Schiit Sol- The Next Great Turntable?

I get a kick out of the "how could they" posts here bashing Schiit
Compared to the Amazon HD streaming thread which is a complete joke but nary a couple words bashing Amazon for releasing a broken product. In fact we get the opposite post every couple pages saying, "it's only been out a day, give them a break."

 

I agree, but I think one difference is Schiit was publicly developing the Sol for years, creating a lot of anticipation, only to turn out a product with flaws that would have been very easy to catch in that time. Amazon announced and launched the HD music service on the same day, with a 90-day free trial, which imposes very little if any physical inconvenience to customers. Also, quite a disparity in outlay between the two even once people do start paying Amazon. In reality, though, you are right, Amazon surely has been developing the HD service for some time, and it should have been more ironed out at launch, certainly at least the functionality on its own Amazon-branded devices...

 

Can't speak to Amazon HD as I haven't tried it. When Qobuz's hi-rez streaming rolled out here in the U.S. I certainly didn't mince any words about their broken Windows and Android apps.

 

Update:

I’ve tried a couple of things that improved the sound, passing along in case others want to experiment.

1. The rubber mat supplied with the Sol doesn’t cut it. Slides waaaay too easily. When I was spinning records at either speed a record roller or felt lint brush would immediately grab and stop the record from spinning, despite the platter spinning beneath it. Imagine a “tough” to navigate section on your favorite vinyl, if it even slightly starts to slip in relation to the platter spinning it will result in some level of sound degradation. Not good. So I bought the Hudson Hifi silicone rubber turntable mat (<$20 online), and just put it on tonight. First impression - drums just went to another level. Crisp, especially with hand hits, clean, can hear the reverbation in the snares much better, cymbals shimmer. Put on the QRP Bluesy Burrell 45 and be blown away. Might be other mats that work out there, but the Hudson HiFi works great for relatively cheap. Highly recommended.

2. I also bought the Turntable Lab 1.6lb turntable weight in chrome ($50). I wanted something to add some mass to the spinning platter, and this thing also adds a nice aesthetic to the Sol. Looks really good, and gives the bass drum and bass guitars a bit more weight in my setup than with just the Hudson HiFi mat. Soundstage appears to be a little deeper, too. Kind of seems like the space behind the speakers just woke up a little. You can remove the TTL logo with a little nail polish remover for a cleaner look.

I also received the replacement platter from Schiit, which appears to resolve the platter wobble. And I spent some more time getting it dialed in. The Sol sounds better than I could’ve hoped for $799, and with the minor tweaks above (and Nag MP-500!), it’s getting easily into the $2k+ Turntable-only realm. This thing just makes wonderful music. Liquid, analog, weighty, phenomenal.

And here’s an unsolicited recommendation for an album that I haven’t really loved until I played it on the Sol: The Cure - Greatest Hits Acoustic. So much going on, that before was just muddled or lost in the mix on lesser tables. Probably one of my most enjoyable “just spin it and sit back and listen” albums right now.

All of the beta folks should also be receiving a new tonearm soon. I don’t expect that to alter the sound much, as I’m able to juuuuust barely get my cart aligned correctly with the current arm. But we shall see.

Next up from an aftermarket perspective is a better belt. I’m anxious to see what Schiit does here, may sit tight until they offer a solution.

Anyone else doing any mods yet, or putting other mats, belts, etc on the Sol yet?

 

I found I didn't care for their mat either. Didn't have any problem with it(other than the hole isn't centered), but still have been using my cork/rubber mat. Seems a tad better to my ears.

I also had motor vibration resonating in my wooded cabinet. So I had some of that no slip drawer liner stuff laying around, and cut a small circle out to sit under it. It did the trick just fine, dead silent.
The best position for the motor pod in my space/layout I have found is having it directly across from the tonearm section.

Now if I can just get a platter that fits a bearing with no wobble...

 

Been looking for a forum for SOL beta testers, this is as close as I have found. Here is what I sent them 2 weeks ago:

Cool! Is there a forum where beta testers can share reports/ideas/info?
I quickly set up SOL last night and played a record, sounding pretty good considering all the adjustments still needed (check levels, VTA, cartridge alignment, etc). No major issues to report so far...except the belt does not stay steady (enough) to my liking...and I had to raise the plinth a bit because the motor is too high relative to the platter.

Since then, I raised the plinth even more and mainly just played a few records. I did notice that the platter can ring even by tapping on the mat so it may not be absorbtive enough - will try other mats next. The belt still wobbles a bit but not too bad. That may be the weakest link besides the overlong tonearm. Hope to get the new one any day now...the antiskate fell off but the tonearm has not been skating anyway. The platter seems true enough I dont need to swap it for another. I need to set it up on a shorter stand to observe it from directly above perhaps.

My only other comment is: could you design a tonearm using the standard removable headshell? Headshells are cheaper than whole tonearms for swapping cartridges. Bad idea?

Anyway this SOL is great for the money and I was so happy they went beta and will send new parts. Besides design I think the manufacturing QC/QA is an issue - once these are both resolved I agree this is a $2K turntable, but not for folks needing a turnkey simple system.

 

You might find Schiit Sol Turntable Review - Epsodic at SBAF useful.

 

I keep seeing this sentiment in one form or another here. I guess I don’t get it.

Just go buy the damn $2K TT!

Optimize THAT if you must fiddle and tweak. But jeez, just get to the listening part!

 

Aside from Jason Stoddard and Conrad Hoffman posting on that thread, it's been dead since Conrad got his Sol to work with. They seem to focused on beta testers feedback and other non internet board interactions for now.

 

I don’t get your need to tell people what to do here. If I were in the market for a turntable in the zero to $2k range, and I could get a turntable that played like a $2k turntable for less than $1k, I would at least consider it. Maybe you don’t like to spend less when you can. I do!

 

You seem out of touch with your post in this thread.

 

If as you say this TT sound-wise is in the $2k+ realm, is that the lower performance level $2k tables or the higher level? I ask because don't the higher level $2k tables perform like $4k tables, and those like $8k tables, and so on?

 

Well, of course they do. And they all "punch above their weight class" too. Claims like these have always sounded like downright silly rationalizations or justifications. I'm not sure what motivates people to rationalize their purchases or defend certain products. It's perfectly fine to like a turntable - or anything else - more than another one. It's called an opinion. I would rather you tell me why you like it and why you chose it than make silly claims or comparisons that are meaningless. People like different things. Nothing wrong with that. You don't have to rationalize what you like to anyone. Forums are full of self-appointed experts with opinions. I don't take them too seriously.

Now, my comments on the new Sol. Many people have been anticipating the release of the Sol - for a long time. Well, that happened. It is obvious there are some kinks to work out. I really hope Schiit gets these worked out soon. I'm sure they will. Is it worth the price of admission? Time will tell. Do I have one? No. Do I want one? No. It's not the turntable for me. I spend enough time already aligning my cartridges. I do hope it is successful in the market. I am just not the intended market. However, I am interested in it's performance and will keep monitoring this thread. This is one of Mike Moffat's pet projects. So I'm interested in how it does.

Cheers!

 

It is a useful thread to have bookmarked because it is the only place the designer of the Sol, Mr. Hoffman posts. Example today:

 

Actually I was explaining why there hasn't been a post on that thread for 10 days. It's just timing that Conrad decided to give an update earlier this day.

 

At least people started getting replacement platters.

 

I do not really understand.
There were little talk in this thread about some said oh look in the video there the platter is wobbly. And some other just said oh no it is the shaky camera..
But I look at the footage and to me that looks wobbly to.

So I guess they replace the platter because of its wobble up and down..

That is the thing I do not understand.
Someone who ever doing a turn table should know of course that wobble in a platter need to have a tolerance and kept an eye on by controlling and measure it. So it is in the specifications.

So I presume that basic lesson is now learned in V2 of the platter.
That is one of those basic lessons that they are learning now when they are a TT manufacturer.
And that shows that me again that I could never buy a TT from someone that has never before done one TT before. When they lack the experience to know what matters.

Anyway this turned out good for everyone as I see it. To that degree that I would not have anything against to be a beta tester that I suggested that they should implement long time before the did it.
This will be a great TT some day!

 

Installed the "updated" (temporary beta arm until final is released) tonearm. Looks like it's somewhere around a 1/4" shorter shaft eyeballing it. I was able to get it perfectly lined up with this arm. Previously it was just forward of dead center on alignment. I didn't want to risk tearing something up so I didn't push it farther back in the headshell.

Here are a couple pics. Sorry I'm a dope and didn't get any before rear clearence pics

 

I'm a non-partisan observer here, rooting for this thing to get sorted rather than being negative. Your photos prompted me to question what the 'standard' headshell length is, and I gather there isn't one. For example, Ortofon alone offers these ranges: Headshells dimensions chart
Out of curiosity, how long is the useable space on that SOL headshell?
Since this isn't a removable headshell design with a collar, I took a look at how my arms are set up-- very small headshells but the wires don't come from the back of the headshell; instead they come out through the bottom of the arm, so there's no 'wall' at the back of the headshell to limit space:
IMG_0981 by William Hart, on Flickr
Kuzma makes detachable headshell models too, but they employ the same design in the sense that the headshells are not 'wired'- to remove a cartridge with headshell you have to disconnect the wires from the tonearm itself. And this is only one design from one manufacturer.

 

1/4" shorter is about what I estimate, based on the alignment I see with the Sumiko Pearl, which has the typical ~10mm stylus to mounting screw distance. This would move the screws up closer to the front of the slots like your A-T.

They could move the ground screw to the underside of the shell to make a little more room, too. I see no reason why it has to be where it is.

 

Yah, when you look at this made-in-The West for $799 and then look at the made-in-China WTL Simplex, all golf-ball and plastic motor, for $2000, you just want the Schiit to turn out to be better to discourage such disgusting price-gouging. Hopefully, it will be WTL who are SOL...

 

I had the original Well Tempered turntable before they had all the variations- back in the '80s. I tweaked the hell out of it- different platter, improved motor, a heavy brass clamp around the fluid well, pretty much everything except the plinth itself- they even offered an upgrade for that- Corian ™, I think, but it was pricey. It was an ingenious design and wasn't crazy expensive back then. The biggest issue with performance that I had was that differences in the amount of damping fluid affected the sound and knowing what was 'right' was a bit of guess work.

 

I have the Sol and I like it quite a bit. I don't have any issues with wobble. I did use a bit of Super Lube to marry the spindle with the platter so I got a very even fit.

One issue I have had is adjusting the azimuth. The Sol only comes with one "ear" round nut to make adjustments. No matter how I adjusted the screw and nut I could not get a perfectly parallel azimuth setting. I finally added some nuts/washers to the other side in order to achieve perfect azimuth. I think Schitt should supply two brass nuts in order to get things to work? At least in my case, one nut does not work.

 

Effective Mass: 12.8g without cartridge

Noticed this from their website just now, don't recall a seeing a concrete number discussed.

 

I was wondering what they are using for the bearing. Mine seems to have the tiniest bit of play, wonder if I try what you did would fix it.