My adventures in audio (mostly analogue)

[Shovel_Knight]

A nice box of goodies



Bought this Mission 774 some time ago very cheaply, it was in really poor condition (the wiring was broken, many screws missing, no damping paddles etc.). Got new damping paddles from Xad, gradually replaced the screws (being a British design, this thing uses stupid imperial screws - both BA and UNF, I think?), the tonearm wand has been rewired by Johnnie @ Audio Origami. The only thing still missing is the second antiskating weight.

[Shovel_Knight]

Finally found some time to sort out the Denon.

Replaced components:



And the flying saucer is in the air again!



Let's think about it...

The armboard is just a piece of MDF.

The tonearm is fixed using only 2 screws and no grommets.

The turntable is sitting on four M6 spikes instead of proper feet because the original feet have perished.

It's running a vintage low-end cartridge connected to a cheap phono stage using a cable extender

And it sounds absolutely sublime. Seriously.

[Shovel_Knight]

Had a proper armboard made for the Denon, also adjusted the arm's height and the position of the armlift - not a very easy job, the Mission is a very fiddly design. Oh, I also replaced the output wiring with a low capacitance microphone cable (Tasker C128).



Still using the old Ortofon VMS15XE cartridge and it sounds bloody marvelous. If I was forced to use just one turntable until the end of my life, I would be quite happy with this Denon. At least I can lift it without straining my back, unlike the SP10 / SME / Acoustand combo