Gromit's music centre...

[Gromit]

Hi Marco - John's been PM'd so I shall dutifully sit by the Mac awaiting his reply.

I'd be interested to hear the 103R in the Pioneer - of course one should remember the R has a different internal impedence (14 as opposed to the cooking 103's 40 ohms) which can throw up slightly different repsonse curves into the same phono stage/step-up. For the time being this standard one's sounding so very good I'm not overly worried. I'll be more tempted by the Pro when I fancy a change...or perhaps that SPU I always promised myself

I put the Lyra back in for a while this afternoon which was a worthwhile exercise - it is a better cartridge than the 103, but as a fellow 103R owning mate of mine said (who came from a £400 AN IQ3 after me going ga-ga over the Denons) 'who gives a stuff if the Denon's a little bit uncouth at times - it makes music so much fun I really don't give a toss'. Couldn't have put it better myself.

[Marco]

John's on-line now, Rich, so you should get a reply from him soon

Good point about the internal impedance. I can't say that I've noticed any issues in my system using either the Denon HA-500 head amp or the A23 step-up transformer, but I guess it could be different in other systems.

The Lyra is technically a better cartridge, but that doesn't necessarily make it musically superior, which as you've observed is all that matters. The fun factor you refer to is part of the magic of the 103 and IMO is completely missing from any modern cartridges I've heard.

An SPU would be a good move now you've got an arm with a detachable headshell. You'll need an extra-heavy c/w to balance it out, though, and a step-up transformer with sufficient gain to amplify the miniscule output. Fortunately help is at hand here:

http://www.joynetmall.com/shop/produ...767853ff5091f0

pricey, but I reckon it would be ideal with one of these babies into a quality valve MM stage:

http://www.coolgales.com/store/cart....ng=ortofon+spu

If you're gonna do it, do it right!

Like you, I will definitely treat myself to an SPU in due course. I have other audio priorities though at the moment.

Marco.

[Gromit]

John's on-line now, Rich, so you should get a reply from him soon

John's on the case

Nice thing about the PL71's counterweight is that it's already a 2-piece affair: There's about 16mm of spare room on the threaded section of the c/w which could be taken up with a pair of (or just a single) weights. Using these in various combinations would allow for lots of different cartridge options.

[Marco]

Sounds like a plan, Rich!

I love the arm on your deck. I'm considering buying one of the new Ortofon tonearms (shown below) to see whether this offers any increase in performance over my modified stock arm. There is always the question of "Does the Technics arm hold back the deck's performance?" But I would only use a tonearm with a detachable headshell so that I can fit an SPU or EMT XSD-15 at some point.

http://www.joynetmall.com/shop/produ...oducts_id=2382

It's an itch that I have to scratch sooner or later...

Btw, next time you buy a headshell to fit one of your many cartridges (hehe!) I thoroughly recommend that you invest in an LH-18:

http://www.audiocubes2.com/product/A...ead_Shell.html

Good though the Sumiko is, this is the finest detachable headshell money can buy. It not only looks superb but its construction guarantees improved sound quality. I know because I have both!

Marco.

[Gromit]

John sent me a couple of pics of the new counterweights yesterday - they look totally bloody gorgeous...





Also having the weight/spacer for the headshell - shame is I won't be able to use the Isolator if I use the h/s weight although I might just glue the weight to the top of the h/s for the time being, see how it goes.

All being well we should be up and at it by tomorrow.

[Marco]

Mmmm... Yum yum!

Nice one, Richard. We of course expect to see pics of the beauties in situ once they arrive and a description of their effect

Marco.

[Gromit]

It's all up and running...





I've just stuck the h/s weight in place for the moment but will have a go without the Isolator in a couple of days when things have settled in place. I first ran the c/w with one extra weight and no h/s weight - straight away bass hits harder and goes deeper. Better instrumental separation and clearer vocals. 'Funkier' too if that's the right word.

Thanks again John - from another seriously chuffed customer!!

[thrunobulaxx]

It's all up and running...





I've just stuck the h/s weight in place for the moment but will have a go without the Isolator in a couple of days when things have settled in place. I first ran the c/w with one extra weight and no h/s weight - straight away bass hits harder and goes deeper. Better instrumental separation and clearer vocals. 'Funkier' too if that's the right word.

Thanks again John - from another seriously chuffed customer!!

Nice to hear it panned out ok richard, i stuck a new plate without thread in the post tonight, sorry about the crossed wires.
Thats one of the nicest pioneer decks i have seen, there is a nice one here but i think it needs some pitch control repairs, nice if it can be sorted tho, if i were a in a position to sort out the speed control i would go for it.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MEWA:IT&ih=012

[Gromit]

Nice to hear it panned out ok richard, i stuck a new plate without thread in the post tonight, sorry about the crossed wires.
Thats one of the nicest pioneer decks i have seen, there is a nice one here but i think it needs some pitch control repairs, nice if it can be sorted tho, if i were a in a position to sort out the speed control i would go for it.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MEWA:IT&ih=012

Hi John - no apology needed.

I've reached a (tentative!) result with the h/s weight and the c/w: I've removed the Isolator as I can't use it with the headshell weight - the Iso's captive screws aren't long enough to accommodate the h/s weight and reach through the headshell itself. So...I'm using the h/s weight with the heavier of the 2 extra counterweights on t'other end.

I'm considering getting the Iso which has the longer reach screws fitted - they now do one in this configuration.

I've had my eye on the PLC-590 funnily enough - if someone could fix it it'd be a truly magnificent turntable. I just love the mechanical 'strobe meter'. Gorgeous.

In the meantime my trusty 71's going to keep me happy.

Still - a bit of big league Japanese direct drive porn never did anyone any harm...

[Marco]

Who stuck a poxy felt mat on it, though?

Those things might be ok for certain Scottish wobbly 'elastic band' decks, but not on a quality piece of engineering like that! I like the Pioneer, but for me it pales into mediocrity compared to the big EMT or Denon professional broadcast turntables. I prefer the wood on yours, too

I'm glad you're getting good results with Thruno's brass c/w, Rich. I told you it was a no-brainer, particularly with a 103 on the end. You should be getting bass to die for now!

John,

I think it's about time you put these weights into production as a commercial product and introduced them to the many on-line hi-fi accessories companies as a tested and approved (by enthusiasts) add-on for the SL-1200/1210. Perhaps hook up with J7 and use his site to advertise it? There's definitely a potential business opportunity here and the chance to make some reasonable cash, if you could keep up with the demand.

If you do it, though, don't forget who gave you the idea... I'll settle for a very reasonable 10% cut of all sales. People always say I'm a generous f*cker!



Marco.