[jhupka]

Lots of great information - thanks a bunch. As far as the rewire, I wasn't going to tackle the tonearm (yet) - I figured in a mass-produced turntable the RCA cable most likely went to a circuit board like you said and wasn't soldered directly to the tonearm wires (those can come later)

I've definitely been hitting the local stores that sells used vinyl, although I will admit thus far I haven't purchased any vinyl outside of my favorite artists/albums. Its not much of a stretch in music (yet), but I figured I'd get the most amount of initial enjoyment in comparing albums I'm very familiar with already on CD.

Right now my turntable and my other hi-fi stuff is at work - it's safer there than around our young kids at home, plus its the only place I can listen to music for long periods of time while working. So while the building floor is technically cement with industrial carpet over it, I'm in a cubicle which isn't the most sturdy construction. So I was thinking of making an MDF base out of two pieces of MDF with a layer of sorbothane in between to set the turntable on to help absorb any vibration. My biggest issue, though, tends to be everyone around me with Blackberries and the interference I get when they do a data-sync...so I also thought about making a Faraday cage to put around my stuff.

 

[dasmb]

Yeah I saw the Gem Dandy -- it appealed to me.

However -- I have an old high torque turntable, a 6 HP shopvac, and the willingness to fail nine times on a dime rather than succeed once on a buck. That's a recipe for DIY.

 

[memepool]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhupka /img/forum/go_quote.gif Right now my turntable and my other hi-fi stuff is at work - it's safer there than around our young kids at home, plus its the only place I can listen to music for long periods of time while working. So while the building floor is technically cement with industrial carpet over it, I'm in a cubicle which isn't the most sturdy construction. So I was thinking of making an MDF base out of two pieces of MDF with a layer of sorbothane in between to set the turntable on to help absorb any vibration. My biggest issue, though, tends to be everyone around me with Blackberries and the interference I get when they do a data-sync...so I also thought about making a Faraday cage to put around my stuff.

The floor should be fine. Too much sorbothane can also be a bad thing. I'd try some pods under the feet but also try wooden cones as the concrete shouldn't really transmit vibration at all once you're through the carpet backing.
Best thing would be a rigid rack with spiked feet which go through the carpet to the concrete below. If you can't get away with that then a sturdy cupboard will do and you can discreetly remove the casters and replace them with spikes which you'll find in audio stores or on ebay.

Since the stylus us an electromagnetic transducer the further it is from anything with an electromagnetic field the better obviously. I like the Faraday cage idea

Maybe a metal cupboard with no floor lined with sound absorbing foam to minimise reflections would be the anwser...

 

[doctorcilantro]

I have used the Grado wood bodies for the last few years with low-mass linear trackers. I was looking at the Benz wood carts recently, I think they have 15cu for most.

Sonata, Staement Ref., and now Statement Ref. 1.

My arm is about 3-3.5 effective mass and I'm ending up with about a 12hz vertical resonance. If you use a medium-mass, you get into the 8-10hz range.

Let us know how your new cart works out.

DC

 

[dasmb]

The AT440MLa arrived. It's not a silver bullet, but it's a solid step forward -- I'd say about 3/4 of the records with annoying issues have been improved to the point they no longer annoy me.

Here's a sample (Apple Lossless):

PL-518 with OM-5E

PL-518 with AT-440MLa

Vocals significantly clearer, the "sibilance" has been toned back, there's less (unintented) fuzz in the guitars. This is what I'd been looking for. Thanks for the advice! Now -- to start planning the 440MLa's six month replacement ... probably a Denon MC, just to see what all the fuss is about.

 

[memepool]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dasmb /img/forum/go_quote.gif Now -- to start planning the 440MLa's six month replacement ... probably a Denon MC, just to see what all the fuss is about.

Cool. The AT440 should last you a lot longer than that though and I would say get a better turntable before spending more on a cart as in the end the cart can only function as well as it's allowed to by the arm and the arm in turn by the turntable. This Pioneer deck is a good starter deck but you'll get a lot more sonic improvement from a better deck than any cart you can put on here.

The recordings you made still sound pretty fuzzy in the sense of what vinyl is ultimately capable of and I've heard the AT95E sound much clearer than this on better arms and turntables. The main reason for this will be the construction of the deck itself, lack of fine adjustments on the arm, lack of isolation from itself and it's surroundings inherent in the design..etc.

You should try tweaking the alignment of the cart as it's very sensitive to this having such a fine tip. Vinyl engine has a load of free alignment templates you can download. Also try the islolation of the deck from acoustic feedback as mentioned above.

For your next upgrade I'd start looking for a 2nd hand Thorens TD150 or better yet a TD125 or one of the old idler drive decks like the Lenco. There are loads of old American made decks which should be available for the same price as a Denon cart like the AR, Empire, Rek-O-Kut etc. These will generally take some DIY to get upto scratch and most importantly will need a modern tonearm which will cost at least a few hundred dollars, but with a little work will easily surpass what you could actually buy new today for the 500 or so dollars it will take to realise this.