This motor kit does improve the already good performance of the Nottingham analogue decks by a substantial margin. The kit is relatively easy to fit:

1. Remove the Nottingham Analogue pulley by pulling down the sleeve hard under the motor.
2. There is plenty of room to accommodate the Origin Live motor and you can use the round 51mm dia motor mounting plate we supply to fit into the Nottingham Analogue pod.

If you feel this is beyond you, simply send the pod off to Origin Live and we will make up a plate and fit it for you.

“Still enjoying the advanced / DC200 kit and can’t wait to try the transformer – You have the 3 R’s in school, your kit gives the big R to Hi-Fi (REALISM)”
M Donaghue, Gwent

I had always intended to upgrade my Michel Orbe turntable to a DC motor but had placed it lower on my upgrade agenda. That was until I purchased the Clearaudio speed record and strobe. I measured the speed of the original AC motor and found that not only was the motor running fast but with a huge amount of speed variation. I tried changing the belt tension but to no avail, I couldn’t even recalibrate the speed! I ordered the Origin live motor upgrade later that day.

I chose the Origin Live upgrade because I wanted the choice of 1, 2 or single thick belts. The second reason is the ease of speed adjustment.

Installing the Motor into the Pod

All the Origin Live Motor top plates will not fit the Orbe’s motor Pod! The two round top plates offered by Origin live have a Diameter that is too small and to compound matters the way that the pod is constructed makes it very labour intensive to use the origin live or any other custom motor top plate with the pod. The good news is that with a little work the original Orbe’s motor top plate is virtually ideal for the Origin Live DC Motor. The length of the motor is the tightest fit but is no problem as long as the DC voltage connection tabs at the base of the motor are gently bent out wards.

The Only major work required is the drilling of holes in the original top plate (these 3 holes are for the DC motor fixing screws). The original motor and switch were de-soldered and removed; I then used one of the origin live top plates to create a paper template for the position of the screw holes. The template was then cut to fit into the Orbe’s top plate recess. Just to check I held the entire top plate (with template in place) up to the window so that the light shines through the original motor hole, this allowed me to get the best position for the 3 screw holes. The metal is Aluminium, so was easy to drill, I used only a standard PCB drill and stand (set to the lowest speed).

The motor was then screwed onto the top plate without alignment problems.

I chose to use the 4-pin connector that the original Michell motor used. The DC power cable was cut to the required lengths and soldered to the male and female connector pins.

Set Up and Final Adjustments

The pod was placed into the orbe’s motor hole and the motor top plate levelled. The motor has a type of cork ring that sits between the top of the motor and the top plate, as cork is soft by nature I found it worthwhile to set the motor’s spindle to 90º in relation to the motor top plate. This was simply done with a small setsquare and by adjusting the 3 motor screws.

I originally heard a knocking noise when the motor was started but I found that I had not placed the pulley onto the spindle tight enough, once corrected the Motor noise was barely a whisper. I went straight for 2 belts (both brand new). The problem with two belts is setting the system up perfectly so that both belts do not move up and down during rotation.

I found two reasons for the belts not stabilising whilst running:

1. The motor pulley is not exactly level to the platter and can be cured by either adjusting the 3 screws that secure the motor to the motor top plate or as my motor pod sits on a completely separate adjustable stand, I re-levelled the entire pod.
2. A track of rubber around the platter, which was left by the original single belt. A quick polish of the circumference of the platter helps cure the problem.
   These adjustments left two perfectly stable belts during rotation. Speed was set using the Clearaudio record and strobe with the needle in the burn-in grooves on the strobe record

During the first month the motor speed needed re-adjustment due to the burn in process but the need to adjust got less and less with time. With the controller’s adjustment pots accessible from outside this was easy and a tweakers dream. The adjustment pots are of the good quality multi turn variety. However as all HiFi enthusiast need to complain about something:

It would have been even better if the trim pots were on the front of the unit and totally superb if each trim pot had knobs for real ease of use.

The Sound

The sound was a massive and I mean MASSIVE improvement over the AC motor, how it would compare to the Michell DC never connected I do not know.

The first obvious thing is the pitch stability, I was instantly aware that the Pitch is what creates the “note” on the instrument. The pitch of the deck allowed the speed and control the artist has over his instrument to be portrayed, a bow being drawn across the strings with confidence, a bass guitar tightly propelling the pace of a track. In fact the pace of the music is now so sure-footed and clear that any slight increase or decrease in pace is instantly heard. Very nice indeed.

The more burn in the motor had the more the noise floor began to drop away leaving the singers, guitars etc… standing in air. There is an increase in background blackness, which had the effect of increasing Dynamics, attack and detail; each instrument comes out of a crisper blackness. Late night sessions are incredible.

A single belt gives a more relaxed smooth sound with “slightly” more detail, two belts seem to separate and project the instruments in space better but it’s the “drive” of the music that is especially superb. I noticed I was holding my breath whilst a singer was holding a long drawn out note, Pavarotti must have serious lungs and incredible breathing control. Two belts on heavy metal is exactly what you should hear; fast, raw, powerful and very engaging (time to dust off the old air guitar).

Without doubt I am a two-belt man.

It is unbelievable that the drive of the platter makes so much difference to the music. Once set up and with the platter running at exactly 33 1/3 the contrast between the speed of instruments can be heard not only in a timing sense which is now plainly obvious with this upgrade, but it gets right down to the frequencies sounding right. During burn in I could hear when the speed is running slightly too fast as the contrast between slow and fast instruments is less due to them all sounding fast. Speed adjustment is so important.

After one month of burn in, the next thing that suddenly hits you, but was always slowly improving, is that absolutely nothing gets confused, each instrument is well separated and solid in it’s own space. Right down to the jet flying off into the distance on Pink Floyds Final Cut “get your hands off my Desert” the jet is tiny, but confidently solid in air.

This is just getting better and better!

The upgrade has improved everything from my SLX deccas, Jazz, and my limited but soon to expand heavy metal…the orbe never sounded so musical.

But the strangest thing is that I listen to the radio in the car or a cheap HiFi in a friends house and it does not better my system for musical flow or rhythm, in any way what so ever…..very rewarding.

The DC200 motor, Ultra Power supply, 2 belts and upgrade transformer now rate amongst one of my ultimate upgrades, they have simply brought me closer to the music. Much more than I would have thought possible.

No doubt in my mind…£800 well spent!!!!!

Tristan Gallagher

Linn Sondek LP12 Turntable set-up and tuning instructions.

The Linn LP12 motor is not only very easy to change but is incredibly effective as an upgrade.

To fit the DC motor kit to the Linn Sondeck LP12 turntable is very straight-forward and is accomplished by carrying out the following steps. No drilling of the top-plate is required and the modifications are easily reversible should you ever wish to sell your Linn but retain the DC motor.

Unplug the deck from the mains supply for obvious safety reasons and before doing any work allow the Valhalla capacitors to discharge for 45 minutes. Do not remove the Linn Sondeck LP12 baseboard cover before this period is over as there is danger of lethal electric shock.

Origin Live motor and pulley fitted

Showing motor fitted from underside view. Old Linn Lingo or Linn Valhalla board can be removed to further improve the sound once you are certain you are keeping the upgrade

You MUST also remove the mains plug at this stage to avoid any possibility of someone plugging it in at a later stage. You will not need the Linn electronic power supply any more, so it can either be detached entirely or simply left in place for quick reversal of this modification. The LP12 will sound better if the Valhalla board is removed entirely due to the additional resonance it inputs to the plinth.

Unscrew the baseboard from the Linn – the screws, which hold on the 4 rubber feet and 2 others, usually hold it on.

Disconnect the 4 wires leading to the Linn motor (2 grey, 1 blue, 1 red) by slackening the screws holding them at the terminal block. Note the positions for each color of wire in case of needing to refit the Linn motor.

Unscrew the 2 slotted pan head screws that control the tilt of the Linn motor.

Unscrew the 2 black round headed Allen screws that hold on the Linn Motor – you may need to slacken off the nuts underneath first. This will allow you to remove the Linn motor but be careful not to lose the 4 cone-shaped spacing washers that reside between the top of the motor and the bottom of the stainless steel top plate (see Fig 1). It is also recommended to remove the belt guard as this can rub against the belt depending on how your Linn is adjusted.

Now fit the DC motor as shown in Fig 2 below using an original black round-headed Allen bolt and nut plus the 2 brass washers supplied with the kit. The brass washers only serve as spacers – they are not designed fit directly under the bolt heads. The bolt only need to be “nipped“ tight for best sound quality and the distance from centre of platter to motor pulley centre should be adjusted to approx 127 – 129mm for correct belt tension (start at 127). There are 3 holes drilled in the DC top-plate to allow extra flexibility in positioning the motor as Linns differ slightly in dimensional set up. For tension see also notes on wiring the power supply.

Now connect up the control box, to the Linn LP12, set the speed (see above) and enjoy your new turntable motor!

Linn with existing AC synchronous motor

Linn Sondek LP12 with Origin Live motor fitted

Just thought I’d send some pictures as promised of my Kuzma turntable Stabi S with the new motor. It was actually quite easy to fit. First you need to remove the perforated bottom plate to the motor, using by unscrewing the brass feet. Then it’s a simple case of removing (unscrewing the wires) the power supply components and unscrewing the Kuzma motor. The switch is a bit more complicated as it’s glued in. I used pliers and gentle brute force. The original power cable can now just be pulled out.

I went for the short pulley motor (DC200). According to my measurements it was a better bet than the long pulley. I was wrong by about half a millimeter or so (motor touches turntable platter). No problem just change the feet. Three new rubber feet do the job perfectly (makeshift for now)

Origin live note that this is not a problem any more because the motor sits down deeper by 1.5mm on current plates.

The motor in its round mounting plate can be mounted directly on the top of the empty brass motor pod. With one or two screws – relatively tightly. (See picture). There are two holes for the old motor which are 60mm apart. It’s as simple as that.

The upgrade is well worth it. I’ve had the luck to be able to compare the advanced and ultra motor kits – the ultra wins hands down, but the advanced kit is significantly better than the original AC motor.

In the pictures one of the screws is holding the plate on the inside edge of the motor pod – a sort of pressure fit – you only want a one screw fastening.

I didn’t write too much praising the ultra motor kit, but it’s amazing what a difference it makes. You must have great fun designing and testing new products.

The existing motor plate of the CS Products turntable is replaced by an Origin Live motor plate and mounted level with the top of the turntable plinth. The MDF baseboard needs the motor hole enlarging to allow the motor to protrude from the bottom of the deck – it also needs a 1 x 4.5mm diameter hole drilled to re-site the motor plate support bolt.

CS Products Replacement Motor with Origin Live DC Motor Kit.

This Turntable is fairly straight forward to modify and only needs a single 2.5mm hole drilling in the top plate (which takes all of 30 seconds).

Additional parts provided for this DC Motor Kit – 1 off 2.5mm nut, long pulley, no motor top plate

• Disconnect the Turntable power supply from the mains by removing the mains lead plug from the wall socket
• Remove plastic cover, base board, platter and drive belt
• Make sure tonearm is secure in the arm lock. Place deck
• Remove the old motor

• It is optional but you may pay to elongate the hole with a round file to allow for different motor positions which affect belt tension. On the AR turntable we modified this was not necessary as the belt seemed pretty tight anyway but it may not have been the correct belt. Use guidance notes with each motor kit to set the ideal belt tension. This is not critical but avoid an over-tight belt as this can cause motor wear.

• Drill a 2.5 (best) or 3mm diameter hole in a position 10mm out from the centre of the desired pulley position.

• Using the single M2 screw provided fit the motor in the position as shown – The motor only needs a single screw to hold it and this allows it to be swivelled and stay in position if the screw is just tight enough. OPTIONAL: To enable the motor to swivel you can fit the 2.5mm nut provided between the top of the motor and the underside of the top plate. This spaces the motor sufficiently away from the top plate to allow it to swivel without catching the top plate.
• Refit all items removed and your upgrade is finalised.

Record Player Motor and Power Supply general fitting methods

Overview of fitting the Record Player motor to your deck

Guidance notes are supplied with the kits. These additional notes are provided to overcome issues that may arise on individual decks. Sometimes the depth of a record player motor means that a deck needs taller feet to lift it clear of the surface on which it stands.

Sometimes a hole needs to be cut in the deck baseboard to allow the motor to be fitted. A hole saw mounted on a drill is the best tool for the job (see hole cutting tools.)

Alternatively the baseboard can be left off altogether as the voltages are no longer dangerous (12V max). Leaving off the baseboard will also improve the sound of the deck due to reduced resonance.

Record Player Motor Dimensions

Fitting the motor to your record player is all you need worry about as the remainder the kit is plug and play. The dimensions of the motors and their mounting plates are described as follows which may help you to work out how best to fit them.

DC100 motor included as standard with every motor kit – body is 29mm diameter and 46mm long.

Height of motor with tall pulley: 60mm
Height of motor with short pulley: 52mm

For Drawing of motor mounting please click here.

Record Player Motor Mounting Plates

We offer 3 sizes of motor mounting plate which gives you more flexibility. Normaly you will receive the correct plate for your particular deck as we know the best answer for the more popular record players. The plates are listed below

A rectangular mounting plate is fitted to motor as standard. Dimensions 70mm x 40mm x 2mm with mounting holes spaced 60mm apart.

Circular plate 65mm in diameter with mounting holes spaced 57mm apart is available on special request.

Small round motor plate 50mm diameter with notches for screws (bolts) at 48mm pitch diameter – ideal in pods like the Michell Gyrodek and Orb. Available by special request.

Only one mounting hole need be used to fit the first 2 motor plates to a deck. The plate may then be swivelled to set belt tension.

Plinths With Thick Top Plates

Sometimes the motor plate must be mounted on the top of a thick MDF top plate in a way that would add too much height. In such cases, a “milling machine” attachment in a pillar drill may be used to cut away the MDF to the correct depth and allow the motor top plate to sink into it. Alternatively a router or sharp chisel may be used.

Methods Of Fitting The Motor

These can vary from screwing it on using the tapped holes in the mounting plate to wedging it in position with pieces of hard foam – the motors run cold so there is no overheating problem. Note that the motor sounds best when the top plate is mounted with a single bolt. This allows easy adjustment of belt tension by simply swivelling the whole assembly. It also gives considerable scope for setting the height of the motor using a single machine screw and nuts: the nuts can be used to clamp the motor at any height along the machine screw length.

Motors With Pods

For turntables with pods which house the old motor you can adapt the pod to house the new motor – We supply a circular motor top plate for these applications which means that after unbolting the pod’s existing top plate, the Origin Live motor top plate can usually be bolted to the pod using one of the redundant tapped holes – the new DC motor top plate only needs to be fastened using one bolt.

This method is not always possible and so alternative methods are to get a machine shop to tailor your old pod to fit the OL DC motor – it may need recessing to get sufficient pulley height – some people give up at this point wondering if it’s worth the trouble but anyone who ever just gets up a rough working set up to see what the new motor sounds like is immediately convinced to go ahead.

One last method is simply to pack the motor into the pod by wedging it in position using pieces of hard foam, rubber, Plasticine, blutak or hot melt glue – crude though this may be it works and as the motor runs cold there is no problem on that front.

Belt Length

Belts are measured by their circumference in mm. There are two ways of doing this:

1. Thread length. Put a length of thread round the belt path i.e. the motor pulley and Sub-platter, mark it and then measure the length.
2. Actual length. Take the old belt. Measure the length of the belt pulled (without stretching) straight and then double the figure.

Pulley Choice

The centre of a flat belt rides on the crown of the pulley (the crown is the fattest part of the curved section of the pulley). Round belts ride in the top or bottom notch of the pulley.

On the Origin Live “short” pulley the distance from the top surface of the motor plate to the crown is 6mm.

We supply a “long” pulley for use with the Linn LP12 and most other decks. In this case the distance from top of the motor plate to crown is 14mm.

The motor plate is normaly 1.5mm thick.

Pulleys are a special high grip white plastic not the aluminium type shown in the photo. They are also precision bored for smoothest possible running.

We stock various pulleys which are press fitted to the motors – if you have the wrong type of pulley for your deck DO NOT TRY TO REMOVE THE PULLEY or you will probably wreck an expensive motor. The motor should be returned to us complete with pulley and we will change it over.

“Short pulley” 8mm diameter at crown 11mm dia overall is useful for decks where the motor is mounted close to the height of the top of the plinth.
“Long pulley” is useful for decks where the motor is mounted under a thin top plate e.g. the Linn LP12

The pulleys are designed to run with flat and round belts so there is no need to specify a different pulley for any type of belt (round belts ride in the top or bottom rim recess).

All operating voltage ranges quoted on this page assume the DC100 motor is to be installed. The lowest operating voltage of a switch box is always noted on the rear of the switching box.

Note: the photos below are a representative likeness only