Building high-end 'tables cheap at Home Despot II

Hi Jean,

Mr. Red indeed! Very nice job. We’re talking 7 or 8 stone here with this monster, aren’t we? Had no idea that Bogen continued its relationship with Lenco through the L-75 years.
Took the opportunity while browsing through “your system” to take a closer look at your tangential air-bearing arm. Would you hazard a guess over the cause of its falling short as a full bass retriever? Something endemic in its tangential design or set-up? This arms mass?
The reason I ask is that there’s a gentleman over at another audio site that I frequent who has caused quite a stir in posting results of his survey on stylus wear. He used a 200X Shure stylus microscope to examine every cartridge he has used or pulled from various equipment since 1962. His posted results: All used styli from pivoted arms show asymmetrical wear, while nearly all styli from tangential arms show symmetrical wear. He postulates that pivoted arms can never attain neutrality for long in the skate/anti-skate force battle because of groove modulation.
Well, if this is true, the implication for record wear is implicit.
However, if this boils down to giving up window thumping bass to extend record life, I’d probably elect to chomp the vinyl and go buy more.

Hi Mario, thanks for the compliment! Actually that was early impressions I never went back to rectify: the MG-1 does indeed provide superb bass, perhaps even better than the Rega's when mounted on a Giant Direct-Coupled Lenco, and that's saying something. For an especially synergistic match, go for the Dynavector 17D MKIII. Indeed, in many cases air-bearing parallel-tracking tonearms have been criticized for woolly bass (but not all of them, like the Maplenoll). If there is any criticism of the Dynavector it is that it is over-damped in the bass (like the Audio technica OC9), which partly explains its legendary super-speedy reputation (the rest being due to good 'ol amazing engineering). But when mounted to the MG-1 on a Giant Lenco SNICK!! a perfect synergy results, with jaw-dropping tight deep and full bass, incredible dynamics, incredible detail, and awesome imaging. In fact, I was so impressed when I visited a friend with Giant Lenco/MG-1/Dyna 17D3 I decided then it was slated for my own future (factor in ease of use, and easy tonearm-wand swapping). Add in the fact the MG-1 has no "sticking" problems (common for air-bearings), has on-the-fly VTA, and fits the Lenco perfectly and to the millimetre as if they had come out of the same factory (just move the bolt-hole over roughly half-an-inch so the stylus clears the platter when at rest), and for many you have a no-brainer!! As to record wear, while I'm certain it occurs, most of my records will indeed survive my own journey into the Great Beyond ;-), as they have done already several decades many of them, in spite of pivotted tonearms.

Heh. I believe there's a metaphysical odd-tonearm-connection here.

I've got:
RS-A1
Maplenoll
Moerch UP-4 gold-colored (broken)
Mayware Formula IV (admittedly on your recommendation)

That red plinth made me laugh. It's huuuuge! :)

Hi Ronnie, Man, that is SOME Co-EEnK-ki-dink!! Hope you can repair your Moerch, what did you think of it while it was working?? I ordered one of Reinderspeter's new Lenco plates without tonearm to accommodate my Maplenoll, Whoo-eee I got it bad. I'll have to camp out in the yard while my turntables take up space in my home :-). You know, I'm getting used to the size of these Giant plinths, they even look kinda small to me now ;-). I had to make Mr. Red even bigger than usual to make up for the loss of mass of having two tonearm-holes. Now that you mention it, it does look funny!! The sound, however, is beyond unbelievable: are there no limits to the Lenco potential?!?

The UP-4 worked about 10-15 years ago.
I thought it was a wobbly and silly tonearm! :)

Thorens TD321 + Moerch + Ortofon MC20 Super was my first serious TT. I preferred the Maplenoll Athena.

I took the UP-4 apart. The Thorens is in pieces.. I actually tried to take the MC20 Super apart too, and broke it I think... I have half-broken Goldring 1022 stylus from that time too. The Athena is in pieces. Haha! I was very bad at putting things together after having had a look inside! Many terrible in-cee-dents :D