Origin Live Turntable Belts

jazdoc

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I have owned a belt drive Galibier Stelvio for several years. During that time I've experimented with several tweaks; including different sized pulleys, belt tension, etc. I have also tried several belts and noted changes both good and bad with sound quality. I recently took a flyer and ordered a pair of Original Live turntable belts for a total of $65 including the shipping from England. Ordering was easy on their website: https://www.originlive.com/turntable-belts-replacement-new/high-performance-flat-belts-upgrade.html and the package arrived ~10 days after ordering.

Opening the package, I was frankly disappointed. The belts are much thinner than I have used in the past: how can there be enough surface area to drive my >100# platter? And they are "stretchy" which seems antithetical to driving the platter at a constant speed. Determined to get my $65 worth, I replaced my current Sperling belt and gave it a go...

IMG_8321.JPG

WOW! This was not a subtle change. Lots more air, deeper more propulsive bass, increased volume and more of a sense of 'liveness'. After playing many, many records with both my mono (Durand Talea/Miyajima BE) and stereo (Durand Telos/Benz Micro) set ups, I became convinced the sound was "too hot". Hmmm...given the consistency of this finding with both mono and stereo, I began to wonder if my setups needed some adjustment. My theory was that with the old belt, I had been previously losing data from the records and compensating in my set up.

Sooo, yesterday, I adjusting my mono set up to optimize the sound. After some experimentation, lowering VTA 1.6mm really locked things in. The 'edge' was gone but every other improvement was 'more better'. I'm not typically prone to audio hyperbole but in my application, this has been revelatory.

Couple of takeaways so far:
1. If you own a belt drive turntable, it is definitely worthwhile experimenting with belts.
2. Introducing a tweak often requires further system fine tuning.

I'll work on the stereo setup this weekend and report back.
 
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jazdoc

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Spent some time this morning dialing in the stereo set up and was rewarded with another bump in performance. Quieter, more propulsive and 'live' sounding. Really noticing the blacker background; clearly other belts have been transmitting/introducing noise into the platter. Amazing what is in those grooves.
 
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zztop7

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Do they manufacture NEW tendons & ligaments for the human body? You could add many ZEROS before the decimal point of $65.00 if the new human body parts actually worked-out.

zz.
 
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microstrip

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Funny we do not see any apparent convexity in the motor platter or turntable - how does the belt stay in place?
 

jazdoc

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Funny we do not see any apparent convexity in the motor platter or turntable - how does the belt stay in place?

You can definitely change the sound by varying the tension on the belt (i.e. moving the motor pod with respect to the platter). Origin Live recommends just tight enough to prevent audible wow and that talc on the surface can be helpful. I have yet to experiment with belt tension and will definitely experiment with different length belts in the future. Right now, I need to adjust to the new baseline.
 

jazdoc

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what do you do when you lose your bearings because you've lost your reference point but there is the nagging feeling there is further to go? Invite over a friend with golden ears to help out....0.5mm change in azimuth, move the listening chair 6" and voila! More better
 

jazdoc

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Please advise which length you picked for your Stelvio.

Great and timely question. Currently using 1219 mm to match the length of my prior belt. Just received 1183 mm and 1158 mm for experimentation with different belt lengths. Will report back soon....
 

Gemini

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Oct 14, 2015
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I'm looking forward to reading more about it.

On my Gavia I am currently using a 1168 mm (46 in.), very thin (0.002 in) and unstretchy Kapton belt. It is really ugly though (brownish plastic film).
 

jazdoc

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Preliminary results are that the 1183 mm length belt is superior to 1219 mm length. Still need to validate with additional listening. BTW, using two 1219 mm belts is different than a single 1219 mm belt; not sure it's better.
 

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