Possible turntable switch.

[Thing Fish]

Hi I currently have an LP12/lingo 1 with an ittock/k18. Naim 62/90/hicap and was possibly thinking of transferring to a garrard 401. Am I mad?

Due to cash limitations I want to fund one from the other as much as possible.

The plan as it stands is to pick up as good a standard 401 as I can find. Possibly keep the ittock for the 401 (do they harmonise together?) and make my own plinth to sit over my Target wall shelf. (The type where you leave the bottom of the garrard hanging out).

I can upgrade as and when I have future funds.

Any input would be appreciated, Many Thanks, Dave.

[Mike g]

Do you DIY? If you do I have an sp10 that needs some new caps in the psu (understand that this is easy to do if you know how to solder) that i have been thinking about trying to swap for an lp12. Had planned to keep my arm to use.

Pm me if any interest..

[DSJR]

You are mad because, in my experience and opinion, the naim amp is going to be a huge bottle neck. The 90 just doesn't have the power or welly to reproduce bass properly and the upper region is too vague to do justice to a deck that images better than a stock old LP12.

I'm not going to do a hatchet job on the LP12 as some people do these days. With a Cirkus or similar sub-chassis, the bass is warm but involving and without the stodge of older pre-Cirkus types. If the plinth has the corner fillets, a Rubykon or Keel will almost certainly transform it into a very different AND FAR BETTER animal judging by the sound-bites I've heard (thanks Andrew).

You all should know how much I admire the dear old 401 and it's idler/hybrid relatives from that era, but be warned, getting it to work properly and to a modern standard will COST!!!!!!!! and for my money and in your case, a modern amp - or a significant power amp upgrade to a fettled 180 at least - will improve things better than purely changing one badly realised source for another - IMO of course.

By the way, a Techie SP10 is a joy to use and gives equally huge pride in ownership. if you're willing to take one on and give it the TLC it so desperately deserves then "do it" is my recommendation, with the proviso that the amp you have as it stands, really isn't good enough in any parameter to fully allow you to hear the differences.

Apologies for not necessarily giving you the answr you're seeking.....

[Thing Fish]

Do you DIY? If you do I have an sp10 that needs some new caps in the psu (understand that this is easy to do if you know how to solder) that i have been thinking about trying to swap for an lp12. Had planned to keep my arm to use.

Pm me if any interest..

Sorry Mike but i'm not interested in an sp10. Thanks anyway.

[Pete The Cat]

I'm not close to the Linn spec but at the beginning of the year did a side-by-side with a friend's 1982-version Sondek/Ittok/Asak (serviced but apparently not upgraded since) and a 401/RB300/DL103 combo that at the time I'd just pulled together. Score draw : the 401 won on the bottom, the Sondek won on the top. Since then I've stripped down and cleaned the 401 and done other goodly things to the combo and it has come on tangibly. If you want something that you can improve week on week it's good and fun too.

Pete

[DSJR]

As a point of reference, a GOOD Asak (Ok Marco, and a Trak too :)) can sound very good in a dry and slighgtly toneless way. The Karma threw some of the dynamics away (excess resonances?????) for greater refinement, but these days, an original karma with still good diamond really should be "EsCo'd" as the dramatic improvements they can bring to a Troika with a refurb and paratrace tip isn't small and there's no reason why a karma can't improve the same way, as it's very similar inside. Rebuild an Asak? may be possible as long as the fliumsy plastic body doesn't fracture.

[Barry]

As a point of reference, a GOOD Asak (Ok Marco, and a Trak too :)) can sound very good in a dry and slightly toneless way. The Karma threw some of the dynamics away (excess resonances?????) for greater refinement, but these days, an original Karma with still good diamond really should be "EsCo'd" as the dramatic improvements they can bring to a Troika with a refurb and paratrace tip isn't small and there's no reason why a Karma can't improve the same way, as it's very similar inside. Rebuild an Asak? may be possible as long as the flimsy plastic body doesn't fracture.

I have an Asak, bought thirty years ago and little used. I only bought it on the recommendation of The Absolute Sound magazine: described by Harry Pearson (no lover of moving coil cartridges) as "the first moving coil you can bring home to Momma". It was later compared favourably with the, much more expensive, long-bodied wooden Koetsu.

I had to lie to a Linn agent to get my Asak ("Yes, of course I have a Linn Sondek"), such was the Linn/Naim hegemony of the time. It was used in a damped SME 3009. The Linn 'experts' said: "It won't work", but it bloody well did. Even so, all my friends as well as me, though it inferior to the EMT.

I have been thinking of revisiting the Asak. It only had about 10 - 20 hours use. Is it worth rebuilding? Re. the flimsy plastic body: can't say I noticed any improvement on removing the housing.

Regards

[DSJR]

How to judge cartridge bolt tightness - how tight to do 'em up... Take an old Asak, fit it to a heashell and tighen the hex bolts until the body breaks. That teaches you how tight is tight and what is TIGHT!!!!!!!

The Asak "T" version was supposedly selected and extra araldite added around the magnet assembly. The sound was definitely better I thought.

In an arm like the Jelco or modern SME, I think an Asak would still be ok, terrible tracking notwithstanding. A Grace 707 which we used originally wasn't really adequate in all honesty.