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It is necessary to fit the tonearm to the deck, before final “levelling” of the sub-chassis so that the weight distribution is
correct. At this stage the arm simply needs to be in position – it does not need to be adjusted for height or have the
cartridge fitted etc.
If you do not have a VTA adjuster
If you do not have a VTA adjuster then bolt the arm to the armboard now - you only need tighten the large bolt to
finger tightness or very slightly tighter ("nipped tight 1/16 turn or less"). You will need to fit the arm “packing washer”
underneath the large bolt or it will not “clamp” on the 4mm thick armboard.
It is NOT recommended to place the large serrated washer (supplied by Origin Live with OEM Rega arms or
modification kits) under the large base nut as this does not work well with metal armboards.
If you have the Origin live threaded VTA adjuster (which fits all decks)
Thread the adjuster onto the arm. Ensure that the threaded metal sleeve is the right way up with the recess on the top
side. This ensures that the arm goes all the way down into the sleeve. It is NOT recommended to place the large serrated
washer (supplied with Origin Live OL1 arms or modification kits) under the large base nut as this does not work well
with metal armboards.
Bolt the arm to the armboard - you only need tighten the large bolt to finger tightness or very slightly tighter ("nipped
tight 1/16 turn" or less). You will need to fit the arm “packing washer” underneath the large bolt or it will not “clamp”
on the 4mm thick armboard.
If you have the Origin Live VTA sliding adjuster
Ensure that the Aluminium sleeve is the right way up with the recess on the top side This ensures that the arm goes all
the way down into the sleeve. Place the arm in the aluminium sleeve and then clamp it in position via the set screw in the
side of the VTA housing (i.e the sleeve is forced in to grip the arm’s threaded base). You do not need the Rega nut on
the base of the arm. Only tighten the set screw sufficiently to clamp the arm in position – over-tightening can make the
arm sound bright. Do not fit a threaded VTA adjuster if you have the sliding adjuster.
Fit the arm cable
Fasten the arm cable - this should be supported by a cable clip screwed into position underneath the plinth - leave a
slight droop on it so that it isn’t “tight” (See diagram “Top view of wiring layout & connections” for position). This is
helpful to minimise vibration of the cable. Avoid pulling the external wires at the base of toneamrs as they are not
indestructible and can become detached if excessive force is used to manipulate them.
You can use one hole or two in the rear of the plinth to lead out the external cable. For thicker leads you will need to use
both holes. See picture “View of assembled kit from underside” at front of manual.
Fit the cartridge
If you are new to fitting Hi-Fi cartridges please see the notes provided under the heading “Hi-Fi Cartridges - setting up
procedures” but do not carry out any fine tuning at this stage as you only need the cartridge bolted to the headshell for
arm height adjustment purposes.
Install the Sub-platter & Platter
With the syringe supplied, run approx 5 drops of oil into the top of the bearing house. Wipe the sub-platter spindle
surface to ensure that it is absolutely clean and very gently insert the sub-platter into the bearing house (If the oil does not
overflow when the spindle touches the bottom then try 2 drops at a time till you just achieve overflow - wipe away
excess oil) and then place the platter on top. The bearing needs a few minutes to “run in” and should run silent when
truly vertical and full of oil - if it doesn’t do so, there has probably been contamination with dust and you will need to
clean it out with a lint free paper towel or similar wrapped around a thin rod. If you do this, be sure to also wipe the oil
off the spindle as this also may contain microsco pic contamination that is not visible.
Level up the platter using the nuts under the spring assemblies but only approximately at this stage. Ignore the fact that
the spring support plate is not level - it hangs at a slightly different angle to the actual sub-chassis that supports the arm
and platter - this is by design.
The top of the platter should be approx 31mm above the top of the arm board ( or top of the VTA adjuster if present).
Fit the belt over the motor pulley and sub-platter after cleaning all the running surfaces with methylated or surgical spirit.
Place the platter again on the sub-platter and level the platter by adjusting the nuts underneath the spring seats. Ideally
you should use a small spirit level for this purpose. You should also aim to get the top of the arm-board (or VTA
adjuster) roughly level with the top of the plinth top-board. Note that the sub-chassis should bounce freely without
contacting anything. It need only bounce up and down 1mm or so. Unlike some decks such as the LP2 you do not need
to achieve an “even” bounce - the Sub-chassis takes most of the weight on one spring so it doesn’t bounce very evenly.
Troubleshooting
