Introduction
Overview
It is simply impossible to imagine the levels of improvement attained
by upgrading the delicate signal produced by your turntable. No
one would blame you for being sceptical of easy to t, inexpensive
upgrades. After all, it is very dicult to comprehend the colossal
magnication that this signal undergoes before reaching your
speakers. In fact, the magnication (amplication) is approx 8,000
times the original size. This is roughly the same as magnifying the
height of an average 4 year old child from sea level, to the height of
Mount Everest!
Origin Live upgrades have been successfully tted to most turntable
models such as Linn (Valhulla, Lingo), Roksan, Pink Triangle, Rega,
Technics, Thorens, VPI, Michell, Heybrook, Opus, Oracle, Well
Tempered, Acoustic Research, Systemdek and many more. No
matter how advanced the existing deck, the result of adding the
upgrades has surprised and delighted owners. They simply produce
massive improvements to all aspects of sonic performance. For
over ten years, these upgrades have been tted to practically every
deck ever built with spectacular results - they are extremely well
thought out and highly rened. In comparison to some upgrades,
the performance value to your system becomes well over 4 times
what you invest. The improvement is similar regardless of the type
of deck you own.
Risk Free Trial
Time and again owner feedback reports “for once the hype is
true” - “does everything you claim and more”. This means that
we condently oer these upgrades on a 1 month money back
guarantee basis. If it doesn’t outperform your current set up by a
considerable margin, we will give an immediate refund.
It’s command of detail is such that you feel dragged into the action thats going on...an exceptionally captivating
energy...transforms it from a product with potential to a masterpiece of sorts...a taste of the high-end at a
rock-bottom price.
Hi Fi World
“
“Follow this path and you’ll have a
technics to die for....”
Hi Fi World
www.originlive.com
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Platter Mat
www.originlive.com
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Bring your music alive with this aordable platter mat.
It is unusual for a platter mat to radically improve the sound of
your records, but this one does just that. On better systems the
improvements become even more marked. For investing relatively
little, you can gain so much. It is frequently commented that this is
an extremely cost eective upgrade - especially when it is known
that this mat outperforms others at over 4 times the price.
The unique Origin Live “upgrade” mat acts as the critical interface
between your vinyl records and turntable. Users nd that the
“upgrade” mat makes a far greater dierence than most mats. More
importantly this dierence enhances every aspect of the music.
The new mat will greatly enhance your level of enjoyment due to
the way it brings recordings alive. Music becomes much better
integrated and more natural. In particular bass is solid and keeps
time with the rest of the music - too often one hears slow bass that
lacks attack, and has an overhang which muddies the rest of the
music.
Remember the mat comes with a money back guarantee if ordered
directly from Origin Live. Should you be in any way dissatised, just
return the mat for a full refund. Origin Live dealers may also oer a
guarantee but this is at their discretion.
“I’ve no hesitation in
recommending it!”
Accessory of the Year Award,
Hi Fi World
Origin Live replacement feet & special pads are an excellent upgrade for audio
equipment such as turntables, CD players, ampliers providing their feet have M6 screw
threads. The damping feet & pads come as a pack of 4.
“The dierence was staggering, the stereo image was cleaned up by a large amount...
These feet are a must buy for any Technics SL1200-1210 turntable. They do what it says
on the tin.”
Stuart Wennen - Hi Fi Reviewer
I can honestly say it’s the rst time I have heard a night-and-day dierence since I came into hi-. The noise
oor had dropped to blackness, the frequency range smoothed out, the sound richer and more detailed, and
no harshness which I had always associated with the Technics.
Riz
“
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Dampening Feet & Pads
Power Supply
Origin Live power supplies and motors have an enviable reputation.
For example, over 4 manufacturers of decks in excess of £10,000
use Origin Live designs in their high end turntable power supplies.
This expertise, developed over decades is now oered for nearly all
turntables. The incredible gains in performance bear no signicant
relation to the cost incurred - equivalent to spending £1000s
elsewhere on your system.
Summary of Upgrades
Standard Motor Kit - identiable by it’s red LED the standard
dc power supply is the budget model of the range.
Advanced Motor Kit - identiable by it’s green LED, the
advanced switch box has a much more sophisticated circuit
design with load compensation and higher instantaneous
power delivery. The improvements over the Standard are
very signicant.
There are details in recordings that I have never imagined as being present, there is tuneful subsonic bass, and
new heights that were previously unscaled, the whole music experience has taken on a new meaning.
Common Ground Review (on the Advanced Power Supply)
“
Overview
Countless reviews and owner reports testify that the fast track to
utterly transform your deck, is to massively upgrade the power
supply. This is counter intuitive to most people: which is why there
is so much delighted shock in tting an Origin Live power supply
and nding that the claims are true.
If your deck is a belt drive, then Origin Live go one step further and
include a drop in replacement, low vibration DC motor. The reason
is that the AC motors on most decks exhibit “cogging” problems
which cause unwanted vibration, that is then fed into the replay
signal.
If your deck is a direct drive Technics, then you only need to t
the special power supply designed specically for the 1200 / 1210
series. This is a simple operation, which you can either do yourself
or get a local Hi Fi shop to connect for you (only 2 solder joints are
needed).
www.originlive.com
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There are details in recordings that I have never imagined as being present, there is tuneful subsonic bass, and
new heights that were previously unscaled, the whole music experience has taken on a new meaning.
Common Ground Review (on the Advanced Power Supply)
www.originlive.com
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Reviews
“The single most important upgrade you can make concerns the motor drive...nothing can prepare you for
the shock of going DC. In a word, gobsmacking.”
Common Ground Magazine
“The dierence the kit made to sound quality was remarkable”
Hi-Fi News magazine comparison to Linn Lingo
“Its value is nothing short of tremendous.”
Listener Magazine
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Ultra Kit Upgrade
For mid to high end decks. Identied by it’s blue LED this exhibits
increased dynamics, bass weight and power. Overall this model is
dramatically better than the Advanced.
Options
DC200 Motor - A high torque, motor with very low vibration.
Upgrade Transformer - The vastly increased delivery of
instantaneous high current results in improved transparency,
dynamics and deeper bass.
Power Supply Kits includes all you need
• Fully built control box with 2 speed rotary switch
with all leads and plug connectors included. There
are 3 versions of this Standard, Advanced and Ultra
33rpm & 45rpm. (H x W x D) 50 x 110 x 180mm
• High grade DC 100 motor with precision bored pulley
designed for at and round belts. The motor is supplied with a
motor plate adaptor to enable tting to your deck. The DC100
is supplied as standard but there is the option of investing in
the DC200 which is a much higher quality motor
• Transformer for either 240/230V, 50Hz or 110V, 60 Hz mains
supplies. This is included in all kits but there is the option
of ordering the “upgrade transformer” which is much more
powerful and gives outstanding results
• Strobe card for easy and accurate speed setting
• Fitting instructions
The upgrade motors and power supplies are fully built, no soldering
is required - they are literally plug and play. Installing the motor
in your deck is usually a simple procedure with full instructions
Overview
One of the easiest and most cost eective ways to upgrade your
turntable is to change the tonearm. It is a common idea to focus
attention on the cartridge as the most important item in the replay
chain. However it has been demonstrated in magazine tests that a
£20 cartridge will easily outperform a £500 one by simply mounting
it in a better arm - the same is true of a £100 cartridge verses a
£2500 one.
Origin Live arms are more than capable of transforming your record
deck. Such is the lead of these arms over others, that we guarantee
any Origin Live arm from the Onyx upwards will sound better, or
your money back. It really does not matter if your arm cost up to
£3000 - the oer still stands. Having said this, the higher you go up
the range of Origin Live arms the greater the rewards.
Origin Live arms are used by a number of DJ’s nationally. These
arms are specically recommended by the Family Tree music group
who act as technical consultants to over 15 nightclubs in the UK. In
addition to this, a club in New York using the Origin Live Silver arm
was among the top 5 in an award assessment for the best sounding
nightclub in the world.
The great results attainable with Origin Live arms become even
more obvious at the high volumes often played by DJ’s. This is
because the sound is magnied so much more than normal.
All Origin Live arms can be tted to the Technics, Linn LP12s and most
other decks with breathtaking results. For DJ use we recommend
only the arms in the range with rigid bearings - these include the
OL1 (in any form of modication,) Onyx, Silver and Zephyr.
Further details of our range of arms can be viewed on our web site
or in the full tonearm brochure.
Track Record
Early reviews of Origin Live upgrades on
Rega tonearms were ecstatic. Next came
the launch of the Silver tonearm which
was hailed as “probably the best arm in
the world” but at a fraction of the cost of
high end models. Not content with this,
Tonearm Upgrades
www.originlive.com
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Follow this path and you’ll have a technics to die for....Yes, it really is that good. Clean, open, tight, punchy and very musical....Any
gigging DJ’s out there will nd the mods transform their deck - by contrast the original sounds abby, bloated, loose, ponderous,
confused and undynamic...
Hi Fi World (on the Tonearm & Armboard Modication)
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Alliance Tonearm
Origin Live armboards for
Technics (shown here) and
Linn Lp12 are available.
www.originlive.com
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Follow this path and you’ll have a technics to die for....Yes, it really is that good. Clean, open, tight, punchy and very musical....Any
gigging DJ’s out there will nd the mods transform their deck - by contrast the original sounds abby, bloated, loose, ponderous,
confused and undynamic...
Hi Fi World (on the Tonearm & Armboard Modication)
“
Origin Live went on to launch the Encounter, Illustrious, Conqueror
and Enterprise. These subsequent tonearms represented very
signicant levels of improvement over previous turntable arms;
which were already world class leaders. The level of improvement
over older and established references is dramatic and makes
upgrading a highly worthwhile investment. Unlike cartridges, a
tonearm upgrade will produce a far more profound improvement
and last a lot longer. It is also transferable to other turntables should
you ever decide to change in the future.
Alliance Arm
The Alliance arm is the entry arm manufactured by Origin Live and
represents tremendous value for money. The performance is a big
step up from budget arms (such as those tted on budget decks)
and will reward you with vastly improved dynamics, clarity and
detail.
Onyx Arm
The Onyx looks almost identical to the Zephyr ( in photo above,) but
the yoke is black instead of stainless steel appearance. This is a high
performance arm built to a budget. The expertise gained from years
at the forefront of high performance tonearms has been utilised to
bring the best possible performance available from any arm at this
price.
Silver Arm
The Legendary tonearm that has been hailed as the ‘design of the
decade’ in its MK1 form is now at MK3a stage with ever increased
performance. Featuring the same underlying design of the popular
MK3c, this arm has a new yoke, arm tube and threaded base with
VTA adjustment. The Silver looks similar to the Zephyr but the yoke
is black instead of stainless steel appearance.
Zephyr Arm
The Zephyr arm is a turbocharged Silver with many of the features
of Origin Live’s high end arm included. The result is a dramatic
improvement in bass weight, dynamics, resolution and image
stability.
High End Origin Live arms are the subject of a separate brochure or
please see our web site.
The very best tonearm I’ve ever heard…awesomely tight bottom end...the midband - glass clear, incredibly liquid, fantastic image
precision, walkaround soundstaging and incredible timbral realism...the treble is shockingly open and airy up top...the £599 price
tag is laughably low...could probably charge 5 times this amount...words can’t express how good this is - one of the designs of the
decade...
Stereo Times
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Zephyr Tonearm
Review
www.originlive.com - E-mail: originlive@originlive.com - Phone: +44 (0)2380 578877
Full Review on Upgrading a
Technics 1210 Mk2
By Stuart Wennen (Independent reviewer for over 4 Sound and Hi-Fi
magazines, also a Professional Design Engineer and University Lecturer
in Electronics.)
Origin Live Turntable Platter Mat
Turntable enthusiasts will have noticed that platter mats aect the
sound produced considerably. This is because the mat has 4 jobs to
achieve:
1. To isolate the pick up arm and cartridge from extraneous noise i.e.
motor noise, turntable main barring noise and of course built in
transformer noise (more of this later.)
2. The mat also damps the platter, in other words, it stops the platter
material ringing which has a large eect on the transcription
process.
3. Platter mats also damped the resonance caused by the very nature
of the physical contact between the generator and vinyl surface,
this eect has been called, “needle torque,” if this is not addressed
it can give rise to coloured reproduction.
4. The platter mat should not slip as this gives rise to dynamic wow
and destroys the timing of the original vinyl reproduction.
The Origin Live mat is a composite construction, and is 1mm thick. The
mat feels reassuringly substantial when taken from the sleeve. It was
placed on the platter of a Technics SL1210, the VTA was adjusted to suit
and the rst piece of vinyl was played. I noticed the dierence between
my old mat and the Origin Live mat straight away.
The rst point of interest was that the music seemed to be reproduced
with extra clarity along with a lack of surface noise. Furthermore the
stereo image seemed to have grown! It extended in height, width and
depth, there seemed to be a more accurate transcription of the music,
much more precision in the delivery of information. This turntable mat
certainly delivers the goods! It is also universal as it was tried on a large
variety of turntables, e.g. Garrard 4O1, Technics SL1200-1210, Thorens
TD125-TD150 and nally Townshend Rock. Now the dicult question,
would I use one of these mats? Yes I certainly would.
Origin Live Dampening Feet & Pads
I was supplied with a bag of four replacement feet for the Technics
1200-1210 along with four 1mm thick rubbery washers. I removed
the standard Technics feet and replaced them with the upgrade from
Origin Live.
When the turntable was switched on, the pick up arm was queued and
dropped into the groove and....I was absolutely amazed. The dierence
was staggering, the stereo image was cleaned up by a large amount.
As well as the above improvement they reduced footfall by a huge
amount as well as virtually removing airborne acoustic feedback to
almost inaudible levels. These feet (and felt washers) are a must buy
for any Technics SL1200-1210 turntable. They do what it says on the tin.
Advanced Power Supply For The SL1200/1210
This includes: a wall-wart, 12 VA transformer.
As any Hi Fi enthusiast will be aware, power supply performance is
vital to any turntable. The Origin Live upgrade is simple to install using
the supplied instruction sheet and also the web data as well. The
Advanced was connected to a rather old 1210, then it was powered
up. After about 15 minutes, to allow the electronics to stabilise, the
other functions were tried on the turntable. All of the functions worked
exactly as they did before the modication. The modication improved
transcription by a large amount i.e. bass was cleaner with an amazing
reproduction of drum kits and bass instruments. The vocals were
considerably improved as well as dramatic utter improvement, giving
better insight into the music. Wow!
The “haze” associated with direct drive motor systems was also
removed. The modied turntable was judged to be better in all areas. It
was almost as good as turntables costing thousands of pounds.
We then returned the SL1210 back to original (a couple of minutes
work with the soldering iron) and the dierence was huge. Gone was
the huge stereo image, there seemed to be less space around the
instruments, the noise seemed to be louder and the pitch control
seemed to be less accurate. A denite improvement was noticed with
the advanced PSU in use.
Ultra Power Supply
The Ultra is the top of the range of the SL1200 power supplies. The Ultra
diers from the advanced with higher grade components and much
more sophisticated printed circuit board. Although the motor control
case looks identical except for the colour of the LED. The eect of the
Ultra over the advanced was not subtle. The stereo image was about
the same size although the instruments and vocals seemed much
more vividly reproduced. The depth of the image was judged greater
with the ultra power supply than the advanced. The ultra gave better
transient image retrieval of information, it also aided the timing of the
music. This PSU is highly recommended for the Technics SL1200-1210.
It takes the SL1200 from being a fairly good turntable into the “super
deck” league. Although the cost of a fully modied SL1210 can be had
for beer budget money.
Upgrade Transformer
This rather innocuous looking case was substituted for the 12 VA wall-
wart power supply. Again the dierence was large, it oered, lower
noise oor, huge stereo image, the turntable controls responded
quicker than the standard power supply.
This is no doubt due to the better regulation oered by the custom built
toroidal transformer inside the case! Speed stability was also improved
measurably by the substitution. To sum up, a very worthy addition to
the SL1200-1210 turntable. It aords a massive improvement to all the
above Origin Live range.
Conclusion
Of all the SL1200-1210 modications, the power supply upgrade is
a must have addition to the SL1200-1210 turntable. As the Technics
transformer is, in eect, removed from the turntable. Dramatic
improvements are the order of the day!
As we go up the range of power supplies, the improvements were not
subtle! At the end of this I started my SL1200 with no power supply
modications and the dierence was tremendous. When I replaced
the standard feet with the Origin Live upgrades, again the dierence
was immediately apparent. Substituting the platter mat for the Origin
Live upgrade, the improvement again literally staggering. The upgrade
path has to be in this order.
1. Install Advanced power supply.
2. Install Ultra power supply.
3. Upgrade transformer.
4. Feet substitution.
5. Origin Live platter mat substitution.
Origin Live has identied the weak points of the SL1210 design. They
have provided an aordable upgrade path for this turntable. Along
with a 28 day money back guarantee if not satised, what have you
got to lose?
All of these modications are highly recommended to professional DJs
and Hi Fi enthusiasts.
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