Any Pink Triangle experts who can help me?

I personally don't think a newer Export is necessarily better than the original Pink, if the original is working properly. However, if you have an original, it is over 20 years old and depending on how it was cared for and stored, you could have a noisy motor for any number of reasons. The original Pink had a wall-wart power supply. Does yours? The good news is that the table has a DC motor (another at-the-time sacriledge along with the light chassis and acrylic platter). I believe Origin Live has a better DC motor that fits, and you have the option of upgrading to their external power supply. In fact, you might try their external supply first with the current motor, which may quiet it considerably.

Phil

thanks Phil, mine does have the wall-wart. It's a 12V basic, no brand name, made in China supply. I'm not even sure it's the original. The other guy who has the same table has a PS that's voltage switchable. He said the info he received with his (from Pink) says to be sure to set it at 9V. I thought for a moment that maybe the motor noise resulted from running over-voltage, so I tried a 9V supply I have, but there was no change.

As for my issue with the purchase, it has more to do with the age/condition, than it does the model designation. I thought I was buying a table that was produced in '95, not the 80's. There's another issue with the tonearm I'm also trying to resolve, so I think the age has taken a toll.

Now that I confirmed it's not the Export, and that the motor problem will be costly to repair, I'm going to contact the Dealer I purchased it from (I bought it here on A'gon) and see if they'll stand behind their deal. So far they've acted in good faith, and have good feedback here.

All that aside, the table performs (ie sounds) quite good in spite of the problems, so except for issues, or if I hadn't had to pay what I did, I'd be quite pleased. It's a huge improvement over my MMF-5, which already was good, though the MMF is pretty low maintenance by comparison.

thanks again, Brad G.

The basic engineering and configuration of the Pink is well-thought out. The honeycomb aerolam subchassis, the ruby bearing, the acrylic platter -- they all still = excellent sound. Point is, the motor is work replacing if necessary, as long as the spindle bearing is sound. The suspension can be tricky to get adjusted correctly, but compared to having to work underneath a Linn, the adjustability from the top helps you keep your patience. My Pink was original and came with an unlabelled 9v wall wart, by the way. The motor was always audible from 6" - 12" away depending on how quiet my room was, but never through the system and certainly never with even the lowest SPL music playing.

Phil

This is all really helpful, thanks for the input Phil. Your description sounds like perhaps the motor noise I hear is what you described on yours. To me it's a normal motor "whirring" sound, except I've never heard the motor on any turntable. It is only audible when I turn it on or off since my table sits high, my ears are <12" from it. I can't hear it through the electronics/speakers, nor once I step away from the table. I managed to muffle it a little with some foam damping material mounted on the sub chassis and on the motor bracket, but it's still there.

Once I figured out the adjustment procedure, that wasn't a problem. I want to get a test record double check a few things, in particular the cartridge set up. The anti-skate scale on my tone arm is way off it appears.

As for the PS, I'm suspicious mine is over voltage, perhaps I should at least get a decent 9V replacement wart?

thanks again.

I've known of people using 12v power warts with their Pink motors in the past. Wall warts are cheap. So, yes, get a nice fat 9v PS and compare it with the 12. If the 9v gives you a quieter motor, you know to use it for sure. Even if it's not worse, it's probably better to use it.

But if it is worse in any way, stick with the 12.

Try your arm with no anti-skate first, and then calibrate in just a touch.

The motor noise you hear from a foot away from the table is noticeable given that its pitch is fairly high. But really I don't think you will find it distracting once you forget about it and feel certain it's working.

Phil