DIY tonearm

You can build or modify your own tonearm with inconspicious things and materials like:

A broken arrow...





This tonearm's shaft is made from a broken carbon-fiber arrow that I got from a friend. The gimbal is an old AT arms' and the headshell is formed from sheet-aluminium.

GD

QUAD 303 interface update

Latest update:

Installed safe IEC power input socket
Installed RCA signal sockets
Installed a safe illuminated switch
Removed voltage selector - this amp is not going to travel the globe...!
Installed 5-way binding posts for speaker cable

Dew aka GD

Battery powered phono pre-amp

Today I have quickly jammed a battery powered phono pre-amp together. The results are amazing!

Supply: 24 VDC (2x CS3 12v alarm batteries)
Phono unit - Bang & Olufsen with Ortofon matching transfos for MC cartridge.

Cartridge Alignment

Any master lacquer disc is cut with a mastering lathe in a tangent way. This means that the cutter head passes over the disc in a straight line, from the edge to the center.
Most turntables are fitted with radial-pivot tone arms – moving with a slight arc across the record surface. To achieve the best arc-to-radii ratio the arm/cartridge assembly needs to be adjusted at a specific distance between turntable platter spindle and tone arm horizontal pivot. This is called overhang.

Overhang adjustment can be set by either changing the tone arm’s distance from platter center or moving the cartridge to or fro in the tone arms’ head-shell. For instance: SME tone arms are adjusted at the mounting base and Triplanar arms have slots in the head-shell to move the cartridge inward or outward.

If you do not make an effort to adjust the cartridge alignment properly then it is all in vain. Out-of-alignment cartridges can make new records sound terrible and aligned cartridge can make poor records sound good – latter being depending on previous phono equipment.

It comes down to the fact that you want the stylus to move closest to the linear cutting line. Protractors help to spread out the slight tracking error to be as low as possible over the whole record. See diagram.
Because the radial-pivot causes the arm to move in an arc over the groove-area of the record it will, at the edge & center of the record, be above the cutter-line and, in the middle, under the cutter-line.

Good protractors can be found on websites like Vinyl Engine and The Analogue Department. Download one today and check your alignment. See my link list.

GD

NB - If you have a linear tracking tone arm the you dont have to worry much. It scans the record the way that the master was cut - in a tangent line.

Ortofon Mod Nr.4

My latest modified cartridge... also an Ortofon.

Beatles on Vinyl

I like the music of the Beatles - especially on vinyl.

To me, their best album is "For Sale".

From this I also like Paul McCartney's music with "Band on the run" being my fav Paul album.

Valve Audio - South of the Sahara

Down here in South Africa we have a few companies producing fine audio products. One of them is VALVE AUDIO. Created by Schalk Havenga in 1994 Valve Audio have been producing stunning hybrid amplifiers using both tubes and semi-conductors. Each unit is assembled by hand.
These amplifiers are built to last a lifetime. The remote weighs around 1kg (!) and is milled from solid aluminium. Signal paths are short and carefully planned to keep the audio-signal intact. PSUs are high-current and ensures that the supply stays constant under various speaker-loads.
Valve Audio is available through MUSIC DIRECT in the USA - http://www.musicdirect.com/
Contact VALVE AUDIO for more details - info@valveaudio.co.za

Lenco Legend

The Lenco L75 & L78 has been (unofficially) welcomed by numerous audiophiles in the turntable hall-of-fame.

Lenco being a Swiss manufacturer, have made some seriously good turntables in their day. You won't find a screw out of place on a Lenco turntable and they are built like the proverbial Mercedes-Benz!

The Lenco L75 (picture) sports a 4-kilogram zinc platter - machined and balanced to perfection. The main-bearing are a true work-of-art - I doubt that the main-bearing could ever introduce noticeable rumble into the platter. Driven by a two-pole AC induction motor with a conical-shaped spindle via the ever humble ‘idler-wheel’ it keeps speed quite constant. Very constant is more appropriate. From 16 rpm up to 90 rpm can be continuously adjusted by the Lenco’s fine idler-wheel system providing a wide laybackspeed range for all kinds of records - this being on of the main reasons why it is liked by so many audiofundis. The general turntable assembly of a Lenco is true topclass it is however the tone arm and plinth that disappoint.

Firstly, the tone arm utilizes a knife-vertical-pivot with rubber knife-supports. This is actually a very valiant design but the rubber-supports did not last long - it is guaranteed that when you get an old Lenco these rubber-pivot-supports will be perished. Spare replacements is very scarce and very expensive. Many would suggest that you cut out the top-right corner of the turntable chassis - to make space to a variety of after-market tone arms but collectors advise
against it. By turning the chassis 90 degrees in the plinth you can mount up-to two tone arms and exploit the machines capabilities to the max. I have seen many elaborate Lenco-’hotrods’ fitted with Dynavector, Rega, SME, VPI, Kuzma & Airtangent arms. You might think this is over-kill but to a Lencoowner it makes perfect sense.This is a very good turntable.

For a Lenco to excel it must be mounted in a very solid plinth. It is also very crucial to damp the chassis for this is one of the main parts that introduces rumble into the system. It is not entirely the idler-wheels fault. Because the chassis is pressed from a sheet of thin steel is resonates at a low frequency causing rumble and this is exited by the extremely heavy platter (relative to the light-weight chassis). With the plinth sorted out a Lenco is capable of ‘flying’ with some of the best machines out there.

GD

Sumiko Pearl MM Cartridge

The Pearl is capable of tracking any record with virtually any arm. Initially tested on my DEWAUDIO Gyzmo tone-arm, weighing only 6 grams & made from balsa wood, it provided a very satisfactory experience.
Highs were light and airy, mids detailed and bass was tight. This little cartridge is capable of extraordinary performance.

Recently I tested it on a Audio Technica ATP16 arm. This arm was designed for the Audio Technica range of professional moving-magnet cartridges used in the broadcast industry. The Pearl, again, succeeded to stun. Aimee Mann had an eery presence in the room! The bass-drum sounded tight and Aimee’s voice extremely life-like. Fine detail was extracted with delicate precision and presented in a very pleasing manner.

Using an elliptical stylus it is capable of extracting very fine detail. It reminds me of the famous Bang & Olufsen MMC 20E cartridge. It is a quality pick-up cartridge for the music-lover who has a limited budged without compromising on sound quality. Surface-noise is very low and provides a clean soundstage.

I next moved over to Madelein Peyroux - Careless Love. Recorded in a ‘dry’ fashion (i.e. without reverb and compression) the timbre of the instruments, and most importantly, Madelein’s voice were correct and very ‘organic’.

The cartridge is presented in a very sturdy ‘jewel-box’ and a ‘easy-to-understand’ instruction booklet is included. With the pick-up you get a set of black screws, a little screw-driver and a very nice little stylus brush with soft bristles. The cartridge is well priced and is a must for the music lover that doesn’t want to go the bankrupt way. It is sure to satisfy even the most demanding listener. GD

Modified Ortofon MC10 S

My latest creation...

Sad day

It is a sad day here at The Gliding Dutchman's...

My Ortofon MC cartridge's cantilever broke clean off! No use actually crying over spilt milk...

Bang & Olufsen 4002

The Bang & Olufsen 4002 Linear Tracking Turntable
- a milestone in turntable design!

Various vinyl playback equipment

TW Acustik Raven AC Turntable with Triplanar Arm and Benz Micro LP cartridge.

Technics SP-10 mkII turntable with Audio Technica APT-16P arm and Sumiko Pearl MM cartridge.

Modified Ortofon SP15 moving-coil cartridge.

Dewaudio Moxey Turntable

Hello and Welcome

Hello and welcome to The Gliding Dutchman's blog on all things vinyl!

What is "vinyl"?
Vinyl is the short term for Long-Playing Records used to reproduce music.The common size is 12" (302mm) and the colour is black and rotates at 33.333rpm.Other sizes include: 10"( "EP" extended play - rotates at 33.333rpm) & 7" ( "single" - rotates at 45rpm)

Why vinyl?
Vinyl delivers music in a high-fidelity way that is just not possible with digital mediums. Vinyl that audiophiles use, and the equipment is quite different from those used by Disc Jockeys or in short DJ's...

Isnt vinyl dead?
The use of vinyl as sound-carrier has diminised from the main-stream scene but have been kept alive by hard-core audiophiles. Vinyl is alive and well in many countries around the globe. New and exciting music is frequently released on vinyl. Good examples are:

Stockfisch - http://www.stockfisch-records.de/
Deutsch Grammophon - http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/
Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs - http://www.mofi.com/

What about turntables?
Good turntables are made by a variety of manufacturers around the world. Their prices vary from a few dollars to tens of thousands...

Rega - www.rega.co.uk
Sota - www.sotaturntables.com
Vyger - www.vyger.com


The Gliding Dutchman

Visit: www.vinylsa.co.za/forum