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Back In Love With Vinyl

Paul3

pfm Member
After several years in the Wilderness, I love my Vinyl Collection again.

I've been heavily into Computer Audio, namely MacMini/SSD/Amarra/Young DAC, into an improving amplifier, 32.5/HiCap/250 to B4/HackerNAP into late Briks. ( VAST improvement - Many Thanks Hacker and PD )

My LP12 just could not 'hack it' even after new springs, grommets, belt and re-setup at the SO in York, and the fitting of a PreFix.

Then came the revelation from Nic Robinson, here on pfm, about his journey from 'LP12 to Über Lenco' (check out his thread)

I set about following in his footsteps, bought a Goldring Lenco 75 for peanuts, a piece of scrap Snooker Table, fixed up my Ekos /Troika and in the process released new music from my old medium, vinyl.
It's like a complete new collection. I cannot stop playing my records.

THANK YOU VERY, VERY, VERY MUCH Nic

ps, Anyone want an LP12? ( no arm/cart.)
 
Hello Paul,

Glad you have found vinyl again.

For me it never really went away, I just got used to the ease of CD's to bother with the LP12. Then for a couple of reasons I found it again and now I have doubled my record collection in 3 years!

Have a great time listening to your new collection, all the best for 2012.

Cheers

John
 
Been there done that a with Lenco GL75 re-plinthed.
Transferred the Ittok/Troika from my LP12 on to it, yep its ok but something missing.
Put the arm/cartridge back on the LP12 and I am happy again.
 
Hi John
It's shocking how much better the 40 year old Goldring Lenco motor / platter / bearing is than the LP12.
My advice to everybody is 'give it a go', especially you DIY guys.

Have a great New Year Everybody

Paul
 
Vinyl sounds better in my system but I still use CD most of the time. The ease of use and availability of cheap music trumps that last ounce of sound quality.

Incidentally, I reckon that a high percentage of the LP12 bearings out there are knackered. I also think that's why the cirkus was seen as a huge improvement, because for many buyers it replaced a worn bearing.
 
Vinyl sounds better in my system but I still use CD most of the time. The ease of use and availability of cheap music trumps that last ounce of sound quality.

Incidentally, I reckon that a high percentage of the LP12 bearings out there are knackered. I also think that's why the cirkus was seen as a huge improvement, because for many buyers it replaced a worn bearing.

You can't get more convenient than C A, but my vinyl sounds so much better at the mo', I can't listen to my CA.

I bet a Lenco plus a bit of slate costs less than a Cirkus, and you don't have to be careful when walking near the tt, or lifting / lowering the arm. My tt had been passed as 'sounding right' for it's level. Plus there are more gains to be made, better bearing/housing, isolation... all DIY.

Happy New Year
Paul
 
My LP12 just could not 'hack it' even after new springs, grommets, belt and re-setup at the SO in York, and the fitting of a PreFix.
Sounds like you've got a Friday afternoon Linn, if it can't compete with computer audio.

James
 
Chaps

For me the CD player is the norm but my real love affair is with vinyl. Trad jazz in particular just seems so right on vinyl whilst on CD, it just isn't quite right.

Also I think some of us like the poncing around bit of it. Pulling the record out of the sleeve, dusting it down etc etc. You even have to be carefull when you drop the needle onto the record.

The one thing I cannot understand is the longevity of the needle. I bought my Dynavector in 2007 and it is still going strong. I usually spend about 180 days at home and I probably play 3 LPs a day and yet it never wears out.

The only downside to vinyl is the amount of space they take up.

Regards

Mick
 
If we put 'convenience' before quality are we genuine enthusiasts...or simply music lovers? Nothing wrong with either type, but they are not the same.
Me....I won't accept the poor quality of cds in my hi fi system, I just get a bit bored with the 'sameness' of the music. So, Vinyl every time. I prefer the big sleeve covers and the feel too, and the ritual. Silly? Maybe, but why can't we be silly occasionally in our lives.
As for the Lenco v Linn. Pass on that one!
 
CDs shouldn't sound poor. Sure, vinyl has that organic feel that's tricky to match with CD but you can get close enough and when listening at a fairly low volume there's nothing in it.

Sounds like you've got a Friday afternoon Linn

Yeah, something not right. My bet is that the bearing is shot but it's also a mistake to assume that because a shop has set up your deck that it'll be right. I learned to set up my own turntable because shops had mucked it up so many times.
 
Paul,

Great news! Did you get a PTP or are you using the stock plinth?

I really don’t know about this “Friday afternoon” deck/bearing bit. My own LP12 went through some very capable hands and the best it ever sounded was far inferior to the way my Lenco now sounds to my ears. I listen to vinyl exclusively now (mainly classical) and there’s something about its immediacy which makes me just want to listen more and more.

My own LP12 was comparatively lowly, however, and some of the recent upgrades would have improved it hugely, no doubt. In fact I had an offer to boost my LP12 very much more cheaply than would be the norm by a Gent here on PFM who I count as a friend and admire enormously.

That said, I really am glad to be shot of the LP12’s tyranny. Should I upgrade the bearing, motor, plinth, sub-chassis, top plate, power supply blah blah…..? IMO it was just a potential money pit. It also (apparently) worked best with £100 of pixie dust blown over it annually.

Trouble is that I don’t have much disposable income as a provincial schoolteacher with 4 kids and a mortgage. Once I had purchased my first Lenco and lashed up the Ittok into it (which was easy), I knew the deck was already competing with the LP12 and it was economically a no-brainer to move forward with the Lenco on the basis that the initial lash-up was the worst it could ever sound. That was about £40 (the cost of the Lenco). Now look what the proceeds of the sale of my LP12/Lingo 1 bought me:

Donor Lenco L78
3 more heavy platter Lencos including a mint L70 for future use maybe
New better spec. Lenco bearing by Jolyon DeFossard
Slate cutting
Midas body for my DL-103
PTP top plate
Tools
…and what was left over went half way towards something special from ESCo to come in the New Year

And believe me, the Lenco just got better and better. By the way, the single biggest improvement by a wide margin was replacing the top plate with PTP on slate. Stunning.

Do give it a try if you’re minded to. As you can see from the above it mightn’t suit everyone. To be frank, there are a few things about the stock Lencos which need addressing to get them to sound really good. These are very well documented elsewhere. The Lenco is a real Curate’s Egg of a deck and in stock form doesn’t cut it for me. However, some of its most important components were seriously over-engineered and can form the basis of something truly remarkable.

Best wishes to everyone for 2012.

Nic.
 
My own LP12 went through some very capable hands and the best it ever sounded was far inferior to the way my Lenco now sounds to my ears.

Sure, but it should beat computer audio, that was my point. The Lenco might well be better, I don't know. I don't think I've ever heard one.

The LP12 that my son uses is my original one. I never got that deck to sound as nice as the other LP12s I've had. I don't know what the story is with it, just doesn't want to sound right.

I'm sure there are lots of turntables out there that can sound better than the Linn, even on a good day.
 
Sounds like you've got a Friday afternoon Linn, if it can't compete with computer audio.

James

OR My C A is better than you have heard??? I've been amazed by how much detail there is lurking on a CD, that I have never heard until accurately ripped and replayed from an SSD in a MAC through a very good DAC. But I've also got some downloads with many times the resolution of a CD.

Paul
 
By the way, the single biggest improvement by a wide margin was replacing the top plate with PTP on slate. Stunning.

Do give it a try if you’re minded to.

This is what I did Nic, a PTP5 on slate as you did.
6559983947_4cfaa4be55.jpg
[/url]
Slate GL75 by paul31154, on Flickr[/img]



I posted a picture of mine on your other thread.

I don't think that I will ever get mine looking as good as yours, it sounds too good to strip down. I may try the uprated bearing though. Did that make a lot of difference? Mind, for the price, it's a cheap upgrade anyway.

All the best
Paul
 
Paul,

Sorry I've not looked at the thread for a couple of weeks. Your deck looks great anyway! Wish I had an Ekos! I think the bearing was a worthwhile upgrade. Better detail and focus but no loss of what I loked about the sound. I must get round to a proper comparison with a stock bearing at some stage with needle-drops.

Cheers,

Nic.
 


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