Building high-end 'tables cheap at Home Despot II

Regarding the RB 300 and anti-skate I have found that it usually requires very little in most cases.I align by ear, and the tracking weight dial on the Rega arm is brilliant for finding that sweet-spot,which of course varies every time you have a record playing session.Now there has to be some adjustment to the anti-skate required when your weight is right.It seems to confirm the less than 30% theory postulated by experiment in the late 60's in some way.When you hear it just come in is a very low position on the slider and about always right.I confirmed this by adjusting anti-skate once when I was recording the RIIA signal only and hearing the change quite clearly.I think the bearings on either side of the Rega arm are the same as each other,the RB 250 drifts out as well.I would find out from someone who upgrades the Rega bearings i.e Origin Live.Mark Baker knows all about the Rega arm.

Another idea to follow with the 103 is a re-tip by Peter at Soundsmtih or VDH. I got the ruby cantilever on mine and it still sounds like a 103 with a touch more refinement and better imaging.

Ah the Old MM vs MC debate! Reminds me of the early/middling days of Da Thread, and the Great Cartridge and Tonearm Frenzy: signs of health to see it re-appearing here! Myself, overall I'm an MM man, but, certain tonearms do sound excellent with MCs on the Lencos and Garrards. But, in the final analysis, MMs are simply superior to MCs in the difficult-to-pin-down gestalt arena, and if I had to choose, I would have to vote for an MM. Fortunately, I don't have to choose!!

And the "humble" Denon DL-103 goes a loooonnnggg way to narrowing the gap between MMs and MCs at gestalt, and when mounted to a sympathetic tonearm (and it is VERY sensitive to phono preamp/loading, I find that, *generally-speaking*, with active devices it prefers 100 ohms, and with transformers it seems to open up at low impedances, like 3-10 ohms or so...but these are generalizations and final results unpredictable), simply rules at PRaT, which goes some way to making up for the slight shortfall in gestalt.

Ah what a complicated web! The Ortofon Jubilee, when mounted to the JMW 10.5 tonearm, gives THE most evenly balanced and "accurate" tonal balance I have ever heard (the JMW actually pulls this trick off with quite a few high-end MCs, seems to be its characteristic), and it also excels at PRaT and gestalt, though not to the extent of the always-slammin' Denon. But this too is valuable, as perfect tonal balance (AND perfect emphasis/capture of dynamic shadings, another JMW/MC characteristic) allows one to simply sink into the music (as opposed to being physically dragged into it - Kundalini Effect - as with the Denon) and forget about audio.

Though my Decca is always hooked up these days, I'm pining for my MMs, and if I have the time I want to mount my Black Widow or my Mayware (and some others) to Mr. Red and play with my MMs: the fabulous Ortofon M15E Super (which wows everyone without exception, and is the precursor of the rightly-respected and famed VMS series); the Piezo YM-308 MKIIX (which is a state-of-the-art information-retriever, and I have yet to hear it in my new set-up); and of course the various and glorious Grados, which may be the most overall musical cartridges ever made, and which set the standard (especially the Woodies) among ALL cartridges for retrieving air, imaging, and the sonic resonant signatures of acoustic instruments, AND of course the human voice. Plus, they rock, they do PRaT, they do bass, and they have a warmth which once heard, is very difficult to live without. Time, methinks, for some more fun with MMs :-)!! Thanks for inspiring me all!! Have fun with your removable-tonearm Lencos and other idlers!!

Another idler wheel turntable to look out for. I recently purchased a McCurdy Turntable (pictures at http://www.tamminen.ca/mccurdy/).

The story behind it, as I was told it, is that these turntables were used by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) from the 50s to the 80s and then were disposed of. Someone took this one home and built a base for it. It is a heavy base although not a layered one. The platter is aluminum and not as heavy as the one on my Lenco. The idler wheel is still supple and the motor is large, heavy and quiet. I cleaned the bearing apparatus and found that the platter spins very smoothly. I removed the old Shure arm which was not in great shape and replaced it with a Sony arm which I believe came from an old Sony PS 2250 turntable. As you can see by the pictures, it took some adjusting to get the geometry correct. I tried a Denon DL103 cartridge but could not get rid of the hum so I installed a Shure M97HE and added a ground wire. It is now quiet and so far, (one evening's listening) it sounds great.

I am going to give it a couple of weeks as is and then consider all the "Lenco Tweaks" for it. When I get into again, I'll take pictures of the motor and the underside of the metal plinth which by the way is a 1/4" thick piece of steel (I think). If anyone has any more information on this turntable, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Harry

I would have to agree about the greatness of the Ortofon cartridges in that VMS series as it really is clearly the best I have heard on the Lenco.The Denon 103 I feel has been slightly(significantly) bettered by the VMS 20E Mk11.A measure of this was the anti-skate for illustration.I don't know how many would have noticed this but I always found the 103 a bit finnickey as to where it wanted it's anti-skate and gave what could be described as different colourations of sound in different positions.The Ortofon is not like this in that you can hear the sound come in and right where it should be(30% about).I was also using pure silver interconnects for the Denon which seemed to demand the swift transients but the Ortofon handles even the Van Den Hul cables,which I thought were too fuzzy in the past.Now I hear what they can do.The balance of the Ortofon is superior.I still like the Denon but why didn't I notice this earlier.MC's are a plot!