Price:

The new External DC Motor Upgrade has also been so successful that we are now discontinuing the old internally installed model. The advantages of the new model include:

• New silent running motor with improved performance.
• External aluminum control box
• Improved transformer
• Improved motor mounting system
• Improved connections and wiring

Overall this has resulted in a motor kit that is about 20-30% up on performance and very easy to install as an upgrade on almost all known decks. Successful upgrades with a marked improvement include:

Michell – gyro / orbe DC, Rega, Systemdek, Roksan, VPI, Linn, Thorens, Pro-Ject , Etc.

Front view of box housing the voltage regulator and speed control switch. This comes prebuilt with all leads and plug connectors. No soldering required - All you need to do is install the dc motor. Total cost of upgrade kit is $880 which includes dc motor, power supply, regulator board, switch, strobe card, etc.   Dimensions of box (H x W x D) 50mm x 110mm x 180mm

Reviews:   TNT Magazine     Common Ground    Listener   Classical Record    Owners

The Origin Live Advanced DC turntable motor kit is one of the most cost effective and massive upgrades that you can make to your system . This high grade motor kit is designed as a drop in replacement for almost all turntable motors and has greatly benefited most leading turntables such as Linn, Roksan, Pink Triangle, Rega, Thorens, VPI, Michell, Heybrook, Opus, Oracle, Well Tempered, Acoustic Research, and Sysemdek to name but a few. The advanced motor kit is different to the standard dc motor kit supplied with the Origin Live turntable kits due to it's vastly superior regulator board (the motor is the same). This kit betters all known motors and turntable power supplies costing in the region of £900. At a budget price of £299 GBP, this represents a mere fraction of what the upgrade is worth in terms of performance.
The kit represents close to the ultimate in motor and power supply quality along with 33rpm & 45rpm speed selection. It comprises a highly advanced non-cogging DC motor, an extremely accurate polished pulley, motor attachment plate, specially designed 2 speed voltage regulation circuit and fully built power supply along with switch and wiring. We can provide power supplies for either 240 / 230V, 50 Hz or 110V, 60 Hz mains supplies. This combination is far superior in performance to any electronic power supplies (usually costing between £ 600 GBP and £ 900 GBP).

The fully built power supply (transformer) is housed in an enclosed box outside the deck whilst the small regulator board is also in an external aluminium box. The switch may be mounted wherever you wish or you could use your existing switch if suitable. No safety risks exist due to the low output voltage from the 12V - 6V dc power supply.
A special optional power supply (transformer) is also offered as an upgrade for the kit. This features an extremely advanced, purpose designed transformer. The benefits are improved transparency, dynamics and deeper bass. Cost is £175 GBP.

Will the kit fit your deck?

If you have doubts, it may help to know that we provide a 2 week money back guarantee. If you cannot fit the kit then we will give you a full refund. Motor body is 42mm long and 29mm diameter. The pulley is 11mm on top of this and 10.5mm in diameter. Speed is infinitely variable via a dial resistance. A strobe disc is also provided to enable easy and accurate speed setting.

DC motor with highly polished and precision bored (not reamed) press fitted pulley. Top plate is laser cut stainless steel with holes the same distance apart as the standard synchronous motor used on most decks. The motor is cogless and ironless which imparts a huge advantage over the inexpensive AC motors used in most decks - the AC motors used in most decks like the LP12 cannot run very smoothly in comparison to a non-cogging motor no matter how sophisticated and expensive the power supply. Cogging refers to the 'flick' that occurs as straight rotor windings pass between straight magnetic strips i.e the power transfer goes up and down as the coils rotate from one magnetic pole onto the next. On more expensive motors the manufacturers have 'skewed' the coils to ensure a smooth power transfer as the rotor rotates between the magnetic poles. The dc motor is not only cogless but also ironless which means that the flux residue that takes place in the cheaper iron motors is vastly reduced which results in a smoother and more efficient operation. The bottom line is that the major cause of vibration in the turntable (i.e the motor) is vastly reduced which results in benefits difficult to imagine unless heard.

Features

The high grade DC motor is a radical new breakthrough design (1997) with virtually no cogging effect due to it's ironless core. The cogging effect is the downfall of most motors. This motor is also fitted with precious metal brushes and is highly reliable.

The power supply is so well regulated that it surpasses lead acid batteries (as used by some high end pre-amps). This feature has been fully exploited by the highly developed but simple circuitry, specifically designed for the kit motor.

The motor plate enables easy fitting to most decks and also enables belt tension to be adjusted (helpful to epitomizing performance). Due to the vibrationless nature of the motor, it does not need rubber band decoupling and other methods employed on some decks to isolate their existing motors. In fact this motor can be attached on the platter sub-chassis with no noise breakthrough whatsoever!

To cater for different sizes of platter or sub-platter you can set the infinitely variable motor speed for your particular deck using pre-set dial resistors. This has the added advantage that if you ever change your deck you can transfer the motor.

The belt centre rides on the crown of the pulley. The height from the top surface of the top plate to the crown of the pulley as shown above is 6mm. For the Linn and other suitable decks this dimension is 14mm.

Suitable size flat belts are available for different decks - Round belts are only an advantage when motor vibration is high as they have a reduced cross-sectional area and low contact area on the sub-platter. However they slip and stretch, once motor vibration is eliminated flat belts are far superior.

A strobe card is provided for easy and accurate speed setting.

A special optional power supply is also offered as an upgrade for the kit. This features an extremely advanced, purpose designed transformer. The benefits are improved transparency, dynamics and deeper bass. Cost is £175 GBP.

An example of the installation is on the web site under 'LP12 upgrade' - it can be done on almost any deck and has been carried out on decks such as Acoustic Research, Aristons, Linn LP12 (Valhulla, lingo, Armaggeddon), Opus 3, Oracles, Pink Triangle, Rega planar 3, Rocks, Roksan, Systemdeks, Thorens, Void Valdi, VPI's, Well tempered decks, etc. In every instance - no matter how advanced the power supply being used on the existing deck, the result of adding the dc motor kit has been surprised delight. Sometimes a little ingenuity is required along with DIY aptitude. At the budget price we offer on a kit that could be valued at over £1000 in performance terms, it is understandably totally impossible for us to supply detailed manuals for the hundreds of deck variants that exist and nearly everybody has no trouble once they have the parts in their hands - we do provide clear instructions on the installation, dimensions etc. that can be applied to almost every situation. Rather than go through detailed dimensions etc. with each deck we would rather you had a look at the kit and if you find anything insurmountable in terms of fitting simply return it to us for a refund - time is just too short for any other option at the moment although in the future we intend to have a feedback page on our web site where dc motor kit users can report the fitting methods they use for the benefit of others.