|
BANME.sh posted:You may want to look at this guide This is perfect, thanks. One last question, how hard is it to swap out a cartridge? I've seen a few options with a new head shell already attached so you can just plug and play, but they run a lot more expensive
|
#
?
Jan 16, 2014 22:42
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 20, 2024 11:34 |
|
|
It's not hard, you just need a tiny screwdriver and patience. It can be annoying getting those tiny nuts to thread the tiny screw if you have large fingers.
|
|
#
?
Jan 16, 2014 22:55
|
|
|
The most annoying thing is dealing with those tiny wires. If they've been on your table for a long time then they're probably quite brittle and it's likely that you'll snap one of the ends by just looking at it funny. It's worth having a set of spares on hand (or just replacing the old ones outright, frankly). Also- make sure you use an alignment protractor to get the cartridge centered and aligned properly. Your records are gonna sound like rear end and the cantilever that connects the needle to the cartridge is gonna fail much much sooner if it isn't positioned properly.
|
|
#
?
Jan 16, 2014 23:47
|
|
|
I got my m97x back from Shure. They just sent me a new one, no questions asked, based on my channel imbalance complaints. The new one sounds great looks spot on according to my scope.. All this has got me thinking about buying a test album. Would it be overkill to use something like the "Hi-Fi News Test Record" with a modest Pro-Ject Debut III? The tinkerer in me is all over the idea.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2014 01:50
|
|
|
eddiewalker posted:All this has got me thinking about buying a test album. Would it be overkill to use something like the "Hi-Fi News Test Record" with a modest Pro-Ject Debut III? The tinkerer in me is all over the idea. Remember that all a turntable has to do is keep a record spinning at a proper and consistent speed and minimize the interference of vibrations from both the environment and its own mechanisms. That's it. Barring variations in its ability to perform those tasks (cost of drive motor and component materials/build quality) the bulk of a table's "sound quality" comes from the cartridge. Insofar as you'll be able to notice, your "modest" ProJect can be as fancy as you want it to be.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2014 02:09
|
|
|
What I meant was, this turntable with it's stock arm does have some limitations as far as adjustability. Only three detents for anti-skate for example.
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2014 02:25
|
|
|
ryangs posted:That's what I figured, with the springs, but they're SO RIDICULOUSLY BOUNCY that the platter shakes all over the place if someone so much as walks past. That's why I'm thinking the springs have gotten too soft. The turntable springs are doing what they are supposed to, but your floor has too much give and spring. The best way to fix this (besides re-engineering your home) is to make the table/shelf/cabinet your turntable is on more stable and less likely to shake. Some people put weights in their turntable, some weight their shelves, or set their turntable on a thick marble/granite slab with its own suspension to try and eliminate bounce and vibrations. Describe the floor and the stand that your turntable is on so I can get a better idea of the situation. Can you stand a pencil/pen/nickel on end and walk by without it falling over? How far away do you have to be? (while walking normally).
|
|
#
?
Jan 17, 2014 19:10
|
|
|
A wall shelf is the easiest way of accomplishing total isolation from floor vibration.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2014 00:32
|
|
|
I have to admit, I am not a big fan of suspended turntables myself. I have a Thorens TD-160 and it's a major pain in the rear end to adjust the suspension just right.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2014 07:10
|
|
|
The key is motor isolation. There are some older suspension turntables like Garrards that although were originally designed to be a suspended chassis, are perfectly capable of performing normally fixed to a plinth, provided the motor is also suspended from the chassis.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2014 07:37
|
|
|
I am downsizing my collection of restored pieces, so I am taking decent photos of everything before I list them for sale. This time, a Harman Kardon 630 I used to own and use a 430 for a while, it was my prized piece. This one, I believe is an earlier model despite being a higher number. Interestingly, it matches the HK 930 design perfectly (knobs and tuner dial specifically). I think the 630 and 930 were a pair of earlier models, and the 430 and 730 were a pair that came after.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2014 07:45
|
|
|
Oh drat, please let me know when you're selling things.
|
|
#
?
Jan 18, 2014 19:55
|
|
|
Ghostnuke posted:Oh drat, please let me know when you're selling things. The HK630 sold within half an hour of listing it on Kijiji (I guess I didn't price it high enough). I still have th Nikko up there.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2014 05:27
|
|
|
Pretty good weekend with the thrift stores. Found a Sansui G-7500 and a Kenwood KR-4600. Kenwood worked fine out of the gates. Sansui needed a good input selector cleaning but still having issues with the Phono inputs, all other functions/inputs work fine. Sound comes in only on the left channel then slowly fades to nothing on both phono 1 and 2. So might rebuild the phono stage on the sansui, never done something like that before so should be interesting.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2014 05:59
|
|
|
drat To those that find these amazing deals at thrift stores, do you guys live in large urban areas? What kind of neighbourhoods are these thrift stores in? I've been searching thrift stores for literally years and have never come across anything remotely valuable. There was a year when I would go on a thrift store circuit around the whole city, maybe once every 3-4 days. Founds some decent records, but never any gear worth taking home.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2014 06:05
|
|
|
I live in a city that has a lot of retired military, along with the next two towns to the east. The town to the east has a lot of Air force guys, so you can find euro spec'd gear over there, that is how I got my Sansui G771. I live in Pensacola, Fl, we aren't a large city but for some reason we can support six record stores and still have plenty of stuff being found at thrifts and garage sales.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2014 06:56
|
|
|
BANME.sh posted:The HK630 sold within half an hour of listing it on Kijiji (I guess I didn't price it high enough). I still have th Nikko up there. You're in Canada, right? (so shipping would probably kill it) But what are you asking for it?
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2014 18:31
|
|
|
Despite being in this hobby for two years, I figure it's time to get some "stupid newbie" questions out of the way: So I've got 3.5mm (headphone) to RCA cables connected to the Aux inputs on both of my old receivers for connecting iPhones and laptops and whatnot. First, I'm wondering if the double amping that results from this sort of setup can damage the receivers or speakers at all. It doesn't sound "bad" or anything but I can't imagine that driving the gain up like that can be beneficial. Second- my roommate has the habit of unplugging/plugging stuff in while the receiver is turned on and current is running through the line. Usually the speakers will crackle and pop a bit as he does this- sometimes loudly if the volume is turned up. Is this at all dangerous? Can something blow out or short? What about leaving the naked connector (sometimes he forgets to turn poo poo off when he's done using it) exposed? I'm in the process of getting some DACs and Airport Expresses so it probably won't be an issue in a few weeks, but I'm really curious.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2014 21:04
|
|
|
1) it's less noisy if you use a line out but it's not a huge deal 2) you can screw up the speakers like that if the volume is high enough
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2014 21:17
|
|
|
A friend's birthday is coming up and she is very in to vinyl but her crappy turntable with built in speakers just died. If I wanted to get her a receiver/turntable/speaker setup for just records and iPods, should I just grab a working pioneer sx off of craigslist, get the turntable and speakers in the op and call it good? I'm in Portland OR if that matters.
|
|
#
?
Jan 19, 2014 23:50
|
|
|
Basically. She must be a really good friend tho, because that's still hundreds of dollars. What Pioneer SX is it, by any chance? Edit: also that OP is loving ancient. At least 60% of the "new" stuff is either no longer on the market or has way more interesting competition at this point. In any case, I wouldn't get a new turntable for anybody that wasn't at least at the AT-LP120 level ($200-$250). Anything cheaper and you're basically looking at stuff that isn't for the "long term" user and comes with poo poo like proprietary cartridges and/or fixed tonearms. It'd basically be like buying your friend another POS Crosley. Fortunately, a good vintage table in solid shape shouldn't run more than $100 (and I'd look more for $40-$60) if you aren't looking for some holy grail model. Honestly, I'd just go full vintage- but that can be a bit daunting for speakers if you're not versed. But then that's what God made the internet for... trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 00:48 on Jan 20, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jan 20, 2014 00:33
|
|
|
Electric Bugaloo posted:Basically. She must be a really good friend tho, because that's still hundreds of dollars. Thanks! It's this listing: http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/ele/4290851319.html . Does that look OK? I figured it wouldn't be cheap.
|
|
#
?
Jan 20, 2014 00:47
|
|
|
SteveMcQueen posted:Thanks! It's this listing: http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/ele/4290851319.html . Does that look OK? That's overpriced. I picked up a 30 Watt SX-690 in 9/10 shape for less than that last week. Edit: Pioneers are kind of the go-to "gold standard" for reasonably attainable gear, so you're probably not gonna find a decent price on one, like, ever. If I were you, I'd keep an eye out for any of the other major brands. The price/performance ratio will be much more in your favor. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 00:52 on Jan 20, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jan 20, 2014 00:49
|
|
|
Electric Bugaloo posted:That's overpriced. I picked up a 30 Watt SX-690 in 9/10 shape for less than that last week. Thank you - just perusing this thread, it looks like other common names are Harmon Kardon, Kenwood, Sansui, and Yamaha? Any other names or models I should look for? [Edit] what about this one http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/ele/4260928806.html ? SteveMcQueen fucked around with this message at 01:45 on Jan 20, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jan 20, 2014 01:12
|
|
|
SteveMcQueen posted:
Are you trying to sleep with this friend? That's the impression you're giving.
|
|
#
?
Jan 20, 2014 08:14
|
|
|
SteveMcQueen posted:Thank you - just perusing this thread, it looks like other common names are Harmon Kardon, Kenwood, Sansui, and Yamaha? Any other names or models I should look for? This Pioneer A-7 integrated and Sharp tuner look like a decent deal. http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/ele/4291799018.html
|
|
#
?
Jan 20, 2014 17:49
|
|
|
Retarded Pimp posted:This Pioneer A-7 integrated and Sharp tuner look like a decent deal. Thanks! I was kind of hoping for something integrated - save on space and all that. I'll keep looking. I'm actually related to this person but in a round about way so I don't think she'll get that kind of impression.
|
|
#
?
Jan 20, 2014 19:39
|
|
|
If you were going to spend a few hundred on a receiver, would you buy something vintage or used modern? I'm looking at a Marantz 22xx at the moment, but I'm conflicted. I was originally looking at exclusively modern receivers, but I also want an FM tuner, which sent me down the vintage road (again).
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2014 16:57
|
|
|
1.) Can anybody identify this cartridge? 2.) The stylus should be straight in line with the little white line on the front of the cartridge, right? 
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2014 19:00
|
|
|
If you remove it from the headshell, it might have the model number on the other side. And yes, the cantilever should be straight.
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2014 19:04
|
|
|
slothzilla posted:If you were going to spend a few hundred on a receiver, would you buy something vintage or used modern? I'm looking at a Marantz 22xx at the moment, but I'm conflicted. If you don't think you'll ever want or need to run your TV through the system, you'll probably get a little more bang for your buck with older solid state. Some of the prices are a little crazy out there, especially for in demand brands like Marantz, and obviously newer receivers have a half dozen inputs, HDMI, etc.
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2014 19:08
|
|
|
BANME.sh posted:If you remove it from the headshell, it might have the model number on the other side. Thanks. What's a good record cleaning fluid? I'm almost out of D4. I'd like to continue to use my D4 brush. Reviews say that the current D4 fluid formula is bad stuff.
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2014 19:12
|
|
|
HenryJLittlefinger posted:Thanks. Dishwashing liquid and water.
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2014 19:13
|
|
|
Like regular old green Palmolive? What dilution?
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2014 19:16
|
|
|
HenryJLittlefinger posted:Like regular old green Palmolive? What dilution? Mild.
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2014 19:19
|
|
|
I just wash dirty records in the sink like any old dish and dry the label really fast. Most of the time the label looks exactly the same after.
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2014 19:21
|
|
|
BigFactory posted:I just wash dirty records in the sink like any old dish I hope that doesn't mean you use a brush  (I realize that a lot of heathen shithole hell cultures don't use brushes to clean dishes anyway but you never know.) Also, in case anyone is wary of this method: if you have any second-hand records from before the mid-nineties, previous owners have probably already done this to them many times.
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2014 19:24
|
|
|
I like to use 50/50 mixture of distilled water and as high purity isopropyl alcohol you can find (99% would be great). Then 1 or 2 drops of dishwashing liquid.
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2014 19:24
|
|
|
Jerry Cotton posted:I hope that doesn't mean you use a brush Nah, just a sponge.
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2014 19:25
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 20, 2024 11:34 |
|
|
BigFactory posted:Nah, just a sponge. Well that's both good and bad to hear. Good in that a sponge is great for cleaning records. Bad in that it's poo poo for cleaning dishes.
|
|
#
?
Jan 21, 2014 19:28
|
|