Origin live Aurora Mk3 User manual

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Mk3 Turntable Manual
for Aurora, Calypso, Resolution & Sovereign
It cannot be overstated that it is VERY
important to read these instructions
to really get the best out of your deck
and avoid making incorrect assuptions
-some things about the deck are
counter intuitive.
Platter must be lowered VERY GENTLY over
the taper spindle taking great care not
“scrape” the edges
Only set motor final speed after it has been
plugged in for over an hour. You can of
course start listening straight away.
*** NOTE : Speed must be reset
accurately after 2 days of continuous
running at 33rpm ***

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INTRODUCTION
Read Carefully - Congratulations and thankyour for
choosing an Origin Live turntable. You now have one of the
finest sounding turntables available – not only will it provide
an extraordinary level of performance but also reliability and
low maintenance. These instructions cover all decks listed on
the front cover, so photos and diagrams are for illustration
only. Specific instructions for a particular deck are always
included.
Critical performance factors should be noted as follows:
Adjustable feet to be clear of plinth underside
Belt tension affects speed slightly so do not move pod once
speed is set
The portions of the instructions printed in italics are optional
reading that provide additional information. It is critical that
the remainder of the instructions are read fully to achieve
full potential performance. Underlined text is especially
important.
Although the instructions are written for owners with no
previous experience of turntables, there are aspects of the deck
that run contrary to expections, so experts should note that
before altering anything it is important to have fully read the
“italics” instructions or degradation will result.
An Origin Live turntable is very simple to set up. These
instructions appear lengthy because they cover trouble
shooting and give proper explantion of factors that are
different to conventional set ups. If you have a problem, please
refer to the instructions - failing this, you should speak to your
dealer or refer to technical support on the Origin Live web
site www.originlive.com - See top navigation bar “ support”.
Your pre-assembled deck is illustrated below and you should
not dismantle it. We wish you an enjoyable time with your
Origin Live turntable.
PARTS LIST
Check that all parts are present.
Plinth & Sub-chassis - including 1 cable clip
with nut & bolt.
Turntable bags
o Cork washer for arm & acrylic disc
o Oil bottle
o screwdriver
o 2.5mm allen key for arm clip
o 4mm Allen key & 8mm A/F spanner
(All 12” armboard versions, Resolution &
Sovereign only for sub-chassis attachment)
o 2 plastic + 1 steel foot (Sovereign only)
Platter
Upgrade platter mat
(Sovereign only) Sub-platter
1 Belt + Spindle for platter + Strobe card
Motor pod
 Standard or  upgrade transformer for 230 volt
or 110 volt mains supply
Turntable instructions
AVOID SCRATCHING THE
HIGH GRADE FINISH
To clean the surface use a soft lint free cloth
such as a duster – do not use tissue paper or
kitchen towel as these are mildly abrasive.
DECK PRIOR TO INSERTING PLATTER
or Sovereign

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FIT THE TONEARM
Mounting Origin Live arms
All newer Origin Live arms have integral VTA adjustment and for
these arms you should fit the black acrylic spacing washer on the top
of the armboard if the arm needs raising slightly (usually Encounter
arms and upwards in the OL range).
If your tonearm has a threaded base and no integral vta adjustment,
then thread on the threaded VTA adjuster. The adjuster must be
oriented such that the largest diameter is uppermost.
Insert your tonearm into the armboard hole.
Next fit the cork washer as shown in the diagram below and then fit
the large clamping nut.
You can set the arm to exactly the correct height later, but for now
just clamp it in position using the large nut. To adjust the height of
the arm, screw the vta adjuster up or down and reclamp the arm using
the large base clamping nut. Avoid overtightening this nut as high
tension is detrimental to performance - tune tension by ear if you
have a Rega manufactured arm.
NOTE - For Origin Live arms which often have an integral vta
adjuster refer to instructions that come with the arm.
A R M
REAR VIEW OF ARM ON ORIGIN LIVE DECK WITH
THREADED VTA AND CORK WASHER
ARM MOUNT
SURFACE
CORK WASHER
LARGE CLAMPING NUT
THREADED ARM BASE
THREADED
VTA ADJUSTER
If you have the OL1 or Rega arm with 3 hole
mounting
The arm is bolted or screwed to the deck using the 3 mounting holes
in the base of the arm. To raise the arm for VTA adjustment you will
need to fit 3 or more spacing washers under the arm base holes. One
peice spacers are available from Rega if you want a neater looking
solution and we also include a 4mm acrylic spacer ring.
3 POINT ARM MOUNTING
Sub-chassis or
armboard
3 o bolts or
wood screws
Spacers
FIT THE PLATTER
Oil the bearing - with the small oil bottle supplied, run 6 drops of oil
into the top of the bearing house. The spindle will appear a loose fit
in the bearing house untill the oil is added
TAPER SPINDLE FOR
PLATTER
Insert the spindle - Wipe the platter spindle surface first
to ensure that it is absolutely clean and very gently insert it
into the bearing house (If the oil does not overflow when the
spindle touches the bottom then try 2 drops more repeatedly
till you achieve overflow - wipe away excess oil without
withdrawing the spindle - a peice of tissue held across it’s edges
is ideal . You should spin the spindle slowly after it has settled
into the bearing to ensure even distribution of oil.
When you oil the bearing you can get a false impression of
overflow if the spindle has oil on it - the oil simply scrapes off
as the bearing slides in and ends up on the top of the bearing
house. You can “feel” overflow when inserting the spindle, it
meets resistance at the bottom which is not a “thud” of the
spindle hitting the bottom but rather a build up of pressure as
the bearing lands on a bed of oil. By further pressing, you can
then see the oil being squeezed out at the top.
For all Origin Live arms use
the black acrylic spacer
provided

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Carefully lower the platter vey slowly and gently over the taper
spindle (ensure mating surfaces are clean). If there are 2 marks
on the spindle and platter line them up as shown below.
Bed the platter on by pressing firmly on the CENTRE portion
of the clear Acrylic (not the spindle) as shown below.
Fitting the platter needs attention as careless handling can
damage the mating surfaces and the platter may not then run
quite true. All platters are rigerously checked for level spinning
up to 45rpm - if you notice significant platter flutter once
the belt is fitted, then remove the platter and refit it till it sits
true. Do not spin the platter faster than 45rpm as the bearing
relys on a highly specified oil film for optimal sound quality.
This film does not operate as effectively at higher than normal
running speeds resulting in slight platter flutter. Please note the
platter needs to be in place for the spindle to run true.
You can now add the upgrade platter mat.
In the case of the Sovereign deck only - first fit the sub-
platter by carefully lowering it slowly and gently over the
taper spindle (ensure mating surfaces are clean). If you see a
black line mark on the top of the sub-platter by the hole then
make sure you line it up close to the mark on the plinth - see
photo above. We emphasise care for this operation as scrapes
that occure through careless handling will damage the mating
surfaces and the platter may not then spin true.
Follow the sub-platter with the platter and then the platter mat.
.
UNDERSIDE
TOPSIDE
Thread on the 2 plastic feet into the 2 front pods and the steel
foot into the rear pod.
If you have the Sovereign heavyweight platter then raise the
plinth more than normal by winding out the adjustable feet, till
the platter no longer fouls on the motor pod. The belt must
NOT run in the groove of the platter. Do not tighten up the
allen bolts in the underside of the platter - these sound best
with minimum tension.
MAINTENANCE NOTES:
The bearing fit is carefully toleranced to run fully loaded with
the specific oil we supply. It needs at least 10 minutes to distribute
the oil evenly over the running surfaces and approx 24 hours to
properly “run in”. It needs this because of the exact tolerances
(0.0001”)which “float” the bearing off the side walls to avoid
metal to metal contact and also minimize viscous drag. Eventually
it should run virtually 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 microscopic
contamination that is not visible.
Very slight bearing noise sometimes occurs - the oil must overflow
to eliminate noise - If this does not do the trick then there may be
a nick on the shaft perhaps caused by poor handling by a previous
owner - Feel the spindle carefully for a rough patch. This can be
rectified by using some 1000 grit wet and dry paper on the shaft.
Marks inside the bearing house can be caused by inserting a spindle
at a slight angle but they are very slight and usually bed in with the
bearing.
People invariably get far too focussed on audible noise but
producing a silent bearing or motor is EASY. However the sound
quality can be absolutely appalling in comparison to a low
vibration or high rigidity “noisy” design. Origin Live take the hard
path and choose best sound over political correctness so please don’t
expect an inaudible bearing if you put your ear close.
Do not use any other oil than Origin Live oil.
Do not tamper with the bolt in the bottom of the bearing
or oil leaks will occur and you will probably not succeed in
re-tightening it.
Many of the mats on the market have been tried on our platters and

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do not work so we recommend saving yourself the expense of trying
them.
LEVEL THE DECK
Level the deck by rotating the 3 feet under the plinth which
are all height adjustable. Ensure that the top of each foot does
not touch the plinth and only sits on the thread alone - this is
for best performance.
Note that when you level the deck, the only thing that matters
is that the platter (not the plinth) is level. Sometimes there
may be a slight discrepancy between the level of the plinth and
platter but this does not matter and is usually imperceptible
visually. To achieve accuracy in levelling it is best to use a
bubble gauge
POSITION MOTOR POD & FIT
B E L T
Position the motor pod roughly as shown in previous diagram
with the switch at the front. The pod must not touch the
plinth so rotate it if necessary. Fit the belt over the platter first
and then pull it over the motor pulley taking care not to twist
it.
To get the pod positioned without touching the underside of
the platter you may need to unscrew the feet a few turns in
order to raise the deck height.
To set the belt tension simply move the pod to achieve the
following.
FLAT BELTS ONLY - Lift the belt off the pulley and let it
lose it’s tension almost completely whilst still holding it gently
- With no tension whatsoever in the belt, you should stretch
it a distance of approx 10 to 15mm to fit over the pulley. An
alternative way to describe this, is that when slack the belt
should be able to nearly touch the near side of the pulley.
Some people have commented that the special plastic pulley
looks cheap - However it is used for sonic reasons and is
actually much more costly to machine than metal!
Alternative method of belt fitting.
Refer to photos showing belt being fitted - Fit the belt over
the motor pulley and outer rim of platter. This is most
easily carried out by placing the belt over the pulley and then
holding it there loosely with one finger of your left hand.
Whilst retaining the belt on the pulley, hold the belt onto the
rear rim of the platter with the index finger of your right hand.
Now rotate the platter slowly clockwise with your right hand
index, all the time pressing the belt on the rim, till the belt is
completely on. Allow the motor pulley to rotate under your
finger whilst retaining the belt on the pulley and maintaining
slight tension on the belt between the pulley and rear of
platter.
If the belt falls off the platter on start up you may need to
lower the turntable if the feet are adjusted too far down. Also
you can try increasing belt tension by moving the pod away
from the platter.
Insert the power supply jack plug into the pod’s largest side
hole.
BELT ON PULLEY
Do not plug the power supply into mains conditioners, filters
or anything with surge protection - this can be disastrous to
performance. The aforementioned items will not harm the
pod, but they almost always result in performance degradation.
The location of the motor pod should preferably be kept
away from strong electromagnetic fields typically generated by
transformers, amplifiers, power supplies etc.

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SETTING THE MOTOR SPEED
Please note that the belt grips differently on one side to the other. This
is important because it means the deck will run at a slightly different
speed if you refit the belt inside out from previously. Therefore when
removing and refitting the belt take care you replace it with the same
side in contact with the running surfaces or you will need to reset the
speed.
You will need to set the motor speed yourself. In the first 72 hours
of continuous running the motor, the speed tends to drift but then
settles down permanently. You can listen to the deck from the outset
but remember to reset the speed after the 72 hour run in period and
then check again after a month.
Motor “running in” should be carried out with platter turning
(no faster than 45rpm).
The thin output wires from the transformer only carry a very
low voltage and are therefore safe to handle. Voltages inside the
transformer are dangerous so the transformer case must not be
unscrewed or opened.
(At front or
When the rotary switch on the pod is turned fully anti-
clockwise and the line on the knob aligns to the LED, the
motor is off.
One click of the switch clockwise is 33.3 rpm - The
second click clockwise is 45rpm
NOTES: The speed should only be finally set with
the pod in it’s FINAL position and at normal room
temperature as speed varies slightly with belt tension
and temperature.
Only set motor speed after it has been plugged in for
over 1 hour as it takes a while to warm up.
If you move the pod, you will need to re check the
speed and if necessary correct it, by repositioning the
pod till the speed is correct. This is a quick operation, just
leave the motor and platter spinning, as you slide the pod to
adjust tension. Always set the speed with the cartridge dragging
on a centre track of a record. The drag can affect speed setting
to a small degree. Do not move the pod beyond the ideal
distances mentioned in “fitting the belt”.
If you change transformer to the upgrade transformer may
need to reset the speed.
If the speed drifts significantly then correct it using the speed
adjuster screws.
Instructions for reading the strobe
Place the strobe disc on the record to be played. Play the record
and watch the relevant ring on the disc. Adjust the speed
until marks on the ring appear stationary while the record is
rotating. It sometimes helps to stare at infinity whilst doing
this as the marks become easier to see. You can see the strobe
effect in fluorescent light, although an ordinary bulb held
about 2 feet from the strobe disc will also work fine. The bulb
flickers at 50 Hz in the EEC and 60 Hz in the USA.
You can purchase bayonet fitting fluorescent or halogen bulbs
to fit normal lamps. Try to shut out daylight when carrying out
speed setting. Also be aware that energy saving lighting with
switch mode high frequency power supplies or certain energy
saving bulbs will not work with the strobe disc. Either use an
old fashioned lamp or invest in a KAB strobe which can be
found on our web site under vinyl measurement accessories.
Set the speed
Set the switch on the pod to the first click i.e. 33 rpm
setting. Adjust the motor speed as follows: using the small
screwdriver, turn the speed adjuster screw shown in the photo
for 33 rpm. This is accessible through the hole (furthest to
the right hand side) in the side of the pod and the slots in the
screw heads are visible if you look into the holes (See diagram
at start of this section).
To increase speed, turn the screw clockwise until the speed
changes. If the screw reaches the end of it’s travel you can
usually hear a faint clicking. You will not damage the speed
trimmer by over turning, as slippage occurs. The trimmer
screw will not fall out. The trimmer screw is adjusted at factory
so should only need fractional adjustment of less than a turn.
However the capacity is 25 turns and in some cases more turns
may be required to set the correct speed.
Setting the 33.3rpm. When setting the speed, place the arm
on the centre track of a record, so that the cartridge is tracking
the grooves. This ensures that the drag of the cartridge is taken
into account. Speed variations of up to plus or minus 1% are
quite common on decks and the dc motor is capable of plus or
minus 0.1% accuracy. Use the strobe disc provided to set the
speed (full instructions are on the card).
Click the rotary switch to the 2nd click clockwise and
set 45rpm speed (or 78 rpm if you wish) using the same
procedure as for 33rpm.
The dc motors can be slightly noisy initially and are never
completely silent in comparison to a/c motors. This may be
due to the precious metal brushes. However it is the much
lower levels of vibration that is important not the audible noise
and this is why they are great deal better in performance terms.
Like most turntable manufacturers we recommend that you
leave the turntable running between changing records as this
reduces the belt wear that occurs with constant stopping and
starting.
NOTES ON MOTOR & SPEED SETTING
-Do not use the power supply for anything other than the dc
motor or the power supply is highly likely to be irreparably
damaged and you could also damage the equipment you are
plugging it into.

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-The motor and main bearing will take at least 4 days to fully
run in and sound it’s best. For this reason it is best to do a final
speed check at the end of this period.
The speed stability of your deck will be excellent once
everything has settled down in a listening session.
When checking speed - Be aware that the speed is subject
to temperature variation. This is due to oil thickening as the
temperture drops. 1 degree centigrade drop in temperature
results in a 0.1% drop in speed ( a 5 degree drop will be 0.5%
slow). 0.5% speed drift is barely noticable to the average
listner so this is not significant. Rega decks used to run 1% fast
all the time to put things in perspective.
The ear is less tolerant to music running slow than it is to
fast. For this reason it is worth setting the deck to run very
slightly fast at your average room temperature. Most houses
are centraly heated and maintain the temperature such that
significant variations simply do not occure.
Note that the main bearing and oil can take 2 hours to reach
operating temperature if the deck is left in a cold room. The
air in the room may warm up quickly but the metal in the
turntable will take a lot longer. For this reason it is not worth
constantly changing speed settings for absolute accuracy.
It is worth explaining that absolute speed accuracy is easy
to achieve at the expense of sound quality. The ac motors,
common to most decks are not prone to speed drift - however
they do inject a great deal of vibration. This, sadly is never
measured in technical reviews or people would be a lot wiser.
The subjective effect of vibration is highly detrimental to
sound quality when compared to fractional speed drift. For
this reason we prefer to offer superior sound quality rather
than the flawed illusion of technical perfection.
Further to this it is worth adding that we have experimented
with the latest highly sophisticated dc speed controls (£1000
plus trade cost) and found that although they hold speed with
unerring accuracy, the sound and dynamics of the music are
degraded to such a degree that a little speed drift is far more
preferable.
FINAL SETUP OF TONEARM
Refer to your tonearm instructions. Use the following, only as
a rough guide on aspects relevent to the turntable.
VTA (vertical tracking adjustment)
To allow the cartridge needle to track at the correct angle it is
important that the base of the arm is at the correct height in
relation to the platter - this can be set by rotating the chrome
threaded VTA adjuster supplied with the deck for Origin Live
and Rega derived arms. One complete turn of the adjuster
clockwise raises the arm 1mm. For Origin Live arms that
have an integral vta adjuster the threaded vta adjuster is best
ommitted.
Fit the arm cable clip
Pass the arm cable through the cable clip and fasten in position
with the nut & bolt supplied. Leave a slight droop on the
cable so that it isn’t “tight”. The clip fastens to the underside
of the plinth using the hole near the rear foot. This is helpful
to “earth” vibration in the cable. The earth lead should be
connected to the earth of your pre-amplifier or amplifier. This
earth lead is best separated slightly from the arm signal leads so
do not wind it around them for best performance.
Note - The linear flow 2 cable is thicker than most, use the
larger cable clip to cope with this - if the cable is problamatic
to bend round the confines of your particular set up, then you
will not lose a great deal of performance by simply not using
the arm clip.
UPGRADES
It is possible to upgrade the turntable
Further upgrades would be
 Origin Live upgrade platter mat for Aurora only
 Upgrade Transformer - (Sovereign includes this as
standard)
MAINTENANCE OF DECK
It aids performance to clean all the running surfaces every 3
months or so with mentholated or surgical spirit but do not
use this on a flat belt.
Flat belts benefit from a 6 monthly application of any rubber
care product - typicaly found in car accessory stores.
To clean the deck, use a damp soft lint free cloth and wipe
gently – if you have grease marks etc then you can use a
general-purpose anti-smear, car window cleaner such as
Autoglym Fast glass, but only if necessary – wax furniture
polish is to be avoided . Do not spray directly on the turntable
as it may clog up the cartridge etc but rather spray onto a
soft polishing cloth and then use it on the turntable. Do not
use tissue paper or kitchen cleaning paper towels as paper is
abrasive and can put faint scratches in the polished surface.
If you do get minor abrasions on the surface then you can remove
them using a fine car paint abrasive polish such T-cut or Autoglym
paint renovator - this is especially usefull to remove stubborn grease
marks on the platter.
Keep the turntable packing box for secure future transport.
The deck is not prone to going out of tune - Check that the
sub-chassis damper is tensioned lightly onto the plate every 2
years or so as the damping can compress a little over time.
Depending on your use of the deck, the belt should ideally be
replaced every 2 years or so.
If you withdraw the main spindle you should put in a drop of
oil in the bearing, to compensate for any possible loss.
TROUBLESHOOTING
Omit reading this greyed out section unless you have a problem
SPEED VARIATION
If there is significant speed variation then possible causes are as follows.

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• Significant changes in room temperature - this affects the
viscosity of the oil in the bearing.
• Lack of oil in the bearing so check by adding oil.
• Changed belt tension or an oily belt or platter - clean
running surfaces.
• Turntable out of level – this affects the main bearing
friction.
• After adjusting the tension of the 3 small Philips screws
which hold the motor on, you may need to re-adjust the
speed as they affect motor bearing friction very slightly.
• Check the platter is not fouling on anything.
• A dirty bearing that exhibits too much friction - The
platter should drift round effortlessly with the slightest of nudges
( the lighter the touch the better) and go on spinning very slowly
before gradualy coming to a stop. If you suspect the bearing
friction to be a little high return the bearing to us for checking.
• A worn thrust bearing - this may occur after many years of
continuous use in common with all turntables.
• Transistors that have developed temperature instability.
• Most of the pulleys are a push fit on the motor shaft -
however they can sometimes work loose in transit or in use. If
this is the case then you can easily rectify it by lightly tapping
the pulley back onto the spindle with your fingers - Do not use
a hard object or excessive force as this can damage the spindle.
EXCESSIVE MOTOR NOISE
The motor needs a run in time of around 4 days continuous running.
They are sometimes a little noisy to start with so it is best to run in the
motor by continuously running it for 4 days on 33rpm. Do not run at
over 78rpm as this can harm the brushes over prolonged periods.
Most importantly you can “tune in” the motor to give minimum noise
by adjusting the tightness of the screws next to the motor pulley. The
best way to set their tension is to tighten the screws until they just nip

Page 9
REPACKING METHOD - Please read carefully and pack exactly as instructions show.
Wrap platter and platter mat in
polythene bag before placing in
foam cut out Instruction manual
AVOID LOADING THIS AREA as it can stress the
armboard of the sub-chassis underneath. The
only exception to this is if an arm is included or
empty box - larger arms will not t - i.e Encounter
and above
Wrap motor pod in polythene bag then tape ( or rubber
band) round the cardboard tube which has a slit in it’s side
- the tube sits on top of the base plate, not round it. This is
to provide protection against anything that might knock
the end of the motor shaft as this can cause damage. Note
that the motor pod must be positioned in this corner of the
box where there is the greatest depth i.e not over the plinth
armboard
Place the strobe card and belt in the top of the motor pod
card tube.
Place the wall wart transformer
here and then place the bubble bag
containing the following items on top of
the transformer
Bag contains - Cork washer for arm,
Oil bottle, screw driver, 3mm & 2.5mm
allen key
ELASTIC BANDS round split cardboard
tube which must sit on top of motor pod
base ange.
BELT & STROBE CARD PLACED IN MOTOR POD
PACKING
The belt needs to be rolled into a spiral and
placed in a small polythene bag - if loose
packed the belt can get crushed on bends and
permentantly deformed.
PLACE RUBBER BUNG IN TOP OF BEARING HOUSE
WRAP PLINTH IN POLYTHENE BAG BEFORE LOWERING
INTO BOX WRAP SPINDLE HUB IN POLYTHENE AND
PLACE IN FOAM HOLE SHOWN
VERY IMPORTANT - This card and foam
peice must be placed here as shown to
protect platter and ensure no damage
to sub-chasses