Lenco L75 Build

[santhosh]

I decided to try arj's suggestion today. I used cobblestones instead of bricks since I could not find dry bricks anywhere (it has been raining last few days).

What a difference!! There is now more excitement in the music, superb bass - overall very involving.

Some pics:
Cobblestones cleaned and being dried

Ingredients - cones, Blu Tack & cobblestones

Arranged the stones, stuck the cones to the four corners and placed the top plate onto the four stones. The stones were not tall enough and required another set of stones. After listening I removed one set(layer) of stones and added footers instead - the motor cleared the rack by 2 mm. This sounded better to my ears, so left it as is

Tried the record puck from my Project - not a snug fit but still there was improvement in bass

Some pics of the original plinth. Using the stones has now allowed me to try to shoehorn a layered plinth into the stock plinth
From top:

Bottom up:

All in all a day well spent

 

[santhosh]

The speed issue is pretty easy to resolve - just moving the speed selector switch to the right reduces the speed .

@Hiten: When I did the test for crosstalk, while one speaker was playing, the other was silent.

@Arj: even my understanding is that azimuth or even issues with cartridge and wiring can cause it.

@Joshua: Thanks for trying bro. Much appreciated. I have ordered the tonearm cable, so won't need it. The 5-din male connector is fitted half way through the tonearm pipe. Trying to change it might mean the tonearm wires might snap inside. I don't want to tweak it because it is a new tonearm. Also, I have read that the tonearm wire that Jelco uses is very good - Mogami Neglex (?).

 

[arj]

santosh, try doubling the layer of the stones with blu tack in between. it will act as another version if CLD and should improv the sound better. in fact IMHO this might be better than a dedicated plinth as unlike other TTs, the Lencos sound is almost directly proportional to the amount of Mass loading you do to the plinth ! (of course to a point of diminishing returns)

If you check lenco heaven, many of the gurus have actually put in layers of concrete/lead etc in their CLDs.

 

[anilva]

Can you find the difference on a blind test? Just checking

I decided to try arj's suggestion today. I used cobblestones instead of bricks since I could not find dry bricks anywhere (it has been raining last few days).

What a difference!! There is now more excitement in the music, superb bass - overall very involving.

Some pics:
Cobblestones cleaned and being dried

Ingredients - cones, Blu Tack & cobblestones

Arranged the stones, stuck the cones to the four corners and placed the top plate onto the four stones. The stones were not tall enough and required another set of stones. After listening I removed one set(layer) of stones and added footers instead - the motor cleared the rack by 2 mm. This sounded better to my ears, so left it as is

Tried the record puck from my Project - not a snug fit but still there was improvement in bass

Some pics of the original plinth. Using the stones has now allowed me to try to shoehorn a layered plinth into the stock plinth
From top:

Bottom up:

All in all a day well spent

 

[santhosh]

Thanks Arj, will try it this weekend.

Anil, the difference between the original plinth and the brick setup is substantial. Biggest improvement was the bass. I can easily pass the blind test on this one .

 

[jls001]

Some pics:
Cobblestones cleaned and being dried

Did you dab and smear some oil from reptilian skin of your choice after cobblestones dried?

 

[prem]

Hi Santhosh


Cobblestone is very good because its a little porous and allows vibrations to go out very easily. Bricks also behave in a similar fashion. You can also try sandstone. It might work better because it is one of the very few stones with minimal ringing.

 

[Hiten]

@Hiten: When I did the test for crosstalk, while one speaker was playing, the other was silent.
@Arj: even my understanding is that azimuth or even issues with cartridge and wiring can cause it.

Though my stylus setting and azimuth is as perfect as it can be I will double check.
Thanks and regards

 

[jls001]

Though my stylus setting and azimuth is as perfect as it can be I will double check.
Thanks and regards

The silence of the other channel will also depend on the channel separation of the cartridge, which is typically > 25 dB measured at 1 kHz.

 

[santhosh]

Last few days have been very interesting and have been enjoying the Lenco very much. Though I did not try another set of bricks yet, I optimised the Lenco to get the most out of my Pioneer Cart.

On Saturday, Abhi (Dr.Bass) was in Bangalore, so had the opportunity of trying the Zyx RS30-02 MC Cart in my system. I had heard it in his system in SG, but I was able to relate about its capabilities much better on listening to it on my system. On very good recordings, it dug out details that I had never heard with the Ortofon Rondo Red. Very smooth HF and the bass - I was truly astounded - simply the best I have heard on my system, seconded only by my Marantz CD94. It showed me how much more bass there is in the Lenco to be tapped and also the bass capability of my Altec A7s. One thing to note here is that in my listening area, the Altecs have been placed such there is no rear wall (just a sloping roof that too 12 feet away), so getting more bass by trying out different placements is not an option. Only way suggested by experts is to reduce the size of the bass port. But with the Zyx, none of that is required.

I then wondered how my Ortofon Rondo Red would sound. Just as I mounted and setup the ORR, Stevieboy dropped by. When compared to the Zyx, the ORR was a completely different flavour, fantastic midrange, decent bass with smooth but slightly recessed highs. We listened to some Classic Rock and the ORR did well largely. We then listened to some old Jazz and the Ortofon shone here, brings in the much needed warmth that the Zyx was unable to convey with my TT-Tonearm combo. By playing around with tracking force, I think I can get more highs as I have heard it on my Project TT, but am afraid it will be at the cost of bass. Will give it a try along with other tweaks....but I have time only until Saturday when the new owner of my Adcom amps takes delivery. And then it will be a a short wait before I receive the Lyrita SET Amp and DHT Pre. BTW, I have ordered two pairs of 45 tubes - a matched Silverstone pair and a Kenrad NOS pair:licklips:.

 

[santhosh]

I bought an Ortofon SL15-ELL cartridge and matching Ortofon STM-72 Step Up Transformer for the Lenco a few days in Amsterdam and had it sent to my friend. Received it from him yesterday, set it up late last night and listened to a few familiar tracks. Initial impressions are good, will listen more today.

Some pics:

 

[santhosh]

Some info about history of Ortofon and the SL-15:
http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2512

 

[jls001]

Wow. Nice cart. How is the sound signature? Does it compare favourably to the SPUs?

When you have some time, try these chains for a comparo:

a) SL15-ELL --> Hypnotoad MC Pre (u already made this, right?) --> Regular Pre ....

b) SL15-ELL --> Stepup --> CNC MM --> etc

 

[santhosh]

Wow. Nice cart. How is the sound signature? Does it compare favourably to the SPUs?

When you have some time, try these chains for a comparo:

a) SL15-ELL --> Hypnotoad MC Pre (u already made this, right?) --> Regular Pre ....

b) SL15-ELL --> Stepup --> CNC MM --> etc

Thanks Joshua, I haven't really been able to listen to it for too long as it was quite late in the night and the Altecs were playing really loud even at the lowest step of the AP Pre.

I tried SL-15 ELL ->STM72 SUT->Lehmann Audio Black Cube -> AP Pre->AP Power -> Altec A7

In the LA Black Cube, I have the option of loading at 47K Ohms MM as well as 47K Ohms MC. I only tried the 47k MM and it had lot of gain, will try MC today. Just a dip switch, so should be easy.

I have completed the CNC MM phonostage but have only populated half the components on the Hypnotoad MC phonostage. Will try and complete it soon and share my findings.

 

[santhosh]

Tried the 47k MC loading on the Black Cube, it has even more gain and the Altecs were playing so loud that it was impossible for me to listen to. I could hear signs of honkiness and even the room nodes were being excited. The Black Cube does not have gain control, so even at the lowest step of volume control of the AP Pre, I was getting 90db SPL (and 100db peaks) at my listening position. The MC loading seemed to have more fluidity, better dynamics and attack but I will only be able to test early next week as I will have my Lyrita Pre and Power by then. Until then, I will listen in the 47k MM loading.

 

[santhosh]

I toyed around some more yesterday with the loading on the phonostage, none of the other impedance loadings sounded as nice as the MC 47k. I am unable to fix the problem at hand, not with the current components in the chain. The output gain of the SL15 -> SUT->Black Cube is quite high and I am unable to control the gain using the stepped attenuator on the AP. Step 1 is too high and Step 0 gives no sound . IMO, this is a good problem to have since I am getting a low powered SET amp, but not with the current components especially with high efficiency Altec horns. The horns sound shouty at my 14ft listening distance, so I gave up and will wait for my Lyrita amps to be delivered - which is in a few hours . The APs will then be used to power my ATCs.

Did I mention that the APs belong to Titus (iaudio)? Nope, I didn't. He kindly offered to let me use them while he is away from the country for the next one year. This gives me some breathing time to afford a suitable amp for the ATCs, what with so many things to spend on hyeah:. Thanks Titus, your kind gesture is much appreciated by me and my system .

So, will wait for the Lyrita

 

[jls001]

Just for info - this gentleman's choice of placing his L75 is quite unique. And very sensible.

LencoL75

 

[Hiten]

@Hiten: When I did the test for crosstalk, while one speaker was playing, the other was silent.

have ordered the tonearm cable

Santhoshbhai, sorry for off topic but since this is tonearm wire+cross talk related I thought I should put it here, which may help.
As my tonearm wires were resoldered in quite a few places I thought I should change it, as this was cheap turntable and being little impatient I got hold of Nokia headphone wire (See Picture for comparision. the wire near Green Dot) which are litz wires and had double the strands than my previous wire and flexible too. My original wires were little stiff and had few strands than the nokia and the gauge was little less too I think.

After rewiring done and listening, few points I would like to share....
-- The original all four tonearm wires were twisted in one bunch so I twisted Right channel and ground separately from Left channel and Ground. Not much improvement but definitely ~10% less cross talk.
-- Be careful while soldering to lugs which are held by plastic bush. I am lucky to have noticed it before doing major damage. Remove headshell and cartridge.
-- If possible use high wattage soldering iron so you can just solder by touch and go quickly.
-- though the new tonearm wire collectively was of greater thickness but was made up of double the number of thin copper strands it has resulted in clear but little lean bass in my system.
-- I remember reading somewhere about speaker cables. i.e. to use speaker cables which has proper guage but as little strands as possible. I think same holds true for tonearm wire because I see less thump in bass.
-- I dismantled the whole tonearm and cleaned it. Take extreme precaution while doing so. The pivot has almost half mm ball bearings and the vertical tonearm movement rest on even smaller ball bearings.
-- Best way to replace tonearm wire would be without dismantling whole tonearm. Next time I will tie a thread to wires which are to be replaced remove them by pulling from other side, tie new wire to the thread so they pass easily through arm mechanism and slip back to position.
-- Would I recommend such wires ? I think if I had acquired a little thicker wires it would have been as good replacement as audiophile wires can be. Also individual guage of copper strands is important.
Hope this helps.
Regards
All in all a labour of love.

 

[kuruvilajacob]

I have also been seriously thinking of using headphone wires to replace the tone arm wires which need to be replaced. It is so difficult to get tone arm wires these days. I would expect it to perform better than wires which have to be soldered at several places

 

[arj]

Tansfi audio sells it..they have an ebay store too... items in transfiaudio store on eBay!