Post A Photograph Of Your Turntable - Page 76

No Carbon brush?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clayton SF 

Thanks for the info.

Then I will most definitely use the Denon DL-103R cartridge on the Technics.

That is an "easy" , but good and proven way out. If you are more adventorous soul - Grado Signature 8MR (or any of the Grado low output "quasy MC" models ) is not affected, as well as Technics' own low impedance carts - EPC 205IIL ands EPC 100C series ( in either half inch, integrated headshell or p-mount versions through all 4 marks ). EPC205CIIL can take stylus from JICO with boron cantilever and SAS ( Micro Line/etc) diamond - and does not cost an arm and a leg.Should you score some EPC 300 or EPC 305 MCs ( the higher the mark, the better ) - and they are not too expensive for you, grab them - no such things available anywhere else.

Grado might be picking some hum with 1200 - Technics carts will be quiet. 

All these low impedance MMs require higher gain than usual MMs, as they average about 1,5 mV vs usual 5 or so mV for MMs. Should be no problem with decent phono stage.

^ Wow. Thank you, analogsurviver: This is very helpful. I'm saving this info.

It's like you've given me a brand new turntable. Or at least given it a new lease on life.

Thanks a million mV ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by ]eep 


Although that is not what immediately catches my eye. The 'engelse drop' does. It says 'english licorice' but you betcha its Dutch alright. Watch it, it's addictive.
About the question where I get those vinyl-rips; just type "vinyl-rip flac 24 bit/192" in google and you get plenty of leads.
I'm not saying the 1200 is bad, just that is is made for a different purpose with different needs. And the arm is IMO a weak point for best hifi-reproduction, just like the lack of platter mass/material matching. I don't really care HOW you get the wheel spinning (DD/idler/belt) as long as it has plenty of inertia and mass (and matching shear modulus and density to the vinyl) to absorb vibrations from needle/groove contact. The armtube/headshell/cartridge should preferably be in one piece with the least amount of connections that can loosen, rattle or reflect sound.
About the damage: you are right there: here is where my Dynavector Karat 17D excels.
Have you ever thought about upgrading your phono-amp? This makes a big difference too if you go from entry-level (<$100) to halfway decent >$300. My upgrade from Musical Fidelity X-LP to my recent Jolida JD9 (mod) took me to a whole different level.

Yes, 17D is about as good as it gets regarding demage "playing" - it can handle frequency response past 250 kHz ( NOT a misprint/typo - in words two hundred fifty thousand hertz ) without going berserk in the process, as most other cartridges ( to be exact - cantilevers ) do.

I apologize if I posted this one before, if I have not, here it is : http://www.soundhifi.com/sl1200/index.htm 1200 got kinda adopted by DJs and adapted to their needs, it did start life as pure audiophile deck - here it is reversed to its origins and much improved along the way..

An EPA 100 or even better, EPA 100 MK2 arm, although violating your desiderata as much as the poor relative on 1200, still smokes , correctly adjusted, almost anything out there. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clayton SF 

^ Wow. Thank you, analogsurviver: This is very helpful. I'm saving this info.

It's like you've given me a brand new turntable. Or at least given it a new lease on life.

Thanks a million mV ...

You welcome, Clayton SF ! I have found that correct matching can ressurect many "old to be replaced/written off" equipment - lots of times is new gear with which people replace the old actually inferiour - heyday / peak of vynil was end 70s/begin 80s and not so few vynil related components from the era are still the best ever made. Funds better to be used for records or record cleaning machine - the most significant upgrade analog vynil user can make to the system.

I cracked at those million mV... GOOD one !

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silent One 

No Carbon brush?

Actually I prefer velvet. I gave it a once over, started to play it, and ended up doing it again after I saw how much I missed!

I have animals as well, and that is why I originally invested in the 16.5. And why I would never invest in a turntable without an integrated, hinged dustcover.

My pet peeve is when certain manufacturers want you to spend hundreds of dollars on an "optional" dustcover. My response is that there are better "options" out there!

The NAD comes with a dustcover, but it doesnt stay up on its own. As a result I end up taking it off when I'm playing and putting it back when I'm done. Some sort of modding is in order.

The 16.5 is nice, but unfortunately is far beyond my means. I'm contemplating making my own record cleaner this year though, now that you've planted the idea in my head. (what have you done, lol)

Edit: Stole my sis's Cannon T3i. It's been a while since I've played with an SLR, so its still not the greatest pic:

^ I've just begun to realize this big time and need to check this out further! I've got to dig deeper into my attic!

My 1977 Sony PS-X5 ain't afraid to throw-it-down with any modern entry level TT! 

Just returned home with a Pre-Owned Music Hall mmf-7. 

- Goldring Eroica 'H' Cart

- Upgraded Cardas wiring in tonearm 

- Needs a new belt

Quote:

Originally Posted by ]eep 


Not really my experience... the best equipment is made now, cartridges, arms, tables and amps. Fewer but better parts. Techology doesn't stand still. It comes at a price though. Nowadays tolerances are tighter, materials are better, computer simulation of structures, CNC machining... In the 'hayday' manufacturers were thinking quantity. Since there is no more quantity al there is left is quality to stand out in the crowd. And in the 90's quality was still progressing until analog was really on the way down (exept for firms like VPI, Rega, Linn and several smaller German manufacturers). Then it slowed down until about 5 years ago.
Not convinced?
London Decca Reference Cartridge
van den Hul Grasshopper
Soundsmith Strain Gauge SG-200
Funk firm FX-R
clearaudio Master Innovation
Just a few examples.
And read the start of this story about the start of Wilson Benesch.

To a certain point, you are right. But no one is capable ( or allowed to, due to ecological reasons ) of producing  absolute pinnacle achievements sold under Technics brand in early 80s - boron tube structures like conical hollow tube cantilever with conical thickness of the wall on small scale - or tonearm tube/pipe out of boron on the large scale. Old venerable Grasshopper is more from that era than today - sure, it has evolved over the decades, but its roots go back to EMT XSD/TSD15 - the same or similar can be said about Decca, but this one did make really meaningful progress and its predecessors can not hold candle to it. I agree Funk Firm does breathe fresh wind in analog, just as Pink Triangle, its predecessor, did. I am vaguely familiar with Wilson Benesch - mainly through the cartridges, that used to be OEMs for him by Benz Micro Switzerland, where I briefly worked back in the day. Unfortunately, never saw or heard his table and arm, that should firmly confirm your claims. One of true pushers of the analog performance envelope. I thank you for the link. Soundsmith Strain Gauge I never heard, but certainly agree it is a step in the right direction offering now what has been to a lesser degree available back then. There were amplitude characteristic phono cartridges available back in the day. I consider, for example, Funk Firm's products more breaktrough in thinking than Soundsmith's. Best used in concert, of course. Clear Audio I respect far more for its recent innovations in pick up arms and to a lesser degree in turntables than for its cartridges.

Cruel fact : effective mass for the world's lightest stylus structure, Technics EPC P100CMK4 is 0.055 mg. Anything you might be capable of purchasing from the current production, regardless of price, will be 0.15 mg or thereabouts, normally exceedeing 0.2 mg. That is to say, the hayday top cartridge ( it still is ) was roughly three to four times more capable of responding to sudden accelerations in the groove than any current cartridge is capable of doing. The specified frequency response of said cart is 120 kHz . This  is why clever manufacturers, aware of these facts, will not publish the effective stylus tip mass or at least try to be as discrete about it as possible in the specification sheet.

NOTHING you can do about it today. And if you think that any of the sub 0.15 mg effective stylus tip mass Technics or Denon carts can be rettipped if you busted the cantilever while still retaining the original performance, you are in for a VERY rude awakening.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silent One 

Very nice, congrats! Cardas wiring don't come easy!

That's a sweet picture disc too btw...