My Vinyl Journey

[par4ken]

I started to write a bit about how my vinyl playback equipment had evolved over the more than last half century and found that it was turning into a book! I am posting that information in this new thread. I hope that others will join me in describing the evolution of their own vinyl playback systems.

 

[par4ken]

Declaimer, the images shown are not my own just robbed off the internet for illustrative purposes.

As a child we had a “Viking” console style ‘HiFI’, although it was a stereo unit we had only mono records.. The unit had an FMX switch setting and hook up jacks for a stereo FM multiplex adaptor. But we didn’t have one installed that made little difference as we had no local FM station anyway. The unit was all tubes and sounded really good for its time.

The installed turntable was a Garrard 210 with an Acos 73 ceramic cartridge.

I decided to upgrade to a magnetic cartridge. The earliest Shure magnetic cartridge was the M3D, it was still being sold in the seventies as their bottom line model. It cost me $10 plus another $10 for a “Daveco” preamp. I have to say that “it blew me away”. I know that I use that saying a lot perhaps too much but at the time it really did! I think that the bass was a bit over emphasized, the RIAA network in that cheap preamp likely was not all that accurate but damn did it sound good! By replacing the cartridge we lost the ability to play those old 78’s but we generally didn’t play them anyway!

Later I decided to purchase my own turntable a Garrard SP 20B. In the early seventies the Japanese units had not yet taken over, most common turntable brands were British or European made notably Garrard , BSR, Dual etc. Early on I had rejected the idea of a “record changer” and so purchased a manual (semi-automatic) model. I fitted it with the M3D. Being a lower end model it did not have a synchronous motor, so with slightly high line (mains) voltage it seemed to run slightly fast.

Forward to the late mid seventies I was ready for a better turntable! One dealer that I visited had a Garrard Zero100SB. It looked very cool with its brushed aluminum plinth. It was semi-automatic model. The zero 100 had been out for several years and always had glowing reviews in the audio press. It came fitted with a Shure M91ED cartridge. Phono cartridges all have their own sonic flavour just like loudspeakers do. The M91ED sounded good but seemed to emphasize the mid bass a bit more than the M3D. The M3D had a spherical stylus while the M91ED was elliptical.

I wanted to be able to play CD-4 records and so eventually bought a new cartridge The Grado F-1+. Its Super Fluxbridger design was supposed to be non critical in CD-4 use. It was even claimed that due to the units low inductance that low capacitance cables were not required. I question some of those claims now because I always got sandpaper effects partway through every CD-4 record, no matter what I did! Sound wise for stereo and matrix use I was again “blown away” by the improvement in sound quality of the Grado cartridge over that of the M91ED.

While I was generally happy with the Zero100/Grado combination, I found that it wouldn’t track warped records. I even added a DiscTracker device to it to no avail. The DiscTracker was designed to mount on a more conventional head shell like those used on the Japanese machines. I had to drill a small mounting hole to be able to install it, on the Zero 100.

More to come.

 

[par4ken]

Now in the late seventies I purchased a Connoisseur BD101 turntable. Connoisseur turntables and kits had long been on my radar they were touted as the absolute best bang for the buck. The Connoisseur was fully manual and belt driven, both two major pluses in my book. I purchased a Decca London International tonearm to go with it. With this combination I had no problem tracking any record. The arm has a quality feel to it, as a unipivot design it has very little friction. The Decca arm has remained with me ever since!

The Connoisseur BD101 featured a nice heavy platter but only a very small motor held in place by a suspension that looked like rubber bands. It did what it was supposed to do, smoothly turn the record until eventually the belt broke. With no dealer or parts supplier left and no internet to search the table was simply stored away unused and almost forgotten for a number of years. More recently I found a supplier on eBay who made repair kits and belts for the Connoisseurs. I fixed it up adding a Connoisseur tonearm gleaned off eBay and gave it to my daughter.

For awhile I mounted the Decca arm on my Zero 100 having had previously removed the original arm years ago in a failed repair attempt.

Early nineties my favourite electronics/surplus dealer Addison Electronics was selling Sony MC Cartridges at attractive prices. I think that at that time they had been discontinued. Models were XL-MC1, XL-MC2, XL-MC3, the MC3 featured frequency response up to 60 Khz! I bought one and shortly thereafter later another one.

About the same time I was getting back into tubes fuelled by “Glass Audio”. One project was a pre-preamplifier necessary to step up the level from the MC cartridge, designed by Joe Curcio. That Sony cartridge also worked well with CD-4 but the single stage tube based pre-preamp inverted phase so that the demodulator outputs were reversed front to rear. Much later I also purchased an Akai MC transformer in an eBay auction and I still use it.

As CD’s began to take over people started dumping their turntables and records. I found a Technics direct drive turntable at a yard sale along with some newer looking LP’s. I used that with the Sony cartridge installed for awhile before giving it to my friend. Never a fan of Japanese turntables I don't even remember its model number. It did work well though but looked cheap with it's mostly plastic construction. Those turntables like the Connoisseur did not have really good suspensions like the old British units had.

So as people were dumping their vinyl equipment, I was able to pick up numerous deals notably from “Value Village” over a very short time frame. A BSR 810 that was missing the center spindle, it was supposed to have two, one for single play operation and the other for automatic use. I simply stuck a small pencil stub in there. The “kids” used it for awhile.

I found a nice Lenco L75 in a thrift store for $15.00. The tone arm obviously an old design looked massive and heavy it was missing the counterweight. I removed the arm and mounted the Decca. The turntable was nice and heavy a quality product. It had an idler wheel drive system. The motor was designed for 50Hz and so ran fast at 60Hz. You could adjust the speed a bit as it had a tapered capstan. Not quite enough adjustment, so I built a speed control for it. From an article in Audio Amateur by Gary Gallo it consists of an audio oscillator feeding a power amplifier driving a transformer. The idea is twofold. Firstly the power supplied to our homes has its frequency strictly controlled at 60Hz but it can be very “dirty” or noisy. Imperfect power can cause imperfect (rough) running of the turntable motor. Secondly by varying the frequency we can make a regular turntable with fixed speeds and a synchronous motor into one with pitch control. So the completed unit can be set to 50Hz to properly run the Lenco. It can also be adjusted so that the 45 and 78 speeds can be set by simply changing the frequency of the unit. Apparently high end manufactures sold similar products.

Next a Kenwood RD 2055 “the rock”. The Kenwood just needed a new belt, no problem with eBay. I set it up primarily for CD4 use, but haven't used it a whole lot. The idea of the heavy solid base is to help absorb vibration. While better than a cheap plastic plinth it is still no match for a proper suspension. I placed the Audio Technica isolation feet originally purchased for the BD101 under it for better isolation.

 

[DuncanS]

I was browsing around my hi-fi shop favourites a couple of days ago when I stumbled across this! A linear tracking tonearm, not cheap at £8100!!
https://nintronics.co.uk/bergmann-odin.html

 

[kap'n krunch]

If I ever hit the Lotto, I'd deffo get a Clear Audio one! not as expensive as this last one!
https://clearaudio.de/en/products/tonearms-tt3.php

 

[barfle]

When I was a little kid in the 1950s, my dad built me a record player. I have no idea what the turntable was, as my folks gave it (and all my records) away when we moved from Michigan to California. It was in a plywood box, with a tube amp (it’s what electronics was in those days) and it got nice and warm on those cold days in Oscoda.

While we lived in California, my dad built another setup, this time it was a “hi-fi” with a tuner-preamp from Harmon-Kardon, a Garrard changer and a University coaxial speaker. Other details are lost to history, as I wasn’t sophisticated enough at the time to realize the balue of knowing those things, and dad passed away last year at the age of 97.

When I was in the Army, I bought a Miracord 50H, which I still have. I’ve upgraded the cartridge to a Shure V15 type 5 MR, but I messed up the frequency response when I replaced the cables in it. I expect to figure it all out this year (I figure it’s just the capactance the cartridge sees, but I need to buy some test equipment first).

The miracord was my go-to record player for about 40 years, and it seemed quiet enough that I couldn’t hear any artifacts. We’ll see if it continues that way once I give it the attention it deserves. But I expect I’ll be dropping four figures on a new turntable anyway, just keeping the old one for nostalgia purposes.

 

[Cyber 1]

If I ever hit the Lotto, I'd deffo get a Clear Audio one! not as expensive as this last one!
https://clearaudio.de/en/products/tonearms-tt3.php

one day I will get one, it's dam cool

 

[par4ken]

These are pictures of my actual equipement.

At one “Hamfest” I struck gold finding an Ariston Audio turntable. I see no actual model number on the unit itself but it is an RD40. It is a tall unit reminding me of the Oracle with three large suspension cylinders and a solid platform that the main unit sits on. It came fitted with an Ariston carbon fibre tonearm. I swapped over the Decca arm. Then I moved the Ariston arm over to the Lenco. The arm tube on the Ariston arm is still loose, so I will need a bit of glue to make solid again. The Decca has a removable head shell the Ariston does not. Connoisseur head shells are interchangeable with the Decca and so I now have a few spares.

I have Pickering V-15 cartridge installed in the Lenco I purchased that because a stylus for 78 RPM records was available D1527. I wanted the ability to play my Mothers old collection. More recently I also purchased a Grado 78 cartridge.

Audio Amateur 1986 issue One has Gary Galo’s Speed Control in it. The AudioXpress website has back issues or CDs containing back issues but I’m only seeing 1970-79 as well as Glass Audio. Where are the 80’s AA issues? I’m reluctant to post the full article here in just incase AudioXpress does have copies for sale. Feel free to PM me if you need a copy of the article.

It was like that article was written just for me! How else do you run a turntable with a 50 Hz motor on 60Hz? In his design Gary uses an ILP power amplifier module. Guess what? I had been using those in my system since the late 70’s! The ILP HY-128!

Over the years I had the odd amplifier failure and had eventually switched my Mid-Hi frequency amplifiers over to the Mosfet version which sounded noticeably better, they proved to be more reliable too! So I had some spare HY-128’s on hand. I also had a suitable power transformer and case. I even had the multi-turn pot with counting dial gleaned from a recent Hamfest! My completed unit looks a lot like Garys only Better I think!

I was using the speed control to power the Ariston for awhile but it got disconnected, when I moved my equipment around. The Ariston works fine without it. Speed changing (33.3 to 45) with the Ariston is a bit of a pain as you have to physically move the belt on the motor pulley, so by using that box once again I could change speed at the turn of a switch! I have two accessory outlets on the back so that two turntables can be connected.

I kept the Lenco to use with the 78’s however with the speed control it would be possible to speed up the Ariton’s motor to do the 78 speed. I would just have to mount a 78 cartridge in a spare head shell. I feel a bit uneasy about running the motor so much faster than normal speed though.

 

[GOS]

I love this thread!!! Totally awesome.

 

[barfle]

If I ever hit the Lotto, I'd deffo get a Clear Audio one! not as expensive as this last one!
https://clearaudio.de/en/products/tonearms-tt3.php

Ooooh! I’ve always thought linear tracking arms were way, way, way cool!

 

[kap'n krunch]

Ooooh! I’ve always thought linear tracking arms were way, way, way cool!

they ARE!!!!
I only believe in LT TTs, all of my TTTs I have bought are really reliable early 80's Technics' SL-QL1s, two silver ones in Madrid, two dark grey in the USA....SEXY!!! and, of course , the Stylus has been about twice or thrice the price of the TT!!

 

[par4ken]

The Decca London International tonearm has been with me since the very late seventies. A couple of years ago I started hearing a light hum from one channel only. Upon checking it with a DVM I found about 40 ohms from one negative cartridge lead to ground. Over the years that one wire must have worn through the insulation at the pivot point. I don't remember if I actually confirmed that but anyway I just rewired the arm.

During the process I broke one of the ferrite magnets. Stuck I found some neodymium magnets about the same size from an eBay seller in China, during the start or height of Covid it took months to finally arrive. Before the magnets arrived I was able to glue the old one back together with my favourite grey epoxy glue, so I didn't use the new magnets. The hardest part of the job is putting it back together fighting against the repulsive force of the two magnets! The neodymium magnets would have exerted an even stronger force!

This photo essay about rewiring was very helpful!

https://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/decca_arm_e.html

 

[MidiMagic]

Here is my rather odd history of turntables and changers:

- I tarted with a GE manual 78 player from the WWII era. I had nothing but 78s at the time.

- Next was a crummy 4-speed Phonola kids player.

- After that was an 1961 RCA console with an RCA RP215 changer in it. I modified it for single record repeat (any size). The console is gone, but I still have the changer.

- I had a Philco M-22 changer that I used for 78s. It is the only changer I found that was gentle enough to stack 78s on. Unfortunately, it repeated the last record.

- The next changer I got was my Collaro Conquest. I have improved it over the years, with a magnetic cartridge, arm pivot ball bearing, antiskate, smoother motor rotation,, extended arm travel, cue control, turntable stop during change cycle, and automatic speed change. It is the turntable/changer I use.

- I got a Perpetuum Ebner PE2038 changer to try with CD-4. It works, but the CD-4 did not. Lots of snapping sounds. But the records (including the setup disc) were used.

- I had a Lenco B55 for use with 78 (and 70, 75, 76, 80, 85, and 90) rpm records.

- I traded the Lenco B55 for a Lenco L78. I wish I hadn't The B55 had a better arm for 78s. I traded because the B55 often ended up playing the label and the L78 had automatic lift.

- I have a Garrard SL-55 I got at a garage sale. I have never used it (no cartridge).

- Someone left a Dual 1247 in a rental I used to own. What a piece of junk. I never could fix it.

 

[MidiMagic]

The Decca London International tonearm has been with me since the very late seventies. A couple of years ago I started hearing a light hum from one channel only. Upon checking it with a DVM I found about 40 ohms from one negative cartridge lead to ground. Over the years that one wire must have worn through the insulation at the pivot point. I don't remember if I actually confirmed that but anyway I just rewired the arm.

During the process I broke one of the ferrite magnets. Stuck I found some neodymium magnets about the same size from an eBay seller in China, during the start or height of Covid it took months to finally arrive. Before the magnets arrived I was able to glue the old one back together with my favourite grey epoxy glue, so I didn't use the new magnets. The hardest part of the job is putting it back together fighting against the repulsive force of the two magnets! The neodymium magnets would have exerted an even stronger force!

This photo essay about rewiring was very helpful!

https://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/decca_arm_e.html

Some cartridges provide that low ohm connection to the case to provide a ground if it is not there.

 

[kfbkfb]

My vinyl journey is short for being ~50 years long (with one twist at the end).

I bought a PE2040 turntable in 1972-10.

I bought/installed a Shure M91ED in 1972-12 (IIRC, I set the tracking force at 1.5g having read that using the highest tracking force results in less record wear [so long as it's no more than 2g], the stylus isn't "rattling" around in the record groove, damaging the groove).

For some reason, in early 1975, I bought/installed an ELAC cartridge (it's packed away now, I don't recall the model number).

In 1975, I also bought a VM changer/turntable/cart combo (closeout at Montgomery Ward), I didn't use it much and soon threw it away (the weird slow record drop was fun to watch, I don't recall much about the sound quality).

In late 1975, I bought/installed a Grado FCR+1 cartridge (the PE2040 didn't have low capacitance tonearm wiring, a Grado cart was my only option for CD-4 w/PE2040 - ultimately, never tried CD-4 with this combo).

In 1976-08, I bought a Shure V-15 Type 3.

In 1982-06, I bought an Akai AP-B110 turntable (the CD era was about to begin, I didn't want to spend a lot on a turntable) and moved the Shure V-15 to it.

In 2018-05, I bought an Audio-Technica AT-LP60 turntable/cart combo (impulse buy, Shure had just announced they were leaving the cart market and I wanted a stopgap solution for playing records).

While reminiscing about Audio-Technica and their early involvement with CD-4, I was surfing the net about this and ran across the Pspatial Audio offer to develop an all software CD-4 decoder, my old Windows ME PC browser would let me read QQ but not post so I want over to the library the next day and started the "Working..." thread, which resulted in the development of an all software CD-4 decoder.

I'm still looking for a good turntable to upgrade to (favoring A-T) and a new cart that will work for CD-4, so my vinyl journey continues...


Kirk Bayne

 

[par4ken]

they ARE!!!!
I only believe in LT TTs, all of my TTTs I have bought are really reliable early 80's Technics' SL-QL1s, two silver ones in Madrid, two dark grey in the USA....SEXY!!! and, of course , the Stylus has been about twice or thrice the price of the TT!!

After the Zero100 I lost interest in linear tracking. I was so impressed with Decca unipivot arm that I never gave linear tracking a second thought. Some people actually built their own. There is a construction article in this copy of Audio Amature.

 

[par4ken]

The other part of my vinyl journey, involves phono preamplifiers. First off with a ceramic cartridge a phono preamplifier is not required. The Viking console had no preamp neither did our Sears consolett. When I added the Shure M3D to the Viking I used an inexpensive “Daveco” preamp designed for the purpose of converting from a ceramic to a magnetic cartridge. When I graduated to my own turntable I stuck with the M3D cartridge. The electronics I was then using was the Sinclair Stereo 60. It was modular system intended to mount in a turntable plinth. The power amplifiers proved to be very unreliable but the preamp worked fine, I used it until the late seventies. Sinclair spared every expense in their products, they were designed to be as cost effective as possible. They had that DIY feel to them, manuals full of schematics hook-up details suggestions for modification. I loved it. The preamp sounded fine to me at the time.

http://diy.torrens.org/Sinclair/index.html
Then along came the CBC installing two new FM radio transmitters. Their test tones came blasting through my speakers! At that point I purchased a low TIM preamplifier kit.

I had previously ditched the Sinclair power amplifiers and had built low TIM power amplifiers from kits. The preamplifier was from the same company “Unitronics” or something to that effect. Upon construction I found that it was rather noisy. They were using a zener in the emitter circuit of a differential pair at the preamplifiers input. It was there to form a constant current source. Replacing it by a simple resistor got rid of the noise. I Mounted it in a Hammond steel chassis box with a Hammond blank aluminum front panel. In addition to the phono preamplifier stage I added the “Bass- Summing Amplifier” from the April 1981 Popular Electronics”.

https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Poptronics/80s/1981/Poptronics-1981-04.pdf
It was always cool watching a warped record play, the high compliance woofers would move in and out in opposite directions. Some amps had a rumble filter to solve that problem, but that sacrifices bass. By blending the stereo channels together below a set frequency that out of phase rumble is cancelled out. Because most stereo records have mono bass already nothing is sacrificed by the process. It was very cool to flip the switch in and out and see that slow in and out motion stop but the sound was totally unaffected. I also added Scott’s pre-synth circuit. I had switching for five stereo inputs, plus tape monitor. Back then I used Letraset dry transfer lettering to label all my projects. Then I would add a couple sprays of a clear coating. Forty some years later that coating is falling off now leaving a clean blank panel.

Receiving the inaugural issue ”0” of Glass audio, my (never totally dead) interest in tubes was revived. From GA I discovered the back issues of “Audio Amateur” as well. Having purchased (or was about to purchase) the Sony MC cartridge from “Addison” I needed a pre-preamplifier. So I built Joe Curcio’s pre-preamplifier, It worked like a charm. I was even able to use it with my CD-4 Demodulator, but the front and rear channels came out reversed as the single stage amplifier inverts phase.

Audio Amateur issue 2, 1985 featured Joe Curcio’s “Daniel” preamplifier. I built my own version via old school point to point wiring techniques. No circuit board required by me although they were available for sale from Old Colony Sound Lab. Chris Paul proposed a modification to greatly reduce the output impedance of the preamp referred to as the Mu follower. I used that circuit. Using 6DJ8 tubes it sounded fantastic. People had been dumping their vinyl, thinking that CDs were so much superior in sound quality. I remember telling them that my records sounded as good as CD’s. Latter I would revise that statement to say that they sound better than CDs! I tried different tubes including Ampex, Brimar Philips SQ (special quality) 6922 and JAN (Joint Army Navy tubes) 7308’s. I wasn’t intentionally “tube rolling” it was just that I was lucky enough to have accumulated a lot of this old tube “junk” as it was being discarded no longer required for its original purpose. Hamfests, Triode Electronics and Antique Electronic Supply were useful suppliers as well. The final tube swap was to the E288CC. This tube has been described as a 6DJ8 on steroids. It is electrically a bit different than the 6DJ8, I ended up rebiasing the first stage for proper operation but it sounds damn good. With my cartridge now switched over to the Audio Technica AT-ART9XA it is hard to imagine anything sounding better. I don’t expect any more upgrades for a long, longtime if ever.

 

[DuncanS]

The other part of my vinyl journey, involves phono preamplifiers. First off with a ceramic cartridge a phono preamplifier is not required. The Viking console had no preamp neither did our Sears consolett. When I added the Shure M3D to the Viking I used an inexpensive “Daveco” preamp designed for the purpose of converting from a ceramic to a magnetic cartridge. When I graduated to my own turntable I stuck with the M3D cartridge. The electronics I was then using was the Sinclair Stereo 60. It was modular system intended to mount in a turntable plinth. The power amplifiers proved to be very unreliable but the preamp worked fine, I used it until the late seventies. Sinclair spared every expense in their products, they were designed to be as cost effective as possible. They had that DIY feel to them, manuals full of schematics hook-up details suggestions for modification. I loved it. The preamp sounded fine to me at the time.

View attachment 88425
View attachment 88426
http://diy.torrens.org/Sinclair/index.html
Then along came the CBC installing two new FM radio transmitters. Their test tones came blasting through my speakers! At that point I purchased a low TIM preamplifier kit.

I had previously ditched the Sinclair power amplifiers and had built low TIM power amplifiers from kits. The preamplifier was from the same company “Unitronics” or something to that effect. Upon construction I found that it was rather noisy. They were using a zener in the emitter circuit of a differential pair at the preamplifiers input. It was there to form a constant current source. Replacing it by a simple resistor got rid of the noise. I Mounted it in a Hammond steel chassis box with a Hammond blank aluminum front panel. In addition to the phono preamplifier stage I added the “Bass- Summing Amplifier” from the April 1981 Popular Electronics”.

https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Poptronics/80s/1981/Poptronics-1981-04.pdf
It was always cool watching a warped record play, the high compliance woofers would move in and out in opposite directions. Some amps had a rumble filter to solve that problem, but that sacrifices bass. By blending the stereo channels together below a set frequency that out of phase rumble is cancelled out. Because most stereo records have mono bass already nothing is sacrificed by the process. It was very cool to flip the switch in and out and see that slow in and out motion stop but the sound was totally unaffected. I also added Scott’s pre-synth circuit. I had switching for five stereo inputs, plus tape monitor. Back then I used Letraset dry transfer lettering to label all my projects. Then I would add a couple sprays of a clear coating. Forty some years later that coating is falling off now leaving a clean blank panel.

Receiving the inaugural issue ”0” of Glass audio, my (never totally dead) interest in tubes was revived. From GA I discovered the back issues of “Audio Amateur” as well. Having purchased (or was about to purchase) the Sony MC cartridge from “Addison” I needed a pre-preamplifier. So I built Joe Curcio’s pre-preamplifier, It worked like a charm. I was even able to use it with my CD-4 Demodulator, but the front and rear channels came out reversed as the single stage amplifier inverts phase.

Audio Amateur issue 2, 1985 featured Joe Curcio’s “Daniel” preamplifier. I built my own version via old school point to point wiring techniques. No circuit board required by me although they were available for sale from Old Colony Sound Lab. Chris Paul proposed a modification to greatly reduce the output impedance of the preamp referred to as the Mu follower. I used that circuit. Using 6DJ8 tubes it sounded fantastic. People had been dumping their vinyl, thinking that CDs were so much superior in sound quality. I remember telling them that my records sounded as good as CD’s. Latter I would revise that statement to say that they sound better than CDs! I tried different tubes including Ampex, Brimar Philips SQ (special quality) 6922 and JAN (Joint Army Navy tubes) 7308’s. I wasn’t intentionally “tube rolling” it was just that I was lucky enough to have accumulated a lot of this old tube “junk” as it was being discarded no longer required for its original purpose. Hamfests, Triode Electronics and Antique Electronic Supply were useful suppliers as well. The final tube swap was to the E288CC. This tube has been described as a 6DJ8 on steroids. It is electrically a bit different than the 6DJ8, I ended up rebiasing the first stage for proper operation but it sounds damn good. With my cartridge now switched over to the Audio Technica AT-ART9XA it is hard to imagine anything sounding better. I don’t expect any more upgrades for a long, longtime if ever.

View attachment 88428

I remember wondering how long it would take to be able to afford the Sinclair Pre-amp & some Crimson Power Amps along with speakers, TT etc. by saving out of my £5 a day Sunday job in a Garden Centre (Notcutt's between St. Albans & Hatfield - just looked on google maps and it has changed since the 70s!)

 

[Cyber 1]

Back in the day there was serious drool factory for wanting a set of IMF transmission line speakers.

 

[MidiMagic]

My vinyl journey is short for being ~50 years long (with one twist at the end).

I bought a PE2040 turntable in 1972-10.

I bought/installed a Shure M91ED in 1972-12 (IIRC, I set the tracking force at 1.5g having read that using the highest tracking force results in less record wear [so long as it's no more than 2g], the stylus isn't "rattling" around in the record groove, damaging the groove).

For some reason, in early 1975, I bought/installed an ELAC cartridge (it's packed away now, I don't recall the model number).

In 1975, I also bought a VM changer/turntable/cart combo (closeout at Montgomery Ward), I didn't use it much and soon threw it away (the weird slow record drop was fun to watch, I don't recall much about the sound quality).

In late 1975, I bought/installed a Grado FCR+1 cartridge (the PE2040 didn't have low capacitance tonearm wiring, a Grado cart was my only option for CD-4 w/PE2040 - ultimately, never tried CD-4 with this combo).

In 1976-08, I bought a Shure V-15 Type 3.

In 1982-06, I bought an Akai AP-B110 turntable (the CD era was about to begin, I didn't want to spend a lot on a turntable) and moved the Shure V-15 to it.

In 2018-05, I bought an Audio-Technica AT-LP60 turntable/cart combo (impulse buy, Shure had just announced they were leaving the cart market and I wanted a stopgap solution for playing records).

While reminiscing about Audio-Technica and their early involvement with CD-4, I was surfing the net about this and ran across the Pspatial Audio offer to develop an all software CD-4 decoder, my old Windows ME PC browser would let me read QQ but not post so I want over to the library the next day and started the "Working..." thread, which resulted in the development of an all software CD-4 decoder.

I'm still looking for a good turntable to upgrade to (favoring A-T) and a new cart that will work for CD-4, so my vinyl journey continues...


Kirk Bayne

I wanted that VM-1555. I could not find a dealer within 100 miles and I didn't own a car then. I wanted it because it could play odd sizes automatically. I ended up getting the PE instead.