oil change t/t

spoke to steve (SOS) & my friend jeff at high water sound ,
they recommend Mobile Onefor best sound, but only if room temp. is about 70 degrees plus. or you must "warm up" the oil befor playing. which means spin the platter for about 10-15 min. befor listening.

seems a bit odd regarding the Mobil One oil. I thought the whole point of synthetic motor oil was it's properties do not change with temperature.

Arnold, the split viscosity rating (5W50, 10W30, etc.) of all motor oils has to do with differences in flow characteristics at startup "room" temperature and at full operating temperature. I would think that generally a heavier viscosity would be appropriate for a TT bearing, given its relatively low operating temperature. A synthetic oil is preferable because unlike fossil oil, it is not biodegradeable and thus is impervious to bacteria.

Hi Diamondude,

This topic has been visited numerous times on this forum, with one most important conclusion being agreed upon by all - that viscosity depends on the characteristics of the drive system - including everything that rotates (bearing, tolerance, platter mass, drive method, motor torque, etc.).

A word of warning about 3-in-One. Stay away from it. A friend tried some a few years ago. After 6 months, it formed a sticky varnish which he had to work at to clean off.

I think that once you understand the 3 major goals:

a) protect the bearing
b) provide mechanical stability (so the bearing doesn't rock)
c) musical performance

you'll be better equipped to arrive at conclusions that work best for you.

It is this latter point (musical performance - percieve as nuance and microdynamics) that people overlook. While I specify extremely low viscosity for my bearings, your mileage may vary depending on your bearing implementation.

Rather than cover old ground, check here if this topic intrigues you: http://www.galibierdesign.com/prd_bearing.html
It's fairly easy to separate what's relevant to Galibier, vs. general principles applicable to turntables in general.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier

This is what Frank Van Alstine has posted in his AudioCircle forum:

Just because I am allowing this thread to run on here does not imply that I sanction any of these goofy grossly overpriced turntable designs. I don't.

Me - I am running a 25 year old HK T30 belt drive turntable and arm with the main bearing running in Moble One synthetic oil, the arm bearings in 1000 centistroke liquid silicon, a Tri-Pad record mad, and with my custom made external 12V DC power supply to eliminate all AC hum fields from the unit and provide excellent speed stability. It is quiet, stable, and works great with a Longhorn Grado. I use it for phono preamp design, and if you have heard one of my current phono preamp sections, you would not throw rocks at the turntable. The whole setup cost about $150 years ago.

Frank Van Alstine

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