GL 75....M/C cart ?
- Thread starter madmike
- Start date
Arkless Electronics
Trade: Amp design and repairs.
You can put one on most arms... Unless the arm/cartridge resonance comes out at a very bad frequency and peak level it's likely that "acceptable" results will be obtained from most MC's in most arms.... it's only when you get to hear the same cart in a more suitable arm that you realise there was more to come from the cart...
Lordhenley
pfm Member
A Denon dl 103 works fine
Helen Bach
if it ain't Baroque ...
mmm, but it's a bit like putting a V8 engine in a family car! The arm is poor, IMHO.
narabdela
who?
There are those who would argue that a properly fettled GL75 arm with a suitable cartridge, while hardly cutting edge, is a lot better than its reputation would suggest.
Dowser
Learning to bodge again..
There are also those who would say it is shite
I tried a DL110 with stock arm (modified with stiff counterweight decoupling and solid blocks admittedly, so not exactly stock), but it was complete pants...
Helen Bach
if it ain't Baroque ...
I believe, like most (if not all) facets of hifi, that it depends on one's wants/needs. I confess I want purity of sound, which is why I don't have Naim/Linn kit.
The Lenco arm (of which I have several lying in drawers) is not up to even an unfettled Rega 250. Fit a stainless steel stub and counterweight to a 250, and you leave the Lenco arm far far behind. So people who like the Lenco arm are probably into music that doesn't require much in the way of fidelity.
The Lenco arm (of which I have several lying in drawers) is not up to even an unfettled Rega 250. Fit a stainless steel stub and counterweight to a 250, and you leave the Lenco arm far far behind. So people who like the Lenco arm are probably into music that doesn't require much in the way of fidelity.
Orbe Chaser
pfm Member
I think if you want to put a decent cartridge on a Lenco the results would be a lot better with an arm upgrade. Several are offered on Lenco Heaven & are not expensive, I had one made by a guy called Brian on there for my GL75 & it lifted the performance by a big enough margin that I had a Sumiko Pearwood Celebration on it with great success. I now use it as a mono only deck with a Lyra Helikon mono MC, not cheap, & it sounds fantastic.
lencotweaker
Mostly dreaming of record players
The simplest thing to do with any GL75 is throw the tonearm away, mount the deck in a heavy solid plinth and drop a Linn Mount and geometry tonearm in.
Once the GL75 arm is removed you see a hole on the plinth of about 48mm diameter. The hole isn’t completely round so you have to take to the back of the hole to make it completely round but it only takes a few mins with a half round metal file. Offer up the Linn type arm collar and mark out the bolt holes, remove and then drill 3 holes in the plate. Mount the collar with the bolts and drop the arm in.
A Linn arm wants to be at 211mm spindle to pivot really but the GL75 arm is 210mm I think so there is a small degree of geometry compromise. You’ll find the cartridge once aligned, to say Baerwald, will sit ever so slightly askew in the headshell. It isn’t a problem in practice though.
Suitable and cheap arms are obviously Linn tonearms themselves or Linn pattern Jelco’s and their derivatives. I personally liked the Jelco’s a lot in this application. The Jelco SA-750D is perfect for the job but things like the SA-250ST ( and the Mission 774LC derivative) are cheaper alternatives. Avoid the SA-370H (and the Sumiko MMT, LAD and Nakamichi variants) though as they may have Linn mount arm collars but they need a different mounting distance (222mm).
I did one like this for a friend using a Russ Collinson plinth, a lick of paint and a Jelco 750D and it was positively singing with a Benz Ruby 2 and AT33EV on it.
Simple and effective way of getting much much more out of a Lenco 75.
(the SPU was just for show as you can’t achieve correct geometry since overhang is fixed)
Once the GL75 arm is removed you see a hole on the plinth of about 48mm diameter. The hole isn’t completely round so you have to take to the back of the hole to make it completely round but it only takes a few mins with a half round metal file. Offer up the Linn type arm collar and mark out the bolt holes, remove and then drill 3 holes in the plate. Mount the collar with the bolts and drop the arm in.
A Linn arm wants to be at 211mm spindle to pivot really but the GL75 arm is 210mm I think so there is a small degree of geometry compromise. You’ll find the cartridge once aligned, to say Baerwald, will sit ever so slightly askew in the headshell. It isn’t a problem in practice though.
Suitable and cheap arms are obviously Linn tonearms themselves or Linn pattern Jelco’s and their derivatives. I personally liked the Jelco’s a lot in this application. The Jelco SA-750D is perfect for the job but things like the SA-250ST ( and the Mission 774LC derivative) are cheaper alternatives. Avoid the SA-370H (and the Sumiko MMT, LAD and Nakamichi variants) though as they may have Linn mount arm collars but they need a different mounting distance (222mm).
I did one like this for a friend using a Russ Collinson plinth, a lick of paint and a Jelco 750D and it was positively singing with a Benz Ruby 2 and AT33EV on it.
Simple and effective way of getting much much more out of a Lenco 75.
(the SPU was just for show as you can’t achieve correct geometry since overhang is fixed)
madmike
I feel much better now, I really do...
Thank you lencotweaker for a comprehensive reply. I'm afraid that I want to keep my GL75 as original and not remove the arm. Maybe I will get one of the later "holey" headshells to improve the look a wee bit.
I need to try out an amp with an MC cart only input (Onix OA21) and the only spare deck I can bring to it is my GL75.
My other decks are TD125 and Transcriptors Hydraulic ref both with SME arms and removeable headshells. I know they could manage an MC cart no problem but I don't want to move them.
I need to try out an amp with an MC cart only input (Onix OA21) and the only spare deck I can bring to it is my GL75.
My other decks are TD125 and Transcriptors Hydraulic ref both with SME arms and removeable headshells. I know they could manage an MC cart no problem but I don't want to move them.
Helen Bach
if it ain't Baroque ...
you may get a reasonable sound from an MC cart and stock Lenco arm,enough to test a phono preamplifier, but no more. I can't agree that you could with an SME, they are far too light [akin to that V8 in a family car, it isn't going to work well].
Also, can't agree with Lencotweeker's assertion that the SA 370H doesn't fit into the Lenco top plate, I have one (LAD variety) with a slightly modified base, and it works without any top plate modification (save for rounding the hole). The LAD is clearly shorter that a Rega 250 (222mm mounting distance) so I don't understand his position. Neither would I advocate a 'heavy' plinth. Good damping, a little stiffness and a little mass will work much better, according to modern physics.
Also, can't agree with Lencotweeker's assertion that the SA 370H doesn't fit into the Lenco top plate, I have one (LAD variety) with a slightly modified base, and it works without any top plate modification (save for rounding the hole). The LAD is clearly shorter that a Rega 250 (222mm mounting distance) so I don't understand his position. Neither would I advocate a 'heavy' plinth. Good damping, a little stiffness and a little mass will work much better, according to modern physics.
lencotweaker
Mostly dreaming of record players
The LAD variety of Jelco isn’t a 370H then
Helen Bach
if it ain't Baroque ...
that would seem more plausible
wer
pfm Member
Another popular replacement arm is the Ortofon AS-212, which can be found on two Telefunken turntable models (S 500 and S 600), which even a couple of years ago could be found for little money. Most of them were cannibalised just for the arm. Using an asymmetricasl collar the arm will fit the L75 and L78 without any modification of the top plate. The arm lift is is not really usable, but a slightly modified Rega lift will do.
The biggest problem is the vertical bearing housing, which also holds the counterweight stub in place. Sadly they only aged moderately well, and on many of the arms the end stub has parted company with the rest of the arm. Fortunately this can be fixed with a new machined bearing housing (i must have done at least 20), and you end up with a high class arm that will be happy with most MC cartridges.
Hello Helen.
I seem to remember yours was akin to a "skeletal" Lenco when we were on the Crossover network, or that one was purely an experimental deck?
Horse-cart, cart-horse (pardon the very appropriate analogy/pun).
You are, effectively, looking to audition a phono-stage using a severely compromised input?
Interesting..............................
Tony L
Administrator
FWIW assuming it is working correctly with good bearings a Lenco arm should be a very good match with a DL-103. The mass is welcome and the 103 dates from the same era and to my ears doesn’t sound right in modern “rigid” arms. It certainly sounds better in an old SME 3012 or 3009 than a Zeta to my ears. In theory I’d expect it to work fairly well, though the Lenco arm bearings are the big issue here. The knife-edge v-blocks will obviously need replacing and chances are the largely exposed lateral ball races are gunged-up or even corroded.
Chops54
pfm Member
I had a DL103 installed in my GL75 before I gave it to my son. I did end up making a few mods to the arm to increase its eff mass. It did sound better with a bit more mass. As Tony says the bearings are the bigger problem. The arm is reasonably easy to take apart to clean the ball race bearings and better V blocks are available. I ended up extensively modifying my arm to take proper bearings in both planes and it still performs well in my son’s system.