My SL-QL1 @ Vantage Audio service

[chris@panteg]

Hi Jason

Well perhaps , when you get your SL7 back , maybe i could bring it over to your's ? or even a bake off with the QL1 .

Richard is very interested too as he doesn't have a Jico stylus as of yet .

Glad the herbie is hitting the spot its a fine mat , i did want to keep it but there is no need to change the QL1 mat , it just needs that crazy treatment which is still baffling me .

[audio39]

Hi Chris,

I've been following this thread with great interest...I have an old tangential tracking turntable manufactured by Sony. It presently has an Ortofon 2M Blue mounted on it, and most folks would be surprised at how competent a player it is.

I'm very glad your upgrades went well...I do think the day this player stops performing perfectly I will hand it over to someone to see what they can do with it. But at present it works like the day it was new.

Gotta love vinyl..well...LP's...I didn't mean anything else of course!!

[chris@panteg]

Hi

Looks a nice deck , i wonder if Adam has one of those in his vast collection .

Yes and part of the appeal of these decks for me (as well as sounding better than you expect) is the quirky fully automated Linear tracking arm , a slight drawback is your records need to be scrupilously clean and free of dust and fluff .

When i get the Jico stylus , i'm going to pitch it against my Timestep1210/309/D160 or hopefully a rebodied 103R , i expect it to lose of course but hoping its not disgraced.

Enjoy your sony , that Luxman of yours looks a bit tasty

[bubba45]

Hi Chris
How are you?
Still enjoying your QL1?
Apologies for the delayed reply - too busy reading posts, enjoying music and rearranging my lounge.
You're more than welcome to come down with your QL1 once my SL7 returns - I should have finished decorating and sorting out the seating / listening area in my lounge by then.
Richards taking a good long look at it before he gives me a quote and as I have 3 other working decks I can wait a while for him to finish it.
Have you seen he Digitrac carts on William Thakker? They look interesting for comparatively little cash.
By the way if possible as you've had both how would you characterise the difference between a Herbie's mat and an Achromat?
Jason

[chris@panteg]

A quick update while i'm waiting for the Jico stylus to arrive .

Also on order from LPgear is the hyper eliptical stylus they do for my P22 as a back up.

1st of all ,a top tip if you have one of these old P-mount carts is clean the pins with good old Isopropanol sounds better, much better for it .

The stylus i have at the moment is a 202CS and it actually cost £13 from Me and Lurch on ebay , a friendly lady and good seller to boot !

It sounds good , in fact damn good but struggles on well recorded piano like my copy of Jacintha ' Here's to Ben ' i'm thinking its the conical stylus tip ?

But when the Jico turn's up , that will go straight on the platter and see what happen's .

The AT3482 is now banished as a last resort cart ! it suffer's from poor tracking and a tonal balance which is bleached white to my ear's , yes its good value at around £16 or whatever it is now but i would urge anyone interested in one of these descks and P-mount carts to invest in a bit more , if you have an original Technics P-mount ' don't ditch it try either the Jico or the LP gear HE stylus , i actually think the latter maybe all i need to be honest

Very happy with the QL1 , Richard has done a fantastic job , i would urge anyone with an old DD turntable to investigate what he can do with it , even if its completely crocked , take a look at the LO7D's he has refurbed on his site .

More when the Jico arrives.

[chris@panteg]

Hi Chris
How are you?
Still enjoying your QL1?
Apologies for the delayed reply - too busy reading posts, enjoying music and rearranging my lounge.
You're more than welcome to come down with your QL1 once my SL7 returns - I should have finished decorating and sorting out the seating / listening area in my lounge by then.
Richards taking a good long look at it before he gives me a quote and as I have 3 other working decks I can wait a while for him to finish it.
Have you seen he Digitrac carts on William Thakker? They look interesting for comparatively little cash.
By the way if possible as you've had both how would you characterise the difference between a Herbie's mat and an Achromat?
Jason

Hi Jason

I'm fine and thanks for asking , yes that Digitrac does look interesting , i think Marco may have spotted it too ? not sure .

Achromat vs Herbie's , mmm to be honest i like em both , but there is a difference , to my ear's the Herbie's sounds a little laid back or reticent , but i think what cart your using with it may be crucial , like an AT OC9 for example may sound just right with the Herbie's , but i'm guessing to be honest , the Achromat seems to bring greater clarity and detail and perhaps is more forward but i prefer it ! .

Bass also seems tighter and a touch leaner , but also i had the plastic cover off with the Hebie's and now with the Achromat i prefer the cover back on ,don't know why but its staying on .

Would love to come up and listen to your SP10 and can certainly bring my QL1 , Richard told me you been through something like 40 TT's in recent times

[bubba45]

Hi Chris
Yeah probably about that many TT's to be honest. About 15 years ago I dropped all my LP's off at a local charity shop because CD was the way to go.......DOH!!!!!
Anyway about 6 years ago a friend who's a DJ convinced me to buy an old Rega Planar 3 with R200 arm and a few 2nd LP's thrown in for £50 and hey presto Bob's your uncle, Marco's your aunt and I've been through numerous TT's looking for the 'right one' for me. About 40 in that time is my last estimate.
I've done quite a few tweaks and restoration jobs in that time and managed to convert at least 2 sets of friends to slowly building up a small collection of LP's. I've loved most of the TT's I've had and would recommend most of them to folk depending on their budget, etc.
I am OK at swapping capacitors etc for simple decks like AC motor/ belt drives but the Technics DD's are an altogether different ball game.
I've learnt to rewire arms and can do a pretty good job - not J7 standard ofcourse - even though the job I did on my SL7 was a quick & dirty just to check all was working.
I THINK the SP10 is the one for me, but the Pink Triangle PT1's I owned were absolutely fabulous especially with either a Mission 774 Original or 774 SM arm. Just a lovely lovely sound. Gave me goosbumps at times listening to music on them. Very neutral & detailed but somehow a little light in PRaT to my ears. Still the best TT I've ever heard except the SP10 which does seem to have PRaT to spare.
You ever owned a PT? If not if you ever get the chance to own, borrow or just have a damn good listening session then take it.
I'd like to hear a well set up PT1 and an SP10 side by side as they are both miraculous sounding 'tables.
As SatanFriendly can probably testify I do get itchy feet with TT's so who knows I may change my mind agin in a while. I doubt it though.
I'm probably looking to get an Achromat then if it brings a bit more detail. The set up I have is not dull and muddied but a bit more detail is always welcome! I like laid back too. We shall see.
Jason

[chris@panteg]

Ahem Jason , the pink triangle decks could sound very good indeed , however i used to own one of these beautie's

[IMG][/IMG]

With this psu ,what a deck it was and why did i sell it on you may ask , because i convinced myself it was for the best a great deck and i miss it .


[IMG][/IMG]


and a rare and jolly nice pre amp from Doug Dunlop ,god bless him .

[IMG][/IMG]

[Tarzan]

l have an Achromat coming Thursday and can do a small review if anybody is interested

[bubba45]

Never heard a Voyd but they do get very good reviews by former and current owners. AND an SME arm? Which model was it? I like the SME 309 / 310.....One day I'll get one..... But not for a very very long time probably.
Richards been in touch and is going to work his ways on the electronics, and the bearing of my SL7.
Richard's going to adjust the circuitry to remove the AC circuit so it will only run on a DC adaptor which should improve the decks performance.
I'm also getting the capacitor pack put in and he'll tidy up my hastily put together external phono cable while he's at it too.
Looking forward to its return.
I tried the cone shaped sorbothane feet he sells. They work a treat on my SP10. Depending on the cost of the SL-7 I'll try a set on one of my SL1210's too.