Topic: New Vinyl Rig - any tips?

[terrapinj]

so i picked up my parents old vinyl collection about 2 months ago - most of which was stored upright in the garage

i was just given an older Technics Quartz Direct Drive SL-Q200 turntable that im gonna use for a few months until i get some extra money to invest in a nicer TT

i've already ordered a cleaning kit to clean up some of the old discs and have access to a vacuum locally

i've ordered a Cambridge 540p phono pre since the built in Phono stage in my Arcam Amp leaves much to be desired

i've also ordered an Ortofon OMP 5E p-mount cartridge with new stylus

im reading some stuff about making sure the arm and motor is oiled up but not too sure about that

anyother steps i should take to clean up the TT or general tips?

many thanks to Carl, macdaddy and others for the help and suggestions thus far

[Donnie L.]

Keep in mind that most vinyl was released from production reels which were lower quality than the master reels.  New vinyle "remastered" releases are from master reels.  I'm getting back into vinyl myself as analog (tube power amps).  I've noticed major differences with vinyl, for example, most jazz and classical vintage releases seem to be better pressed than commerical pop/rock LP's.  Sometimes you can find a good "half-speed" mastered vinyl release that is good; if you are into classical and jazz you can find a "direct to disc" LP which is also high quality. 

I believe what you will hear is the RIAA standard equalization curve which was a industry standard for american released vinyl.  I think you will also benefit by using high quality preamp and certainly a tube based power amp to reap the true benefits of vinyl.  I do know of a very good reputable dealer of Dynaco ST-70's on ebay if you ever want to know; I'm using one and it's simply incredible.  What I like about the Dynaco's is the parts are still available and they can be fixed if there ever is a problem, more than I can say about new solid state amps.  I've had  2 Sony ES AV amps go down in 8 years just outside of warranty , great for sony, terrible for me.  I'll never go back to solid state not only becuase of the sound, but the reliability in general.  There are some good brands like Adcom and NAD from the early 90's and 80's.  Mid 80's was the best for solid state.

good luck,

Donnie L.

[carlbeck]

The only tip you need. CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN. Wash, vac & brush. I brush before every play & clean my stylus about every 5 records.

[carlbeck]

Also get yourself a scale to set tracking force. I first bought the Shure because it was recommended everywhere but have since switched to a digital scale.

http://www.elusivedisc.com/products.asp?dept=843

http://www.needledoctor.com/Online-Store/Stylus-Force-Gauges

Or I could just drop mine in the mail to you, let me know & you can borrow mine.

[macdaddy]

yup - clean those records...

oh, and if you want that bellari, it is yours; you will need a tube and power supply, but it might match nicely with what you have, esp. the arcam...

[terrapinj]

Also get yourself a scale to set tracking force. I first bought the Shure because it was recommended everywhere but have since switched to a digital scale.

http://www.elusivedisc.com/products.asp?dept=843

http://www.needledoctor.com/Online-Store/Stylus-Force-Gauges

Or I could just drop mine in the mail to you, let me know & you can borrow mine.

the tonearm has adjustable tracking on the back with a small scale from 1.00 to 1.50 - the cartridge i've ordered is recommended at 1.25

do i still need to verify with a scale or can i rely on the arm being accurate?

how does one clean the stylus?

yup - clean those records...

oh, and if you want that bellari, it is yours; you will need a tube and power supply, but it might match nicely with what you have, esp. the arcam...

i will be contacting you soon to borrow that vac and pick your brain some

don't know if we've discussed the bellari before but i def may be interested

Keep in mind that most vinyl was released from production reels which were lower quality than the master reels.  New vinyle "remastered" releases are from master reels.  I'm getting back into vinyl myself as analog (tube power amps).  I've noticed major differences with vinyl, for example, most jazz and classical vintage releases seem to be better pressed than commerical pop/rock LP's.  Sometimes you can find a good "half-speed" mastered vinyl release that is good; if you are into classical and jazz you can find a "direct to disc" LP which is also high quality. 

I believe what you will hear is the RIAA standard equalization curve which was a industry standard for american released vinyl.  I think you will also benefit by using high quality preamp and certainly a tube based power amp to reap the true benefits of vinyl.  I do know of a very good reputable dealer of Dynaco ST-70's on ebay if you ever want to know; I'm using one and it's simply incredible.  What I like about the Dynaco's is the parts are still available and they can be fixed if there ever is a problem, more than I can say about new solid state amps.  I've had  2 Sony ES AV amps go down in 8 years just outside of warranty , great for sony, terrible for me.  I'll never go back to solid state not only becuase of the sound, but the reliability in general.  There are some good brands like Adcom and NAD from the early 90's and 80's.  Mid 80's was the best for solid state.

good luck,

Donnie L.

thanks for the info

[macdaddy]

stylus brush and cleaning solution - i have both somewhere...

your weight should be fine, a scale just makes it more accurate...

[carlbeck]

I wouldn't plan on the weight being incredibly accurate. I have found most are off when I have set up my own carts. It's easy enough for me to send you mine just to be safe, send me a PM.

[terrapinj]

I wouldn't plan on the weight being incredibly accurate. I have found most are off when I have set up my own carts. It's easy enough for me to send you mine just to be safe, send me a PM.

thanks Carl - i'll hit you up next week, i may be able to borrow one locally

Ts again to all

[twoodruff]

ok I am looking into going with a TT myself. I am a newbie, I will need suggestions about how to play it. I have a lucid dac and a mcintosh mc2505 power amp. I am very pleased with the mcintosh, can I get a good pre that includes a phono stage or is it necessary to get a standalone phono pre. I am probably not making sense, I don't know much about vinyl except I enjoy listening to it.

Thanks
Trey

[twoodruff]

its like a mic preamp, with the needed gain - plus, it offers the RIAA EQ curve to restore the bass in playback.  Bass takes up so much groove space that they developed an EQ curve to compensate so that they could load the disc with mids and high detail, and work the bass out in playback EQ.
So, a phono-stage preamp is pretty much of a necessity.
Carl makes some good suggestions toeards them in his posts.
I'm using the integrated phonostage in my plinius amp, and am very happy with it now that I've attenuated the input a bit (via jumpers).

any suggestions mid budget phono-stage preamps? I know y-s audio has one but again I am a relative neophyte here.

[terrapinj]

i grabbed a cambridge 540 here:http://www.spearitsound.com/

$89 with free shipping - sounds great and provides a ton of gain - i barely have to have the volume up on my arcam amp at all

[carlbeck]

Yep, 540 or 640 are pretty tough to beat for the money.

[indietaperwloo]

If you really want to go all out, I've heard Graham Slee makes some pretty awesome sounding phono pre's.  The Jazz Club is the one I'm lusting after right now because then I'll be able to archive 78's to digital.

http://www.gspaudio.co.uk/

I currently have a Numark TT-200 direct-drive DJ turntable which I use for both archival and listening through my studio.  Signal chain is this:

Numark TT-200 w/Ortofon OMB-10 > Kenwood KR-1400 Solid State Receiver (used exclusively as a phono stage via tape outs) > Mackie 1402 VLZ Pro (Stereo channel w/-10 gain setting which actually increases to +4dBU) > Ego Sys nEar05 active bi-amped nearfields (basically M-Audio SP-B5's but cheaper but still sound pretty kick ass).

Just a thought.