Garrard 401, Lenco L75, Technics SP25 in the house

[reubensm]

Hi all, after a bit, am back in station today and its time to sit down with the TTs. All little replacements have been put in, carpentry done up and now we are all set to listen in. To start with, I've decided to go with the L75. Have to do up the tonearm connectors today and then we'll have some music playing. Some friends has suggested to use the Shure M75EM Type2 as they say it is one of the best vintage Shure carts, but when used with a Jico stylus. Any comments on this? I've heard the M75-6 for many years and it was a very good cart. Once the Lenco is up, shall post pictures.

 

[jls001]

I was meaning to reply to one of your queries on the other thread about how to screw down the Lenco top plate to the plinth. There are four screw holes (M4, iirc) on the bottom side of the top plate. In the stock plinth, four longish screws (about 3 inch each) are used to secure the top plate to the plinth below through these four screw holes in the top plate bottom. Each screw has a spring loading for damping.

Since your plinth is now solid with height much taller than stock plinth, you need four fairly long screws to pass from the bottom of plinth right up to the holes at the bottom of the top plate. The Lencoheaven plinth template has msrkings for these four screw holes. I could not find any M4 screws long enough so I ended up DIYing 6+ inch screws from 6mm dia brass rods.

Now the above will secure the top plate to plinth but doesn't provide a good enough mating. So make 4-5 screw holes (or even more) in the pan of the top plate and screw them down there too. 3/4 inch wood screws are good enough. Choose locations on the pan where the pan is in intimate contact to the layer 2 of the plinth. This will help drain off the vibes from the motor onto the heavy plinth.

Thirdly, idler arm damping can be achieved by a heat shrink tubing too. Many have done it. But the more anal retentive method is to wrap it in teflon plumber tape. I'm guessing it will be a major task and involves removing the idler arm.

The best match for the stock arm is a low compliance cart.

All the best with your rebuild.

 

[dr.partha]

Awaiting to see the pics of the tt..

 

[greenhorn]

 

[reubensm]

Have been a bit busy with some official trips and work. Shall post some pics over the weekend.

 

[sann]

I could not find any M4 screws long enough

Yes they are hard to come by, after buying and trying many 4"ish screws, I finally could find 5" M4. They can be cut about 1/2" and secured with washers, it tightens the chassis sides to the plinth such that there is no gap remains (if there is any) between the chassis edges and the plinth

 

[reubensm]

Meanwhile, I ordered 2 high grade conical Jico replacement stylii, for my vintage Shure M70B Shure cart (which came with the Lenco tonearm). Waiting patiently for it.

 

[reubensm]

Progress Update: The 401 and L75 plinths arrived today with the underneath painted black in matte finish. Looks slick.

Next step is to get the mounting bolts cut to spec. Off to the machine shop in the evening. I have ordered for a set of 401 OEM mounting bolts from Germany and will replace the 401's current welded and extended mounting bolts when they arrive. I will get some extention bolts fabricated based on a design by Mr. Murthy for my good friend, FM Record Player.

Going with the current mounting bolts (with welded extentions) for the L75 as the originals were pretty ordinary anyways

 

[reubensm]

The best match for the stock arm is a low compliance cart.

The deck came with its stock arm, with the Shure M70B cart. The owner told me that this is what came with the deck when he purchased it new. Any idea if this is a good match?

I was planning to retain it on the stock arm as this is how the original owner used it. He has become a good friend and I wish to retain his precious turntable in the very same way, he had it playing. Maybe in the future when he visits Kerala, he can stop by and hear his good old Lenco, play

 

[Record Player]

I will get some extention bolts fabricated based on a design by Mr. Murthy for my good friend, FM Record Player.

Yes Reuben, I reckon this is the right approach. Anything else is hard to design and deliver without altercating the original motor board.

Let me know if you need more details/photos on these bolts.

 

[reubensm]

Yes Reuben, I reckon this is the right approach. Anything else is hard to design and deliver without altercating the original motor board.

Let me know if you need more details/photos on these bolts.

I have a photo which you shared previously but it would be great if you could post a few, on this thread itself.

 

[reubensm]

Here is a pic of the original Jelco tonearm cables which I purchased for the TT. Now almost everything is in place. Need to spend some time to put things together. Before bolting things back in place, I have to take both the Lenco and Garrard plinths to my carpenter for some minor mods. Both decks are not sitting perfectly in the plinth cavity (the decks are seated at a slight angle). I will be getting these corrected so that the decks will sit dead straight with the plinth side lines. Also the Garrard plinth needs a minor mod to accommodate the start switch lever. There is a minor element of rubbing.

Finally, I have written to Mr. Kuruvila to post my Garrard 401 platter dampening rings to me. Once these arrive, shall restore them to the platter.

Here's the cable pic:

 

[reubensm]

I am out of station currently and will be back by the month end. Thought I'll post an update. The original owner of my Technics SP25 sold the plinth of this turntable to an audiophile in Kochi who will be taking it along to Dubai, for mounting a SP15 deck. So I will be building my own plinth for the SP25. Here's a picture of the original plinth. It was unique and I have never seen anything like that before

 

[Record Player]

So I will be building my own plinth for the SP25. Here's a picture of the original plinth. It was unique and I have never seen anything like that before

Very interesting indeed! However your build for the SP25 plinth should be pretty straight forward.

What's the status of the 401 and L75, have they started to sing?

 

[heliumflight]

Looks like a red snake

 

[reubensm]

Very interesting indeed! However your build for the SP25 plinth should be pretty straight forward.

What's the status of the 401 and L75, have they started to sing?

Sorry for the delayed response, currently out of station. Work on the L75 plinth is complete and the TT is ready to sing. Will make a start with the stock tonearm and then will add on the Jelco.

The Garrard 401 rig still needs some work. I am not very happy with this plinth. I did some research on its build and found some carpentry flaws with the cut-outs. They are not to perfect spec. There was some interim chipping and rubbing done to get the fit right but things still don't add up. There is some engagement between the start/stop lever and the plinth. I will try to get these sorted by engaging a professional carpenter or I may just scrap the plinth and build a new one.

I ran a check with Mr. Kuruvila on the status of my 401 platter rings and he has offered to send them across when he's back. I am quite curious to study the effect of these rings on the platter. My cousins are coming down from Australia in November and will stay on till December. We are planning numerous listening sessions on the 3 decks. I will follow-up with Mr. Kuruvila on the rings and after he sends them, we'll have formal closure on this project.

Wife confirmed that the styli which I ordered from Jico/Japan have arrived. They are packed wonderfully well. These are for the stock Lenco tonearm which hosts its stock Shure M70B (which the original owner received, with the turntable when he purchased it "New")

 

[reubensm]

Looks like a red snake

yes, it was quite amazing to look at. The deal between me and my buddy is that he plans to sell the turntable and plinth and I've borrowed the deck from him to check it out. If I like it over the Garrard 401 and Lenco L75, then I'll be buying it from him. We haven't discussed money at this point but he was in a hurry to sell of the plinth and got a good offer for it. Unfortunately I was not able to hear this SP25 deck sing in its original plinth.

On the plinth for the SP25, I've decided to do a multi-layered ply-plinth with a teak wood side-circumference. I have all the carpentry tools at home and so the carpenter will be coming home to work under my wife's supervision. I have had discussions with the carpenter and he has promised a show-piece. The estimate given by the carpenter, inclusive of materials is Rs.4750/-. I have decided to use a variation of the design by our respected forum member, cybervinay as it looks very classy.

 

[reubensm]

Back in town today. Its time to fire up the Lenco L75. Will finish up with the tonearm connectors on the Jelco, tonight or tomorrow. Did a balance check on the L75 stock arm in the morning and it seems to be in good nick. Will only be able to judge it when it plays. The carts for the test will be the M70B on the L75 stock arm and M44-7 on the Jelco SA370H.

One major concern for me was in relation to the tonearm position. I was extremely particular about the deck layout as I was absolutely particular that the tonearm should sit on the plinth, independent of the top plate. However as it turned out, the Jelco was glued to the Lenco top plate and the alternate tonearm position provided at the back was so close to the top plate that the base of the tonearm was engaging with the top plate. The good news is that the super-glued tonearm base fell off anyways and that gave me the opportunity to mount back the stock tonearm. I took the plinth to an old carpenter of mine who is an expert at wood carving. He carefully made some minor changes to the plinth cutouts so as to (1) ensure that the deck is mounted perfectly straight on the plinth and (2) the tonearm at the back does not engage with the plinth. Good stuff and I am very happy with the results. The plinth itself has its layer cut-outs done according to spec so that was really helpful. Overall, I am now confident that this plinth will sing well. Shall post pics and a review, this week.

On the other hand and update on the Garrard 401 plinth. I have decided to give it to my carpenter to see if he can adapt it for the SP25. Once that is done, then I'll commence a new plinth build for the 401. I am hoping to receive the its platter rubber rings from Mr. Kuruvila by this month itself.

 

[reubensm]

Received the Garrard 401's original platter rings from Kottayam today. Very well packed (in a box previously used to pack an EL95 and ECC83 valve set). Opened it up without any expectations to find the reason why they were not possibly included in the first place during delivery of the turntables. One severed ring. Wify and me had a good laugh about it. After all, we've finally reached the end of our unfortunate turntable Odyssey and its only up-hill from here. Can't be happier. I had ordered a new pair from Germany anyways, 30 Euro shipped, on the way. The Lenco is going to sing tomorrow night. I have some late night calls today or we could have had it performing tonight itself.

 

[reubensm]

here you go, brand new Jico replacement stylii for the Shure M70B, which arrived from Jico, Japan. Beautiful packaging that could have made Shure very proud.