STEALTH PTP3

[daiwok]

It has been a long long long wait  This project took me over one year since the completion of my first Slate PTP2 which is now VADER.

http://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=58.0




VADER has been taken up my friend and was kind enough to let me keep him while my projects were ongoing.

http://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=1539.0




STEALTH is a reincarnation of LONDON DD. LONDON DD was taken away by a friend visiting from Singapore (Rafal C) in one swoop he was gone 

http://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=1026.0



With STEALTH I have squared off the corners and sadly taken off the paint as it was too hard to maintain scratch free during transport from China, at the same time I ordered more slate to make slate PTP3 for local Lenco users (and a couple of friends here  ) and slate for a new Hi Fi Rack and slate to go under my speakers and this is how the build goes .......

I had so much slate delivered it was almost your worst nightmare !!  It was so heavy and there was so much of it, I spent 6 hours with Samurai and Sing one saturday just cleaning and polishing the slate. The stupid courier company and packers, stuck parcel tape all over it !!  Also the slate was not perfect, some minor cracks here and there as this stuff is brittle even though its pretty heavy



6 hours of pure sweat in tropical conditions inside my company warehouse was no fun  we skipped lunch, such as the enthusiasm of Samurai and Sing, I cannot thank these guys enough !! 







Soon after when we finished, I went over to Sing's to setup his new Lenco. He was a very happy man 

[jloveys]

Worth the wait, David ! Slate rules ! 

[Ulf]

Wow David, you are a man of action. Anything seems possible in Hong Kong.

...Ulf

[daiwok]

Even with the urge of getting everything running, I had to do some preparation work as I did not want to go back to take things apart ......

Some nice local oil to coat the slate, came up with a nice dark matt finish which is also water proof





The sample slate which was coated was given to Samurai to pass to the paint shop to match  

Next I had to do some de-burring of the PTP parts





nicely finished off parts



I also organised a workshop at my office the following weekend to introduce the guys to the Lenco and how to fit them together, service the motor, bearings etc some tips and tricks. Lots of fun with about 8 people.









We built 2 Lenco PTP's and 2 happy owners left, even one had his butler to send it up to his home on delivery !!!  

Regal Treatment was in order !!  





Final destination

[daiwok]

ok, back to my own build .........

The paint job was superb and was inspired by Average Joe's PTP



Here's the start of mine



notice the bigger on/off switch hole   come back to this later  





everything looking sharp !!  

Big thanks to Bert (Bastie) for the inspiration on the on/off switch and also the PM's



I had to have something SHINY on my LENCO  





This is still fitted with the 2 hole mountable Mirko Super Bearing !   I re-cerntered the motor, relube the bearing and refitted everything - and it is SUPER QUIET !!

STEALTH QUIET !  

[MiWi]

Wow, stunning beautiful decks !

The texture of your slate ist very nice. 

[willbewill]

Stunning work David, these slate builds are getting ever more polished

[daiwok]

Those with an eagle eye would have spotted the slate Hi Fi Rack. I was a bit concerned when SIMON C Changed his mind and told me the slate did not work out. Panic started to set in, but at my place it seems to be amazing !! the system sounds so natural and quiet with it. The slate is 20mm thick, gives me more headroom between equipment and allows me to tube roll easier as well as more air ventilation for those tubes and stuff. The threaded rods are 20mm diameter and are 28 inches long. I believe that resonance can be caused by having too much height between the shelfs. Mine are 4 legs shelfs and work perfectly for me.



and here is STEALTH









Some nice pictures of the amps, nice and SHINY

[daiwok]

So how does it sound ? Well you see the Technics SP 10 MK2 next door ? well it is just as quiet!!! that is how quiet it is. I have slate under the speakers and this has also helped as my flooring is laminate with 3/4 inch ply underneath and this all sits on PU foam then concrete.  So being able to decouple this from the flooring has really cleaned things up - more than I could believe. The slate rack is sensational. Before I had thick ply and a SOLID STEEL rack, but what I am hearing is clarity which is as good as any high end system I have heard, and believe me I have heard a few. How can I say this ? well before STEALTH was running, I listen to itunes feeding airport express feeding the DAC. Yes digital music, but this already told me how far the system had come with the new introduced slate.

Next up was STEALTH - bass has a whole new meaning, clarity, definition is unreal. am I mad ? I think so !!   I have been listening carefully to many systems and comparing bass definition, it is one of the hardest things to hear properly, and its not always there - mainly in classical music. However, the clearer the bass the clearer everything is ! bass colours mid and treble range believe it or not, especially mid range. So the rest the sound is much much better. Clarity is better, but floor noise is so low, its almost CD like !! Those have visited me will know how sensitive my speakers are, 110db with 2W amp ! the dynamics are already mind blowing, but now its all new level. A level which I have been chasing for so long.

The STEALTH has separate one fixed armboard location and the others are all independent. I am not sure if having them independent makes a difference, however it allows much flexibility and also allows me to play with 12 inch arms. In addition, all the slate pieces now sit on small 35mm slate blocks and also sit on another 50mm slate board - again not sure if this makes much difference. The 50mm slate clamp does make a difference, you get better extension to and bottom.

Yes I am a very very happy man   once again big thanks to Peter for his PTP ! Big thanks to Ian for his slate inspiration, big thanks dare I say to OMA for inspiring me to think of taking slate to another level. For a DIYer this is a perfect dream.

My only issue ? I do not have enough time to hear the system as the kids are busy with exams   but since I waited over 1 year to get to this level ......I can wait another 2 weeks  

[reinderspeter]

Wow David
What a project and executed absolutely perfectly R.E.S.P.E.C.T.!!



You're making me very curious

[jaspert]

Great work and after the prolonged effort, I'm glad it's paid off now.
Stealth looks fantastic. And it's nice to see the rest of the system again close up.
 

[daiwok]

Thanks guys for all the kind comments ! very much appreciated  


Jean - yes slate rules !!  

Ulf - some things are possible, but not everything, especially have a dedicated hi fi room, land is just so expensive here  

Malcolm - if I could polish that slate anymore, it would shine like jet stone -  

MIWI - the texture of the slate is by accident, some areas do not look as good, some are fine - but its all natural  

Peter - the blur area is my company address, last year I heard there was an audiophile stalker ! yes freakier than we are !!! this guy stalked one my friends after finding out where he lived !  

Jasper - your patience is very much appreciated, after some rest, I will be getting your own slate PTP ready  

The biggest thanks is to Sing and Samurai - without these guys it would have taken me weeks to move stuff around and clean up the slate !! thank you guys ! 

[Basite]

VERY very nice job David!

She's a real beauty!

(and yes, the shiny button does look good on it :p)

Congrats my friend!

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[Wout]

Awesome job!   

I bet the workshop weekend must have been great.

[LeeS]

Awesome David !!! Just awesome - Well done !!!