OT: Friday night vinyl

[bigboxes]

Rush recently had a pre-sale on a 40th anniversary picture disc of their album, Signals. I was anticipating its arrival. I decided to break out my original copy and see how the old turntable was working.

I haven't touched it in years. I've got digital everything. I can access it from any of my devices. Total convenience. But I missed my records. Long story short, my old Technics turntable died. It would spin up, but would not drop the tonearm. It had everything. Direct drive. Low tracking force (1.5g?). Programmable/skipable tracks. Linear tracking. Auto everything. Bad ass, but now it's just a memory.

39 years is a long time to expect a piece of electronics to last. Not too bad. I was reviewing turntables. I'm not an audiophile chasing that 1% with 20X my budget. Not going to happen. However, I do like good sound and want accuracy.

I decided to go with the Denon DP400. It's a semi-automatic turntable that is belt driven. The reviews says it has very accurate speed. It also does a good job of isolating noise. I decided to take the positives and upgrade the stylus to address one of its weaknesses, the cartridge.

I got the turntable on Thursday evening and just unboxed it. Friday, I installed the platter, counterweight and cartridge. Hooked up the power adapter and connected the line-out and ground to my Denon receiver.

Decided that first album I would play on the new turntable was Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy. It had been awhile since I played music on it and, with some adjustment, my setup sounded pretty good.

Got the new cartridge, the Ortofon 2M Blue, today. Took off the original cartridge and installed the new one on to the headshell. Installed that back on to the tonearm. Next, I adjusted the balance, tracking force and anti-skate. Then, I adjusted the alignment with a mirrored alignment tool.

Finally, I tested everything again by listening to the album I listened to last night. I was able to compare the differences in the sound from the original cartridge to the 2M Blue. Now, I have a competent setup for my vinyl collection.

Orginal cartridge

I thought this pic was cool with the reflection of my Bennington flag

Headshell ready for reinstallation

Adjusting the balance, tracking force and anti-skate

Adjusting the alignment

Rocking out!

 

[EmormousDouchebag]

Very nice! I hope you're having fun! Enjoy the tunes!

 

[Husker.Wed.]

I expect after 39 years there are a lot of items in your household that either no longer function, or don't function too well.

 

[otismotis08]

Just picked up some old technics floor speakers on fb marketplace. 3ways w 16" woofers. Hope my neighbors like my playlist.

 

[bigboxes]

Just picked up some old technics floor speakers on fb marketplace. 3ways w 16" woofers. Hope my neighbors like my playlist.

Had a bud in North Carolina tell me my neighbors must love me. I told him, "I warned them when they moved in."

 

[WHCSC]

Should have just taped a penny to the arm thing above where the needle is. Works every time.

 

[MargotDeeper]

 

[bigboxes]

Installed a new headshell today. Decided to get one that would match up better with my high profile cartridge. It's been bugging me since I first installed it to the headshell that came with the turntable. Mounted the cartridge, adjusted the balance, tracking force and alignment. Tested it out on Houses of the Holy. I think the tracking has improved.

 

[bigboxes]

I'd say there is noticable improvement in the sound. Tracking is better. I tested it out on Houses of the Holy. Put on some early Duran Duran. Back to Robert Plant and had to hear Big Log. Now, on U2's The Unforgettable Fire, a record that sounded poor with my previous setup. Sounds great now.

 

[leodisflowers]

Installed a new headshell today. Decided to get one that would match up better with my high profile cartridge. It's been bugging me since I first installed it to the headshell that came with the turntable. Mounted the cartridge, adjusted the balance, tracking force and alignment. Tested it out on Houses of the Holy. I think the tracking has improved.

Fancy!

 

[bmb81664]

Rush recently had a pre-sale on a 40th anniversary picture disc of their album, Signals. I was anticipating its arrival. I decided to break out my original copy and see how the old turntable was working.

I haven't touched it in years. I've got digital everything. I can access it from any of my devices. Total convenience. But I missed my records. Long story short, my old Technics turntable died. It would spin up, but would not drop the tonearm. It had everything. Direct drive. Low tracking force (1.5g?). Programmable/skipable tracks. Linear tracking. Auto everything. Bad ass, but now it's just a memory.

39 years is a long time to expect a piece of electronics to last. Not too bad. I was reviewing turntables. I'm not an audiophile chasing that 1% with 20X my budget. Not going to happen. However, I do like good sound and want accuracy.

I decided to go with the Denon DP400. It's a semi-automatic turntable that is belt driven. The reviews says it has very accurate speed. It also does a good job of isolating noise. I decided to take the positives and upgrade the stylus to address one of its weaknesses, the cartridge.

I got the turntable on Thursday evening and just unboxed it. Friday, I installed the platter, counterweight and cartridge. Hooked up the power adapter and connected the line-out and ground to my Denon receiver.

Decided that first album I would play on the new turntable was Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy. It had been awhile since I played music on it and, with some adjustment, my setup sounded pretty good.

Got the new cartridge, the Ortofon 2M Blue, today. Took off the original cartridge and installed the new one on to the headshell. Installed that back on to the tonearm. Next, I adjusted the balance, tracking force and anti-skate. Then, I adjusted the alignment with a mirrored alignment tool.

Finally, I tested everything again by listening to the album I listened to last night. I was able to compare the differences in the sound from the original cartridge to the 2M Blue. Now, I have a competent setup for my vinyl collection.

Orginal cartridge

I thought this pic was cool with the reflection of my Bennington flag

Headshell ready for reinstallation

Adjusting the balance, tracking force and anti-skate

Adjusting the alignment

Rocking out!

Pretty sure all your Technics needed was a small belt for the motor that raises and lowers your tonearm. Really simple fix. I buy bags of random belts on Amazon for less than $10. My hobby is fixing stuff like this for friends and myself.

 

[Bremser]

Pretty sure all your Technics needed was a small belt for the motor that raises and lowers your tonearm. Really simple fix. I buy bags of random belts on Amazon for less than $10. My hobby is fixing stuff like this for friends and myself.

Now you tell him!?

 

[bigboxes]

Pretty sure all your Technics needed was a small belt for the motor that raises and lowers your tonearm. Really simple fix. I buy bags of random belts on Amazon for less than $10. My hobby is fixing stuff like this for friends and myself.

Nm. You're talking about fixing the old one. Yeah, someday I'll see if I can repair that. I saved the old one. It's too awesome just to toss in the trash. I wish I had kept my $350 tape deck from back in the day. It was top of the line too.

 

[bigboxes]

I was thinking how much I missed that ability to easily play a single track on the old turntable when I cued up Big Log last night.

 

[bmb81664]

Nm. You're talking about fixing the old one. Yeah, someday I'll see if I can repair that. I saved the old one. It's too awesome just toss in the trash. I wish I had kept my $350 tape deck from back in the day. It was top of the line too.

Definitely fix it at some point. I also threw away some nice equipment years ago I could have now fixed. This stuff is sought after now.