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Jerry Cotton posted:That model of Stanton has a tonearm that is built for skip-resistance (for scratching), not sound quality or low record wear. (Or to put it bluntly: it sounds bad and wears down records.) Thanks man! I've emailed the seller, so I'll see what happens next. internetdrink posted:Dual from the seventies Oki doki
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Nov 1, 2011 13:52
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A friend of mine has an awesome, inexpensive, fully analog stereo setup going; we had a little listening party not long ago and I really enjoyed the sound of it. I've been a self-proclaimed audiophile for years but never gave serious thought to going with a tube amp because they seemed like voodoo magic. Since getting into vinyl not long ago, I figured it might be fun to try out a new branch of the audio world. That, and tube amps look loving cool. Does anyone have some good resources on general tube amplifier information? I was really hoping there'd be some info in one of the OPs of this forum but it doesn't appear there is (maybe we could get something added to the OP of this thread?). I'm looking for an entry-level preamp and amp but don't know the first thing about it.
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Nov 1, 2011 21:49
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So it turns out that the diamond tip had totally fallen off my needle! It was just as I thought. But I got a new one and everything is working a-ok. Thanks for the help, guys.
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Nov 2, 2011 03:54
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Tube amps tend to be anything but inexpensive. What kind of budget are you talking about? If I knew you to be handy with a soldering iron I'd tell you build one from scratch or buy a kit since it can end up being a bit cheaper and you learn something in the process. Hammond makes affordable transformers and chassis that can be turned into a working tube amp with a bit of metal work. Working on circuits that use 250-500 volts can be daunting at first but if you use proper precautions, it can be quite rewarding. A used Dynaco Stereo 70 that has been recently serviced and in working condition would be a good start if you're not into do-it-yourself projects. I started out a tube afficianado and ended up with a solid state rig. More often than not, I listen to music through headphones. Amps for heaphones are fun to build too and come in tubed, solid state and hybrid flavors as well. Edit: I liked tubes when listening to digital. It kind of took the edge off just a little bit and warmed up vocals nicely. Solid state sounds good with vinyl records to me. I built a fantastic opamp phono preamp based on Graham Slee's Genera. The clarity and quietness really brings out the details and solid state just has the bass extention I was missing with tubes. Tube amps and vinyl is just too much warmth for my taste. Tubes always introduce a bit of hum and shot or Johnson noise and that with the surface noise of vinyl kills too much low level detail to me. A solid state phono preamp into a tube amp wouldn't be too bad. Just remembered the classic Scott or Harman/Kardon receivers. One of those in working order would get you a tube preamp, radio and 15-24 watt amp all in one. An inoperable one would fall in the $200-400 range, a working competently serviced one probably $1k. The preamp and amp would be fairly easy to repair. The radio is a bit more work to repair and realign. FM realignment requires an oscilloscope to peak it out, AM just a simple volt ohm meter. Believe it or not, the old FM radios sound lush and really warm. Probably from their use of carbon composition resistors more than anything else. I've replaced a lot of drifted old carbon comp with modern metal film resistors. It takes away a lot of the warmth and exchanges it for clarity. For a first amp, I'd make a copy of something. AudioXpress has books and stuff of interest to the vacuum tube enthusiast. One of the early articles founder Edward T. Dell wrote for Stereophile was called The Brute. It was a copy of the Dynaco Stereo 70 using surplus military parts. Find a classic amp you like then Google DIY projects based on it. Start out on a low power project. EL-84 amps should be easy to build, 20 watts at most, and won't require massive or expensive transformers. I think the British hi-fi company Leak made an EL-84 based amp at one time. I'd find something that used a pair of EL-84s in a push-pull configuration and cathode biased using a large power resistor and putting out about 12-18 watts. As long as you got the right cathode resistor, you won't have to worry or mess with the bias. That sets the flow of electrons between the cathode and plate. Too much flow and the plates glow red, the coating on the cathode gets striped off and the wire control grids melt. Too little and it shuts down the flow of electrons and you got nothing. It has to be set at a happy medium between the two. Paperweight fucked around with this message at 15:04 on Nov 2, 2011 |
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Nov 2, 2011 06:35
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I'm definitely a do-it-yourself kind of person and I'm also fairly good with a soldering iron. If you've got some info on building your own tube amp, that would be great! I've heard of people doing this before and forgot to mention it in my previous post. How are the results compared to an equivalently priced amp? If I had a budget, I'd probably say anywhere from $200-400. Since you mentioned it, I've been eying a pair of AKG K702s but haven't had a great reason to buy a pair yet. And so, I'm not sure if it's possible, but if the tube amp had a headphone out as well, that would be most excellent. What made you switch to solid state? If/when I have a tube amp, I'll have two setups; one analog and one digital. Analog listening for my bedroom and the digital stuff will stay in the living room.
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Nov 2, 2011 07:32
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I've heard good things about Tube Magic's stuff. They look nice and aren't too expensive, which makes them great entry level stuff: http://www.mav-audio.com/base/product/tube_magic_a1 They have a DAC/headphone amp that you can pair with it: http://www.mav-audio.com/base/product/tube_magic_d1
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Nov 2, 2011 19:06
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Here's a related question: So I've got my Nak receiver running to some speakers via its onboard speaker-outs. I'd like to eventually hook a tube headphone amp to the receiver's pre-out (so that I can use it as a phono preamp in headphone mode). However, I'd still like to keep the speakers running directly out of the receiver. Can I do that or will the receiver automatically bypass to the amp if it's plugged in? There doesn't look like there's any way to select the pre-out or switch it on/off (you have to bridge the pre-in/out to get any sound out of the speakers. Could it switch automatically (I imagine not)? Right now, I'm imagining a setup where I'd have to constantly plug in/unplug poo poo from the back to get whatever output I want, which is hardly elegant or convenient.
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Nov 2, 2011 20:03
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So I've recently inherited a Yamaha p350 in decent condition and a couple milk crates full of vinyls from my parents, problem is I need a pre-amp to connect to my receiver. Is there any consensus on a decent preamp?
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Nov 2, 2011 21:02
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Electric Bugaloo posted:Here's a related question: If you use it as a tuner (i.e. use the pre-outs) it won't output any sound by any other means. That's why you don't get any sound when you take out the bridges. You could probably buy some sort of two-way switch that would connect between the pre-in/outs that would let you either bridge the connection (to use your speakers) or divert through the tube amp (to use headphones).
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Nov 2, 2011 21:12
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There's something about turning those knobs... Pioneer SX-580. I'm in love.
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Nov 3, 2011 01:57
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What would you guys recommend as far as cheap pre-amps go? I'm talking in the 50 dollar range, but I'm willing to go a bit higher if it's really worth it. If you can find it on Amazon, that's even better. Also, where the devil do I get a blank record to configure antiskate with?
Stunt_enby fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Nov 3, 2011 |
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Nov 3, 2011 02:10
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Brozekiel posted:You could probably buy some sort of two-way switch that would connect between the pre-in/outs that would let you either bridge the connection (to use your speakers) or divert through the tube amp (to use headphones). Something like this, then:  with "Output A" running back to the receiver and "B" to the amp. Hmm...apparently signal quality can degrade through one of these (probably just endemic to that specific switch- which looks super cheaply-put together), but I wonder how much of that is "audiophile" hogwash. It makes me wonder if the fact that I've been using a short RCA cable to bridge the in/out instead of the bridge pins (those were lost) has resulted in degraded audio quality too. And for everybody commenting on how to display their vinyl and suggesting $20 frames: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40126069/ There are 2 sizes and various colors. Just pop one of these on the wall above your setup, with maybe a large picture or framed poster above it, and you're set in a way that looks much better than those cramped-looking LP frames and for less money. If you're worried about warping any LPs or bending any sleeves that you might lean up there for a long time, you could easily cut a rectangle or some squares of foam board/cardboard/laminate to put behind them. Gonna crosspost this in the NMD vinyl thread because I'm so smart 
trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 03:24 on Nov 3, 2011 |
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Nov 3, 2011 03:21
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Electric Bugaloo posted:Something like this, then: Yup, you got the idea. As far as I'm concerned, so long as you've got a solid connection between the ins/outs, it is a bunch of hogwash. You could use a coathanger to bridge the connection and it would sound great. I'm sure someone on the internets would chide me for that but you've got to think -you're only as good as the crappiest piece of gear you've got hooked up. As long as the connections/wiring of that switch are as good or better than the internals of whatever gear you're using upstream of it, then it's irrelevant. Unless everything before your switch is super high-end, you probably don't have much to worry about. The main problem you might run into down the road is if the switch were to wear out a bit. That might cause the connection between the A/B channels to crackle or you might hear holes/distortions in certain frequencies of the music you play.
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Nov 3, 2011 05:24
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Stuntman posted:What would you guys recommend as far as cheap pre-amps go? I'm talking in the 50 dollar range, but I'm willing to go a bit higher if it's really worth it. If you can find it on Amazon, that's even better. Also, where the devil do I get a blank record to configure antiskate with? Consider the Gemini-PA7000. Decent specs, has XLR balanced pre-out along with two rca pre-outs, phono preamp, gets good reviews. I only wish it came with balanced inputs. It's over your budget, but I can't really think of anything much cheaper. Perhaps a little Behringer Xenyx mixer? The 502 there goes for under 40bux. No phono section of course with this route.
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Nov 4, 2011 05:53
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So I'm thinking it's time to upgrade to a better cartridge. Found this on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Shure-M97xE-High-Performance-Magnetic-Cartridge/dp/B00006I5SB/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321217537&sr=8-1 And someone else recommended this one http://www.amazon.com/Grado-Prestige-Black-Turntable-Cartridge/dp/B000G3FN26/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1321315371&sr=1-1 The prices are similar, although the Shure would seem to be the better cartridge based on reviews, but I figured I'd ask some of you folks what you would recommend. Whodat Smith-Jones fucked around with this message at 05:09 on Nov 15, 2011 |
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Nov 15, 2011 01:04
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Whodat Smith-Jones posted:So I'm thinking it's time to upgrade to a better cartridge. Found this on Amazon What kind of system are you going to put it on?
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Nov 15, 2011 14:47
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Jerry Cotton posted:What kind of system are you going to put it on? A Stanton t55 turntable, which I intend to upgrade in the next few months because I know it's not great, and an Onkyo preamp and amplifier from the 80s. I understand most of my equipment is pretty low end, so i'm trying to start the process of upgrading to mid level now that I've been using this stuff for almost a year.
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Nov 15, 2011 15:52
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Whodat Smith-Jones posted:A Stanton t55 turntable, which I intend to upgrade in the next few months because I know it's not great, and an Onkyo preamp and amplifier from the 80s. I understand most of my equipment is pretty low end, so i'm trying to start the process of upgrading to mid level now that I've been using this stuff for almost a year. I'm going to suggest a cheaper option than the M97Xe that might work a lot better on that system. Try an Audio-Technica AT95E or, even better, AT95HE, which should be about the same price as the Shure. What pick-up are you currently using? Upgrading the stylus for that might also make sense.
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Nov 15, 2011 18:45
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Jerry Cotton posted:I'm going to suggest a cheaper option than the M97Xe that might work a lot better on that system. Try an Audio-Technica AT95E or, even better, AT95HE, which should be about the same price as the Shure. Whatever lovely one came with the turntable. I think its a 500.v3.
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Nov 15, 2011 18:58
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Whodat Smith-Jones posted:Whatever lovely one came with the turntable. I think its a 500.v3. You could probably get an elliptical stylus for that (I'm not sure about the newer Stantons) but for the same price you should be able to get an AT95E. 3D Megadoodoo fucked around with this message at 19:34 on Nov 15, 2011 |
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Nov 15, 2011 19:29
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Jerry Cotton posted:You could probably get an elliptical stylus for that (I'm not sure about the newer Stantons) but for the same price you should be able to get an AT95E. Just out of curiosity, what makes the Audio-Technica so much better for this specific table? And this is probably a dumb question, but doesn't a stylus come with the cartridge?
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Nov 15, 2011 20:20
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Whodat Smith-Jones posted:Just out of curiosity, what makes the Audio-Technica so much better for this specific table? And this is probably a dumb question, but doesn't a stylus come with the cartridge? The Stanton has a middle- to heavy-weight tonearm (as most DJ decks do) which usually works best with a low-compliance cartridge. The Shure M97Xe is a high-compliance pick-up. There's math involved but I'm not going to try to explain something I hardly grasp myself. I'm not saying it can't or won't sound good - it's a very good all-rounder and it should definitely work on almost any kind of system - but at least on my Technics and Omnitronic the AT95E sounds noticeably better. I put my M97Xe on a Pioneer with a light carbonpolywhatever tonearm and it sounds better there. If you buy a cartridge, it comes with a stylus, of course, but the stylus assemblies are usually replaceable (not always but that's beside the point). I was just saying that a stylus with a better tip (elliptical or hyper-elliptical or what have you as opposed to the conical/spherical that it came with) might well improve sound quality on your current cart but it would probably not be a marked improvement compared to just throwing in a new AT95E, and might cost more.
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Nov 15, 2011 20:38
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The 500 family were decent carts, but at heart they are broadcast carts. Very forgiving on damaged records, but they smooth everything into oblivion.
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Nov 15, 2011 22:55
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Stanton D71EE is the current elliptical stylus for the Stanton 500 series. There used to also be the D50E. I used that one for a while, but it wasn't very good. Not sure if D71EE is better or not, but it certainly isn't very expensive.
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Nov 15, 2011 23:12
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I've been trying to clean my dust cover and it's just ridiculous! Just getting the drat thing clean without water marks all over is next to impossible and forget about polishing out scratches. It's amazing how they've combined brittle, impossible to clean, impractical to handle, scratches if you look at it the wrong way and impossible to polish into one ungodly piece of transparent something Tl;dr: Help, how do you clean and polish dust-covers? I've tried everything! It's on a JVC if that helps.
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Nov 16, 2011 20:08
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They make a plastic polish. Antique Electronic Supply carries the Novus line of polishes or at least that's where I discovered them when buying parts for vacuum tube projects. I recommend the step 2 and 3 in as big of bottles as they carry. I use it for everything. It cleans and polishes metal just as well as anything else. Edit: You could try car paste wax. It has a small bit of grit to it. It probably won't remove deep scratches but it will put a nice shine on it. Paperweight fucked around with this message at 23:19 on Nov 17, 2011 |
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Nov 17, 2011 23:17
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I've tried car wax on my dust covers (not paste though). It makes them look much better but does not take out the swirls. I've also tried some cheap headlight restorer wax, with the same effect.
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Nov 18, 2011 16:31
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So someone who lives kind of near me put up a Technics SL-QX300 for $15 dollars on Craigslist. There's no cartridge with it, and I don't know what kind of shape it's in. Looks alright in the picture. I'm thinking of getting a new cartridge anyway, so I don't care that it's missing one. I haven't been able to get much information on it from searching on Google, so I figured I'd ask around here in case anyone owns one or has any opinion on it. I know it's not terribly high end, but if it's at least a better option than the Stanton t55 USB I'm using now then I'll certainly look into picking it up.
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Nov 21, 2011 06:09
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Looks like you will need a p-mount cartridge for it, something like the M92E. Q means quartz locked, so you should be at a good speed when you turn the TT on. That's all I really know about it, good luck v  valg fucked around with this message at 17:53 on Nov 22, 2011 |
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Nov 21, 2011 14:35
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Whodat Smith-Jones posted:So someone who lives kind of near me put up a Technics SL-QX300 for $15 dollars on Craigslist. There's no cartridge with it, and I don't know what kind of shape it's in. Looks alright in the picture. I'm thinking of getting a new cartridge anyway, so I don't care that it's missing one. I haven't been able to get much information on it from searching on Google, so I figured I'd ask around here in case anyone owns one or has any opinion on it. I know it's not terribly high end, but if it's at least a better option than the Stanton t55 USB I'm using now then I'll certainly look into picking it up. I own this turntable and it's decent. As you said, it's not high end, but it's a good starter turntable for getting into better turntables. I haven't had any issues with mine and I bought it a couple years ago. In the end, it's pretty solid.
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Nov 23, 2011 03:55
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Seen this table posted a few times on Craigslist http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/ele/2724410509.html A guy I know was saying they might be asking a little too much for it, but I figured I'd ask around here to see if anyone has any opinions on it. I've seen the Project Debut III brought up a few times, but I was wondering if anyone had an opinion on the 1.2. I could probably get this thing for pretty cheap considering I'm planning on selling a couple things soon myself.
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Dec 1, 2011 18:07
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I'm not sure if this question goes here or not, but it's got to do with an old receiver so I'll throw it out there... When we moved into our house, we found that the previous owner left behind a receiver and cd player that were framed into a custom cabinet. Probably realized it wasn't worth the hassle to shimmy the things out of their spot (I've tried and it's a bitch). Anyway, I figured I'd see if I could get the receiver working...I don't have any speakers to test it with yet, but whenever I tune to FM radio and put my headphones in, and try to turn the volume up, the knob automatically turns itself back down to 0. Has anyone heard of something like this? Is this a case of something blown inside, and the knob is just doing preventative work to keep the thing from blowing up? Or might it be a case of the headphone out not working, and it's still trying to protect itself? Or, last idea, it has some sort of logic built in to not pump out audio unless there's speakers hooked up, and even with headphones plugged in it still won't let me turn it up because it thinks there's nothing connected? I don't even know if that technology existed/exists... The thing's probably 20-25 years old, but I just want a beater receiver to play music while I work in the garage, and it's worth troubleshooting this thing before I spend a couple bucks on something else.
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Dec 1, 2011 23:31
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What brand/model is it? Does the knob actually turn back to 0, like a motor moves it?
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Dec 1, 2011 23:42
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taqueso posted:What brand/model is it? Does the knob actually turn back to 0, like a motor moves it? It's a Technics SA-TX30. And yeah, definitely like a motor moves it. If I try to hold it in place, I get resistance from it wanting to turn down. I didn't know if this was a common thing that older receivers do when there's something amiss or if the receiver's just shot and the knob is its way of protecting itself.
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Dec 1, 2011 23:57
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I hadn't heard of it, but apparently that is the flagship receiver from Technics before they closed. It has Dolby prologic and video, seems pretty drat nice. I couldn't find a user manual for it, only a service manual. The service manual has schematics but basically no troubleshooting information. From what I read in various conversations I found through google, you should be able to run without speakers or headphones and adjust the volume like normal. Does it say "Overload" when the knob turns? e: I guess the TX-SA50 is flagship, but the 30 must be very similar.
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Dec 2, 2011 01:11
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taqueso posted:I hadn't heard of it, but apparently that is the flagship receiver from Technics before they closed. It has Dolby prologic and video, seems pretty drat nice. Yeah, my early research on it seemed to indicate it was pretty decent at one point, one reason why I'd like to do a little more digging on what's wrong with it before I chuck it/ebay it for parts. Nothing visually changes on the front when I turn it up, so I suppose it's not saying 'overload', so maybe that's a positive? A few minutes ago I remembered where my spare speakers were at - in the shed behind the Christmas decorations, which the wife & I are bringing into the house later tonight. Sounds like I have some testing to do.
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Dec 2, 2011 01:21
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Whodat Smith-Jones posted:Seen this table posted a few times on Craigslist Crap turntable for the price. That's a high price for that table and even at the normal price I'd go for something better.
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Dec 2, 2011 01:52
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This thread brings me many warm fuzzies. I'd like a price/reality check on a JVC R-S7. I have my dad's that I have had powered on for somewhere around 22 years (that is not a typo) and want a spare. I found one on local CL, but the guy's just now coming down to $130 after 4 months of not selling it at $150. I'm offering $80 cash at this point, but was wondering how high is reasonable on this before it's nostalgia talking. I'm sure I can find another, but ughhhhh I despise buying used electronics on eBay. Any thoughts on pricing?
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Dec 3, 2011 13:37
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Whodat Smith-Jones posted:So someone who lives kind of near me put up a Technics SL-QX300 for $15 dollars on Craigslist. There's no cartridge with it, and I don't know what kind of shape it's in. Looks alright in the picture. I'm thinking of getting a new cartridge anyway, so I don't care that it's missing one. I haven't been able to get much information on it from searching on Google, so I figured I'd ask around here in case anyone owns one or has any opinion on it. I know it's not terribly high end, but if it's at least a better option than the Stanton t55 USB I'm using now then I'll certainly look into picking it up. I own one as well. It was one of Technics' midrange P-mount/T4P turntables. It's fully auto, 33/45rpm, has a metal plinth, pitch control slider, quartz-locked direct drive. It's pretty decent for $15. Great p-mount cartridge/stylus options are pretty slim compared to normal 1/2" mount. I've found there's the highly regarded Jico Super Analog Stylus available for some of the old Technics p-mount cartridges (e.g. P23, P24, P30). http://stylus.export-japan.com/ Or you could find one of the silver-cased Audio Technica p-mount cartridges that will work with the AT440mla's microline stylus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdpnijov5r4 They're branded under a bunch of different model #s AT88E, AT98E, AT102ep, AT112ep, AT122ep, AT132ep, AT142LP, Realistic RX1500. This setup will require you to manually adjust the tracking weight using a scale. The AT440mla stylus housing is a little heavier than the originals, as it is thicker plastic, and also has a flip-down stylus guard. Although the P-mount spec has a fixed tracking weight of 1.25g, there's a thumbscrew on the back of the tonearm of the SL-QX300 to make adjustments Right Brigade fucked around with this message at 21:04 on Dec 3, 2011 |
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Dec 3, 2011 20:53
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Any reason not to get a Pro-ject Debut III for 180€? It's second-hand, but only used once. Also, can I plug it directly onto http://reviews.cnet.com/av-receivers/technics-sa-ax530-av/1707-6466_7-30100231.html or do I need an additional amp?
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Dec 4, 2011 02:39
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