Got My Spacedeck :) Sonics and Aesthetics

Hi All,

Picked up the Spacedeck/Spacearm/Tracer 1 last night and I have to say I'm astonished. I wasn't quite expecting such a big difference. I am very pleased soundwise. I know my old Focus is hardly the state of the art, but I still rate it and was surprised at how easily outclassed it was.

I have only had three or four hours listening so far, but it was immediately obvious without having to listen too hard that the level of detail has improved considerably, the bass goes much lower and is more solid (I may have to curtail my passion for Roots Reggae and Dub until we've moved house and I haven't got neighbours sharing a wall), and the top end seems a lot more refined - on the Focus it could get a bit confused and harsh at times, whereas with the Spacedeck it just breezes through. I think some of the problems I thought were with the speakers, may have been with the Focus.

What I wasn't prepared for is the 3 dimensionality of it. I was listening to side 2 of Kraftwerk's autobahn (Kometenmelodie 2 I think) and it just sort of swirled round the room. Makes the old Focus One sound a bit two dimensional and its also more relaxing because you tend not to try and hear stuff - its just there in front of you. I haven't chucked a lot of stuff at it yet, but what I did listen to sounded just gorgeous.

The cartridge - the Tracer 1 - to this ear sounds surprisingly fine, considering its actually cheaper than a Goldring 1042 for example. Dunno how it sounds in other decks/arms, but maybe a bit of a underlooked bargain.

So sonically a big hit - basically its rock solid. Auntie Ants noticed the difference immediately (she should though - her ears are better than mine).

Unfortunately it wasn't such a big hit with Auntie on the aesthetics front - tough competition though - whatever its sonic weaknesses the Focus is arguably one of the prettiest deck's Michell have put out (certainly prettier than any of the current crop). Minor points if sound is the only issue, So here is Auntie Ants non musical critique - paraphrased. The lady's eye view, so to speak.

First off that big blue/black plinth - its a lot more tasteful than it appears in some photos - bit its still damned ugly ... and big. Will have to do some more tests, but we tried it without the plinth after trying it with and just had it standing on my own home made isolation platform (which in principal isn't too dissimilar anyway - just not so brutal looking) - We could tell no real difference sonically. The feet on the deck itself are kind of squishy and compliant, and my stand isolates it pretty well anyway. So I think the plinth is going back in the box. Removal of the plinth brings it back into the realms of domestic acceptability.

Secondly (and more minor) that sticker on the front of the deck - its just so tacky and so obviously a sticker (and why does it say "Space Acoustics" - the company is called Nottingham Analogue Studio and the product is Spacedeck, so what is "Space Acoustics" all about?). At this level, one would expect something better finish wise - like an engraved plate (a la Michell) or maybe something along the lines of the graphic plate on the plinth. The standard of finish and engineering is excellent except for this one minor point and it mars the overall effect a little - a bit like having a paper sticker on the front of your Beamer instead of a nice enamelled BMW badge. A font which wasn't last seen in the credits to the Good Life, would be nice as well (Auntie Ants is a graphic designer with a background in typography - she is passionate about fonts as well as design - its "Cooper Black" according to her)

On the subject of fonts - on the various branding labels (graphic on the deck, graphic plate on the plinth, dustcover), there are five different and non complimentary fonts - still, losing the plinth loses two of them .

Overall though, I couldn't be happier. Wish the arm had a finger lift though - I prefer manual cueing.

 

Nice one, Uncle Ants - glad you're (mostly) pleased with the new deck, even if Auntie Ants isn't absolutely thrilled. I've been trying to find exact dimensions of the plinth but can't seem to find them on the web - do you, by any chance, know what size it is(width by depth)?

All that money off rrp, too, and you don't have to wait for delivery: you're a lucky man, for sure. By the way, any plans to try your tricked out RB250 against the Spacearm (did you get the little collar that would allow you to fit a Rega?)?

Bye for now, and have fun

Chris.

 

Hi Chris,

according to this the dimensions are 46cm Long (by which I guess they mean wide) x 36cm Deep x 21cm High (with arm) Weight: 15kg

I'm mostly utterly delighted to be honest - the difference is really quite eye (ear?) opening.

The aesthetics of it can to some extent be dealt with. Paula's a designer and whilst she'll happily blast something which is pretty but doesn't do its job properly (like one of those Phillipe Starck Lemon squeezers for example), she'll equally lambast something which works superbly but doesn't meet her high standard of visual design (especially if fonts are involved) - she'd count them both as bad design in her book.

She's already emailed me these:

Silent Stage 1
Silent Stage 2
Silent Stage 3

So her mind is on the right track. Given that removing the plinth doesn't seem to have any advers effect, I don't see that adding something like this would make it worse and if it ups the WAF factor to the point she can live with "Cooper Black" then all to the good. (I might just ask Tom Fletcher at NA if he has a spare sticker and carefully remove the existing one - if I ever sell I'll just put the spare back on).

Does anyone here who is a Notts owner know what, if anything, the plinth adds/removes sonically? Assume that where the deck is situated is fairly well isolated anyway.

 

Made me laugh, because I've got one just like that at home, bless her little Pantone cards.

Sadly, I haven't got a Nottingham Analogue Spacedeck at home nor any prospect of getting one. You lucky, lucky bastard!

 

Tom Fletcher's of the mass is best school, I reckon you'd get away with any heavy-duty plinth, but it would be sensible to experiment with different materials. A new school of tweaking has just opened up for you

I like the look of the stock plinth, FWIW.

-- Ian

 

Ha "Just look at that font!! and the leadings all wrong too!!! "

You will improve your prospects if you sell your Sarf London pad and move oop North. Auntie has just sold her one bed pokey flat in Colliers Wood (that's East Wimbledon to any Estate agents out there) and we've just completed the purchase of a nice Victorian 3 bed semi (with an office for neighbours) here in the East Midlands wasteland. She's got a cheque for just short of £50k in her sticky mits as a result and having a design savvy missus has its advantages - I suspect the new furnishings will be nothing short of tasteful - Eames lounger here I come - for the ultimate Hifi upgrade

Well its a matter of taste I guess, but its not to Her taste (nor to mine really). The important question (apparently) of course is .... What do you think of that sticker??

I've had a glance over at Vinyl Asylum and there's a surprising amount of posts on the subject - its seems I'm not the only one enamoured of the deck, but not the plinth. General opinion seems to be that so long as its reasonably well isolated you can go with or without to no obvious effect or use your own so long as its non resonant.

 

LOL. Actually, I'm tempted to write "Space Acoustics" on sticky labels and put them on all my gear.

-- Ian

 

Colliers Wood! Now you're talking. We used to live there, in an old Victorian doctor's surgery, a kind of end of terrace two-up-two-down but all front and no back, if you can picture it. It was one of the most distinctive properties in the area, but sadly incompatible with children (or hi-fi for that matter, very thin walls).

I can't say I miss it too much as it is a bit of dump, despite what the property prices say. The whole area around the tube station is crying out to be bombed. The superstores, the Holiday Inn (South Wimbledon! it cries) and the new development that obscures the mills. And how could we forget the Brown and Root building and its tacked-on car park, affectionately known as 'the turd'.

No, Brixton is more affordable (at least it was four years ago) and much better. The park, the Ritzy, the pubs, the people, the whole bloody lot in fact. Proper London rather than the start of retail-park suburbia.

Oddly enough, my in-house designer has proved rather neutral on the subject of hi-fi design, pausing only to comment on a pair of temporary and rather ugly speakerstands, and the atrocious layout of Hifi World. However, she is touchingly indulgent of my vinyl resurrection, particularly of the original motorway sign cover of the copy of Autobahn I recently blagged on ebay, and I suspect she'd ooh and aah all over something like the Clearaudio Emotion.

Personally, I've only eyes for a Nottingham deck, mismatched fonts or not. And about this 'Space Acoustics' things. Sound doesn't travel in a vacuum, does it? Somebody should tell them.

 

and I thought the Brown and Root building had been bombed !!! I assumed that's why its that burnt black colour and bits appear to have fallen off it. What they did to the Mills was bloody criminal . Anyway ... we moved everything out of the flat and handed over the keys at the weekend, so chances are we'll never go there again.

Auntie is something of a afficionado of record sleeves (big fan of the Autobahn cover too - must be the typography) and is as keen on vinyl as me. She did ooh and aah over the Clearaudio and I suspect part of the reaction to the Spacdeck is down to the "Why didn't you buy that lovely acrylic thing instead of this big lump of cast iron"

I think I may just have to. NAS seem to have some branding issues

 

Hi Ants.

Im glad you like the deck. Its rock-solid presentation is a giant leap IMHO from older/budget suspended types. Hope you continue to enjoy

I know some NAS users turn the plinth round, so that the sticker is at the back, so thats an option.

As Ian said, its a mass-damping solution, so I'd avoid any air platforms or springy suspension, a big chunk of rock being an alternative to the supplied base.

Personally, I like the base pattern, and even like the 'sci-fi' type logo. Its all fun and makes me smile when I see it.

Time to spin some more vinyl eh?

Chris

 

Hi Uncle Ants

I got a NAS Interspace this weekend (couldn't stretch to the Spacdeck - drool!) and am very impressed - both with sound and looks (this one is in lovely piano black - also I don't seem to cop for a dodgy sticker - just a tasteful badge with Nottingham Interspace on it on the top of the plinth just under where the cartridge lives).

I reckon this Fletcher fella is seriously onto something here. The performance of the Interspace/RB300/DL103 is amazng value at less than £900.

I am deeply, head over heels in love with it at the moment. I spent 6 hours on Saturday and 7 hours on Sunday spinning vinyl.........which is how it should be.......and at no point was the Interspace less than excellent.

Will try and put it into more objective words later when i've calmed down.

Cheers

Rich
PS More records, more records....must shop

 

The plinth on my Interspace is quite nice IMO (Harbeths also look nice IMO...). My wife can often be heard muttering that the Rega looked like a nice record player, of course my response is that the NAS sounds like a proper record player...
Personally I am not into slabs of perspex, so if t'were me, I'd be looking at a block of slate for the Spacedeck plinth.
You could then make your own stickers, stick one on the plinth et voila, a trade account at pfm and a new business.
IF NAS had better typography would Tom Fletcher sell more TTs to graphic designers?

 

I got a round block of slate (259mm x 55mm) for my scheu platter, cost £90.

Looks nice, no idea what it sounds like tho, havent finished building it yer

 

Undoubtedly. But especially if they changed some of that black black exterior for a bit of turned metal here, here and here... and some perspex ... apparently

 

thats at least 5 NAS owners on ZG.. it really is becoming the NAS mafia! :S

 

Dedicated Followers Of Fashion

 

You are building a tt with a slate platter? Wow, I don't think that's been done before.

 

Not that that will ever apply to you, Merlin, what with one of those pimping blingfest VPI thingies
It's even got a start button. What a total wimp out

 

Nothing bling about Vpi Joel. They don't have stickers with gold lettering on them, no fax marble bases, and definately no Yule Logs masquerading as bearing supports

I would not mind a NA (probably Dias) but think I might stick with Vpi. It would be really interesting to try them side by side - sonic descriptions seem to indicate they have similar strengths. Just Vpi has more taste

 

Hi Markus,

Not sure if that was sarcasm or not I thought that a slate platter had already been made??

Anyway, nope, im not. The platter is a Scheu 80mm jobby, the plinth is the round piece of slate.

Picture of platter and plinth here --

http://www.penance.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/projects/TT1.jpg