New Phonograph system ideas
Technics DD turntable - mk2 sl 1200 or 1600 or 1700
Denon DL-103R MC cartridge http://usa.denon.com/us/product/pages/productdetail.aspx?catid=accessories(denonna)&catalog=denonna_us&pid=dl103r(denonna) $250 http://www.newaudiounited.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=828
“Piccolo” MC Headamp ($149 box/2) http://www.hagtech.com/piccolo.html
“Bugle2” Phono $189 http://www.hagtech.com/bugle2.html
TASCAM US-366 4-In/6-Out or 6-In/4-Out USB Audio Interface http://tascam.com/product/us-366/
http://www.alesis.com/masterlink
OPAMP based phono preamp with accurate RIAA EQ. Posted by mwhouston (A) on November 22, 2013 at 16:05:51 http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/amp/messages/19/190400.html
Inspired by parts of a system by John Elison on AudioAsylum
New turntable. Technics sl-1600 Mk2 or Technics sl-1700 Mk2
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1284826376&read&keyw&zzblackbird+audio
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=300402
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/what-cartridge-for-technics-sl-1200mkii.142415/
http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/vt.mpl?f=vinyl&m=727493
texanater Audiophile Posts: 1189 Location: San Antonio, TX Joined: December 16, 2002
You do NOT need to further dampen the table. The table is waaaay over damped for use in clubs etc…
All you upgrade ideas are great except the isoplatmat and the stock feet. Get rid of the matt all together and use Olly’s cork/foam spot matts. Contact him via the website. He just gives them away, and as far as I can tell, really enjoys doing so. Just drop him a line with your address.
Second - get rid of the stock feet. Got to madisound and get some feet spikes. It’ll cost you less than $20. Make sure you get the right thread though. I think most use 6mm but mine is 1/4 20. go figure. Those two improvements alone will blow you away. I say forget trying to replace the tonearm, just rewire the stock one. This is the biggest single upgrade you can make in my opinion.
anumber1 Manufacturer Posts: 5834 Location: West Michigan Joined: June 4, 2001
The auxiliary counterweight is cheap ($7) and available from KAB.
I stuck a fender washer to my stock counterweight to get me going in the heat of the moment but installed the auxiliary weight about a week later when my order from KAB came in. Using the Technics auxiliary counterweight allows you to continue to use the Technics tone arm’s tracking force markings (which turn out to be surprisingly accurate in my experience).
The Sumiko HS-12 adds about 7 grams of mass over the stock Technics headshell and works great with the DL-103 on the Technics arm. Much better than using the stock Technics headshell! Save that stock one for running a MM cartridge.
Having interchangeable headshells and several spare cartridges all aligned and waiting is quite nice actually. I have three cartridges ready to play on my SL-1200 MkII, a Shure M97xE, an AT 140LC and the Denon DL-103 in a Sumiko HS-12 headshell.
It takes like five minutes to swap out a headshell and reset the tracking force, anti-skate and vertical tracking angle (I have the settings written down for each so my feeble mind can remember the optimal settings for each).
what
The Denon DL103R is a low-output moving coil type cartridge. It has .27mv output and an internal impedance of 14 ohms. The weight is 8.5 grams. It tracks at 2.4 - 2.8 grams. It has a spherical stylus with a surface hardness orientation toward the contact surfaces. The cantilever is double walled aluminum. The coils are wound of 99.9999%(6N) oxygen free copper. Compliance is 5 cu.
$400 at Amazon
$250 at http://www.newaudiounited.com/
MC Phono pre
Hagerman Bugle 2 http://www.hagtech.com/bugle2.html
http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?27458-Hagerman-Bugle-2 What attracted me to this phono preamp is the use of the LM4562 (an opamp I’ve been interested in for some time) and the very clever PSU to power everything.
RJM Audio Phonoclone 3 Dual-Mono MC Phono Stage with X-reg
http://herbiesaudiolab.net/ttmat.htm
K and K SUT
KAB Mods recommended
RE: Next upgrade? Posted by John Elison (A) on November 18, 2013 at 18:17:46 In Reply to: Next upgrade? posted by golgi on November 18, 2013 at 17:36:09:
I never heard my SL-1200 Mk2 without the Cardas rewire because I bought it from KAB with the mods already installed. I did however listen briefly without damping fluid in the KAB tonearm damper and when I added the fluid bass became tighter and clarity improved. Now, Kevin at KAB feels the Cardas rewire is the most significant upgrade ― I don’t know. I have always felt tonearm damping to be very important, too.
My SL-1200 is connected to a Bob’s Devices 1131 SUT into a Yaqin MS-22B phono stage and I am very impressed with the Yaqin tube phono stage. I don’t know that it would be any better sounding than your Cambridge 640P, but it’s the first inexpensive phono stage that I find enjoyable and very listenable.
Good luck, John Elison
LP cleaning
RE: “purpose designed cleaning brushes” Posted by JefferyK (A) on November 16, 2013 at 09:01:23 In Reply to: “purpose designed cleaning brushes” posted by Mike Porper on November 13, 2013 at 08:34:15:
I use a clothing lint brush, the kind you can get for a couple of bucks at just about any drug store: paddle shaped, fabric pad, plastic handle. The dye on the red ones can run if you use an cleaner with alcohol in it. If that’s a problem for you, look for a different color. I found a gray one at a Japanese “dollar” store for $1.50. Works perfectly.
RE: “purpose designed cleaning brushes” Posted by user510 (R) on November 14, 2013 at 15:02:24 In Reply to: “purpose designed cleaning brushes” posted by Mike Porper on November 13, 2013 at 08:34:15:
For the past several years I’ve been using the cleaning brushes offered by disc Doctor. I also use their cleaning solutions, fwiw. And I have learned to make efficient use of these. The Disc Doctor brushes have been copied by other companies. The Mo-Fi brush would be one example. And there may have been some litigation over that particular issue. Mo-Fi and Disc Doctor.
In any case, what makes the Disc Doctor brushes really work is the shape of the frame that holds the brush fabric. The fabric appears to be a dense velvet material. The frame is an extruded piece of hard rubber. When you buy a pair of brushes from Disc Doctor it will come with some extra velvet pads. These have a self adhesive backing. Any problem with the fabric, remove it and install a new piece.
The reason for two brushes is simple. One for detergent. The other for rinse. don’t mix these or you contaminate your rinse with more detergent. common sense alert.
Scrub with detergent and brush
Followed by a tap water rinse (how I use it) Yes, use running water to rinse the detergent from the record. Don’t soak the label while you’re at it.
The second brush / distilled water, (rinse). The process is to spread distilled water over the record, then sponge it up with the “rinse brush”. The distilled water is an important part of the process. It removes whatever impurities were left over from the tap water rinse.
And this would be my “kitchen sink method”. Although I haven’t yet mentioned that I use a spare turntable platter, with its rubber platter mat, placed on the kitchen counter top next to the sink. this is an important fixture for the process.
To buy the disc doctor brushes; these can be found at many audio retailers that sell his products, or you can buy directly from disc doctor. See link below.
http://www.mofi.com/product_p/mfslbrush.htm
MC cart
Denon 301II
safeandsoundcarandhomeaudio ebay store Safe & Sound Inc. is a DENON AUTHORIZED ON-LINE RETAILER.