Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Applied Fidelity Jeweled Bearing Upgrade Accessory by EdAInWestOC

Model:	Jeweled Bearing Upgrade
Category:	Accessory
Suggested Retail Price:	$425.00
Description:	Ceramic Ball and Ruby Thrust Pad Bearing Upgrade
Manufacturer URL:	Applied Fidelity

Review by EdAInWestOC on September 16, 2012 at 01:20:32
IP Address: 24.35.51.206 Add Your Review
for the Jeweled Bearing Upgrade

I never thought of a main bearing in a turntable as a source of significant sonic change but it makes sense. The difference between the superiority of certain tonearms can be directly traced back to the quality of the bearings used in their pivots so this isn't exactly a shock. The main bearing in a turntable is just one of those things you don't immediately think of. Its just there and I always assumed it provided a place where the platter could spin. No big deal. Right?

The decision to upgrade to a jeweled bearing didn't come as a result of my seeking better quality sound. I did something that is not easy to do. I actually wore out the main bearing in my Denon DP-62L. Denon includes a very good main bearing as part of their direct drive motor and I have always enjoyed its good performance. Some months ago I began to notice an intermittent low level thump in the background as my platter spun. This noise graduated from an intermittent state to a constant background noise that had invaded the reproduced sound in my rig. Something had to be done.

I called Applied Fidelity's main man, Tubsey, and discussed what I could do about my noise problem and he told me that they were about to release a new jeweled bearing upgrade. The jeweled bearing upgrade consists of a very high tolerance ceramic ball that rides on a ruby thrust pad. The combination of these two materials makes for a main bearing with extremely low friction and a bearing with a very long life span.

I had discussed main bearings with Tubsey many months prior to this phone call. I participated in a main bearing comparison he did. He sent out sound samples produced on a CDR of some different bearing materials. I was aware that different materials in a main bearing sounded significantly different from my experience with this CDR. It was a handy experience that I took advantage of.

My main nearing upgrade required that I remove the main motor from my turntable and send it out to Applied Fidelity for the upgrade. This was no big deal to me since I had priviously recapped the electronics in my turntable and had upgraded its tonearm. I am very familiar with this turnable. It isn't a DP-62L anymore, It just looks like one and sounds much better.

The main meat of the point to be made is the quality of the sound produced by the jeweled bearing upgrade. My DP-62L does not make any thumping noise and the sound quality has taken a definate turn for the better. The background noise level has dropped enough to notice low level details that were obscured in the stock Denon bearing and the quality of the sound produced has taken on a surreal level of reality.

Many reviews will boast on about this or that quality but this bearing upgrade will allow a turntable to reproduce sound in ways that defy description. The definition and seperation of instruments is improved and the sustain and decay of instruments has an almost touch and feel quality. Cymbals take a shape and each crash has definition. You can almost hear the individual elements in a tamborine.

In short the music is there in all its glorious or lousy levels of performance and you can hear everything you paid for. I am still forming my impressions of this bearing upgrade but I know without a doubt that this is an upgrade that is worth much more than the asking price.

Before I sent out my main motor to Applied Fidelity I made a rccording from Mobile Fidelity's UHQR of Holst - The Planets. This has never been one of my favorite pieces of music but the quality of the pressing and the quality of the sound makes for a good source to evaluate sound quality. I chose Jupiter from track 4 on side 1 of this LP as the piece to compare.

Below are links to the samples that I created in two different formats. I recorded the music at 24/192 and have included 24/96 FLAC samples and variable bit rate MP3 samples:

Jupiter 11MB VBR MP3 - Before Bearing Upgrade
Jupiter 11MB VBR MP3 - After Bearing Upgrade

Jupiter 135MB 24/96 Flac - Before Bearing Upgrade
Jupiter 135MB 24/96 Flac - After Bearing Upgrade

If you are in the market for something that will improve the sound quality of your turntable consider this bearing upgrade. I believe that my DP-62L was the first Denon DP-62L with this Jeweled bearing upgrade and many other turntables have received various bearing upgrades. I am not certain if all turntables can have their bearing upgraded but try contacting Tubsey and ask. He is a very nice person to deal with.

Ed

Product Weakness:	None that I am aware of
Product Strengths:	Improves the sound quality

Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: Adcom GFA-555II (modified)
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Audible Illusions L1 (modified)
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Denon DP-62L w/SS Retipped Denon DL-103D
Speakers: Magnepan MGMC1
Cables/Interconnects: Kimber Hero
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Holst - The Planets
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner

Amplifier:	Adcom GFA-555II (modified)
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Audible Illusions L1 (modified)
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Denon DP-62L w/SS Retipped Denon DL-103D
Speakers:	Magnepan MGMC1
Cables/Interconnects:	Kimber Hero
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Holst - The Planets
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner