Completed Turntable Just a reminder of what the deck I purchased off eBay looked like, prior to starting the modifications. The Bamboo plinth with the platter removed. I used PTP-6 plates and disengager, SPH long bearing and my own brake design (on the left). The two saw cuts between the plates, go right through the plinth and create a longer path between the fixing screws on the two plates. . Close up of the brake, spacers have been added to bring the screw heads up to deck height. Platter and damping rings installed. 5mm Acrylic mat and 3mm Copper mat (SPH SCuMat) fitted to the platter, total revolving mass just over 5.5 kg. A 3mm x 19mm Rubber band has been fitted around the circumference, with x4 "O" rings over that, there is no platter ringing with this combination of mats and damping rings. The white top layer is just my strobe timing disc. Leveling bubble installed, the holes with Stainless Steel surrounds are to adjust the leveling feet. Brake with platter fitted. Rear face showing 4 pin XLR cartridge connector and mains input. Close up of cartridge connector and grounding post. Front Face. Side view showing the (original) Mission 774 tonearm. For my Copper mat, made by SPH, I didn't fancy polishing it frequently to keep it from tarnishing and free of finger marks etc. I used some jewelers patina fluid to oxidize the surface of the Copper. This should protect it and has a nice aged look, it doesn't produce a perfectly even colour, but is a lot more even than if just left to oxidize naturally. I quite like it and it should be a fit and forget finish, that unlike paint or varnish, will not effect the sound of the mat. Close up of the arm, the cartridge is quite heavy and the counter weight was almost at the limit of its adjustment. I added three rubber "O" rings, their additional weight allowed it to be brought forward slightly (5mm x 30mm id). The VDH ONE Special looks made for this arm, its compliance is a good match and it has a healthy current output, to work with my current amplifying Aqvox phone stage. A record installed for the full effect. So what does it sound like after all this effort? This combination of Turntable, Arm and Cartridge work superbly well. I used my own alignment geometry for the arm/cartridge, which you can read more about in the arm's own pages, but its enough to say here, that it worked extremely well. As for the deck, it runs absolutely silent, no matter how close you listen to it, with no hum, rumble or any unwanted noise at the speakers. The cartridge runs very quite on a good record, very low surface noise and a Black background. The sound is bold, full bodied would be a good description, yet highly detailed. It certainly has the PRaT that idler drives have the reputation for. This will be my last Turntable build, I'm getting to long in the tooth for major projects and I'm looking forward to enjoying the fruits of my labour during retirement. I've achieved everything I set out to achieve and coupled with the rest of my set up, this gives the best vinyl reproduction I have ever had. My other turntables will shortly be looking for new homes. In Addition.............. After about 12 months use, I made a couple of changes, which are all about convenience. I changed the output socket from XLR to a pair of RCA's. This gave greater flexibility when selecting leads and made connection to other kit at meetings easier. The Mission Arm does not have an armrest. I still had my GL75 adjustable armrest so decided to use that. Bought a Black anodized drawer knob off flebay, drilled and tapped it M8 to suit the adjustment collar on the rest and glued the assembly onto position on the deck, with Epoxy adhesive. This stops the arm flying around if caught by accident and gives a secure anchorage to tie the arm down, when transporting the deck. This deck/arm/cartridge combination continues to give good service and is always well received when I take it to HiFi meetings. Not looking to change anytime soon.