LENCO - GL75 Project

[Wakefield Turntables]

Tonights Update - The Reference Lenco Pt XXXII - Attention to the mains.

I've been getting rid of a few bits and decided to sell some mains filtration units which have been collecting dust for the last few weeks. So I decided to use one on my Lenco. It now filters the electric input into my Nigels Speed Controller which also has an additional circuit built into it to filter any nasties from the 240V coming into my listening room. Here's a few pictures of what I'm talking about :-

DSCN2919.jpgDSCN2918.jpgDSCN2917.jpg

Considering I've already paid for this unit I decided it couldn't hurt to give it a go and see if we heard any improvements. First signs are encouraging and I shall hopefully post some thoughts over the next few nights when I've had chance to have a decent listen. I'm going to be dismantling the deck again and have decided to install the resin filled top plate. One of the interesting things about this journey is that I've come up with a few ideas for the Garrard 301 in that I'm probably going to add a bearing clamp at some stage and see if increasing the rigidity of the 301's bearing will help improve the sonics. The tonearm may get further attention later on in the year if funds permit and I was thinking of sending it to J7 for a rewire in SILVER and a full service! I thought my journey with this deck was ending but it looks like the old beast still has plenty of mileage! As ever........

[brian2957]

I'm surprised that a mains filter works on the GL75 mate , but as they say....the proof is in the listening , and it didn't cost anything to try it . That may be a first I think

So the old girl is getting stripped again

I look forward to your findings again Andy

[Wakefield Turntables]

Mains filter now out, didn't add anything to the deck neither did it take anything away. Big board now arrived and a new tweak for the Shure cartridge.

[brian2957]

What's the tweak Andy ?

[Wakefield Turntables]

Tonights Update - The Reference Lenco PT XXXIII - It's all gone a bit Blue Peter

Been a while since I posted on the Lenco as I started to listen to the Garrard 301 and some new valves, yes I've been naughty and neglected my Lenco, sorry . As always the Lenco has recieved several small tweaks since I last updated the blog. So what's happened? Well I recieved the new JICO stylus, I forgot to post a piccy, so here goes.

DSCN2908.jpg

I've also been messing around with Ikea chopping boards and I got such a nice positive response from the one I recommended. I decided to go the whole hog and order the 33mm thick version, there is some method in my madness.

1. It's a perfect footprint for the deck and the Lenco now looks very smart with it's new isolation plinth.
2. The chopping board is composed in alternate positioned layers which is said to give better vibration dissipatation.
3. I dont have to mess around building a new plinth or design a new isolation platform.
4. I've added additional mass to the Lenco which is something that I'm a firm believer in.
5. Most importantly I think it's getting more out of the Lenco, still early days but the timing just sounds "right".
6. I've always postulated that it's also important to stop vibration getting into the Lenco from the equipment rack, this chopping board does a good job here.

So, here's a couple of pictures of the new board and the Lenco mounted .

DSCN2920.jpgDSCN2922.jpg


Now what's all this about going Blue Peter? Well I have a slight confession to make. The Alphason came from eBay and was missing a few bits and that's why I got it so cheap. I've been using a anti-bias weight which was probably a little too large for the Alphason and the Shure Cartridge so I decided to make my own tonight! The new neoSAS stylys tracks at 1.5g but it's so good at tracking that I've not needed to mess around with an bias counterweight until tonight. I decided to make one of my own with a little cotton and some blu tack as an experiment. So as you can see on the pictures my new counterweight is now 0.5g and it's making such a big difference. So that's why we've gone all Blue Peter.


DSCN2923.jpgDSCN2925.jpg

So, the upshot of tonights messing around seems to be that the Lenco benefits from a lot of Bamboo under it's jacksie and that the neoSAS stylus works better with a small amount of anti-bias ~0.5g. I've still to perform the top plate transplant but then I'm enjoying the Lenco for now and I still have to fully appraise the effects of the chopping board. As ever.........................

[Wakefield Turntables]

Tonights Update - The Reference Lenco Pt XXXIV - Some observations...

One of the benefits with having two decks sharing one phonostage is the ability to see the difference bewteen two cartridged very quickly and this is indeed what I do when trying decipher any improvements when messing with the Lenco. There is of course one big downside and that's the other deck is my reference 1210 system and the Lenco carries considerably less exotica than the 1210. I have to sometimes remember that the hotrod Shure M55e is not the Cadenza black and the HR100SE is not the SME V. I find myself getting rather upset if Lenco dosen't show the same level of detail as the 1210 setup. I should judge the '75 for what it is but that can be hard.

OK some more musings on the Ikea chopping board and tonearm tweak from last night. Well after spending 5-6 hours listening over the last couple of nights I can now say that the board definitely works. The soundstage is slightly wider now than last time. Sibilance is a thing of the past, surface noise still occurs on badly pressed or damaged records but is generally silent. Bass seems a little more tuneful and with additional definition. Micro detail appears more noticable. The Lenco now appears to give better timing to instruments and increased spatial distance bewteen instruments. The improvements on the Lenco have been subtle but it's when you take the board away that the differences become apparent. So for £30 i can heartily recommend the Ikea Apigtit bamboo board, you need to make sure that you order the largest one.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Now on hiatus!

[brian2957]

Sorry I missed your posts because of work and getting back into the swing of things on dayshift Andy , bit knackered the last few days TBH . Have you decided to take a break and spend more time listening to music mate ?
I haven't been listening a lot myself lately

[Wakefield Turntables]

I'm loosing steam TBH and I'm being seduced by the valve setup that I own, I'm messing around with a head amp at the moment.

[brian2957]

Sounds like you need a break buddy . Recharge your batteries and enjoy the music for a while Andy . I'm sure you will be back with some more great ideas when you're ready

This has been a fantastic thread so far mate

Is this the Lentek you're talking about ?