[memepool]

Thanks for the Elac info Lini. I know they make excellent speakers but didn't know that they had made turntables or carts.

These Benjamin Elac Mirocord decks then are perhaps not Lenco's so if it's a Lenco you have your heart set on I guess you'll need to find a Benjamin 55a or do some more research into Bogen.

There does definitely seem to be an American company called Bogen but the only things I can find by them on ebay are amps and speakers. Some pretty nice looking old tube amps though!

I wouldn't be that particular though if Lenco's are impossible to find in the states. Most of the decks coming out of Germany and Switzerland in the 1950's-70's would be engineered to the same level. So Elac, Dual or Thorens would be just as much of a potential bargain if you can find them for next to nothing.

The main thing about Lenco's is that they are really cheap for the level of engineering and have therefore become a cult audiophile item. This has engendered a lot of support on the web and a cottage industry in making plinths and doing retreads for idlers etc. Also because they are so common in Europe there is still a massive amount of spares available.

If all of this is going to cost you a load of money because of importing costs then I would look elsewhere. It depends on how good you are at DIY. But it's really not that difficult to strip down an old deck and put a new arm on it.

These Elac Mirocord's are so cheap that you could probably buy 2 or 3 of them to get the parts.

The most important thing is the motorboard.

You need one which has a working motor and rotates at a stable speed. I doubt that there is that much that will have gone wrong with something this well made though. Check on the idler tyre to see if it's worn. Hopefully the idler is metal and it's less liklely to be worn and it can always be retreaded.

Also make sure you ask the vendor if the platter rotates without any noise as you want to make sure the bearing is good. Cleaning and oil recharge can be followed as per the Lenco instructions.

The condition of the arm is the least of your worries. The same goes for the autochanger which is probably the easiest thing to wear out because of it's complexity. You will need to pull out all of that section and bypass wiring straight to motor.

Then you need to check on the arm geometry from the existing hole and see what modern or vintage arm will fit. There is an arm chart on one of those links above which gives you a complete list of almost every type of arm ever made.

Another idea would be to look for American decks from this period which are bound to be as well made. Look out for Rek-o-Kut or Empire.

Look at this baby

http://cgi.ebay.com/REK-O-KUT-RONDIN...QQcmdZViewItem

(My God look at the size of the motor and bearing!)

or this

http://cgi.ebay.com/Empire-Turntable...QQcmdZViewItem

 

[solbergg]

Well, I certainly like the idea of having a vintage turntable, as well as a cool project that I can be proud of. If I can figure out a good, cheap American equivalent of the L75, I might just pick up a few of them and give out a couple of my creations as gifts. Too bad there isnt a good history record of which rebranded models were actually L75s.

 

[mattigol]

I have been looking at TTs for about a month now and I gave up on both Thorens 124/5 and Garrard 301/401. They command prices these days that are just too high considering you are getting a deck that usually needs some serious TLC and will most likely need a new tonearm and cartridge on top of that to really perform at their best. So it appears that currently Lenco idlers are the best/buck, scalable vintage decks around. M.

 

[solbergg]

Well, it appears that the Lenco's are quite popular now, and are out of my price range (US versions going for $200-$300 unmodded). So I might just pick up an ELAC Miracord in the meantime until I come across a good L75 deal or can afford one on eBay.

 

[adhoc]

wait, what's the difference between the sl1200 and the sl1210?

 

[solbergg]

The 1210 is black, I believe.

 

[lini]

Quote:

Originally Posted by solbergg The 1210 is black, I believe.

Exactly. SL-1200 = silver, SL-1210 = "black".

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini

 

[Afroide]

It's all about the technics

Perhaps I merely lack the 'golden ears' of the average Audiophile, but I maintain that a new technics with a good cartridge and a proper setup will sound as good as anything out there. It also has the least wow and flutter of ANY turntable known to man, and is more durable and proven than anything else out there.

If you can afford a technics SL1200mk2 or better, I doubt you'll be disappointed. Better still, buy used - they hold their value very well.

 

[Jahn]

My Technics SL-3200 became a whole new TT with a new Ortofon Concorde 10 stylus on there. No rumble or anything, and the sound is just awesome - Long Live Direct Drive! BTW the Quartz is busted on my TT, but that's ok - some folks say it's better not to have that thing on anyhow, and I can always use the pitch adjuster to fine tune the speed.

 

[Jeff Wong]

I suspect a lot of criticisms of direct drive models (like the Technics) had to do with them being assessed with the fixed arms that came with the turntables. If modded with a better arm, naysayers of direct drive models might have a different opinion. I know I was guilty of going with a belt drive after a comparison with a stock Technics. I used to use an SLD202. I listened to the older AR XA and felt it outperformed the Technics by a wide margin, even with the AR's crappy arm. These days, I'm thrilled with a belt drive VPI. But, I'd be curious to hear a direct drive like the Technics with an aftermarket arm.

 

[Afroide]

Actually.. I'd be most curious to hear a comparison between a Technics SL1210mk5g and a really high end belt drive unit. At $500 a pop, the SL1210mk5g isn't exactly cheap. It is, however, the undisputed kind of DJ turntables. I'd LOVE to see how it stacks up - my suspicion is that it'd fare quite well indeed.

 

[memepool]

Unfortunately as it stands most entry level Hi-Fi turntables these days will outperform the SL1200/1210 quite easily.
The problem with the SL1200/1210 is that the factory fitted arm is not upto the standard of modern tonearms. It's a very dated 70's design which really hamstrings the performance of the turntable which is otherwise very good indeed.
Solution is to it a modern tonearm like the Rega RB250 with the Origin Live tonearm mount modification. see here http://www.tonearm.co.uk/dj-technics-arm.htm.
With this mod the Technics is capable of taking on decks well into 4 figure territory.
The only other problem with it is that the casing is made of fairly resonant electroplated plastics which although very well put together is not the last word in acoustically inert sufaces these days. Tap it gently when a record is in the runout groove and you'll hear a neasty plastic thud.
You can improve on this by using a high quality silicon platter matt instead of a cheap nylon slipmat and by applying some form of damping to the underside of the platter if possible.
Also adding polypods / foculpods to the supports and putting the whole deck on a hi-fi wall shelf to isolate it from the floor will help.