Well I've gone and done it! [Archive] - The Art of Sound Forum

Jac Hawk

22-03-2011, 01:15

After many hours mulling over wether or not to buy a turntable, i've gone and made the whole thing academic by buying my 1st piece of vinyl in over 20 years, a copy of Dave Brubecks "Time Out".

So the question now is what TT ? I've got a limited budget of about £80 for TT and arm, i don't really want to spend more at the moment as i have other things on the go, so what would you guys recommend?

Alex_UK

22-03-2011, 06:27

Well done!

I've been very happy with my Technicls SL-150(0) - you could do worse than a SL-1500/1600/1700/1800

Based on recent completed auctions, this should come in around your budget: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TECHNICS-SL-1800-STUNNING-1970s-DIRECT-DRIVE-DECK-/250791667037?pt=UK_AudioTVElectronics_HomeAudioHiF i_Turntables&hash=item3a6459255d#ht_7002wt_1139

You might get lucky and get an early Rega Planar for that money - I picked up a 3 with R200 arm for £80. A Project Debut should easily come in under your budget.

Have you already got a cartridge? If not, does that have to be included in the budget?

Zoidburg

22-03-2011, 07:10

My first entry into the TT world was via a Project Debut, I think it cost me about £55 a couple of years ago and was perfect for what it was / cost.

satanfriendly

22-03-2011, 08:47

If you can stretch a little further there is a really nice Rega Planar 2 in the used Hi Fi shop

http://www.usedhifishop.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=985

Also in the same place a rarely seen Dual DD which at £60 is a relative bargain

http://www.usedhifishop.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=986

I think either one should see you good. Decent people to deal with.

Stratmangler

22-03-2011, 09:26

Jac Hawk

22-03-2011, 10:47

Getting a TT to play your only record - sounds a bit cart before horse to me :scratch:
If you had a vinyl collection then it'd be a different matter.

You'd be better served spending the money on silver beer mats IMO.

Yes I know it's a little wierd, but to be honnest, i just really like the whole vinyl experience, i like the sleves, setting the deck up, and nowadays you've got the whole upgrade thing going on.

I'm not doing it cos it's gonna sound better or that it's going to be easy or cheaper than CD or PC but because I've always liked the sound of a record.

keiths

22-03-2011, 11:18

Another vote for going the Techie route. I'm really impressed by my cheap SL-1500/Nagaoka MP11 once a bit of care had been taken with supporting it.

Wish I could compare it with my old Linn Axis/Basic+/K9 - I don't think the Techie would come off second best.

MartinT

22-03-2011, 13:09

Excellent move, Mike, and good first record. Check out e-Bay for bargains. A decent Rega might be just the ticket.

Hopefully you'll be buying a few more records before you wear Time Out out :)

DSJR

22-03-2011, 13:11

May I suggest that practically ANY old turntable will need a fair amount of restoratrion before it's usable. I know a couple of chaps who've been buying up lenco's in recent times and EVERY ONE has had fairly serious (but fixable) faults on them. The techie SL150(0)'s I've had recently both needed lubrication and both arms had badly adjusted bearings (unbelievable but true) which I was able to sort as I have a suitable tool to properly unlock the locking screws).

Even old Duals may have issues. The old idler ones are too complex for a first time purchase, the direct drives need very careful isolation and the 505 series is a bit dire these days sonically.

Thorens? Don't even go there unless you know what you're doing!!!!!

A recent Pro-ject should be fine, although a new belt and stylus should be considered I think.

Good luck in any case.

Dingdong

22-03-2011, 13:19

If a Project 1.5 is what you're looking for I might have just the thing.

howlindawg

22-03-2011, 13:43

With such a limited budget I'd be looking at some of the better decks from the less fashionable manufacturers.

Something like this (http://tinyurl.com/4dlmyrk) or this (http://tinyurl.com/69wptlz) perhaps.

DSJR

22-03-2011, 16:06

The Dual 5000 I agree with, as long as it hasn't been got at by former owners (the supplied cartridge made it sound too bleached and whiter-than-white, but this can easily be sorted eventually), but NOT the RD80! have you ever had to set up a few of these and then move them? the bearings weren't made from particularly good materials either I remember and I never cared for the sonics...

If a springy belt drive appeals, the best of the cheap ones is probably the AR EB101, which tends to go for £100 or just a little more at present. The sound was great, the Jelco sourced (?) arm will take the better magnetics and tolerant MC's out there, belts can be sourced and there's plenty of info on the web about them and the main AR decks. The AR XB1 looks awful, but is actually a great little deck, the arm working fine with 1.25 - 1.5g trackers, believe it or not.

Me? I'd try to find a good Dual 1019, or 1216/1218/1219 (the 1229 may need work on the arm mounting collar), make sure the "steurpimpel" is intact and moving the arm around on auto, fit any half decent cartridge you like in any of them and then sit back and glory in idler driven bliss...

MCRU

22-03-2011, 16:14

I have a technics SL1800 here, you will need a head shell and cartridge and the lid is broken (I never use the lid anyway as I dust mine every day). free if you want it, just pay the UPS charge. It worked fine before I sent the headshell to keiths!

keiths

22-03-2011, 16:21

It worked fine before I sent the headshell to keiths!
And when my Sumiko headshell arrives (been on back-order now for 6 weeks... :( ), you can have the original headshell :)

MCRU

22-03-2011, 16:48

And when my Sumiko headshell arrives (been on back-order now for 6 weeks... :( ), you can have the original headshell :)

not bad for £30 for a sumiko, even though they are from the USA sounding Japanese!

Jac Hawk

22-03-2011, 19:51

Excellent move, Mike, and good first record. Check out e-Bay for bargains. A decent Rega might be just the ticket.

Hopefully you'll be buying a few more records before you wear Time Out out :)

To be honnest i've got Time Out on CD, It's just such a great album, an icon of it's time.

DSJR

22-03-2011, 20:32

The SL1800 was another old goodie with a sprung (sort-of) sub-tray with the motor and arm on, giving better isolation than the previous 1500 model. use it with a Herbies mat and Sumiko shell (I have doubts about the original technics shell) and thoroughly soak the main bearing and you'll have a good old deck there and for not much money.

Jac Hawk

22-03-2011, 20:50

Ok I lurv this forum, i shall be in a day or two's time the proud owner of a Techy SL1800 courtesy of Dave Brook, (thanks very much Dave) however not knowing anything about this deck I would be interested to find out what cartridges would suit/sound best?

MartinT

22-03-2011, 21:16

Nice one Mike and very generous of Dave. A light tracking MM would best suit. Anything from an old Shure to an AT ML440. If you need a cheapie to get started with, the AT95/110 are fine. You might find that a high output MC like the Denon DL110 will just work and they're excellent.

MCRU

22-03-2011, 21:28

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt309/themainsman/TechnicsSL18001.jpg

Jac Hawk

22-03-2011, 21:52

http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt309/themainsman/TechnicsSL18001.jpg

Getting a headshell and cartridge, still not sure what cartridge to go for but probably an AT110, to be frank I haven't bought a cartridge in about 20 years so any suggestions are welcome, thanks again for the TT:)

MartinT

22-03-2011, 21:56

What phono stage will you be using, Mike?

Jac Hawk

22-03-2011, 21:59

What phono stage will you be using, Mike?

At the moment it will be plugged directly into either my Pioneer A400 or the Trio KA80, the pioneer can handle MM and MC but i'm lead to believe that the phone stage on this amp isn't up to much, we'll see i suppose.

Jac Hawk

24-03-2011, 21:13

Well those nice chaps from City Link dropped off the TT, and what a great job Dave did packing it.:) so it's in A1 condition with only the broken lid to replace and a headshell and cartridge to buy, as i recall didn't you need some sort of guide for setting up the cartridge in the headshell? maybe someone could advise me. Anyway it all seems to work fine, i'll give it a propper going over this weekend, oil the bearing, fit the cart etc and i can't wait:eyebrows:

MCRU

24-03-2011, 21:32

hello mate
I found something a bit too late called sealing cement, google it and get some as it will fasten the lid back together almost perfectly, saves you needing a new one for a while, its fairly cheap to buy and is useful for all sorts of DIY jobs.

P.S The original headshell that I gave to keiths he said he will send you back when his Sumiko headshell arrives?

keiths

24-03-2011, 21:44

as i recall didn't you need some sort of guide for setting up the cartridge in the headshell? maybe someone could advise me.

Lot's of different alignment protractors that you can print out here:

http://www.vinylengine.com/cartridge-alignment-protractors.shtml
The Techie arm is quite short and it's not always possible to get perfect alignment using a standard Baerwald protractor (depending upon the amount of front-back adjustment your headshell slots allow and the size of the cartridge - mine is OK, but the cartridge it well to the front and needed to be 'twisted' inwards slightly). You might need to use a protractor that uses Stevenson alignment (there's one on the page I've linked to).

Jac Hawk

24-03-2011, 22:12

thanks guys:)

Jac Hawk

27-03-2011, 20:33

Well i've gone and bought a headshell and 2 catridges, admitedly 1 of the cartridges was bought with the headshell, anyway my question now is, whats the tracking weights for an Arcam C77 and an Audio Technica AT110, anybody??

MartinT

27-03-2011, 20:43

The AT-110 is specified at 1-2g but I would keep to the higher end of the range and start with 1.8g, listening for tracking distortion. If all is well, you could drop it a little but I wouldn't go below 1.6g.

kt66

28-03-2011, 18:58

Jac Hawk

28-03-2011, 21:44

was it the Classic Records re-issue?

£80? - really, just wait until that can become £200 - then you can look at
P3s, RD11s etc

it's actually the time out time further out gatefold version.

Thing Fish

28-03-2011, 22:09

I've been looking for a good vinyl version of that for a while now. Bet it will sound great on your newly acquired turntable. Enjoy...:cool:

Jac Hawk

31-03-2011, 21:11

At last the Headshell and one of the cartridges has turned up, so i'm on trying to set it up, the arm on the techie is simple so no real worries and the C77 cartridge seems to like 1.5g of tracking force all good so far, my problem is the protractor i downloaded doesn't seem quite right, what i mean is that i can hit the outer null point no problem and the cartridge lines up perfectly with the outer lining up grid, but the arm doesn't follow the same arc as the protractor and the cartridge doesn't hit the inner null point, i've checked and i've got the correct protractor and i've printed it out the right size, so what's wrong? Anyone:scratch:

Stratmangler

31-03-2011, 21:47

Have you moved the protractor when you try the inner position ?

Jac Hawk

01-04-2011, 00:47

Have you moved the protractor when you try the inner position ?
no why?

MartinT

01-04-2011, 06:22

Yes, you need to turn the platter a tad to realign the stylus with the inner marker and then read any misalignment from above.

keiths

01-04-2011, 09:27

Which protractor did you download Mike?

Tarzan

01-04-2011, 10:56

Top bloke Dave, one of the good guys, hope you enjoy the Techie:cool:

Jac Hawk

01-04-2011, 18:25

Which protractor did you download Mike?

Seb's Techie protractor from the link you gave me.

Jac Hawk

01-04-2011, 19:06

Some Photo's

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb371/jachawk9000/SDC10689.jpg

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb371/jachawk9000/SDC10688-2.jpg

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb371/jachawk9000/SDC10699.jpg

MartinT

02-04-2011, 12:31

Is that cantilever straight, Mike? Could be the angle of the photo.

Ammonite Audio

02-04-2011, 12:53

Is that cantilever straight, Mike? Could be the angle of the photo.

Reminds me of my old P77, bought in the early 80s, which had a wonky cantilever. A&R said that the tip alignment was fine:scratch: I didn't know better in those days.