn't trust that ONE screw holding the armboard for long. I hope a new armboard will arrive soon.
