Beechwoods' Den, April 2012. The Japanese Turntable/German Monster Tape Deck Edition

[Beechwoods]

What's that you say? Which Japanese turntable?

http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/aos_images/beechwoods_den/file-10.jpg
http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/aos_images/beechwoods_den/file-11.jpg

I lasted 4 years here without one, but Scalford was the last straw. Listening to Marco's and Martin's Technics and considering how cheap the entry level was, the potential for ongoing improvement, and the acres of experience here to help me along the way it became a no-brainer :)

I got it off eBay, as a pair, ex-DJ decks. Just shy of £400. After a wipe over, it quickly became obvious that they were both very sound machines. My original plan was to sell the other one. Now I'm going to keep it and incorporate it into a second, family system. The robustness of these machines should have it survive the rigours of a 6 year old operator!

Here's a picture of the original cartridge, and stock headshell.

http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/aos_images/beechwoods_den/file-8.jpg

It was obviously my first intention to upgrade the cartridge to something a bit serious - source first - and Marco very kindly gave me a lovely Pickering XV-15/625E to start me off. What a fantastic cartridge, fantastic bass control, delicate detail, excellent trackability.

http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/aos_images/beechwoods_den/file-9.jpg

The cartridge looks amazing as well, with that brush up front. But looks aren't everything, and it pops out with a little nudge, and the resulting bare cartridge is going to be a lot less suceptible to resonances and vibrations travelling back up the stylus.

http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/aos_images/beechwoods_den/file-12.jpg

Martin (MartinT) kindly gave me an ADC Magnesium headshell, and a Mitchel clamp... the Pickering went into the headshell and the clamp... I love clamps now I've tried one!

The last thing was to fit an Achromat. The combination of Achromat and removing the brush off the front of the cartridge is more extended and more solid bass; more definition on percussives. Very worthwhile for not much spend at all!

http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/aos_images/beechwoods_den/file-13.jpg

I've been very lucky of late. When we met at the Scalford show, AnthonyTD handed me one of these collossal uber-decks... a Eumig FL-1000μP. Eumig's swansong, a three-motor deck with a unique transport, controllable by computer, with the build of a Studer or Revox. Well, in my experience the build of 2 or 3 Studer's or Revox's. This thing is heavy! It sounds good, but needs some finessing / alignment which will be done when I find a tech with some experience with this deck!

http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/aos_images/beechwoods_den/file-20.jpg

It looks the ideal complement to my Pioneer RT707, which sits below it.

http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/aos_images/beechwoods_den/file-19.jpg

On the other side, my other main decks. Nakamichi CR7A, Tandberg TD20A and Technics RS1500. And at the bottom my Studer A710.

http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/aos_images/beechwoods_den/file-18.jpg

http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/aos_images/beechwoods_den/file-17.jpg

Below is the glue that holds it together. My Quad 33/303 (with a lovely FM3 to the side). DBX200X program router, gives me switchability between 3 decks through one tape loop, and a rarely used, but fully functional and very effective DBX224 realtime encoder / decoder.

The modern bit at the bottom is a Behringer rack-mixer. I use this to punch 8 sources in and out into one of the 'Radio' inputs on the Quad 33. The other is permanently attached to an airport express for sundry streaming duties.

http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/aos_images/beechwoods_den/file-16.jpg

There's loads of other stuff I have that's already been covered in my previous Gallery posts. Some of that stuff is moving into a separate 'vintage' system downstairs. The big change this time is that I've moved from the loft into a box room. I can't even get a picture together that shows both speakers in view. I still have my lovely Rogers JR149's, and they do sound good, particularly with the SL1210, and the reel to reels. CD is now my weakest link.

[John]

Cool Den I am sure it helps to unwind

[Marco]

Looking good, dude! What difference did you perceive that the Achromat made? :)

Marco.

[Spectral Morn]

Look very good Nick


Regards Neil

[Rare Bird]

It was obviously my first intention to upgrade the cartridge to something a bit serious - source first - and Marco very kindly gave me a lovely Pickering XV-15/625E to start me off. What a fantastic cartridge, fantastic bass control, delicate detail, excellent trackability.

http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/aos_images/beechwoods_den/file-12.jpg




A superb upgrade would be the Pickering XLZ-7500S/Pickering PLZ combo

:eyebrows:

[Wilbur]

Does the Eumig sound as good as it looks?
Have similar tastes in gear,rt707,1210,dbx224,dbx200,fm3 33/303...great to see someone else has the bug!

[Beechwoods]

You really should post some pics of your system up in The Gallery, Paul. Sounds like yours is my doppelganger, though I notice you have a lot of other excellent gear as well :)

The Eumig is in great condition as far as the transport and cosmetics are concerned. It has the cleanest transport / heads / pinch rollers I've ever come across in a 30 year old machine. Compared with my Nak though, the HF is a bit rolled off. I think this is a calibration / alignment thing but I've not had a chance to play with the latter or think about the former. The bass control and refinement is fantastic though, which suggests it might be an EQ / electronics thing rather than something obvious like alignment. I'm trying to find a tape-tech who has the experience to take it on. B&W did such a fantastic job on my Nakamichi, I'd like to get a similar standard of work done on the Eumig.

[Spectral Morn]

Looking fantastic Nick


Regards D S D L

[Reid Malenfant]

You have some very nice kit indeed Nick :) Loving the look of that Eumig cassette deck, very classy indeed & in a lot of respects it appears to be of a similar spec to my Pioneer CT-F950.

Dual capstan, 3 head, digital counter & VU meters, soft touch controls & a lot of weight :eek:

Of course the Nak is the thing to have!


Have fun with your 1210 fella, I see it took you four years to cave in, lets see how long it takes me :rfl:

[Barry]

Nice - very nice! :)

You'll make a lot of people here envious Nick!

[Beechwoods]

I just hope it encourages other people to get into the joys of tape! I guess it gives people a reference point as well, let them know what I'm about :)

As with any system or collection of classic gear (mine's a bit of both) it's a case of slowly slowly catchy monkey. Hardly anything in my system cost more than £450 as a single item, so you don't need deep pockets, just patience and determination (good lord, that sounds hard doesn't it! Not spending a grand on each piece to short-circuit the wait definitely was hard at times, I tell you!)

I know you appreciate fine gear Barry, and I have to admit coveting your EMT occasionally :whistle: ;)

[Reid Malenfant]

I just hope it encourages other people to get into the joys of tape! I guess it gives people a reference point as well, let them know what I'm about :)
Top quality cassette decks & more so reel to reel would seriously shock the hell out of a whole lot of people that have only been brought up on CDs etc.

I'll not be leaving cassette behind & while I admittedly don't have a RTR I do have a few hundred hifi VHS tapes, & they still get used to...

Tape is in my blood :eyebrows:

[Beechwoods]

It still shocks me how good my Nak is in particular. Most people have no idea what cassette is capable of!

[Barry]

I just hope it encourages other people to get into the joys of tape! I guess it gives people a reference point as well, let them know what I'm about :)

As with any system or collection of classic gear (mine's a bit of both) it's a case of slowly slowly catchy monkey. Hardly anything in my system cost more than £450 as a single item, so you don't need deep pockets, just patience and determination (good lord, that sounds hard doesn't it! Not spending a grand on each piece to short-circuit the wait definitely was hard at times, I tell you!)

I know you appreciate fine gear Barry, and I have to admit coveting your EMT occasionally :whistle: ;)


I used to be interested in tape, initially reel to reel (using a Series 6 stereo Ferrograph), but when I found I could make equally good recordings on cassette (originally on a Sony machine, I've forgotten the model) I moved to using two Nakamichi machines (a BX-2 and a BX-125E (?)). At least I could make copies for the car and have over 200 such tapes. I also like to record TV theme tunes as well as some of the concerts, so used to have one of the Nakamichi machines connected to the TV.

These days however, tape has taken a back step in my listening and the Naks are no longer connected up. I need to refurbish the Ferrograph (the rubber idler wheels have perished) and when I do so I have promised it to a member here on AoS. I will always keep my Nagra; it was the achievement of an ambition, is a gorgeous piece of Swiss engineering and it does make superb recordings! :)

Anyway, a nice collection of gear Nick. You should be very proud of it all.

Regards

[Reid Malenfant]

Amen, I still have cassette tapes I recorded back when I was maybe 19 that would pass for CD quality now except for the increased noise floor (though not by much on a top machine).

It's not so scary for those in the know, but a serious eye opener for those that don't :D

[WOStantonCS100]

I'm ok with folks thinking cassette sounds like garbage (even RTR and VHS HiFi).

:eyebrows:

Nice Eumig. I hope you find someone who can tweak it right. And, congrats on the 1200.

[The Black Adder]

a quote I heard years ago... "even life has noise, get over it"

[Alex_UK]

a quote I heard years ago... "even life has noise, get over it"

Sounds like a paraphrase of the late great John Peel:


Somebody was trying to tell me that CDs are better than vinyl because they don't have any surface noise. I said, "Listen, mate, *life* has surface noise."

[The Black Adder]

That's the one Alex... lol, I was nearly there and still perfectly apt me thinks.

[Alex_UK]

That's the one Alex... lol, I was nearly there and still perfectly apt me thinks.

Indeed you were m'lord,

Lieutenant George: You know, I won't half miss you chaps after the war.
Private Baldrick: Don't worry, Lieutenant; I'll come visit you.
Lieutenant George: Will you really? Oh bravo! Yes, jump into the old jalopy and come down and stay in the country, and we can relive the old times.
Captain Blackadder: What, dig a hole in the garden, fill it with water, and get your gamekeeper to shoot at us all day?

;)

[WOStantonCS100]

http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/aos_images/beechwoods_den/file-19.jpg

Below is the glue that holds it together. My Quad 33/303 (with a lovely FM3 to the side). DBX200X program router, gives me switchability between 3 decks through one tape loop, and a rarely used, but fully functional and very effective DBX224 realtime encoder / decoder.



Last night I transferred an LP to a 7in reel of RMGI SM911 with dbx Type II. Wow!! I can't wait to try the ATR tape.

[Beechwoods]

I can well imagine how that sounds :hifive: !

[Marco]

Sounds like a paraphrase of the late great John Peel:

"Somebody was trying to tell me that CDs are better than vinyl because they don't have any surface noise. I said, "Listen, mate, *life* has surface noise."


Bloody brilliant quote! :D

Nick, it's all looking fab, matey... Bet you never thought you'd succumb to the charms of an old 'DJ deck'! ;)

Mark - the time will come soon when one will be living inside your 'fridge'! :eyebrows:

Marco.

[Reid Malenfant]

Mark - the time will come soon when one will be living inside your 'fridge'! :eyebrows:

Marco.
:lol: Actually I very much doubt that as I'm going to have to remove my AP2600 to fit other stuff in there :eek: However, it will be getting a nice shelf which will be bolted to the wall :) It'll make it a heck of a lot easier to get to & may well encourage me to spin more vinyl that I do at present :cool:

I can think of a few other benefits to, such as I won't have to gut the fridge when I go about modding the deck itself etc..

[Reid Malenfant]

Blimey, I might have to retract a certain statement I made earlier about the Nakamichi ;) From what I have been reading the Eumig is at least the equal of a Nak & possibly a better machine :eyebrows: I suppose that is model dependant though but what the heck...

You lucky sod Nick :D

[Beechwoods]

Lol! Etsuro Nakamichi himself held it in high regard, so I read.

The high end Nakamichi's have a certain refinement, not present in the Eumig, which was designed to be a remotely controllable, precision, studio machine, rather than a home deck. Like the Studer and Revox decks from the same era, you need to be a bit of a nerd to operate it fully, wheras the Nak is a bit more human friendly.

I have done some head to head comparisons between my CR7A, Studer A710 and the Eumig, and the Eumig needs some work to bring it back to it's full potential; it's high frequencies are attentuated slightly, especially compared with the Nak, but the Nak is right at the top of it's game having had a full service / mod upgrade by B&W last year. I know the Eumig is capable of more, and hopefully I'll get that sorted soon!

Can you post any interesting links you find here so I can check them out?

[Reid Malenfant]

Can you post any interesting links you find here so I can check them out?
Yes, if i come accross something of interest them you'll get a link to it :)

While the Naks might be a tad more refined, the Eumig appears to be a bit more industrial. Don't take that the wrong way, it's a compliment!

Naks are about incredible precision & adjustability to align things, the Eumig appears to be about a seriously sterling build but without all the frippery.

Hense a more serious bit of kit possibly!

[Beechwoods]

I couldn't agree more Mark! Like I said earlier, it has the build of two or three Studer or Revox's! Talk about substantial - you wouldn't like it with your back!

[Jac Hawk]

Nice looking kit Nick, hope you enjoy the vinyl:)

[Beechwoods]

Thanks Mike, I am, and it's already cost me a fortune in new (old!) slabs of black plastic!

[anthonyTD]

Great picks Nick,
I knew it would have a good home with you.:)
Anthony,TD...

[Beechwoods]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: Thank you Anthony!

[Rare Bird]

http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/aos_images/beechwoods_den/file-10.jpg



I hope that's Green twin virgin fuzzy is not 'Tubular Bells' you have loaded there :D

[Beechwoods]

I hope that's Green twin virgin fuzzy is not 'Tubular Bells' you have loaded there :D

More than likely :whistle: I was doing the Album Club write up at the time! It might have been Ommadawn though. I'd bought the 'Boxed' set for £7 earlier in the day!

Excellent value, but the thinnest vinyl I've ever come across as well!

[The Grand Wazoo]

I got that set only yesterday for £2.50, Nick. Although I'd hesitate to call it 'Boxed' - more like 'sandwiched' (I think someone may have sat on it once!)

[Beechwoods]

Mine was in nearly 3 times better condition than yours, as reflected in the price! The box had some shelf wear, and the sleeves inside, oddly, water staining, but the booklet, box and vinyl were fine :scratch: how did that happen? Same shop had a copy for £12 without staining, but no booklet. Easy choice for someone who 'just wanted' the classics on vinyl and liked the look of the booklet.

I notice the record label says 'remixed' on the Tubular Bells vinyl. Was this his first attempt to correct the deficiencies of the original?

[The Barbarian]

http://i560.photobucket.com/albums/ss49/aos_images/beechwoods_den/file-16.jpg



Nick you have got your Quad '33'/'FM-3' in that sleeve wrong.

Here's mine.

http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/w425/ELPFAN1968/Sleeve.jpg (http://s1075.photobucket.com/user/ELPFAN1968/media/Sleeve.jpg.html)

[walpurgis]

I thought something looked odd in the photo, but it didn't click until you mentioned it.

[walpurgis]

Hi Andr'e. How are you? Not heard from you for a while and the place has not been the same, glad to see you. :)

[The Barbarian]

Had a break from some of the b*ll*x on here, drives me mad at times..

:eyebrows:

I'll put some step by steps fitting photos up over the weekend..

[istari_knight]

Uh oh, watch out... :newbie: alert !

Welcome back Andr'e.

[Marco]

Allo, allo, dudekins! :D

Marco.

[Ali Tait]

Alreet petal, nice to see you around again.

[Beechwoods]

Nick you have got your Quad '33'/'FM-3' in that sleeve wrong...

Andr'e, well spotted, it's been bugging me for years that the gear didn't seem to fit! I'll definitely give your advice a go tomorrow.

The Quads are still the main-stay of my system, though it's moved into the main room since my last posts... and sounds great. The JR159's have space to breathe. We've got rid of the telly, so there's no distractions and I can actually get some time to listen to it!

Here's a recent pic... the Techie sounds great. I've an Airport Express so I can stream casual digital via a Caiman, and have also installed a Teac DV-20 DVD-Audio / SACD player since the pic was taken, for more more serious digital; the rest of my gear is set up in my old room, my tape decks, SL1210 etc.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/11179333/AOS%20Photos/2014-08-18%2013.01.30.jpg

[Spectral Morn]

Hi Andr'e. How are you? Not heard from you for a while and the place has not been the same, glad to see you. :)

I was thinking the very same earlier.

Nice to see you back Andre



Regards Neil

[Ali Tait]

Loving that R to R Nick, very nice!

[The Barbarian]

http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/w425/ELPFAN1968/Sleeve001.jpg (http://s1075.photobucket.com/user/ELPFAN1968/media/Sleeve001.jpg.html)

{Remove the unit & feet from the metal enclosure..Slide the enclosure into the rear of the wooden sleeve}

http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/w425/ELPFAN1968/Sleeve002.jpg (http://s1075.photobucket.com/user/ELPFAN1968/media/Sleeve002.jpg.html)

{Should then look like this from the front}

http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/w425/ELPFAN1968/Sleeve006.jpg (http://s1075.photobucket.com/user/ELPFAN1968/media/Sleeve006.jpg.html)

{Slide the unit through the front}

http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/w425/ELPFAN1968/Sleeve003.jpg (http://s1075.photobucket.com/user/ELPFAN1968/media/Sleeve003.jpg.html)

{As you can see i use four of the now surplus feet as spacers as not the crush the enclosure when nipping the screws up, also safeguards loosing the feet }

http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/w425/ELPFAN1968/Sleeve004.jpg (http://s1075.photobucket.com/user/ELPFAN1968/media/Sleeve004.jpg.html)

http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/w425/ELPFAN1968/Sleeve005.jpg (http://s1075.photobucket.com/user/ELPFAN1968/media/Sleeve005.jpg.html)

{Just fit the remaining four feet from your units to the bottom of the sleeve.. You can buy longer than original 6BA Cheese head bolts required as the originals won't be long enough}

Excuse the poor pictures & of course the condition of my sleeve i have yet to strip sand & refinish, beautiful solid Afromosia, finger jointed at the top ' A sign of high quality' indeed..

[Beechwoods]

Did mine this morning and it looks fab! Very pleased. Thank you Andr'e!

[The Barbarian]

:gig:

[walpurgis]

Did mine this morning and it looks fab! Very pleased. Thank you Andr'e!

Show us a piccie! :)

[The Barbarian]

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/11179333/AOS%20Photos/2014-08-18%2013.01.30.jpg

Just looking at the radiator plumbing. Nice to see a plumber laying out the copper pipe perfect. Very neat.

[Beechwoods]

Ha ha! Yeah, we had the radiator moved and he did a neat job re routing the piping seeing as we didn't want to rip up the concrete floor. It's been waiting 6 years for me to paint it but I like the copper look!

[brian2957]

Hah ! I'd be buying myself a tin of Brasso Nick . Very therapeutic polishing copper :lol:

[The Barbarian]

oops sorry just spotted a mistake in my post. The bolts are 4BA & not 6BA as stated. Accept my apologies for that.