turntable help

hey this worked out! getting the cartridge on the headshell and attaching all the little wires was still too fiddly but i did it. also solved a mysterious hum by ... reattaching the turntable ground wire lol. sounds pretty good now! i guess this means we can keep using the amp i bought at a thrift store for $20 about two decades ago

Aside from capacitors drying out, good 70s solid state gear is essentially permanent.
https://i.imgur.com/UKynICv.jpg

Vinyl is such a pita

yeh! after a lot of research and buyer's luck (albeit on a minuscule budget) I finally have a system that CAN make a well-pressed record sound about as good as a well-mastered CD

I mean I get that all the mucking around is part of the "fun" of vinyl but there are plenty of frustrations

I'm thinking about upgrading before the end of the year and I'm batting about the U-Turn Orbit and the Pro-Ject T1. As much as I love fully auto or even semi auto turntables, I don't think going full manual would be too much of a drag, and I like the low profile appearance both of these tables offer. Anybody here have a preference between them? I rarely ever play anything on 45, so moving the belt between gears isn't really an issue.

Is a fully manual tt more annoying in reality than it is in my imagination?

once you are at peace with knowing you will eventually wander off/fall asleep and leave the needle riding the runout groove for 6-10 hours, it's fine

Depends where the motor is. If it's in the chassis and you actually have to lift the platter off the spindle every time you want to change speed - that can get annoying. If it's outside the platter and it's just a case of nudging the belt up or down - no problem at all. Looks like the Pro-Ject T1 is the former, and the U-Turn Orbit is the latter. But I do like Pro-Ject stuff. I've had a Debut Carbon for the last five years and no complaints. I don't think U-Turn is available over here.

xp - oh yeah, the lack of auto-return; well, I haven't had that since my Ariston in the early '90s. If you want to listen to an LP, stay awake, stay in the room :)

What's the real benefit to an acrylic platter, btw? I've already got an acrylic slipmat, so a platter might be overkill (though the T1 has a glass platter, so I don't know what I'd do in that situation).

I've been using an MCS 6502, which is really a rebranded Technics SL-23, and it's been good to me, but it's starting to have speed issues and I've fiddled with every remedy I can find short of replacing the motor. Also it's limited to the AT71 cartridge and nothing else because the headshell/cart combo isn't removable, so I'd like to have more options in that department as well.

I think it's just heavier, denser, less speed fluctuations and less resonant. Whether you can hear any difference vs MDF is another matter. Back in '97 a physics postdoc pal of mine, who had access to a nice precision lathe and the raw materials, made a very heavy polycarbonate platter for his turntable. I got his "pre-production" effort to put on my Systemdek. Yeah, it was great, but I changed the tonearm and cart at the same time, so I'll never know whether the platter made a difference (and I had to shim-up the tonearm base to match, so I couldn't really go back).

I’ve got a project carbon and I get motor gum from it. Apparently it’s an issue with my model. I’ve since bought a used Thorens that was cheaper and waaaay better. If you’ve got a good local shop, a used turntable is the way to go.

Motor HUM.

But motor gum sounds kind of cool.

Oh yeah, there's motor hum with my Carbon too - getting worse towards the end of each side? Or maybe it just manifests itself after 20min+ of use. Anyway, at the levels I listen at (rarely headphones with vinyl), it's only noticeable between tracks. I see there are a few tweaks out there to remedy it; either to do with the transport screws (pretty sure I removed those) or damping the screws around the motor base. It's not as annoying as the anti-skating weight slipping off the notch on the counterweight, which it seems to do every time I go to use it.

My Carbon has that hum too. Not a huge deal, but noticeable if you pay attention to it. Pretty much a non-issue once the record starts playing, at any volume. I've also had an issue with the dust cover, stopped staying open on its own after a while, and became increasingly hard to open past 45 degrees. Wound up replacing it with a cloth dust cover.

Yes, same here with the bloody dust cover!

It’s amazing what you’ll happily put up with as Good Enough once you’ve surrendered your audiophile credentials. (It does sound smoother than my old forensic Michell though. Honestly.)

interesting, these sound like real flaws! i'm surprised it hasn't hurt the brand more.

I've got a Linn LP12 but it's currently out of action because there is a loose connection in the wires connecting the cartridge to the tonearm. I think I'm going to have to take it to a shop because I have no idea how to fix this or even where to get replacement wires from. this is probably going to cost a lot of money isn't it?

These are the short headshell leads? You can buy some for $10 on amazon. Take a picture of the current connections and match it. You might have to realign the cartridge after if you move it.

might also be able to squeeze the loose connector with some tweezers before slipping it back on

My wife just picked up a Pioneer PL400 off the curb in our neighborhood and it needs a new stylus. Is there a good online store for replacement parts like this or should I just get an entire new cartridge?

Woah, they look beautiful. I got a bargain PL12D earlier this year and I just love it. Pioneer for the win.

xp you might try turntablelab.com or lpgear.com

maybe worth seeing if a local retailer is a pfanstiehl dealer, which in my experience is a great deal cheaper

depending on the cartridge it might be easier just to buy a brand new entry-level headshell / cartridge combo, in which case you could just plug it in / screw it on and go

thanks, found one on lpgear that looked nice enough.

Reviews on the pfanstiehl stuff are mixed. My experiences with Tonar have been uh not good. Jico, however, has come through for me in a big way, and I’m glad to buy styli from them for any carts I can’t find OEM styli for.

finally replaced the headshell on my table and holy shit I can't believe how much better everything sounds now

headshell and cartridge?

yeah both. I had one that I used for a year, bought cheap cuz my kids broke 2 already. but now that they finally understand that ONLY DADDY TOUCHES THE NEEDLE I don't have that problem anymore. another thing I'm curious about is which setting to use on my receiver. I can't use PHONO because my turntable has an amp so it sounds like blown out garbage. AUX is pretty good, but it can't handle noisier records well (such as Dan Deacon's Bromst). I have it set to TAPE MON now and it sounds pretty good. idk if that's ideal though.

I think AUX and TAPE MON are likely the same in terms of level

I've been A/B testing them and in most instances they're the same but AUX seems to flatten the noisier/busier sections. I think there might be some built-in volume adjustment there, with AUX it seems to like to crank up any quiet bits to the point where they're louder than the parts that are supposed to be loud (for example Faust's "Just a Second" - the weird electronic bits in the second half are notably louder than the guitar jam in the first). Maybe this causes strange things to happen when listening to records that are a bit more nuts. As a side note Dan Deacon is a hell of a test for a new speaker set up

As for the new headshell/cart...one thing I was noticing on the old one was that the cymbals & hi-hats didn't sound crisp which I've heard is a sign your needle is going. I'd guess I've used it for around 400 hours which I think is about the lifespan of a cheap one?

is there a way to turn off the phono stage built into your turntable? I had a Sony one with a built in phono stage and the switch was somewhere fiddly, like under the platter mat

About four years ago I splurged on a Speed Box S for my Pro-Ject Debut III so I wouldn't have to lift the platter every time I wanted to switch from 33 to 45. Recently after I moved turntable and Speed Box from one shelf to another, the Speed Box stopped working. It powers on when not connected to the turntable, but when connected the lights flash briefly and then nothing happens. The turntable is switched on as appropriate and works fine with its own power supply. I thought the problem might be a short in the tiny cable that connects Speed Box to turntable, but a replacement cable made no difference.

I don't want to go back to switching the platter all the time, yet I cringe at the thought of buying another $150 thing just so I won't have to. Any suggestions?

Scrap the pro-ject & buy a TT with a speed selector like every TT since the end of WWII has had?

I don't have any experience with this component, but a search confirmed that others have had issues. Checking the cable was a reasonable thing to do. In most cases, some of the components in the box are fried. If you don't have a warranty or anything else to worry about voiding, I'd open the case and look for obvious signs of overheating. Perhaps, it failed in a somewhat graceful manner and can be fixed.

If you can't fix it, maybe it is a good time to sell the pro-ject and get something with the integrated speed selector. It's a bummer that the box failed, and I hope you find a solution.

Sufjan as always with a more empathetic and sensible response.

Lack of push button speed change sadly very common in mid to high end belt drive TTs. Used to have take the platter off my old Systemdek, same with the current ProJect. My Michell had a free standing motor outside the platter so that was just moving the belt. The idea that a speed switch is an optional extra, or involves buying an expensive DC PSU, is just one of those weird inconveniences that’s become the norm.

Hope the Phono Box lives again.

Technological backward steps #onethread

maybe try contacting sumiko?

Thanks for the replies, even the non-empathetic one. As Michael Jones suggests, the Speed Box seems to have gone into decline since, oh, 9/11. Although the new Debut Carbon Evo actually has a speed button!

I don't think the speed box is covered by warranty, so I'll give a shot at looking inside despite my ineptitude with these things. This hasn't changed much since I was complaining about this turntable upthread 13 years ago -- after the hum issue, I contacted the (now sadly departed) Needle Doctor and they ended up just sending me a replacement, which is the one I have now.

Hi, I received a SL-1500c for my birthday. It’s awesome. What do I need to get good quality rips of my rare dance music vinyl? What cartridge? Amp? Pre-amp? I don’t know anything!

Does it have a cartridge on it already? I'd start with the minimal setup and upgrade from there. The sl-1500c has a built in pre-amp if you plug into the "line out" ports. You can buy a 2-channel usb audio interface that takes RCAs as input, download audacity, and you are in business.

If you want to upgrade, I'd guess the best place is at the usb audio interface. The nicer ones will have separate gain on the 2 channels and 1/4"/XLR inputs. I'd focus on obtaining a low noise capture. You can add equalization after capture if needed. But if you'd rather plug in external stuff that gives you a sound you like, that would indeed be convenient. So you might look at swapping phono pre-amp and cartridge.

hoping ILX's home audio hivemind can help me out here. i'm trying to set up a record player with a preamp/receiver to speakers. i'm using the following equipment:

- technics 1200-sl mk2 turntable
- bellari PA550 phono preamp
- onkyo tx-8220 stereo receiver
- audioengine hdp6 passive speakers

the turntable was purchased used off ebay, everything else is brand new. i have everything connected but can't get any sound to come out of the speakers.

- when i plug headphones into the preamp i can hear sound in the left channel, but not the right.
- when i plug headphones into the receiver, it's the same except it's far more faint, like i basically have to turn the volume on the receiver all the way up in order to hear it at a normal volume.
- the ground wire from the turntable to the preamp is bare and attached to the preamp's grounding post. the RCA cables from the turntable are going into the PHONO plugs in the preamp, the RCA cables are going from the preamp's OUTPUT to the LINE function in the receiver, and the speakers are attached to the receiver with banana plugs.

am i doing something wrong or do i possibly have a defective part somewhere? my feeling is something could up with the ground wire from the turntable to the preamp but i have no idea why no sound's coming from the speakers.

how is the sound for CD, radio, AUX?

i think you should start by plugging your 1200 directly into the PHONO jacks on the onkyo and see how it sounds.

Does that receiver have A and B speaker inputs? If so make sure you have the right one selected.

If something was up with the ground wire it would most like just produce a hum or buzz. It wouldn’t stop sound being produced.

i would definitely start with budo jeru’s suggestion of plugging the technics directly into the phono input on the onkyo.

Yes, bad preamp most likely

update: followed budo's suggestion and plugged the RCA cables directly into the receiver, and it definitely sounds much better now. the bare wire on my turntable is really short so we had to electrical tape some additional antenna wire that we had lying around to get it to reach the receiver. as for the speaker issue, i think i just had the cables in the wrong outputs - played around with it and it now sounds pristine. thanks y'all :)

also uh anyone need a preamp lol

great news! happy listening :)