Yeah, its a nice deck. I was lucky to buy just before this the little
vinyl
resurgence that seems to be happening. I didn't look much like the
picture
tho - the platter had a lot of strange looking growths around its edges
and
the whole deck looked as if it hadn't been used in decades. Bit o' white
spirit and brasso sorted that.
Yes, I'm partial to a drop of that myself - but what did you use to clean
the deck tho?
Nothing. It just seemed cleaner afterwards.
OK, I'd seriously think of getting the AT110E when funds allow then -
www.mantra-audio.co.uk will be your best bet here. Last I heard they were
£28 inc. everything.
Sounds like a bargain. I'll replace the phono stage first though.
[snip]
Next is azimuth - if the cart is squint (and you have no tonearm
adjustment)
you may have to pack one side of the cart with a sliver of paper
(between
cart and headshell) to get the needle perfectly upright. Fiddly but
important.
I have always thought of azimuth to mean horizantal rotation, bit from
your
contect I'm not so sure, I think you mean rotation about an axis along
the
tonearm?
Nope, I'm talking about the perpendicularity of the needle in respect to
the
central, horizontal axis of the cartridge body - which should be correct
if
the cart is properly aligned as per the protractor. What you describe is
(I
think) the Zenith. Ah, blx to it, just go and scrute
http://www.users.nac.net/markowitzgd...n.html#azimuth where all
will
be made crystal (heh heh!) clear...... ;-)
(Incorrect Azimuth can result in channel imbalance and loss of everything
-
detail, image, soundstage, tone, money, hair, limbs.....)
Right. I'll take a look at this later. Building site show no sign of
stopping tho.
OK
Now the needle should be about right. I'm assuming it's in good
condition,
otherwise replace it (naturally).
Seems ok on a visual inspection.
With a microscope? I use a fiddly little number called the Coltrane X50
(or
summat similar).
With one ef those little fold-up lens thingys for examining contact sheets.
It gives resonably decent magnification, although nothing like a microscope
could.
Next comes the records. Get 'em feckin' clean - ****e vinyl sounds
****e.
If
nothing else, use a barely damp cloth to scrub 'em up and a bone dry
one
(yellow dusters are good) to dry them off. Do this perfectly flat on a
table, forget any daft ideas about sinks and running water. If you can
get a
1:4 IPA to Distilled Water mix, this will be perfect. Use NO OTHER
concoction whatsoever.
To me IPA was always India Pale Ale, and none of these seem correct
http://www.acronymfinder.com/af-
query.asp?String=exact&Acronym=ipa&Find=Find I'm guessing the A is
alcohol.
OK, make me spell it out then! - Isopropanolalcohol (??)
Ok. I think I've got some somewhere. I've got plenty of the weaker sort
too.
Some of these records look like they could use a clean, I was playing
some
early björk stuff the other night and could clearly hear the dirty parts
on
the surface.
Bjork? Hah!
(Can't get my stickies on any Bjork for love nor money, atm!)
I mention one of my records somewhere else in this thread. Another
interesting record I have is 'The Eye' from 1984, and a few other mid-
eighties things (before she recorded as björk) click fro review
http://home1.swipnet.se/~w-10797/kukl/sounds3.htm
OK, sounds like it's a little gadget from an accessory manufacturer
called
B-Tech. Whilst possibly very good VFM, you only get what you pay for. Any
'upgrade in the Phono Stage dept. will pay dividends, I'm shure (another
one!)!
:-)
I agree. This'll most likely be the next thing to be replaced. The actual
amplifier bit is a KIA4558P, you can get them for $0.33!!
http://65.103.99.132/acatalog/Mat_El...558P_7897.html
Then again, I find a lot of decent transistor audio equipment use chips
that cost pence, it doesn't really say a great deal abaut their quality.
Thanks for all the advice!
You're very welcome (if any of it is useful) but, if you don't mind me
saying so, you are running on just about the lowest spec. available and
possibly not doing your deck much justice. At this level, I am not
surprised
to see elsewhere that you prefer digital music..... ;-)
Agreed. My current setup is strictly a provisional thing, I got the deck
because it was a bargain, and the rest of the bits to just get music out of
it in the meantime. I'm slowly working it up. I do sometimes get very good
results as it is, for some reson this tends to be at the last tracks of a
side, which is where I'd have guessed the lowest fidelity to be (fewer cm
of vinyl per second)
Do report any perceived improvements back - I would be interested to hear
about them.
Will do.
--
Jim H