Audio Assemblage

[camtwister]

Here are the repercussions of being armed and dangerous with my bottle of Laphroaig 16 year old and someone else's camera. Regrettably, not the other way around.

I squeeze two systems into an incommodious but cosy terraced house. I have chests full of venerated rhythm 'n' blues and rock 'n' roll 45s; accordingly vinyl is my
chief source.
After learning from my mistakes restoring a Garrard AT6 changer and a 4HF with a mono wired ceramic for dirty fun with 78s, I continued my lustful affair with idler
drives and attempted to modify a Goldring Lenco 75.

This was the outcome:

http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/2751/lencolencoedit.png

I set a budget of £200 and used the original motor and bearing after servicing. I also used the platter and idler wheel from the donor. It sports an Ortofon 2M Blue
cartridge on a Linn LVX+ arm. The plinth is marine grade birch ply, veneered in rosewood. I've affixed a granite plinth to the underside and it sits on three spun
aluminium Michell Tenderfeet, which screw into the wood and enable adjustments to be made to keep it all square. I approximate the mass to be about 25kg. The top plate
is grounded and the idler arm is damped. There's a Vaseline bonded Achromat under the original, which in addition to the sonic benefit, is also a great help in
achieving the correct VTA. Only the cartridge was bought new.

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/676/lencofrontedit.png

I was cock-a-hoop with the sonic results and this buoyed my enthusiasm for another project. So, the deck pictured above has migrated to my second system.

My new project Lenco is a super modified stacked platter beast that will boast a Jelco SA-750D carrying a Decca Gold cartridge. The bearing will be a bespoke, wonderous
thing machined by Redbeard Analogue, called a "Mammoth", that has a top and bottom collar for fixing to the plinth. The original pressed plate has moved over for a
stainless steel PTP (Peter's Top Plate) that decouples the motor. Unlike the Linn LVX arms (which dropped rather handily into the original Lenco mounting hole -
although I fabricated my own sleeve) the spindle to pivot distance and geometry is, of course, different for the Jelco. I'm in the process of model assembly,
adjustment, disassembly, measuring, assembly, squinting, scratching my head, misplacing the screwdriver again, disassembly and painting. I tiptoe around the house,
hoping to avoid spearing my feet with Swiss turntable bits, whilst it's dismantled. Photographs will follow as soon as the paint dries and I stop sniffing solvents.

I was a contended individual sharing my house with two Lenco mistresses, until the day I met an affable pipe smoking chap who offered to sell me his Goodmans hi-fi
system that he'd purchased from a department store in 1975. How often do you read the words "hi-fi" and "Goodmans" in the same sentence? The 'system' was
a solid state receiver and record player in a chipboard case that didn't turn me on. Although, the unmarked, smoked perspex lid with intact hinges did
catch my eye and may even have winked at me.

For the price of a supermarket bottle of wine, I took ownership of the budget brown box, saved the GL75 hidden inside it, chucked the rest in the bin and stroked my
chin. Wouldn't it be neat to use this record player as a stop-gap until my stacked platter monster is spinning? Yup.
Champions of the stock arm (DSJR!) should look away now. Upon inspection it was obvious that the v-blocks were shot and I had suspicions that arrangements weren't
quite, erm...straight. It went in the bin, too.
A perusal of the classified ads followed. For less than the cost of a prawn cocktail, gammon steak, Black Forest gateau Berni Inn blow-out, I splashed out on an
AT 110E cart and another LP12 reject to stick it on. A quick bash one Saturday afternoon: centre the motor coils, adjust the nose endfloat, remove the
brake, clean and lube the bearing, screw the top-plate down and spread the load with some BIG washers off my 1959 Hillman so that things don't get all
higgledy-piggledy, do the cartridge alignment kerfuffle. Et voila! For a temporary spinner, it ain't too shabby.

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/1635/lencoplateedit.png

http://img847.imageshack.us/img847/7118/insidelenco1edit.png

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/1525/lencoinside2edit.png

You can see it's brushed up nicely in these shots. The heavy platter Lencos had three variants of idler wheel including an early plastic one that most Lencophiles
replace with either a two-hole or five-hole metal version. The platters are non ferrous zinc alloy, weighing 3.7kg, and balanced. I'm welding two together and plating
them with copper for my project, so will probably get them balanced again at a machine shop.

http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/5703/lencospeededit.png

http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/7986/idlerwheeledit.png

I'm also experimenting with lining the underside of the bottom platter with cork matting, to dissipate energy from the idler. This requires changing the geometry of the
idler wheel / idler arm / motor shaft relationship. This is significant because their alignment is crucial to vibration free running. The motor is suspended on
two springs that, in addition to reducing the excitation of the top-plate from the rotor, accomodate the start-up torque reaction when the idler wheel is brought into
contact with the spindle (which is already spinning) by the idler arm spring. The resultant force from the mating of the wheel and rotating shaft, pushes the idler onto
the underside of the platter. Changing the geometry requires a recalibration of the speed indicators because the wheel is located in a different position on the tapered
spindle. You can tune this interaction with elastic and what's known in the Lenco community as the "fishing weight" modification. The crucial factor is alignment of
idler to motor shaft, determined by rate of the motor suspension springs and angle of the idler arm, not critically the rate of the original idler arm spring or
strength of an elastic substitute - unless it is anchored from different mounts. I've had plenty of fun doing the elastic band engineering.

http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/1687/platteredit.png

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/3426/balanceedit.png

My principal phono stage is a Graham Slee Revelation. Its headroom and equalisation are useful protection when jockeying and sparring with the unruly recordings of
moonshine soaked rockabillies.

http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/7073/revelationedit.png

The digital front end of my main system is this handsome pairing:

http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/3846/comboedit.png

The player is a Kenwood DP-X9010, the aircraft carrier of early 1990s Japanese transports, and there's 15kg of it. The drawer operation is arousingly smooth.
It's all steel and aloominum, no cheap plasticky bits and the buttons are backlit with pretty colours. The PCBs are suspended on little nylon springs.
Ain't that a Doozy? Conversion to continuous signal from discrete is handled by a Rega DAC. This combination replaced a Naim CD3.5 and Flatcap. Confidently.

http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/3965/kenwoodhalo.png

The digital source in my second system is this synergic double act, a twenty year old Meridian 200 transport and a two month old Gatorized Beresford Caiman DAC:

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/5009/meridiancaimanedit.png

The Meridian 200 & Caiman combo sure does Hoover up the detail from those compact discs. The Gatorised unit is a leap forward from the original 203 DAC 7 it has
replaced, which tended to wobble over the neutral line and become bland. Stan's DAC is genuinely good value and one of the few items that I've purchased new.
I'm also prepared to put the gloves on and defend the following statement. The convertor has shown a definite improvement after a burn-in period of approximately 100
hours. I've been sceptical, as I could not say with any conviction that I've heard improvements in other components over time.
I include my GSP solid-state phono stage in that assesment, and it carries the manufacturer's endorsement of burn-in.
I have heard the Caiman come into focus though, and I'm prepared to declare it. It remains to be demonstrated whether I'll ever notice any cable burn-in, however.
:sofa:


A brief test at late night levels, comparing my transports into the Caiman's coaxial input, revealed the Meridian to be a little sparklier and better at resolving
detail in the upper mid region. Subtler reverbs and fret/string interaction were more audible from the 200. The Kenwood seems to dip out around 8-10kHz but it does
offer a cohesive smoothness (not to be confused with politeness) and a beguiling musical presentation. It has creamier lower mids and flatters older recordings. I
prefer the Kenwood's reproduction of vocals. Much more listening to be done, however.


I feed the Rega with ones and zeros from the Kenwood and I lie in the glory of the most tuneful bass I've ever heard from CD.


The collective noun for tuners, I've been taught at AoS, is 'flock'.
In the eye of this beholder, my 1974 Sansui TU-7700 is a beautiful thing.

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/5167/tu7700fxedit.png

http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/6909/tu7700leftedit.png

http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/653/tu7700rightedit.png

The boss rattler of four-gangs!

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/8063/tu7700sharpenededit.png

[camtwister]

The praise above is not to bedim my 1965 Leak Troughline 3 however, posing here in its comely teak case.

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/4161/leakbrownedit.png

http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/5657/leakrededit.png

This 'One Thing Audio' tuned sweetheart sings her thermionic serenade via an external multiplex demodulator.

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/5493/demodulatoredit.png

Comparing the two tuners is difficult because they are sonically similar, significantly more alike than the two CD transports discussed above. I would tentatively state
that their response doesn't differ by more than 2dB and only in a couple of localities across the audible spectrum.
One's a valve tuner and one ain't but the solid-state unit is the warmer of the two in the low-mid region and the smoother in the third-octave band 1.25 through 1.6kHz.
The differences being most noticeable on speech. During one critical comparison I thought that I was hearing (and enjoying) second order valve nuances from
the Troughline but it wasn't a blind test.
The Sansui is a sensitive tuner. It pulls in more stations and, using the same aerial, sounds a whole heap better on weak signals. Considering the Leak's age (stereo
transmission was in its infancy when these were on the shelves) and the performance of its contemporaries, you can't fail to be impressed with its ability.

My 1982 Rogers T100 is currently sitting, naked, in a repair shop. More about that in another thread. I've posted this picture before but here's the old stager on the
bench. The T100 tuners are nearly extinct now; only a handful made it out of the factory. Save one if you have the opportunity, you'll not regret it.

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/8165/t100insideedit.png

Plug in a healthy Rogers T100 and you could be fooled into thinking it's moved your speakers five metres further apart. It has a breadth of presentation that is the
aural equivalent of CinemaScope.

The pre-amps in both of my systems are courtesy of Glenn Croft. Two Micro 25s, their line stages rolled with a Mullard CV4004 in one and a Mazda ecc83 in t'other. Look
inside the anonymous cases of these and there's whole lot of nothing in between some wires and a bit of stuff. How does he manage to make them contribute so much to the
SOUND?

http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/5011/croftedit.png

The power amp in the main rig is a Primaluna Prologue Four. This is a 35 Watt (into a nominal 8) Push-Pull that has adaptive auto-bias. The build quality is exceptional
and it has point to point wiring that you can stare at for hours. The Prologue and I have spent many good times together rolling all eight of its valves.
I've treated it to a quad of Gold Lion KT-77s in place of the stock EL-34s, giving a marked increase in dynamic response and frequency extension.
The dual triodes are now English manufactured NOS Mazdas of 1966 to 1970 vintage, in preference to their expensive Mullard, Telefunken and Amperex cousins.
It's not the fastest amplifier and can get ponderous but it does have an efficacy for jazz 'n' blues. And, after tweaking, a concrete bottom end.

My amplifiers sit on bump-stops from the suspension of a 1969 Sunbeam Rapier, which are screwed to a sandwich of pine wood and blu-tack. I plead guilty to unorthodox
methods of increasing mechanical impedance.

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/6683/thermionicedit.png

The power amp in the second rig is a Monarchy Audio SM70 Pro. This is a creamy class A performer that has no global negative feedback and will happily allow oodles of
current to run up the bum of your drivers.
They can be paired and operated as balanced monoblocks with the flick of a switch on the rear panel, if you fancy 80 Watts per channel,
and wish to turn off the central heating.

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/8575/monarchyedit.png

I'm curious as to why the American designer chose to fit handles sourced from the bathroom aisle of B&Q.

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/257/sm70proedit.png

The speakers in the main system were made by the late, lamented Meadowlark company originally of San Diego and were designed by Pat McGinty.

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/5599/shearwateredit.png

Marketed as the "two-way lover's two-way", these Shearwaters are a transmission line design with a very simple time coherent first-order crossover that necessitates
the alignment of the drivers on a slanted baffle. The slower vibrations are handled by a 7" graphite doped paper driver from Denmark's ScanSpeak. The tweeter is a 1"
fabric dome, crossed at 2700Hz, 6dB per octave. The outer cab is 1" thick MDF, with 2" wide bracing.

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/22/baffleedit.png

The crossover is mounted in an insulated compartment at the bottom of the cabinet. The Hot Rod version of the Shearwater uses Cardas Solis copper binding terminals.
Point to point wiring with silver solder joins Audac caps and Caddock resistors.
I love these speakers. I don't think that's too strong a word. The weight of presentation is very enjoyable.
They're fussy about position and compromised in my listening room but thoroughbreds. McGinty was keen to reproduce high frequencies in what he called a "natural" way.
Listening to these after a day in front of active studio near-fields is like pulling off your winkle-pickers for a pair of slippers.

http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/2455/meadowlarkedit.png

At the end of the chain in system two is a pair of Monitor Audio Silver 8i. These are a decade old now but the cherry finish still looks smart.
Very fast, dynamic and articulate, they're excellent for listening at moderate levels. I've heard some whisper that they're a shade bright but not if ya use 'em
properly! Perhaps if you sit too close to them or listen loud enough for the notes to leave a crater in your forehead...
Manifestly in contrast to the Shearwaters and that's the point. Partnering these with the Monarchy has been gratifying.

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/2674/silver8iedit.png

Do you consider these phase plugs to be a little onstentatious? I recall one entertaining evening during which I induced a guest to believe that they were solid gold.
The drivers are ceramic coated aluminium magnesium alloy. Honestly.

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/1686/dustcapedit.png

All of the interconnects in the main system are Mark Grant G1000HD and in the second rig they are all Gotham GAC-1.
Atlas Hyper 3.0 keeps the Shearwaters and Primaluna in touch. Sterling Black Mamba looks snakelike in system two.
For the cable fetishists:

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/8634/cablesmeadowedit.png

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/3251/cablesmonitoredit.png

Have you ever felt the urge to listen to five different radio stations simultaneously?

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/7931/radiosoundsalvationedit.png

Radio Radio - sound salvation.
These old 'uns are designed by the Hacker brothers. In a fight, other wireless trannys would get KO'd in round one. Only German and Scandinavian valve table top sets
from the early 1960s would muscle in on their patch. Maybe a Pye Fenman II would get as far as a points decision. Cripes, how to stretch an analogy, eh?

Anyroad up, to end this installment, here's some audio furniture:

http://img803.imageshack.us/img803/4208/twogramsedit.png

[keiths]

Very nice indeed :drool:

[Alex_UK]

Wowzers - thanks for posting - a very entertaining read and pictures, and even a couple of great curtain shots to boot! ;)

[Puffin]

Wot did you load the pics with Steambucket!:lol::lol::lol:

[Spectral Morn]

Beautiful systems and tuners. The Sansui is beautiful.


Regards D SD L

[camtwister]

Pro tempore, this is the transducer in my second spinner:


http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/7539/110et.png


Still on dealers' shelves as New Old Stock, it's surely the best cartridge available for under a McGarrett.

[camtwister]

I've been getting the music out of the groove today, with this machine, which arrived in its original box.

http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/1733/1kenwoodbox.png

A light service and clean disclosed a 35 year old turntable in good health. The cue arm piston needed damping,
so I filled the reservoir with silicon fluid having a kinematic viscosity of 300,000 centiStokes.

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/6971/2service.png

Resonance damping is the principle attribute of the ARCB limestone-resin-concrete plinth, which weighs 12kg. The platter has a mass of 3kg,
directly driven by a DC motor. Speed is quartz phase-locked.

My record player looks like this:

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/363/3rightthreequarter.png

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/4160/4threequarterleft.png

Arm bearings appear to be within spec.
The adjustable VTA is a beneficial feature of a well designed medium mass tonearm.

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/7494/vta.png

Vinyl Engine has the manual, service documents and promotional literature for the KD-650.
Kenwood state that the recommended cartridge overhang is 15mm. I measured the spindle to pivot distance, got the slide rule out and calculated the null points.
These were within one tenth of a millimetre of Stevenson's geometry, so the Dynavector was calibrated to his curve.

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/8834/5dynavector.png

"She never gets any older,
Sweet Little Rock 'n' Roller..."

http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/4880/6kd650andvinyl.png

[John]

Lovelly pictures

[tannoy man]

That's the First time I've read that post and I'm very impressed:)

[Macca]

A beautiful looking turntable.

[Barry]

Where are the images? I'm not even getting a 'white box with a kiss'.

[camtwister]

I can see 'em. In glorious technicolour.
The photographs are hosted by ImageShack, as per recommendations.
They do seem to take a while to move across the ether however, so pour another into your glass and kick back...

[keiths]

Lovely photos.

Did you finish your stacked-platter PTP Lenco?

[camtwister]

Thanks Keith.
The stacked platter project moves along in the background.
I'm taking a lot of time getting the plinth design to my liking. It's not a cuboid, but has many compound curves, and mocking this up in hardboard and plasticine can consume several hours per sitting. I've had second thoughts about the choice of arm too, and so the plinth dimensions have changed more than once.
It's good therapeutic fun and I'm in no rush.

[Barry]

Well it took four minutes for the pictures to transfer - but it was worth the wait: excellent photography and a very interesting write up.

Thanks

[Rare Bird]

Very artistically presented Thread even though my computer nearly gave up the will to live loading the pickkies :lolsign:

I can see you a very neat, tidy & methodical person like my good self :thumbsup:

[Marco]

Why do the pics take so bloody LONG to upload? :scratch: What media hosting site are you using, John?

Or could anyone technically minded explain any other reasons for the HUGE delay? Unfortunately, it's spoiling the enjoyment of the thread....

Marco.

[camtwister]

Thanks for the kind comments, folks.

I'm using ImageShack to host the pictures. They've been slow to display since I created the thread. They are sized to 1024 x 768 and are all under 2MB, as required by the free account I have with the host. They are 16 bit resolution. I've tried them in jpeg and png formats, and the problem remains the same using either.

At work, with a 100Mbps connection, the images load almost instantly. At home, across an 8Mbps wireless connection, they take about a minute and a half.

[camtwister]

Let's go pop quizzin'!

What was the final record to hit the UK number one spot when released on 78 only, with no equivalent 45?
Here's a clue:
it spent two weeks on top of and nineteen weeks on the chart in the summer of 1957.
Think skiffle.

You can't go wrong when you think skiffle, my friends.

It was Lonnie Donegan's cover of Woody Guthrie's "Gamblin' Man".
Recorded live at the Palladium and released as a double A-side on Pye Nixa.

"I've gambled down in Washington
And I've gambled up in Maine.
I'm going down to Georgia,
To knock down my last game.

Well I'd not been in Washington
Many more weeks than three,
When I fell in love with a pretty little girl
And she fell in love with me.
I'm a gamblin' man,
I'm a gamblin' man."


I've been out gambling (although not in Washington, does Barry Island compare?) and I took a punt on this pretty little girl.



http://img814.imageshack.us/img814/8607/thermionicset.png


It cost as much as one full tank of petrol from the Texaco station down the road.
It's the APPJ PA0901A, originally licensed as a Miniwatt N3 in the West.
It utilises a switched-mode power supply rather than a dirty stinkin' power transformer and thus has a tiny footprint.
I've rodded it with some tasty Micalex Belton tube sockets. They're brown.
Two EL84s, one per channel and wired as triodes rather than pentodes, are driven by a single dual triode.
I've rolled the plain Jane JJ ecc83 with a coquettish General Electric 5751WA with three mica plates and black anodes from the late '50s.
She's a flirt but has a heart of gold.
The EL84s are two rather lascivious beauties from the Philips family. They are rare rX3 revisions made in the Dutch Sittard factory circa 1958.
They have no branding, a three hole anode and a D-getter. Too cool for school.


http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/5081/anglex.png


I was initially taken aback by the linearity of response - from the low-mids upwards.
It's sweet but not sickly.
It burns up 3.5 Watts per channel using the 8 ohm transformer taps (of which they're are three: 4, 6, 8) when fed with 500mV from my Croft.
That extra 0.5 of a Watt makes all the difference. At least, that's what the girls tell me.

I'm becoming romantically involved with single ended amplification.
Pictures of its 6W SEP cousin and my new handmade (although not by me 'cos O-Level Woodwork was a long time ago) five driver, 2-way, super sensitive loudspeakers to follow.


http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/4305/pinchz.png

[Werner Berghofer]

They are sized to 1024 x 768 and are all under 2MB, as required by the free account I have with the host. They are 16 bit resolution.

16 bit resolution isn’t appropriate when talking about digital images. Guess you’re mentioning the colour depth here, which should be not more than 8 bit per colour channel. A higher colour depth is not required, because their are neither monitors nor printers existing which are able to handle it. Limit your photos to a maximum width of approximately 1,000 pixels, a colour depth of 8 bit and a nominal output resolution of 72 PPI, and they shall load almost instantly.

In web publishing the term “resolution” has no meaning; all that counts are the actual physical pixel dimensions of a digital image, because these define how big or small an image will appear on a screen. “Resolution” only is considered when outputting images to a printer or an offset press; that’s the factor telling the output device how many physical image pixels should be distributed per square inch (PPI = pixels per inch). If you’re preparing images for the web and your image editing software requires you to input a target PPI resolution when altering the image size, enter “72”.

http://www.berghofer.com/photos/wp/2012/lengo_gl75.jpg

I took your post’s first picture, kept its original pixel dimensions, reduced the colour depth to 8 bit and resisted the temptation to remove colour cast and noise :-) The file size of your image in 16 bit PNG format (a resource hog!) with a nominal output resolution of 180 PPI is 3.5 MB, the file size of my image in JPEG format and 72 PPI is 134 KB or ≈ 3.8 percent of the original. That’s quite a difference, I would say.

Werner.

[camtwister]

Well, that'll be it then.
:)

Thanks very much for the advice and for sharing your expertise, Werner. I'll follow your recommendations from this point.

[alex_san78]

Good pictures Johnny. Lovely systems! :)

[Marco]

Hi Johnny,

I've moved your pics and review of the Mini-T to the Strokes of Genius section, as this is the more appropriate home for them - good stuff! :cool:

See it here: http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17859

Marco.

[camtwister]

For reasons of compartmentalisation, here are two sketches that have appeared elsewhere.

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/8646/recordplayer1.jpg

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/4263/recordplayer2.jpg

[camtwister]

My current enterprise:

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/7767/aboveit.jpg

A Mark II that has earned its living the hard way; in some smoky bistro, gin mill or supper club.
I decontaminated it with Cillit Bang and then dropped it off at an automotive repair shop for a paint job. I chose gunmetal over panther pink. I've never knowingly pimped anything.

http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/8238/closeupo.jpg

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/8033/startzd.jpg

http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/4984/underplatter.jpg

It's scrubbed up quite well.
More tinkering to come.

Meanwhile, here's the work of a true craftsman. Mr. Topps 'glues up' my new cabinets:

http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/7475/glueup.jpg

Whilst my speakers are being screwed together in Lancashire, my single ended amp is being soldered into existence in Illinois.
Here's the delivery room; pictures courtesy of Decware:

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/2525/bench3p.jpg

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/2443/bench1oa.jpg

The power valves in the Taboo amplifier are 6P15P-EV pentodes.
Internally, the second suppressor grid is not connected to the cathode.
My amp is being modified to enable switching of a non polarized film capacitor between suppressor and cathode. The theory being that
"the phase angle of the AC component on the suppressor is modified, resulting in a deceleration of the electrons as they pass through the sparsely wound suppressor grid on their way to the plate, resulting in fewer dislodged electrons".

There is 7.337mg of gold in the first grid of the 6P15P-EV.
That's the one good thing to come out of the Cold War.

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/329/goldgrid.jpg

Right-Oh, time to take the tin snips to the PSU on the 1210...

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/3694/inverth.jpg

[Marco]

Johnny, that is a very, very cool picture of your Techy! :eek:

I also like the 'piano gun-metal' finish - very classy! I suggest that you post both pics in the T/T competition thread in Analogue Art - superb stuff!! :cool:

Marco.

[kininigin]

Love the finish on the technics,it's looking sweet!!

Might have to think about getting mine re-done,but by a pro this time.My attempt could have gone better,but it's way better now,compared to how i got it.It had been severly abused :lol:

[camtwister]

My stack system!
The current digital front end. I can play or stream high definition files, Blu-Ray Audio, SACD, DVD-A etc., throughout the house with these black boxes.

http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/7426/stacksystemforumedit.jpg

My speakers in a Lancashire garden.

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/2107/myspeakersforumedit1.jpg

At my place, just after I'd unpacked them and put the kettle on.

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/5504/edingdaleroomforumedit.jpg

The 1210 during reassembly; after painting, inspection and cleaning.

http://img805.imageshack.us/img805/6241/topplateforum.jpg

I took a shot at fettling the bearing. I tried some damping experiments and lubricated with Audio Origami synthetic oil.

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/9609/bearingflare.jpg

Familiar terrain from an unfamiliar perspective:

http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/7208/haloforumt.jpg

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/1010/martian1210.jpg

I have access to a laser cutter and used it to fabricate washers in polypropylene, so that I can level the turntable and investigate potential sonic benefit from using them between the deck and the Vantage feet.

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/2076/feetforum.jpg

To end this installment - photographs of records being played.
The London Decca Maroon is perched on the end of a Jelco SA-750D, aligned to Baerwald.
The arm plate is stainless steel. External wire is Super ofc Audio Origami cable.
The arm is exactly parallel when 180g vinyl rests on the Trans-Fi Resomat. I'm tracking at 1.8g with no damping fluid as yet. I've dialled in the anti-skate to 1.6, approximately.
The Technics sits on an Iroko (a tropical African hardwood) platform that I've cut from a benchtop found in a decommisioned science laboratory; cosmetic treatment still in progress.

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/3566/frontpjf.jpg

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/7536/birdclose.jpg

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/8671/armj.jpg

http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/702/reflectionj.jpg

http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/3426/rightbottom.jpg

[Paullthomas]

Nice.

[DSJR]

Hopefully a free and easily reversible tweak for the Decca - Put a ball of plasticene (not blu-tack) between top of cartridge and the headshell and rebalance.. Not my tweak, but an old one from Garrott bros before they passed on (I found all the gumph for my Microscanner t'other day.....)

[camtwister]

Nice.

Hello! 'Ow do, Paul?


Put a ball of plasticene (not blu-tack) between top of cartridge and the headshell and rebalance..

Interesting. Cartridge damping, eh? I can anticipate the potential benefits of this with the early Deccas that had very low vertical compliance and tracked at 3 grammes, up to the Blue/Grey models of the mid 1970s.
As you know, the London version of the Maroon is slightly more forgiving and will work with a VTF as scarily low as 1.5g.
I've damped the arm with the Jelco fluid now and after filling the dash-pot to fifty percent capacity, have a more cohesive sound. I've used up several days of my life aligning the Maroon, paying particular attention to azimuth, so I'm a little reluctant to start sticking Plasticine on it. Although, on reading your post, I did start to consider what colour of clay I would use. It must be the latent conceptual artist within me.
The deck is sounding is superb. It's dynamic and the drum sound from my old 45s is joyous. As the volume goes north, the upper mids become a little strident, but it's marginal and the arm and cartridge only have about 30 hours on them. I'd expect it to take as long again for the Decca to settle down, so that's a premature assessment at this stage.

http://img805.imageshack.us/img805/5829/2orbitcloseupedit.jpg

[Marco]

Excellent pics, Johnny!


Nice.

Hi Paul,

Welcome to AoS :)

Before going any further, please pop into the Welcome area and introduce yourself to our community, outlining what system you use and what music you like, as this procedure is required of all members.

Cheers! :cool:

Marco.

[DSJR]

The plasticene tweak was recommended for MODERN Decca's, since the body is tinny and the soft plastic mount too flexible. The Microscanner tracks effortlessly at 1.5g even in the R200 I used mine in but in a Deccapod in this case. Should theoretically aid stereo separation/image width.

[camtwister]

Yes, the plastic carriage doesn't exactly convey impressions of incredibly tight tolerances in design or manufacture.
I've read conflicting opinions of the Deccapod and have not had the opportunity to compare them in a meaningful way; do you think that they are an improvement, Dave?

I'm keen to be taught why adding Plasticine to the plastic thingy is considered beneficial if the initial problem is a lack of stiffness. Adding modelling clay isn't going to increase rigidity. However, I could be persuaded that it acts as a damper for some frequencies of vibration and reduces transmission of this into the headshell. The energy has to go somewhere, so are folks suggesting that the frequencies are shifted so as to be less influential to the audible range? I doubt it's because the Plasticine converts it to heat. The Garrott Brothers knew their stuff but I wonder why, Deccapod aside, no-one has re-designed the plastic bit if it is so woeful.

EDIT:

I doubt it's because the Plasticine converts it to heat.
Thought about this, whilst combing my sideburns. This statement is wrong. Friction damping is exactly what would occur.

[DSJR]

It's between the top of the metal body (near the front) and the headshell to minimise movement and possibly damp the resonances, if that's any help? Should aid bass reproduction as it's a similar thing with the T-4P mount cartridges with a lever acting type of screw attachment to the back of the half-inch mounting bracket.

[camtwister]

Here's a glamour shot of my Decware single ended pentode amp flaunting its stock valves. It has an unorthodox circuit, hence the Taboo sobriquet, that permits switchable 'floating feedback' and is Hazen modified. I'm listening to it at the moment wielding Soviet 6p15p-EVs, a TJ 12AU7 and either a 1954 RCA 5Y3GT or 1955 RCA 5U4G black plate rectifier. The headphone scheme is designed for planar magnetics, such as the Audeze LCD range.

http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/3733/taboo1.jpg

The casing is walnut.

http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/9663/taboo2.jpg

The 1210, in its current state of tune:

http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/7484/4orbitthreequarteredit.jpg

http://img805.imageshack.us/img805/5829/2orbitcloseupedit.jpg

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/6848/1orbitplatteredit.jpg

http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/8894/3orbitfulledit2.jpg

[hoopsontoast]

Lovely! Really enjoyed the Decware Zen that I had for a while!
Looks a lot nicer with the wooden 'case' than mine that was 'naked' :)

[camtwister]

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/clay2edit_zps3f4605d1.jpg

I’ve been on the run for the past year and refrained from posting until the heat cooled a little.
My addiction to spinning records remains however, and so here's my recently acquired electrical-magnetical stuff for zapping the magic outta the grooves.

My current phono preamp is a Conrad Johnson EV-1. It employs two single ended valve stages for amplification, with zero negative feedback,
and passive circuitry for RIAA equalisation. Subsequent to going topless you have access to some neat dip switches for adjusting the load impedance presented
to the cartridge and the excitingly appealing internals.

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/CJedit_zpsec857daf.jpg

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/CJinternaledit_zpsb33348c7.jpg

The EV-1 seduced me rapturously and caused the end of my relationships with a soggy (although stock) EAR 834P and a drily competent GSP Revelation.
Initially, I rolled it with two Chinese Psvane 12AX7s, a cryo treated American Philips ECG JAN 5751
(manufactured after the takeover of Sylvania during the otherwise forgettable mid-eighties), and most notably a cyrotreated Radio Technique 12AU7WA.
This French military valve dates from the early 1960s and is thus groovy. It sports a trés cool crossed swords logo and its parentage can also be traced to the Philips’ empire.

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/CJvalvesedit_zps5ecc8700.jpg

When the moosic from the left hand channel disappeared due to an exploding Psvane, I was vexed enough to spend an overwrought amount of money on two
matched NOS dual triode Brimars from 1958. These date from the Standard Telephone & Cables era, prior to the Thorn acquisition and have partially boxed, single suture anodes.
Construction type is 573 and they measure equally between valves as well as per plate.
The Brimars were purchased from the collection of the son of a gentleman that obtained the bottles whilst operating radar for the MOD when the tubes were new.
I bow obsequiously to them prior to slapping 300 volts across their bums.

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/BrimarinBra_zps0b100f9f.jpg

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/multicolourBrimars_zps6828b29f.jpg

My Decware Taboo is maturing and so I’ve treated it and all listeners to a pair of Mullard EL84s, manufactured during the very early years of the type and exhibiting
RX1 construction – oh yes indeedy.
The code reveals their birth date as 1955. The Taboo proves that the EL84, most often employed in P-P configuration, can be propitiously used in single ended pentode
arrangement and with no negative feedback, if supported by sympathetic circuit design.

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/taboowithMullardsedit_zpsb6e4b977.jpg

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/mullardandrectifieredit_zps3d9fe6b9.jpg

I’ve recently come out of the other side of a period of experimentation with animators’ modelling clay. One bonus of this experimentation,
other than the liberation provided to mind and body, was the realisation that the clay is the perfect medium to use when investigating changes
to the effective mass of my tonearm. My London Maroon, a low compliance device, loves mass.
Along with a craft knife, digital scales and the clay (judiciously colour matched to my lounge décor), I was able to increase the headshell mass incrementally
until the whole caboodle reached 30 grams, contributing to a worthwhile shift in system resonance.
A greater cohesion in reproduction and improved tracking were the results.
The sweet spot was achieved with an imperceptibly slight ‘tail down’ tracking angle and a VTF of 1.85g.

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/clay1edit_zpse99512fb.jpg

My Decca affair has escalated with the acquisition of a 4CE cartridge.
I rescued the Mark IV from a dishevelled subsistence and sent it along to John Wright’s intensive care unit for mending, in Bridgenorth.
Oh, and the fitting of an extended line contact stylus, as per the London Jubilee model. Ding Dong.
(Isn’t it fun riding on the cliff railway in Bridgenorth? If you’ve not been up and down, you really must take a lady friend on that ride.)
My analogue system now resolves sufficiently to enable ready evaluation of changes to tracking force and angle, for example, or indeed platter mats, power supplies and cables.
Above all of that however, it reproduces music wonderfully. Its dynamic range and characteristic timbre make me laugh, jump about (I can’t dance) and wave at strangers.

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/DeccaandMaltedit_zps1c1bbde9.jpg

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/C4Eedit_zps8d0659c5.jpg

Is my 1210 a contender?
Off board Longdog two box linear power supply (with the regulator sited underneath the table and the transformer remote to the rack),
Jelco 750D installed with Hugh’s collar on an inox armplate and cabled with Audio Origami silver & copper wire through gold Cardas connectors,
rebuilt Decca C4E with extended line contact stylus, stacked Funk Firm Achromats bonded together, modified bearing housing filled with Audio Origami oil and Vantage feet.

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/sideaboveedit_zps3f4ddfcf.jpg (http://s751.photobucket.com/user/camtwister/media/fidelity%202014/sideaboveedit_zps3f4ddfcf.jpg.html)


http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/closeupc4eedit_zps18656b0f.jpg (http://s751.photobucket.com/user/camtwister/media/fidelity%202014/closeupc4eedit_zps18656b0f.jpg.html)

The original fixings for the C4E were three-quarter inch, aluminium or brass, 4BA threaded screws.
I’ve used countersunk M2.5 x 20mmscrews in nylon for the non-ferrous and non-conductive qualities;
especially important because, due to the common screen, there are four headshell tags and only three pins. There is sufficient thread for a washer and full nut.
The cartridge is aligned to Baerwald, using an arc protractor.
This is achieved with proportionately small increases in overhang and offset compared to the arm manufacturer’s suggested data generating lower average
distortion across the modulated grooves.

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/1210withc4e_zps7ff35f39.jpg (http://s751.photobucket.com/user/camtwister/media/fidelity%202014/1210withc4e_zps7ff35f39.jpg.html)

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/1210C4Einfrared_zpsbe6ddd6a.jpg (http://s751.photobucket.com/user/camtwister/media/fidelity%202014/1210C4Einfrared_zpsbe6ddd6a.jpg.html)

This is the transducer in my second system, currently mounted on the ten inch arm of my Kenwood KD-650 direct drive.

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/AT140lc_zps0a90eb47.jpg (http://s751.photobucket.com/user/camtwister/media/fidelity%202014/AT140lc_zps0a90eb47.jpg.html)

Mournfully, A-T no longer manufactures this series. They had excellent generators for the price point and advanced diamond profiles.
The ATN440MLa stylus will fit this cartridge.

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/AT140onKenwood_zps113e25ad.jpg


Music-makers: an Ovation and a pair of Edingdales.


http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/Edingdales_zpse5231e55.jpeg (http://s751.photobucket.com/user/camtwister/media/fidelity%202014/Edingdales_zpse5231e55.jpeg.html)

Safe as milk.

[camtwister]

Tripath chips, fried in Castrol multigrade.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/607/amptastic2.png (https://imageshack.com/i/gvamptastic2p)
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/88/amptastic1.png (https://imageshack.com/i/2gamptastic1p)


Here is the preeminent FM tuner in this and all alternative Universes. Even if I have the pornographic misfortune to encounter a programme presented by Jo Whiley, it sounds primo, nonetheless.
Rotten luck however, that contemporary broadcasting of popular music is compressed to the point of impotence. The T100:


http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/T100forum_zps234536a0.jpg (http://s751.photobucket.com/user/camtwister/media/fidelity%202014/T100forum_zps234536a0.jpg.html)


And now… a picture of my Decware Zstage. This is a single ended class A line stage/buffer, with no negative feedback, low output impedance and variable gain.
It can accommodate ecc81 (60 mu) and ecc82 (20 mu) triodes. Bias can be switched on the fly, for tonal shaping. Circuit implementation results in a cathode starved valve.
Even order harmonics is the sum and substance of this. Currently, it's on the end of my DAC, giving my pre-amp mo better analogue. For an improved sound, add distortion to taste,
avoid clipping. Just like good cops and bad cops, good drugs and bad, you can have good inaccuracies and bad inaccuracies. It's all part of the physiological response of the human to stimulus.
The stimulus of rock'n'roll. I like my chips with vinegar. The taste is not the same as the unadulterated, but I prefer the harmonic overtones of the acetic acid.
http://www.freewebs.com/valvewizard2/Triodes_at_low_voltages_Blencowe.pdf


http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/zstageforum1_zps2486b90a.jpg (http://s751.photobucket.com/user/camtwister/media/fidelity%202014/zstageforum1_zps2486b90a.jpg.html)


http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/zstageforum2_zpsdda1c570.jpg (http://s751.photobucket.com/user/camtwister/media/fidelity%202014/zstageforum2_zpsdda1c570.jpg.html)


http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/zstageforum3_zps9eea5f35.jpg (http://s751.photobucket.com/user/camtwister/media/fidelity%202014/zstageforum3_zps9eea5f35.jpg.html)


Depending whether I’m wearing tweed or mohair,
electrons get jiggy in a Brimar 6060 with triple micas from the yellow triangle “trusted” production period or a Radio Corporation of America 6189 black plate from 1955, in the ZStage.
Rad.


http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/yellowtforum_zps9d7a4f10.jpg (http://s751.photobucket.com/user/camtwister/media/fidelity%202014/yellowtforum_zps9d7a4f10.jpg.html)


Vibrating paper cones in eighty litre boxes of birch plywood.


http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/speakertowerforum_zps05bd106f.jpg (http://s751.photobucket.com/user/camtwister/media/fidelity%202014/speakertowerforum_zps05bd106f.jpg.html)


http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/speakerposteredgesforum_zpsf2c43a85.jpg (http://s751.photobucket.com/user/camtwister/media/fidelity%202014/speakerposteredgesforum_zpsf2c43a85.jpg.html)


Extension of low frequencies is important to me. Here's a Peerless driver with the capability to travel.


http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/wooferforum_zps113c26eb.jpg (http://s751.photobucket.com/user/camtwister/media/fidelity%202014/wooferforum_zps113c26eb.jpg.html)


Plug your ears!
Here’s my 000-12 fret. It’s a solid ‘hog.
Slotted headstock with Grover butterbeans, bone nut and saddle, scalloped x-bracing, custom gauge phosphor bronze strings, 1 and 13/16” fretboard width at the nut. It's a picker's machine.


http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/guitarforum_zpsedc21298.jpg (http://s751.photobucket.com/user/camtwister/media/fidelity%202014/guitarforum_zpsedc21298.jpg.html)


TUNE UP & TUNE IN!


http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/T100specialforum_zps4fdfac17.jpg (http://s751.photobucket.com/user/camtwister/media/fidelity%202014/T100specialforum_zps4fdfac17.jpg.html)

[camtwister]

http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/306edit1_zpsde5fa6f0.jpg (http://s751.photobucket.com/user/camtwister/media/fidelity%202014/306edit1_zpsde5fa6f0.jpg.html)


Access to the central nervous system of this machine is given by the removal of two screws only.
L.U.V. that.

Original capacitors have been removed and solemnly buried at the bottom of my garden.
Power supply reservoir caps modified with 6.8kuf 63V spankers, replacing 4.7kuf old timers.


http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/306edit4_zps8d5aefff.jpg (http://s751.photobucket.com/user/camtwister/media/fidelity%202014/306edit4_zps8d5aefff.jpg.html)


Total outlay, including purchase price: 103 British pounds.
How does it sound, situated behind a quality valve preamp and in front of efficient speakers with benign impedance?
Like an agreeable codeine rush.


http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/306edit5_zpsb4ea58df.jpg (http://s751.photobucket.com/user/camtwister/media/fidelity%202014/306edit5_zpsb4ea58df.jpg.html)


http://i751.photobucket.com/albums/xx154/camtwister/fidelity%202014/306edit3_zps602bef96.jpg (http://s751.photobucket.com/user/camtwister/media/fidelity%202014/306edit3_zps602bef96.jpg.html)