Where next

[Dubster68]

My SL121O has a Timestep HE III external PSU,Original tone arm with straight through Isokinetic Isotone Cardas rewire and damped arm (This will be changed soon) Blue LED kit and Ortofon 2m Bronze cart. Isonoe isolation alloy feet. Glass platter mat.

So where now. I want a new tone arm as at the moment using technics arm rewired thats sounds ok but want better. Had a Rega RB 300 and to be honest it sounded no better than the standard rewired arm.

Whats the view on Jelco SME etc. Haven't got a endless pit of money but looking anywhere between £300-£450 ish.

Also should I wait and replace the main platter bearing as I have heard this is good upgrade but a lot at £300 for a bearing .

Please give me your ideas.Apologies if its all been asked before.

[Zoidburg]

My SL121O has a Timestep HE III external PSU,Original tone arm with straight through Isokinetic Isotone Cardas rewire and damped arm (This will be changed soon) Blue LED kit and Ortofon 2m Bronze cart. Isonoe isolation alloy feet. Glass platter mat.

So where now. I want a new tone arm as at the moment using technics arm rewired thats sounds ok but want better. Had a Rega RG 300 and to be honest it sounded no better than the standard rewired arm.

Whats the view on Jelco SME etc. Haven't got a endless pit of money but looking anywhere between £300-£450 ash.

Also should I wait and replace the main platter bearing as I have heard this is good upgrade but a lot at £300 for a bearing .

Please give me your ideas.Apologies if its all been asked before.

Have a look at the ianmac bearing thread on here mate.

I'd also say the jelco is a worthwhile upgrade. It suits the decks look superbly and im using one with an at150 mlx with very enjoyable results.

[CageyH]

Have a look at the "IanMac bearing" thread.

[Dubster68]

Thanks Guys

Just going to look at the thread now. Also what is the correct Jelco arm length for the 1210 ?

[daytona600]

9inch for a jelco

[RickeyM]

I have an IanMac bearing and I'm quite happy with it. I also see quite a few recommendations for the KAB tonearm damper.

[MikeMusic]

Hi Mick

I have a Jelco you might like
You have mail

Mike

[Dubster68]

Thanks everyone. Iam very interested in the bearing upgrade (eventually)but I think I may get the best initial gains from a tone arm upgrade. i love the look of the Jelco arms and previously tried the Rega rewired RB300 route and I can honestly say it made no noticeable difference to my rewired standard arm. Plus not a massive lover of the build quality.

Michael you should have mail:D

[Zoidburg]

Thanks everyone. Iam very interested in the bearing upgrade (eventually)but I think I may get the best initial gains from a tone arm upgrade. i love the look of the Jelco arms and previously tried the Rega rewired RB300 route and I can honestly say it made no noticeable difference to my rewired standard arm. Plus not a massive lover of the build quality.

Michael you should have mail:D

The Jelco arms have a lovely engineered feel to them and look great on the technics, far more so than the regas imo.

[Dubster68]

Well the Jelco SA-750 is on thanks to MikeMusic above for the support. The arm with my bronze cart has totally transformed the clarity of the deck. The standard rewired arm is 110% over standard Technics but the Jelco is in a different league.
Now just got to decide if the bearing is worth the big expense or is it just a placebo effect. Do people change it just because they can. Or is money better spent on a new cart ?

Any advice greatly accepted.

[MikeMusic]

I'd go for a bearing first, then platter, mat then cart.

That is an opinion not written in stone
:)

[MikeMusic]

Then I'd add a SUT.
Check any mains problems, look at supports

[CageyH]

What were you thinking of as a cartridge upgrade?

Contrary to Mike, I think that the bearing is one of the final pieces in the jigsaw. It brings everything together.
You will most likely get a bigger improvement with a new cartridge.

[Dubster68]

Going to weigh up all the pros and cons. The carts I have are an Ortofon 2m Blue and Bronze. Heard good things about the black version but it's not cheap. Tried a few different carts but have been happy with the Ortofon.

Mike what is a SUT ? Am I missing something😂

[CageyH]

You may need a Step Up Transformer (SUT) if using an MC cartridge in a MM phonostage.
I may be selling a 2M Black soon, as I have recently gone over to MCs.
There is also one for sale now on the forum.

[mikeyb]

Going to weigh up all the pros and cons. The carts I have are an Ortofon 2m Blue and Bronze. Heard good things about the black version but it's not cheap. Tried a few different carts but have been happy with the Ortofon.

Mike what is a SUT ? Am I missing something😂
I've just advertised a Black ;)

I did the bearing first but only because it was for same in here at a price I couldn't refuse.

Then I bought a Paul Hynes PSU, followed by a new platter mat and then 3 or 4 different cartridges to try.

Regulators for power supply to be fitted soon and that will be that :)

[CageyH]

I've just advertised a Black ;)

I did the bearing first but only because it was for same in here at a price I couldn't refuse.

Then I bought a Paul Hynes PSU, followed by a new platter mat and then 3 or 4 different cartridges to try.

Regulators for power supply to be fitted soon and that will be that :)

Are you not going to try a fancy platter?

[walpurgis]

You may need a Step Up Transformer (SUT) if using an MC cartridge in a MM phonostage.
I may be selling a 2M Black soon, as I have recently gone over to MCs.
There is also one for sale now on the forum.

There are now two! :)

[mikeyb]

Are you not going to try a fancy platter?
I would like one but I think they look terrible and at £800+ I'm not really keen to spend that much.

If I could buy second hand then I might consider it.

[Dubster68]

Thanks for all the ideas. I think bearing or cart they will both be getting done at some stage. I know they must add a solid performance but the after market platters dont do it for me visually . As Mikey above said if they come up cheap enough maybe an option. Just looked at the Mike Bearing but it works out over £400 and like I said is it that noticeable. £2-300 and I would take the chance but its a lot of money for a turntable that I think sounds very good. I know there are other options but not heard much feedback only a little chatter between a few over who's is the best.

[mikeyb]

Thanks for all the ideas. I think bearing or cart they will both be getting done at some stage. I know they must add a solid performance but the after market platters dont do it for me visually . As Mikey above said if they come up cheap enough maybe an option. Just looked at the Mike Bearing but it works out over £400 and like I said is it that noticeable. £2-300 and I would take the chance but its a lot of money for a turntable that I think sounds very good. I know there are other options but not heard much feedback only a little chatter between a few over who's is the best.
I was lucky and bought a Mike New bearing second hand, but it might be worth trying ianmac and try his bearing that will be cheaper than the Mike New or Funk version and it reports are correct it's an excellent upgrade. I certainly found with the MN one I bought it made great difference, bass was tighter, cleaner, I would expect the ianmac one would be great too.

PSU makes another stepup.

[Dubster68]

Just been talking to Mike via pm and after the Sterling to Aus Dollar it is £404:). The thing I didn't account for is the import tax and VAT:rolleyes:. That works out another £100 on top so I think this pushes it out of reach at the moment. Saw Ians posts but I thought he had stopped making them. Heard a few views on the Timestep version but the Mike New version was my ideal choice.

[mikeyb]

Ianmac had some available just last week, drop him a pm he might still have some left.

[MikeMusic]

Going to weigh up all the pros and cons. The carts I have are an Ortofon 2m Blue and Bronze. Heard good things about the black version but it's not cheap. Tried a few different carts but have been happy with the Ortofon.

Mike what is a SUT ? Am I missing something😂

Late to the party again me...
Step Up Transformer.
Made a massive difference to my system.
More than a Phono Pre Amp.
I had to upgrade to a VIDA Phono Pre Amp to sound better than the Ortofon ST-80E and Whest .30r I was using
The Ortofon also just happens to be behind me and available for sale
:)

[MikeMusic]

Thanks for all the ideas. I think bearing or cart they will both be getting done at some stage. I know they must add a solid performance but the after market platters dont do it for me visually . As Mikey above said if they come up cheap enough maybe an option. Just looked at the Mike Bearing but it works out over £400 and like I said is it that noticeable. £2-300 and I would take the chance but its a lot of money for a turntable that I think sounds very good. I know there are other options but not heard much feedback only a little chatter between a few over who's is the best.
And import duty if you bring it in from Oz, or any non EU country
:(
Think I paid around £80 - ouch
<later>
Ah I see you found that out

[Dubster68]

Late to the party again me...
Step Up Transformer.
Made a massive difference to my system.
More than a Phono Pre Amp.
I had to upgrade to a VIDA Phono Pre Amp to sound better than the Ortofon ST-80E and Whest .30r I was using
The Ortofon also just happens to be behind me and available for sale
:)


So basically a SUT goes in place of a pre amp/phone stage etc ? Just had a look at the Ortofon ST-80E Mike. Looks nice but a little out of my price range plus I would need a new MC cartridge that will add to the cost.

[mikeyb]

So basically a SUT goes in place of a pre amp/phone stage etc ? Just had a look at the Ortofon ST-80E Mike. Looks nice but a little out of my price range plus I would need a new MC cartridge that will add to the cost.

You still need an MM stage to input the SUT to, it doesn't do away with a stage it just ups the gain to MM levels so that you can use an MM phono stage, I have tried 4 SUTs and so far none have bettered the MC input on my amp but this just proves my MM input isn't as good as the MC side.

I am now trialling a separate phone stage ;)

[walpurgis]

A bit of advice. A cheap or inadequate SUT is a disaster and definitely not worth considering. It can totally stifle the abilities of a good MC cartridge. You can buy sensibly, but it's not an area to penny pinch.

[Dubster68]

A bit of advice. A cheap or inadequate SUT is a disaster and definitely not worth considering. It can totally stifle the abilities of a good MC cartridge. You can buy sensibly, but it's not an area to penny pinch.

Thanks for the advice. I think i need some type of system to my upgrades. I think some sort of bearing upgrade or cart first then go from there.

[6L6]

I doubt that there is much more you can do to your Techie to get better sound.

At this point I'd look into Phonostage. Remember that the electronics touching transducers have an outsized effect on the system's sound.

[Dubster68]

I doubt that there is much more you can do to your Techie to get better sound.

At this point I'd look into Phonostage. Remember that the electronics touching transducers have an outsized effect on the system's sound.

One of my friends said he tried different phonostages and had good and bad results so its possibly an area to look at. I am still going to change the Ortofon cart to a 2m Black as I have heard this on a sl1210 standard and it sounded very focused if the thats word I am looking for.

[danilo]

Complete Digression :-) Spend the 'Budget' on fresh, never heard by you Recordings ??
IMO far more rewarding than a more or less infinitesimal sonic upgrade to recordings you've likely heard too many times already.

[Dubster68]

Complete Digression :-) Spend the 'Budget' on fresh, never heard by you Recordings ??
IMO far more rewarding than a more or less infinitesimal sonic upgrade to recordings you've likely heard too many times already.

But I do that as well:lol:

[mikeyb]

Complete Digression :-) Spend the 'Budget' on fresh, never heard by you Recordings ??
IMO far more rewarding than a more or less infinitesimal sonic upgrade to recordings you've likely heard too many times already.
But if you're like me that doesn't come under 'Budget' those come under essentials and can only be bought once the budget has doubled and been spent :)

[CageyH]

I know they must add a solid performance but the after market platters dont do it for me visually.

:eyebrows:

I can't wait to see what you do to the ETP now. ;)

[Dubster68]

:eyebrows:

I can't wait to see what you do to the ETP now. ;)


I know I might have to spray it a nice colour Kev and put some stickers on it:lol: Its like having an ugly girlfriend she might not be the best looking lady but she may be the best in bed:D So all is forgiven in the ugliness department

[CageyH]

Who cares what it looks like.
It's a tool for music reproduction.

[Dubster68]

Well bearing and platter fitted and so far very happy:D. All I can say so far is the sound is very tight and clear so see what happens after a few days testing:D Glass matt or not that is the question, still undecided at this stage. I did modify my strobe as it is no longer needed. Saves disconnecting it:)

I know these upgrades are old hat to some but to me its all brand new but no regrets the money spent.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c25/Mick1B/IMG_4595.jpg (http://s24.photobucket.com/user/Mick1B/media/IMG_4595.jpg.html)

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c25/Mick1B/IMG_4594.jpg (http://s24.photobucket.com/user/Mick1B/media/IMG_4594.jpg.html)

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c25/Mick1B/IMG_4596.jpg (http://s24.photobucket.com/user/Mick1B/media/IMG_4596.jpg.html)

[keiron99]

I see you've got the additional "weight" on your tonearm.

What exactly is the purpose and impact of that?

(Turntable looks seriously cool by the way!)

[alan_g]

Well bearing and platter fitted and so far very happy:D. All I can say so far is the sound is very tight and clear so see what happens after a few days testing:D Glass matt or not that is the question, still undecided at this stage. I did modify my strobe as it is no longer needed. Saves disconnecting it:)

I know these upgrades are old hat to some but to me its all brand new but no regrets the money spent.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c25/Mick1B/IMG_4595.jpg (http://s24.photobucket.com/user/Mick1B/media/IMG_4595.jpg.html)

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c25/Mick1B/IMG_4594.jpg (http://s24.photobucket.com/user/Mick1B/media/IMG_4594.jpg.html)

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c25/Mick1B/IMG_4596.jpg (http://s24.photobucket.com/user/Mick1B/media/IMG_4596.jpg.html)

whats the big weight for on top of the jelco for please???

[Dubster68]

whats the big weight for on top of the jelco for please???

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?50131-Another-Jelco-arm-damper-weight