Yes! My first deck was a Systemdek II. Loved that tt. That's what set me on the road to vinyl ruin...
Currently there are two finishes available for Linn/SME mount base's and pillars, black satin and blasted aluminium: http://www.supasound.com/photos/pillarfinish.jpg
Here's a 10.3 inch Blackbird on an STST Motus II in New Zealand... http://www.supasound.com/photos/motus1.jpg http://www.supasound.com/photos/motus2.jpg
Adam at hifiaf.com has reprised his SUPATRAC Blackbird review now that he has a magnetic bearing and powder-coated thrust box: LP12MF: Supatrac Blackbird Tonearm — Updated Version with Magnetic Pivot
Rusting thrust boxes, progressively tilting azimuth? It's good to see these flaws are being remedied but the Blackbird is clearly still under development. What support do you provide early adopters who are now left with flawed and less desirable versions as improved ones are made available?
Replacement free of charge. Only a handful of unpainted pre-magnetic Blackbirds were sold, and their owners have been delighted with their performance. As I've said, the rust problem was not detected as it occurred in climates much more humid than mine. It was a cosmetic problem and thrust boxes are now powder-coated. As has been made clear, the azimuth variation was barely detectable and the arm performed superbly regardless, but that minor anomaly is now also a thing of the past. The Blackbird is no more under development than your car. It is a mature and tested product which provides unprecedented performance in mine and the experience of many others. Like any other product it may be improved in the future, and if possible I hope to make improvements retro-fittable, but it will not somehow become obsolete or degraded, as, like many other audio components it will continue to work as designed. In fact I expect early Blackbirds to continue working well until long after we have all gone to a better place because it has zero built-in obsolescence, and it is easily maintained.
It looks like your platter is high enough above your plinth for vertical clearance. I can't see what kind of aperture you have in the plinth, but you can order a Blackbird in more or less any length to match your spindle-to-pivot distance. So far I have produced bases and pillars compatible with Linn, SME, Jelco and VPI mounts. I'm working on Rega and ARO mounts. I'm pretty sure it will be possible to make you a Blackbird which is compatible with your plinth, even though I haven't seen the plinth's arm-hole yet.
Looks good to me. Everything is laid out well and easy to read. Your explanations are also clearly written. Nice job.
I saw on the website there's going to be review from Tone? Have you sent your tonearm to many other publications?
Well, once I’m seriously in the market for a technics sp10 mkii, I think this would look lovely with it.
It's with another TNT reviewer, not Tone as far as I'm aware. The other reviewer also does good informative reviews. We're getting ready to aim for commercial reviewers, but it's important to have production ready too.
I had a good query on another forum which I thought might be worth sharing here, so here it is with my response. Sure, here are some pictures of two ways to attach a cuing tress to my dusty, fallow, but mechanically superb Ekos 2. You can see that the tress can be bent over while the record is playing so that it doesn't interfere with any lid, and you can also see in picture 7 why I think this is a good way to avoid excessive downwards pressure on a cartridge. In the penultimate picture you can see that I turned the hoop of a slip knot into a double loop to improve its grip on the arm tube. Obviously there are many knots and many ways to do this to any arm, and the length and flexibility of the string can be selected to taste. I like to put a bit of heat-shrink on the tress to make grip a bit easier to sense, as well as obstructing fray. If your eyes aren't perfect, why not use red heat shrink or funky string? ...
... When it comes to use, I recommend holding the tress near the end for maximum flexibility and gentleness. If the tress is the right flexibility and length you really can hold it while the record is playing which means you can... - ensure it's engaged with the groove at the beginning, - get a sure grip before lifting at the end, - bend down the tress before lowering the lid, - grip it between thumb and forefinger with your palm facing downwards, left hand or right which can be a great deal more comfortable than the usual contortions. HTH.
I've just updated the manual with another diagramme or two and some tips deriving from user feedback: http://www.supatrac.com/manual.pdf
I will have a stand in the fourth floor concourse near the bar(!) at the UK Hifi Show Live in Ascot (https://hifishowlive2022.eventbrite.co.uk or www.hifishowlive.com) and I'm aiming to have four turntables sporting Blackbirds which you can listen to with headphones, Amadeus, Garrard 301, Sondek and Technics SL-1210. I understand there will be some used record dealers nearby, so instant gratification should be accommodated. If you can make it, I look forward to seeing you there.
I'm not expecting you to, as I imagine the costs and time are prohibitive, but if you make it to the Bristol show I'll definitely come by and spend some time, the idea of pairing your arm with a 401 is still very appealing, even if all Hi Fi expenditure is on hold until I see how the economy pans out.
If all goes well at the UK Hifi Show Live I will certainly be looking into having a presence at other shows. Meanwhile, here's the flyer I've designed for the UK Hifi Show Live:
Since the UK Hifi Show has been postponed I may as well show a couple of the decks I was planning to exhibit:
I have never done a direct comparison with an Ittok but I have compared it to a Linn Ekos 2 on the same deck with the same stylus. The soundstage was bigger and wider yet more focused, the deep notes were deeper and clearer, the dynamics were punchier, the treble was more airy, the soundstage was more spacious and realistic and voices and instruments were more clearly separated and defined, and easier to follow together and individually. Harmonies were more intelligible and tracking was better with no hint of rasp even on hot grooves, for example female opera crescendos. The sense of presence and performance was uncanny. Adam at hifiaf.com describes similar experiences in his reviews here LP12MF: SUPATRAC Blackbird Tonearm Installation and Review and here LP12MF: Supatrac Blackbird Tonearm — Updated Version with Magnetic Pivot He said "The Blackbird remains a bit of a miracle. Much as I enjoyed the Ittok, it’s just not in the same league."
