The Michell Audio Story -A Deep Dive with Jonathan Nye 

Billy. Did you visit ProAc who used to be on Thirsk Rd. in Borehamwood. ? I was the first US importer for Stewart Tyler back in 1982. Modern Audio Consultants, Boulder, Colorado.

@@michaelcelani8325 although I have had ProAcs before and have a pair of Tab10’s in my upstairs system now, I didn’t realise they were in Borehamwood until well after having my first few pairs.

@@billywindsock9597 Thanks Billy..! The old ProAc building. at 132 Thirsk Rd. is gone now....replaced by a row of apartment buildings. Real estate prices in Borehamwood must have soared since the 80's and caused housing to be more profitable. Sad really.

Thank you for your comment. We are trying to create content that enthusiasts and fans of the brands we import will enjoy. None of these videos are designed to "sell" anything. We are thinking the viewers of the videos we will create, already own the gear and want to learn more about the story, the history and brand philosophy. We have more videos on the way.

Nice i have exacte the same setup. But also HR power.

if your chassis was bouncing around like a drunken duck, I can well understand a desire for radical change. I never had such a mechanical defect , and realize that Michell had knowledge of this type of elastic band suspension when he went for metal springs and that frequency response from that suspension. . don't believe the hype is my advice, unless you think an aftermarket company can out engineer the guy with his name on the product, who originally developed the design. I looked real hard into the true point audio speed controller , but they lost credibility with me when their site kept pushing the elastic band replacement suspension as the first essential modification. because I consider it a part to satisfy those who want to fix something that is not broken , and offers no improvement beyond the ability to consider one's turntable as now special, better than the design Michell originally specified. . the marvelous thing about human hearing is that if you think you hear something, you do, that becomes your reality , even if it is only true inside your own head and no place else. to get around the subjectivity and invention of human hearing, double blind testing is used , to statistically develop what is real from an individual's perception. Whenever an audio product is pitched using only happy customers, but no test numbers, use caution.

@@richardelliott8352 Believe me when I say, Michell engineering could not fix the speed discrepancy using either the standard or Never Connected PSU's when setting the speeds on my Gyrodec SE. Both the standard and the NC PSU's only have one potentiometer for adjusting the voltage to the motor. In my case setting the speed to 33.3 and 45 was way out and setting to 45 and 33.3 became way out. After a few emails and a phone call Steve recommended a new pulley and charged me £20 for the privilege and that didn't solve the issue even with several new belts from Michell. The Michell PSU's do not have independent control for each speed whereas the True Point PSU has and it's electronic with memory. So yes, the aftermarket guy can outdo the designer even though he passed away several years ago. Its not about hearing the difference, you can actually see the difference using a strobe disc or the REGA strobe and laser, or are my eyes lying to me as well as my ears. So why don't Michell use the same motor with tacho on the gyrodec and SE as they use on the Orbe, because they want you to spend even more money that's why. If you apply your reasoning regarding the springs to other items, for example, cartridge and stylus upgrades, MC or MM, this manufacturer against that manufactures of amps, speakers, CD players or even which label of record someone prefers a certain LP pressing, and even isolation devices for turntables and speakers then life would be so dull and uninteresting. How many manufactures have brought out a turntable or CD player etc etc and the hi fi press are not impressed. Horses for courses me thinks.

@@richardelliott8352 First off, these are not elastic bands but a bit more sophisticated. Ask yourself why SME use a similar design. Mine were not supplied by True Point Audio. Second, Michell PSU's are not the best for the Gyrodec or the SE. The original and the newer Never Connected PSU's only use one potentiometer to control the voltage output. When I set the speed for 33.3 the 45 would be out and when 45 was set, 33.33 was out. this was confirmed by a strobe disc and also a REGA strobe and laser. so are my eyes fooling me as well as my ears, I think not. A few emails and a call to Michell Engineering determined the motor pulley was to blame and after parting with £20 + p&p a new pulley was fitted with no improvement what so ever, this and many new belts did not solve the issue. So I fitted a True Point Audio Electronic speed controller which can calibrate the speeds independently of each other and store them in its memory, and retain the info even when switched off. Result, a Gyrodec SE that runs constant and stable on both speeds + 78 may I add. So Yes an aftermarket company can improve upon the original design by Jon Michell, who sadly passed away several years ago. Horses for courses me thinks.

@@richardelliott8352 Oh dear, if everyone took that attitude the world would never progress. Believe me when I say, Michell Engineering could not fix the speed issue with my Gyrodec SE, either that or they just couldn't care less. The standard and Never Connected PSU 's only have one potentiometer to adjust the voltage. The original is very basic and the NC is a waste of money, I know this because I owned both of them. When adjusted and set to 33.3 the 45 would be out by a mile and when adjusted and set to 45 the 33.3 would be out. This was verified by a 50Hz strobe and a REGA strobe and laser. Are you are now telling me my eye lie to me as well as my ears. Many emails and a phone call to Michell Engineering later, and a new motor pulley was fitted along with one of several new belts. This made no difference what so ever and the anoying thing about it all is Michell Engineering never thought the PSU was to blame. Then I fitted a Truer Point Audio PSU and single pulley and hey Presto! problem solved. Individual electronic speed control for 33.3, 45, and even 78 with memory, so the info is retained even when switched off. So yes, a third party aftermarket supplier can improve on John Michell's original design and improve it by miles. With regards to the suspension, these are not elastic bands as you claim, they are a bit more sophisticated than that. Ask yourself why SME also use a similar product. Whether or not they improve the sound is a matter of conjecture but I do know, like the PSU upgrade, they do make a hugh difference. Horses for courses me thinks.

@@richardelliott8352 What True Point Audio and Solidair Audio have done to improve the Gyrodec is exactly the same as what John Michell has done to the Rega tonearm. So please don't preach to me or be hypocritical about aftermarket suppliers or 3rd party manufacturers not knowing any better than the original designers who have their name on it. And as for listening to and believing the hype, why didn't you fit a standard Rega arm to your Gyrodec instead of the Techno arm (as stated in another of your posts, or have you replaced it like you were going to do) is it because the Tecno arm's hype sucked you in or is it genuinely better because it has been redesigned by someone other than the original designer. Oh! and Michell also use aftermarket or 3rd party manufacturers for their cartridges as do many other designers, so Michell do see the benefits of using aftermarket or 3rd parties providing that is, they can put their name on it.

also a more practical package when not in use. 'however, all that extra stuff just captures acoustic energy when in use, so many people only want the SE configuration.

without doubt it is a cost constrained, very thoughtful, design, which suits me fine. I just wanted to be able to hear what all the audiophiles were talking about without spending the world or getting a flavor of the month well reviewed thing that would only be discontinued as a market failure as defects became known and the hype of newness passed. I knew I was making a conservative buying decision , which was smart for my budget. I didn't know how greatly the performance would exceed my expectations.

it really easy, and by the way, nothing made by man is perfect. just set the springs at the base to they are all aligned the same way. once you adjust for level, that's it. I shoot across the top with a laser to find level , so the weight of any measurement tools doesn't affect the outcome.

Thanks! Even with such alignment of springs the oscillation of the platter is not vertical. Anyway thanks again.

@@riccardotartaro perhaps the arm weight is not correctly balanced. for as you no doubt have surmised, if the springs are uniform and undamaged, and the plinth is balanced , it can't help but work as designed. check with Michell , they have specification tables , to match the weight of the little puck where the arm attaches, for a lot of arms. I am considering a different , heavier , arm, and can't decide if I should buy a new($ 130!!) puck for the heavier new arm. or just uniformly drill out the underside to lighten the puck I have , until it hits the correct weight. I have seen the specification table used to order the correctly weighted attachment disk for various arms on their site, but not lately, and it's not like their site is easy to use. I doubt if most people could even find where to buy a replacement belt using the Michell site. since they all use the same configuration , with the only difference being the thickness of the aluminum , a simple height measurement would identify your part, without having to take things apart to weigh them.

I think you omitted the amount of customer feed back available to Michell when he was interfacing with customers who bought his kits and offered suggestions on a regular basis.

Sorry not early 90s early 00s

He is the Managing Director of Michell and also a family member of the Michell family...

@@stevejain9942 I am not convinced the remaining family can match the stride of the late designer , but hope they do well. I guess the recent price increases will give them greater credibility with their peers in the marketplace, but I appreciated the design goal of maximum performance for minimal possible cost. today, minimal cost will have you regarded as inferior equipment to more costly merch .

car suspensiosn have completely different goals. just because it is called a suspension does not mean the design goals are completely interchangeable. it is very easy to find an explanation why minimal contact is often used in audio design.

that was the most eye rolling part of the presentation. it stands to reason that this story was presented by a relative who works for the company. I hope that the common fate of boutique companies who fail once the founder dies doesn't happen to this company, because the Gyro is a fine product. not knocking the other stuff, I own a technoArm, but it is easily replaceable with similar products.