NZ421291
01-10-2015, 04:43 AM
The only piece of HiFi that I have owned for over 24 years- my Oracle Delphi Turntable MKII- purchased second hand in 1990, complete with a Dynavector DV507 Tonearm.
The table barely missed a beat, save for the power supply ceasing to work in 1995. Chris Maquet, the local electronics wiz soon built me a custom replacement & commented on how poorly made the original supply was!
The Papts motor finally died in September 2014- a common issue- but, being about 30 years old, its allowed to.
Contacted Oracle about replacement motor & a new plinth as the existing one has numerous swirls on it & a few scratches. After a staff member had to do CPR on me after being told the cost, add another 40% to the Canadian cost for exchange rate & Customs Duty & GST- I was looking at around $5000! I would be almost better off buying new Oracle- but my budget doesn't stretch that far (about $10,000 NZD plus costs).
I Googled it & found an Australian Company that cut new plinths, however, he had replaced many Oracle Plinths in Australia & thought that they we all done & didn't make them anymore. Typical Aussie forgetting about Kiwis!
I thought that I could get some local companies to built the new plinths etc that I needed- so:
1. Ordered the Oracle Upgrade Kit- springs, MKV acrylic platter mat etc & installed on rebuilding the table.
2. Stripped down the Oracle- & after searching the web, found a laser cutting company only 15 minutes down the motorway who looked professional. Laser Cutting, Water Cutting, Plate Cutting, Laser Etching (http://www.onestopcuttingshop.co.nz/)
Great guys- would use the original plinth as the template to CNC Laser cut my new clear 15mm acrylic base as per the MKV & VI Oracles. Took a week & cost $185NZD - about $150USD- how Oracle can charge $1,500CAD is beyond me.
3. Plinth ends need polishing as did the Oracles suspension towers (made of white metal that oxidizes)
Found a local metal polishing company- again- great guys who did a fabulous job The Metal Polishers Home Page (http://www.themetalpolishers.com/)
Cost- $300NZD.
4. Rubber Platter surround perishing, so replaced with generic surrounds from a seller on Ebay- fitted perfectly.
5. New motor purchased via my mate Paul at Turned-on Audio Home - Turned On Audio (http://turned-onaudio.co.nz/) being an Origin Live Motor & Speed/switching box.
So, about 1 month later- everything required had been received- tested the Origin Motor- which whines like an unpaid lady of the night- sent back to England & replaced at no cost- but took another 3 weeks!! Oracle Turntable motor and power supply upgrade for massive performance increase (http://www.originlive.com/oracle-delphini-motor-power-supply-replacement.html)
Finally, replacement motor arrived- Table assembled with my wife's help- Thanks Tris. What a nightmare hooking up the belt over the motor assembly- which looks like a 'jury rig' at best- my fat clumsy fingers were a liability, so Tris's Nursing hands did the trick.
Replaced Oracle Feet with Symposium ROLLERBLOCK® JR.s that provided better isolation from vibrations within my rack.
Done- and the table sounds fantastic! Even the jury rig assembly that is the Origin Live motor looks the part- sort of.
Here's some photos of the completed table- done at the fraction of the cost of going via Oracle The Company!!!
BTW Dynavector Tonearm destroyed by couriers when being sent to Christchurch for repair of broken arm lift- so I purchased a Jelco Arm- sound better then the 507 - again at the fraction of the cost of a new 507.
Cartridge is a 5 year old Lyra Argo i MC & sounds dynamic & detailed via the C2300 MC Phono Stage with Mullard Tubes!
The table barely missed a beat, save for the power supply ceasing to work in 1995. Chris Maquet, the local electronics wiz soon built me a custom replacement & commented on how poorly made the original supply was!
The Papts motor finally died in September 2014- a common issue- but, being about 30 years old, its allowed to.
Contacted Oracle about replacement motor & a new plinth as the existing one has numerous swirls on it & a few scratches. After a staff member had to do CPR on me after being told the cost, add another 40% to the Canadian cost for exchange rate & Customs Duty & GST- I was looking at around $5000! I would be almost better off buying new Oracle- but my budget doesn't stretch that far (about $10,000 NZD plus costs).
I Googled it & found an Australian Company that cut new plinths, however, he had replaced many Oracle Plinths in Australia & thought that they we all done & didn't make them anymore. Typical Aussie forgetting about Kiwis!
I thought that I could get some local companies to built the new plinths etc that I needed- so:
1. Ordered the Oracle Upgrade Kit- springs, MKV acrylic platter mat etc & installed on rebuilding the table.
2. Stripped down the Oracle- & after searching the web, found a laser cutting company only 15 minutes down the motorway who looked professional. Laser Cutting, Water Cutting, Plate Cutting, Laser Etching (http://www.onestopcuttingshop.co.nz/)
Great guys- would use the original plinth as the template to CNC Laser cut my new clear 15mm acrylic base as per the MKV & VI Oracles. Took a week & cost $185NZD - about $150USD- how Oracle can charge $1,500CAD is beyond me.
3. Plinth ends need polishing as did the Oracles suspension towers (made of white metal that oxidizes)
Found a local metal polishing company- again- great guys who did a fabulous job The Metal Polishers Home Page (http://www.themetalpolishers.com/)
Cost- $300NZD.
4. Rubber Platter surround perishing, so replaced with generic surrounds from a seller on Ebay- fitted perfectly.
5. New motor purchased via my mate Paul at Turned-on Audio Home - Turned On Audio (http://turned-onaudio.co.nz/) being an Origin Live Motor & Speed/switching box.
So, about 1 month later- everything required had been received- tested the Origin Motor- which whines like an unpaid lady of the night- sent back to England & replaced at no cost- but took another 3 weeks!! Oracle Turntable motor and power supply upgrade for massive performance increase (http://www.originlive.com/oracle-delphini-motor-power-supply-replacement.html)
Finally, replacement motor arrived- Table assembled with my wife's help- Thanks Tris. What a nightmare hooking up the belt over the motor assembly- which looks like a 'jury rig' at best- my fat clumsy fingers were a liability, so Tris's Nursing hands did the trick.
Replaced Oracle Feet with Symposium ROLLERBLOCK® JR.s that provided better isolation from vibrations within my rack.
Done- and the table sounds fantastic! Even the jury rig assembly that is the Origin Live motor looks the part- sort of.
Here's some photos of the completed table- done at the fraction of the cost of going via Oracle The Company!!!
BTW Dynavector Tonearm destroyed by couriers when being sent to Christchurch for repair of broken arm lift- so I purchased a Jelco Arm- sound better then the 507 - again at the fraction of the cost of a new 507.
Cartridge is a 5 year old Lyra Argo i MC & sounds dynamic & detailed via the C2300 MC Phono Stage with Mullard Tubes!