Post your turntable setup...can't get enough of those spinners!

Discussion in 'Vinyl Nutjob World: Turntable and Related Gear' started by shaizada, Sep 28, 2015.

  1. bobboxbody

    bobboxbody Friend

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    I wanted a full auto turntable for the the living room because my wife was worried about damaging the previous higher end manual TT when she wanted to listen to a record. I did a bunch of research about 80's TOTL full auto tables and the Sonys sounded great but they were expensive and when the chip controlling the functions died it seemed like that was it, with the exception of one guy who managed to solder an rPi into the IC socket and then reverse engineered some controller software, I'm not smart enough for that. So I decided on fully mechanical automatic function and went with a Dual 1229 for a very reasonable price. I disassembled it following an online guide and removed old hardened grease and re-lubed it after cleaning, then rewired the arm. I installed new female rca connectors in place of the old, bypassed the muting relay and wired directly from the cartridge pin connectors to the rca's. I also replaced the idler wheel with a new production unit from Canada. About $500 all in minus the cart and I'm pleased. All functions work perfectly, it holds speed admirably for a mid-tier idler drive and sounds surprisingly good with the new Nagaoka MP-500 which is a nice match for the lower mass arm. I think it looks nice too, which a refinished generic plinth. I think the last tweaks will be experimenting with the suspension system and dampening the platter, but it's good enough for now. As a bonus you can zoom in and look at all the junk on our coffee table reflected in the dustcover.
    [​IMG]
     
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    Last edited: Mar 20, 2023
  2. mitochondrium

    mitochondrium Friend

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    Congrats! At the time the Dual was considered to be superior to the Thorens TD125 MkII. At the time the price was between 550 and 590 German marks, when average monthly income was 1360 marks, so this was by no means a generic turntable, it was considered something for aficionados. The problem was that the dynamic range of LPs on some recordings was getting so high that the noise of the idler (which was lower than for the TD125 MkII) was becoming a problem. Dual was always less sexy than Thorens but by no means always inferior. Nice to see that you take good care of this beauty, my fathers 1219 is still going strong after an overhaul.
     
  3. bobboxbody

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    Thanks! The motor was pretty loud when I first got it, but it was surprisingly easy to take apart and clean/re-lube the bearing. It's not silent now, but close enough to the point that plenty of my records have tape hiss from the original recording louder than the motor. I think the material of the new idler wheel also does more to ameliorate the motor noise than the original rubber wheels.
     
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    Last edited: Mar 20, 2023
  4. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    That would be my kind of turntable, were I to seek one today :)

    Ind fact, mine is a Dual. Nothing special, in terms of model. I haven't used it for years now, but iirc, it is is not fully automatic: you have to put the stylus on the record, but I think it lifts off at the end.
     
  5. bobboxbody

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    [​IMG]
    So many fingerprints, I may need to paint the plinth. Basis 1400 and Origin Live Illustrious arrived miraculously un-damaged. They're pretty much set up using REW and the Analog Productions test LP. I need to do a little more azimuth tweaking but it's a huge pain in the ass on this arm, the deal was too good to pass up though and the sound even without maximum perfect setup is pretty amazing, can't wait to get some big boy speakers in here.
     
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  6. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    I have that exact same audio rack
     
  7. bobboxbody

    bobboxbody Friend

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    AND we're running the same cartridge... soulmates? I don't want to leave my wife, but I will, just say the word.

    Sorry, I can't resist dirtying a thread with dumb jokes.
     
  8. Puma Cat

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    My Michell Gyro SE MkiI, SME V tonearm and Koetsu Urushi Vermilion moving coil cartridge. Shown next to my previous DAC, the Lampizator Baltic 3 (now replaced with a Lumin P1).
    [​IMG]

    The venerable SME V...still in production today...
    [​IMG]
     
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    Last edited: May 5, 2023
  9. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    Let's run off and make sweet turntables together!
     
  10. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Shall we rename this thread "THE TT ORGY"?

    cause I'm okay with that as long as someone "forgets" their VPI (wink wink, nudge nudge, know-what-ah-mean) at my place after we all got drunk on vinyl.
     
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  11. je2a3

    je2a3 Almost "Made"

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  12. bobboxbody

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    Pretty sure you're now required to build a giant mass damped plinth and get one of those dust brush arms. Also, that looks very nice.
     
  13. je2a3

    je2a3 Almost "Made"

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    Thanks!

    I've always adjusted/tweaked my idler driven turntables to achieve their quietest possible performance before mounting them on a heavy plinth.

    Here's a picture of my Garrard 301 when I acquired it in the mid 90s.
    [​IMG]
    I used it this way until I completed a heavy plinth for it. It was very quiet!

    [​IMG]
    Same approach to my Garrard 401

    [​IMG]
    This is how I'm using my TD124-II at the moment. :)
     
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    Last edited: May 8, 2023
  14. nlitworld

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    I recently finished building a tube phono stage from Vacuum Tube Audio with their PH16 kit. Went completely overkill upgrading parts on the kit and it sounds glorious. I upgraded signal caps to Audyn True Copper Max , KLE rca plugs, VH Audio shielded signal path wire, internally mounted SUT, Gold Lion 6922 tubes, transformer shield, hexfred rectifier, and a big customized case to mount it all. Finally have some gear that can show off what my Schiit Sol is capable of. Also not sure if I posted my Sol upgrades a while back but I rewired it doing away with the circuit board going straight from Audio Note silver cartridge clips, through Cardas litz wire to KLE rca plugs. Oh man was that a great upgrade in its own right. All in all, I'm pretty stinkin' happy with my stereo now.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 22, 2023
  15. TheloniuSnoop

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    Can't see pix. :(
     
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  16. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    Neither can I. Except... Oddly, if I quote the message, I can see them in the reply box!
     
  17. nlitworld

    nlitworld Acquaintance

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    Maybe better now?
     
  18. TheloniuSnoop

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  19. je2a3

    je2a3 Almost "Made"

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  20. Bowmoreman

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    Here’s my Source - Sota Star Sapphire and SME309 with Denon. Ignore the nut, was in process of rebalancing and couldn’t find my SME Arm balance adjust wrench, and wanted to just get going immediately after unpacking. Since sorted, but this is the photo.

    Bonus photo, the “other end” of the chain: Classe DR9 driving my beloved Apogee Duetta Signatures (with my Bismarck in the background).

    https://imgur.com/a/AkdbGnD
     

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