An aquaintance has lent me his old Ariston RD80 with a view to selling it. Unfortunately it only plays at 45 and I don't have any singles. The belt just slips off when it is moved over to the 33 cog.
Points to bear in mind:
I don't know how old the deck is - he says it has been in his loft for about 10 years. I think it's got an old rega arm (s-shape) with a red cartridge (no maker's name). Seller claims not to know what arm or cartridge it is.
So I have a number of questions to ask:
1) Is there some trick to getting the belt to stay on or does it sound like it needs a new one?
2) How much would a service of one of these decks cost at a BADA dealer?
3) Assuming it would work okay after a service, what would a fair price be? (I know this is difficult because I can't identify the arm or cartridge)
4) How would the Ariston compare to a Rega2/3 or something similar? This assumes the cost of service plus buying price would be about the same.
Rest of system: CDX, 72(with MM boards), 90, Mission 781.
Many thanks
Tony
Posted on: 15 March 2002 by Tony Smith
Cheers Jim
You are right - it does have a physical resemblance to the LP12. Seems like it is almost the same design.
I used to have the LP12 and remember the drive wheel (probably not the right expression but I mean the motor wheel) needing a separate belt and extra adapter to play 45s. The Ariston set up as a dual-width drive wheel which you manually slip the belt over.
I don't know if the 33 part of the motor wheel is set too low or the platter sits too high but the belt just won't stay on.
Cheers
Tony
Posted on: 16 March 2002 by Tony L
I used to own a Ariston RD80, it’s a reasonably competent deck, though certainly no LP12. I would rate it alongside a P3 in performance but very different in its presentation. The RD80 is the deck that taught me how to fiddle about endlessly with subchassis decks. It is possible to get a really nice clean bounce out of it if set up correctly, and if it doesn’t bounce right it doesn’t sound right.
IIRC the 45 speed pulley sits above the 33 one, so your belt is riding upwards. What I would do is to remove the platter, move the belt to the 33rpm position and stick the platter back on upside down. If you are using the horrible rubber mat you will have to stick that on top of the upturned platter otherwise the weight is wrong. The point of doing all this is so that you can actually see what the belt is doing when you start the deck. You should get an indication whether the subchassis is set at the right height – if not your deck needs a service. As mentioned earlier it will probably need a new belt too.
The RD80 set up procedure is pretty much identical to a LP12. The three subchassis springs are accessible without taking the metal bottom off, they are the three holes in the base plate with plastic bungs covering them. There is a LP12 setup manual on my site (check my profile for url).
If your deck has the original rubber mat ditch it, a Linn or Rega felt one sounds way better. The later RD80s had a screw record clamp too IMHO this made the sound worse in a dead and leaden kind of way, I would advise not using it. If you do ditch the rubber mat in favour or a good felt one you will need to reset the subchassis as the felt mat is very much lighter and the platter will ride too high. As you will almost certainly need to adjust the subchassis just to get the thing to play at 33 this is no real extra hassle!
Good luck!
Tony.
Posted on: 16 March 2002 by richard goldsmith
I run one of these in my second system, through a Rotel amp and LS3/5a speakers. I just love to slip on a record while non-audiophile types are there, just to witness their jaws drop when they hear the sound! The usual response "is that really a record?" ensues.
I agree that it differs from a Planar 3 in presentation. I prefer the Ariston (have owned both) but this would depend on the arm/cart used. Mine has a Grace G707/AT440ML. If the one you are looking at has an older "S" arm and is getting too dear, a Rega/RB300 would be better value IMO. But if it's peanuts, buy it!
Posted on: 18 March 2002 by Tony Smith
Mark, Tony and Richard
thanks for your advice fellas.
Yes it does have the clamp and the thick rubber mat.
Tony
I am just about to have a good look through your set-up page and have a go at sorting this. Unfortunately, I may have given the wrong impression of the problem. The belt either falls off the bottom of the main platter or - when I rotate the system slowly by hand - rides upwards in the motor wheel.
If I stop the belt riding up so that it slots into the 45 groove the belt will stay on the main platter. If I get it to stay on the 33 motor groove the belt just falls off the bottom of the platter.
Anyway, I'll have a go at some fiddling and report back on my progress in a couple of days or so.
BTW my technical understanding of messing around with chassis and that sort of thing is minimal - so you may have to treat me gently.
Cheers
Tony
Posted on: 18 March 2002 by Mark Packer
Tony,
from your description it seems that either:
1. the platter is set too high or
2. the motor spindle is out of alignment (sloping forward towards the sub-platter.)
with the platter and mat in position how far off the top plate is the bottom outer edge of the platter? It should only be a couple of mm. If it's any more then you'll need to lower the whole platter. You'll need a small box spanner for this.
If the motor's out of alignment then you should be able to adjust that using a screw-driver so that it's vetical or sloping 'slightly' away from the sub-platter. When the belt is running correctly it should be running on the bulge in the centre of the drive pulley.
(Ever think that a picture was worth a 1x10 to the 3 words?) ;-)
Posted on: 18 March 2002 by Pete, Mad Bad and Dangerous to Know
Hi,
I had one years ago and I found out the bearing shaft was out of line which was causing problems getting the set-up right. you need to get it at 90 degrees to the sub-chassis, take it apart and check it with a square you can square it up by hand or slip a length of pipe over the bearing housing for more leverage. I took out the cork washer from under the arm and replaced the mat sounded much better.
Pete Mad Bad & Dangerous to Know
Posted on: 18 March 2002 by Tony L
quote:
with the platter and mat in position how far off the top plate is the bottom outer edge of the platter? It should only be a couple of mm.
From memory I would say about 4 or 5mm. Its easy enough to sight it with the platter / mat upturned on the deck – i.e. the belt should not fall off!
Just to clarify: To change the speed to 33rpm on the Ariston remove the outer platter / mat, move the belt down to the smaller lower pulley on the motor side, slide the belt down a little on the inner platter, replace the outer platter / mat and start the turntable. Ariston recommended applying a little chalk or talc to the belt, I assume to allow a little slippage when starting up. I would expect everything to need a good clean by now. Don’t be put off, if the price is right it’s a good deck. I always quite liked the Rega R200 arm too.
Tony.
