Greg's Mayware Formula 4 Rebuild

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Cressy Snr
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#31 Re: Greg's Mayware Formula 4 Rebuild

Post by Cressy Snr »

New, 3mm thick, neoprene rubber platter mat has added the finishing touch to the Lenco/Mayware/Shure combination.
Image
This mat grips both platter and record, in the rotational direction, like the proverbial limpet; this unlike the mat it came with, which allowed the record to slip on the mat and the mat to slip on the platter. It also damps the platter ringing superbly well.

It's a bit like the old "Spectra" mat and similar highly grippy neoprene accessory mats, which suddenly went out of fashion in the late 70s, after glass and felt became the "in" record/platter interface during the early stages of the Flat Earth takeover bid.

As a result of this rotational "clamping" effect, provided by the mat, the sound has cleaned up beautifully from end to end, revealing more of the capabilities of the whole combo. The sound was good with the old mat and gave very few dodgy moments, but with the new mat, the whole presentation is secure, solid, smooth, extended and detailed; just how I like it.

Here is the mat I bought:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291695714993? ... EBIDX%3AIT
Last edited by Cressy Snr on Fri Jul 15, 2016 6:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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#32 Re: Greg's Mayware Formula 4 Rebuild

Post by simon »

Very interesting Steve, might have to try one myself. Don't suppose you tried it on my Lenco by any chance?
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#33 Re: Greg's Mayware Formula 4 Rebuild

Post by Cressy Snr »

No I haven't tried it on your Lenco. I wish I'd thought of it when I went down to our Ant's to hear your almost finished TT.
Your Ekos works brilliantly on the Lenco; that much I can say without any fear of contradiction :wink:
The Lenco/Linn/Ortofon MC10 combination is really rather good. Get your Kontrapunt fitted and BOOM!
I'm not jesting. :D

I'm going down tomorrow afternoon, so I'll take the mat with me and report back; that's if he's put the finishing touches to the TT and refitted your arm.
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#34 Re: Greg's Mayware Formula 4 Rebuild

Post by simon »

Lovely :-)
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#35 Re: Greg's Mayware Formula 4 Rebuild

Post by Cressy Snr »

OK Simon,
Have just returned from our Ant's, having A/B compared the standard Lenco mat with the neoprene rubber one and I can safely say that the neoprene mat is a noticeable improvement. The sound becomes rock-solid and sits on a substantial foundation that isn't going anywhere. It didn't take much listening before the rest of the session continued with just the neoprene mat. After just a couple of tracks, there was little point comparing anymore.
So the advice is to buy one of those mats.

In terms of the overall sound of the TT, we played plenty of stuff, from Bon Jovi to Prefab Sprout and the results were superb; delicacy where it was needed on the one hand, and kick-ass dynamics that just kept going, with no sign of strain on the other. Speed and attack were first class and the soundstage was reliably big and bold. Bass was fast, deep and clean. Uncouthness was entirely absent, so it looks like you have the best of both worlds; a solid, powerful and controlled sound, with no tendency towards brashness. This means that the Lenco/Linn/Ortofon combination will do full justice to whatever you care to play on it.

I think you're gonna like this deck. :wink:
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#36 Re: Greg's Mayware Formula 4 Rebuild

Post by simon »

Thanks Steve. I'm liking what I'm hearing :-)
Cressy Snr
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#37 Re: Greg's Mayware Formula 4 Rebuild

Post by Cressy Snr »

simon wrote:Thanks Steve. I'm liking what I'm hearing :-)
Yes, we'd love to hear what you think of the TT once you get it home and fit the Kontrapunt in the Ekos.
And a pic of course :)
Last edited by Cressy Snr on Mon Jul 18, 2016 2:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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#38 Re: Greg's Mayware Formula 4 Rebuild

Post by Cressy Snr »

Re my own version with the Mayware arm,
The 60,000cS, model racing car, silicone diff fluid arrived this morning and the finishing touches to the sound have now been realised.
There's a mastertape like security to the presentation. The bass end in particular has tightened even further; in fact the whole thing now sounds very like the Townsend Rock, I heard many years ago; completely unflappable, yet still recognisably analogue, organic and all that jazz :D

I also cured the eccentric counterweight's tendency not to stay put. I would set the lateral balance and it would be OK for a day, then then on the following day the pivot housing would be tilted again. There had been a sellotape mark on the counterweight before I cleaned everything up prior to the rebuild. I now know why that was there.
The cure was relatively simple. A couple of turns of PTFE tape on the spigot of the sliding collar that carries the counterweight was all that was needed. This had the effect of very slightly increasing the diameter of the spigot, so that when the rubber counterweight insert was carefully refitted, the increase in spigot diameter was transferred to the outer diameter of the rubber, which expanded the insert just enough to restore the correct friction fit around the inside edge of the counterweight hole. Now, when the lateral balance is set, it stays put. The counterweight rubber insert must have shrunk over the years by a couple of 'thou and the PTFE has restored the correct diameter.

It's true that I have been extremely demanding, and had virtually given up, in the belief that maybe I was simply asking the impossible from the medium, but...welcome back vinyl, it's been a long time :mrgreen:
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#39 Re: Greg's Mayware Formula 4 Rebuild

Post by IslandPink »

Superb !
Thanks for al these tips on the Mayware .... I can't remember if I've got any silicone ( or anything ) in the bearing cup. Might be a dab of lithium grease or something !
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#40 Re: Greg's Mayware Formula 4 Rebuild

Post by pre65 »

Lithium grease ? :shock:

Try this instead. :lol:

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#41 Re: Greg's Mayware Formula 4 Rebuild

Post by Greg »

Just to say, I never got around to trying this arm myself. With Steve's reports, maybe I should have done! I bought it on eBay, attached to a Japanese direct drive TT. The plan was to restore the Mayware to try myself, but apart from fitting a sliver of leather inside the stylus balance weight to stop it sliding around (same problem Steve has solved on the counter weight) I didn't progress further. The sellotape was the previous owners fix. Ironically, several years ago I sold the TT it came with to Ant! I think it was a Denon of some sort. Anyway, very glad the arm has gone to a good home and that you are still really enjoying it, Steve. It's kind of fitting that after selling the TT to Ant, you have ended up with the arm! :D
Last edited by Greg on Mon Jul 18, 2016 9:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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#42 Re: Greg's Mayware Formula 4 Rebuild

Post by cressy »

Yep, it was a dp2000 that i still have somewhere. I put a mayware formula 4 on it..........
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#43 Re: Greg's Mayware Formula 4 Rebuild

Post by IslandPink »

James D was the one who alerted me to this arm, btw. He said the only arm he'd come across which was better, was the Morsiani unipivot.
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#44 Re: Greg's Mayware Formula 4 Rebuild

Post by pre65 »

I had a Mayware arm once. Not sure who I sold it to, was it Ant ?
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#45 Re: Greg's Mayware Formula 4 Rebuild

Post by cressy »

The one i bought off you was the sonus formula 4, that one had a bend in the arm tube that meant the cart was higher by about 15mm. Got the stylus closer to the pivot point. Otherwise identical to the mayware.

First one i had came off a knackered connoisseur bd2 and the second off a technics sl150 that i never got to run properly.

The sonus went on a td150 i rebuilt.

Looking at the arms i have had there's a couple i wish i never sold, the maywares, the sonus, a helius standard a 3009 and a project 9c

The lower end linn arms i was glad to be rid of, ( a basik lvx actually went in the bin :shock: ) didnt like an sme series 3 one bit and i dont really like the rega/ol arm.
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