The end of the (upgrade) road?

[Gazjam]

Unless the robot's been programmed with the personality of Rodney Dangerfield.

Hey… I get no respect

[CageyH]

The Primare is a great Pre,
Would expect it to add more 'meat to the bones' of the music over the Topping?

I found the Topping to be transparent, but slightly mechanical sounding with a feeling of the music being a good recording, rather than actual people playing instruments in front of you.

Particularly noticable with the more natural acoustic tracks.

Had the Primare phono stage and integrated in my Rack, build quality and looks are top notch.

Enjoy.
Its quality gear and will put more smiles on your face than a robot mower.

The Primare is more musical than the topping, for sure.
It also has better functionality, so what is there not to like?

The robot mower won't be fun, but it will save me two to three hours a week, so I can have more fun. 😉

[Gazjam]

All worked out best in the end!

Enjoy it when that happens

[CageyH]

My SL1200 has started to play up recently, and I noticed that the PCB is coloured around one of the transistor through heat. The issue is that the TT does not always start.
I think this is due to the age of the capacitors, so I have ordered a kit of the new electrolytic capacitors required to replace the old ones.
There are 21 capacitors to change.

I have also addressed another issue. When I fitted my external PSU, I bypassed the power switch. In hindsight, this was probably not the best move as the capacitors have probably suffered more than they needed to, being powered on 24/7. So I have just wired the power switch back in.

Hopefully the capacitors will arrive early next week, and I can begin the replacement campaign.

[Tim]

I'm revamping my 1988 SL-1210 at the moment Kevin and was thinking about replacing the caps too. At the moment they appear in good shape, so decided not too. I have however ordered a complete main board assembly from Japan, to have as a drop in replacement should disaster strike.
I'm just about to put a new transformer in as well.

Hope all goes well with the cap replacement

[CageyH]

A replacement board - that sounds expensive.
I have been looking today, but I am not sure I can find the exact one I need.

[Tim]

A replacement board - that sounds expensive.

It was a weekend deal with 10% off, they are about 130.00 at the moment with the power supply and bearing, but that goes up and down quite a bit.

Mind you I've never bought anything from Japan on eBay before, so it might turn out to be expensive!

[CageyH]

I saw one in the UK for £150, so without import tax it may work out cheaper?
The cheapest one I saw in France was €280. And it has some PCB tracks fixed with solder.

[Tim]

I'm not expecting to pay any import tax as it was either 118 or 115, can't remember exactly now. I have seen them as low as 90.00 in Japan, but it fluctuates depending on how many are on there.

My understanding, but I'm not sure, is that if it's for personal use and below 130.00 you don't pay anything. . . I guess I'll find out?

[CageyH]

Fingers crossed.