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paulf-2007
18-10-2016, 19:30
Don't know where else to post this. Looking on eBay and found emporium selling this turntable that's basically a lenco with a new coat of paint and shiny plinth. The only improvement is a machined piece to mount your own choice of 9" arm with the mounting face lower than the chassis. Apparently supplied by inspire audio. The blurb rattles on about how the lenco is already good and so they haven't done much to it but it's still a zillion quid second hand. Would post this on lenco heaven if they had a section to post it in. Sorry cannot link it from the iPad unless someone knows a way to do it. Just search enigma in turntables or search emporium.

CageyH
18-10-2016, 19:38
http://www.emporiumhifi.com/head-office-norfolk-suffolk/enigma-idler-drive-turntable/

Link add from my iPad. ;)

paulf-2007
18-10-2016, 21:07
http://www.emporiumhifi.com/head-office-norfolk-suffolk/enigma-idler-drive-turntable/

Link add from my iPad. ;)go on spill the beans, how did you do that

CageyH
19-10-2016, 03:56
Just copy and paste the URL into the hyperlink box.
The URL is there, even if it only partially displays it. You need to tap the URL box, select all and then copy.
The rest is straight forward.

paulf-2007
19-10-2016, 14:54
I don't see any url box on my iPad

struth
19-10-2016, 15:05
In the second line at top of your reply box on right you will see a box with a tree in it ..touching that produces a box to put your url from your host. Then click the ok button and it will appear with the img in brackets in

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161019/fd9befea869f293251ab220cbbeab96e.png

If using ipad its probably easier to just use tapatalk and add pics from there direct from ipad as ive just done

You wont get that box obviously.. that screenshot was just to show what it would look like if using a browser

paulf-2007
21-10-2016, 16:25
No tree, no url anywhere, it's easier to use the PC than add more stuff into the iPad. I can never remember my Apple ID so downloading anything is out.

Dr Henry Jones
01-07-2017, 09:12
Enigma are made ( slightly modded ) by inspire, a company that does mods on thorens,technics,and linn. Now I have only heard positive things about what they do until they produced the Enigma, it seems that all went very quiet after it was revealed to the public . I have only read one revue of it and although the revue was overall a good one it was not quite as positive as revues of there other products, I am not nocking inspire because as a fairly well known company in the hifi business they have now offered mods for all three types of turntable , many firms would not have bothered with idler drive , so top marks to inspire.
However, tooling up for the mods they do on lencos isn't cheap , I am guessing they have to set up a cnc milling machine for the cutouts in the plinth and reset or use another cnc machine to cut out part of the top plate for the arm board, if they are having to reset the cnc every time they want to do these two jobs it takes time ( unless the cnc has a memory ) and these machines cost thousands! My point is that the enigma isn't going to be cheap, I am sure it's a fine sounding turntable but nothing that a competent diyer couldn't do at a much cheaper price
regards steve

Spectral Morn
01-07-2017, 09:25
Heard an Enigma a few years ago and thought it was nice. Only thing is the arm board is very tight so the choice of arms is going to be smaller than if it had been a bit bigger. Rega, Origin Live, Audio Mods will be fine, old SME might be ok, new 309 etc can't see how they would fit. I guess Inspire will have a list of what will and won't suit.

Of course saying that its easy to fettle an old one is all very well, if you have the skills and tools to do it. If not then an Enigma might be the way to go. Personally I think a Garrard 401 is a better idler to go for and you can do one + get a plinth allowing more arm choice for less money than an Enigma.

As in all things you makes your choice and pays your money.

Bigman80
01-07-2017, 09:47
I spoke frequently to the owner of Inspire who fettles these and other TT's when i had a problem with a 2nd hand Inspire Quest i'd bought. He's a lovely guy and nothing was too much trouble. The Quest was superb and again, i completely regret not rating it higher.

In my opinion, yes, the TT's look expensive at first glance, but the quality of his craftsmanship cannot be under priced. The Enigma hasn't really taken off in the way i thought it would but the L75 is a DIY machine and is generally bought for this purpose so buying a ready made one defeats the point i think.

HOWEVER

The Monarch 2.1 TT (£4500 no arm or cartridge) is the stuff of dreams and any one who has heard one will freely admit to trying to sell a kidney on the black market to buy one.

Its a shame they are so expensive because i think if they were priced at £2000, they would replace most peoples TT's, including mine.

http://www.inspirehifi.co.uk/monarch-mk2.1.html

Dr Henry Jones
02-07-2017, 16:20
You are right Neil, it is down to skill and tools . I can't cut or drill a straight whole or cut a straight line to save my life but thanks to a piller drill and a good sliding chop saw I can do it like a pro, and I am not worried about taking an angle grinder to the top plate although I cut wide then take my time to gently grind down to size, but as you say a fettled 401 with arm and plinth would be a better sound and cheaper . However a fully modded Lenco don with care will give a 301,401, and a 124 a very hard run for the money. Saying that. ....its all down to what your ears tell you, mine tell me a well modded Lenco is a very hard act to deal with.
Regards steve

curry49
01-02-2019, 04:18
Perhaps the Inspire folks are on to something. The one review I'd seen seemed quite encouraging to me - for a standard unit.

Doubtless, the likes of a Nantais modded Lenco would be very special and significantly better-performing than a standard unit. However, after deliberately researching users who've actually compared their ordinarily DIY modded Lencos to their standard versions, I've found that they almost invariably report that there's not much difference between modded and standard. Some even prefer their standard units over their own modded versions. (Based on what I've seen, I'd guess the vast majority of 'modded' Lencos are really operating at the standard level - though I'm sure there are outstanding exceptions).

Perhaps Inspire are just being honest in not claiming to have done any mods.

If the evidence shows that most popular mods below the level of the likes of a 'Nantais Reference' reaps little or no benefits over a standard unit, then why bother if the really beneficial levels of mods would push the price much higher?

I think it's a stark illustration of the outstanding quality of the Lenco that Inspire could put a standard unit into a pretty plinth and sell it for as much as they do -with several buyers who think it's worth it and better than what they had or otherwise aspired to. There's even more indication of the standard Lenco's quality that it competes with or approaches the performance of TTs which cost more than twice or thrice or quadruple what the Enigma costs.

But this is nothing new or exclusive to the Enigma. Let's not forget that the very early Lencos which defeated the likes of Ariadnes and TNTs and EMTs in the early days of the Home-Despot Revolution were all standard units in fancy plinths, more or less - just like the Enigma.

Do not underestimate a standard Lenco.

Food for thought? :)