Steve's first Lenco

[SteveTheShadow]

After acquiring a 1973 Goldring Lenco GL78 I thought I'd better
try toget it up and running with a decent modern arm, so....

Before playing about with mass damping and giving myself a hernia, I thought I'd better make a test plinth to see what all the fuss is about regarding idler driven record players.

Hunting around for some materials that could be pressed into service for nowt, I came across some 1 1/2" laminated kitchen worktop in the cellar. This was reasonably heavy high density chipboard with a coarse-grained core so I figured it would work nicely to absorb vibrations.

First job after cleaning up the deck and polishing the top plate with Auto Glym car polish was to hack off the left hand corner. This would leave room to fit the Origin Live RB251.



In order for the Rega's armrest projection to clear the top plate, it had to be marked with an angled cut going to the edge.





Here it is all mercilessly hacked about.


After the top plate surgery, the worktop was cut out with a slightly modified template so as to allow for the angled cut on the deck top plate, otherwise there would have been nowhere to fix the arm.

With the deck firmly fixed to the chipboard plinth and a set of black tubular legs fitted, the RB251 arm was put in place. Because of the length of the arm I had to fit it at an angle to prevent the fingerlift fouling the on/off switch.



A couple of bits of pine strip to hide the chipboard edges and we are in business.

Quite frankly I'm stunned at the sound of this thing

Steve

[Marco]

OOOH... looks sexy, Steve!

Nice one

Lencos are definitely a genuine classic and well worth 'fettling'. Quite frankly, thus done (in a decent plinth), they destroy most modern turntables at anything like an affordable price. I also know that in certain areas they outperform the Jap direct-drives loved by many of us on here.

Turntables are like any other piece of hi-fi equipment: it's a matter of choosing your compromises.

Enjoy - I hope you have many happy hours listening to music with it

Marco.

[SteveTheShadow]

Hi Marco,

Yes this TT definitely shows the Thorens TD150 a clean pair of heels in all areas. It is also a remarkably good platform for the Rega RB251 arm.

I've certainly not heard a Rega arm sound this good.

Steve

[Marco]

There could be some nice synergy going on there, Steve, with your Stanton on the Lenco - as Rega arms can so often sound rather 'grey' tonally and somewhat musically bland, especially with the stock arm cable.

Of course enjoy it as it is for now, but if you feel like fiddling some more, an arm rewire and paint strip and polish (from the likes of Audio Origami), if you didn't want to do this yourself, along with a Tecnoarm-style counterweight balance, would transform things further

Marco.

[Sand Dancin Donkey Walker]

Hi Steve

The Lenco's really are surprisingly good, mine shown below. You can do all sorts of things to them and there are web sites dedicated to their mods and building techniques.

Have fun and enjoy your great TT



Can't get access to my Photobucket account from work, will post a better photo later this evening. Now sorted

Andy - SDDW

[SteveTheShadow]

Bloody hell Andy!

That's a stunner
I want one!

Steve

[Sand Dancin Donkey Walker]

Steve

The Lenco is varying layers of Ply, MDF and two butchers blocks. The VTA is a Pete Wriggles device. The Lenco metal toplate has thin ply bonded to the underside to make it a flush/tight fit with the plinth and the top also has Dynamat damping material fitted. There is also FIM bearings to isolate the top plinth from the base block as can be seen under the metal pillars on the outside edges, so the whole top unit gently moves when touched.
I have tried it without the FIM bearing, just sat on the base block and it is much better with the bearing in place in every respect.

I must be honest here and say I didn't do any of the work myself, but a mate of mine who is an avid TT builder and tweeker had done it for himself, although it took a while I managed to prise it out of his hands. Been really pleased with it. Sounds great and looks good too.

Here is a slightly better photo, this shows the current Platter Mat in use and cartridge fitted.

Just as a thought, you can put a quite exotic arm and cartridge on the Lenco and get some stunning results, though I have the Rega currently the cartridge is a Koetsu Black. I have heard this very Lenco running a Graham 2.2 and a Dynavector 20x. The way to go in a lot of respects. So goes to prove the Lenco is quite capable of great results, with alsorts of arm / cartridge combinations.

Enjoy and have fun with it all, you can always run one plinth while you make and alternative .



Andy - SDDW

[SteveTheShadow]

Thanks for the rundown Andy.

I've been playing records all day with the Lenco, with not a sign of fatigue.
I can truly say that this is THE first time I have ever been able to do this since 1972, when my Dad ditched our valve radiogram,
This is despite having owned some very expensive belt driven turntables during the intervening years.

Up until a few months ago when I decided to give vinyl just one final chance not to totally piss me off, I had virtually given up the black stuff.

That a long forgotten idler drive TT from the 70s could have actually got me to
want to play my records and, God forbid, get me thinking about buying some new ones is interesting to say the least.
Makes me wonder if turntable technology has made any progress at all in the last 35 years.
On this evidence, modern turntables have gone backwards.

Steve.

[Marco]

Tell us something we don't know, Steve!

What exactly is better that's modern and worth having in hi-fi?

Enjoy

Marco.

(Owner of a 1970s turntable, 1950s cartridge, valve amp based on 1950s technology, and 1950s vintage Tannoys).

[Sand Dancin Donkey Walker]

To digress a touch here is the Garrard I use to own, should never have sold it, I even had the plinth for a Garrard 301 to use too.

Silly me for selling, when I should have known better .





No laughing at the tonearm by the way, it looks like a joke but believe me it worked very well, and in some ways bettered the current Rega in my Lenco.
It only cost me £35 including postage from a mate of mine in Canada

Andy - SDDW