Tweaks/Upgrades or Start again

I am at the point with my vinyl side where I am wondering weather to invest in the TT and do some tweaks/upgrades or just save it and start again with another TT.

For example there are tweaks/upgrades like a Copper Mat, Arm Re-Wire, adding mass to the relatively lightweight bass and platter etc.

I am fond of the Luxman, but not attached to it.

Of course the first thing that might be worthwile is changing the cart, the DL-103 is not the best match for the Luxman arm, any idea on buget MC's like the Ortofon Vivo Red or Audio Technica AT-F3/III?

I am not looking to change anything straight away, just musing :D

Start again. Or perhaps rebuild it into a new plinth. The motor and drive are okay, but the plinth and arm could do with a fair bit of improvement imho.

Hi Rob,

The trouble in my mind is some of these suggested tweaks could be "Gilding the Lilly" in the terms of your current Luxman deck. I love its looks BTW, but wonder how capable it is & where exactly it sits in terms of various benchmark decks :scratch: . Before trying any of these I'd perhaps consider organising a deck bake off where you could compare it with known quantity TT's using a couple of carts at least. If its not giving too much away in terms of performance then your suggested tweaks may indeed be worth pursuing. I'm sure on the day it wouldn't be too difficult to get someone to bring along something like a Rubato mat or indeed some of the other options along eg Achromat/SDS etc.

Regards

Chris.

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Originally Posted by hoopsontoast

I am at the point with my vinyl side where I am wondering weather to invest in the TT and do some tweaks/upgrades or just save it and start again with another TT.

For example there are tweaks/upgrades like a Copper Mat, Arm Re-Wire, adding mass to the relatively lightweight bass and platter etc.

I am fond of the Luxman, but not attached to it.

Of course the first thing that might be worthwile is changing the cart, the DL-103 is not the best match for the Luxman arm, any idea on buget MC's like the Ortofon Vivo Red or Audio Technica AT-F3/III?

I am not looking to change anything straight away, just musing :D

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Cheers, This is more of my thoughts, that most of the tweaks are around the £150 mark (arm re-wire, copper mat or new plinth etc) which is around the value of the deck, and that I am not likely to get back if I decide later to change.

For example, that £150 onto the cost of the TT/Cart would be a budget of around £300-£350 for a new TT. Which potentially is a big step up.

I'm sure I won't be the only person to suggest this, but if you can live with the looks of an SL12XX and like the DD sound then I suggest this may be the way to go ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hoopsontoast

Cheers, This is more of my thoughts, that most of the tweaks are around the £150 mark (arm re-wire, copper mat or new plinth etc) which is around the value of the deck, and that I am not likely to get back if I decide later to change.

For example, that £150 onto the cost of the TT/Cart would be a budget of around £300-£350 for a new TT. Which potentially is a big step up.

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The Luxman is a good t/t, as is the Micro-Seiki tonearm but the 103 is a mechanical mismatch. Any "new'' t/t in the price range you suggest will have a more expensive upgrade path.
To give you some indecation, the Luxman is a better t/t than a new Rega P3 & requires no large investment to make it much better.
The cartridge, your arm will work best with a cartridge in the 15 to 25cu compliance range.
The arm, this is a very good all-steal unit with quality bearings & VTA adjustment, the arm wire however is a weak point & should be replaced.
A heavier, softer rubber mat will make a big difference.
The only MC I have fitted, in recent time, to one of these was a Benz Micro Gold. This worked well but is the least compliant cartridge to do so.
I hope this helps:)

Cheers, decided to put it up for sale and save a bit for something else.