I thought it time to show the Lenco world what I’ve been up to regarding TT modification. I will say at the outset that whilst I do not have many points of reference regarding sound quality, it is clear that the results I have achieved thus far as amazing. To this end I am grateful to the forum members for their words of wisdom and inspiration – thank you.
So, I bought a good Goldring Lenco L75 late last year in the hope of modifying it gradually (and hence noting the hopefully improving sound quality). Alas the TT did not survive the delivery as the platter came loose and damaged the arm, case, cover ect. So after a refund and disposing of the useless parts, a plasma cutter reduced the metal base as thus -
I felt it important to secure the area under the platter securely to the plinth rather than let it float above it thus ensuring good coupling. Cutting the metal away in the manner shown made this easier to carry out as well as also produced IMO an elegant visual solution.
The plinth came next and whilst I would like a Slate/Hardwood one, the MDF in the garage looked too inviting and provided a quick means to this end. It advantages were that I could modify it to suit changes I knew would happen as the design evolved and I have the tools/skills to work with it. So by mid December the TT looked like this –
Diane, my wife, bought me the Denon cartridge as a present, so over the holiday period I played a large number of records. It was clear that the TT was dynamic and open and able to replicate lower frequencies with ease but above all it was musical and involving – I was enjoying myself and I did not feel that the TT was a weak link in the audio chain. Also even though I was using a low output cartridge, the noise level was quite low. It was a significant move up from my old TT, a Technics SL QL1.
As a slight aside, I also built a phono amp based on a World Audio Design from the mid ‘90’s and after correcting the woefully incorrect RIAA filtering, it was ready to go on Christmas Eve.
Other construction details of the TT are shown below –
I have used a balsa wood shim to ensure good coupling. The layers of MDF are bolted together, 4 8mm bolts from the bottom and 4 4mm bolts from the top under the platter. The bolts screw into Keenserts bonded in the MDF (Keenserts are designed for use on composite materials).
The switched IEC connector has the wires soldered to its spade connections and the 4 wires are screened. I have separate earth’s for the motor and metal base (star wired) hence the extra wire. I have found an improvement is sound quality when the earths are used (less backgound noise).
I had been in discussion with Jeff at Audiomods regarding his tonearm kits and having ordered one in December, this arrived mid January. It was good fun building the kit although the wiring was quite a challenge. I decided to use Audionote AN-WIRE-300 wire and even though I have considerable experience in soldering I found it difficult to work with (it has a mind of its own!) I used silk tubing to run the tonearm wire within the arm as this would not only protect the wire but also absorb any vibrational energy (the wire and tubing are available from HiFi Collective)
So by mid April the TT looked like this –
I was a little nervous prior to using the TT with the new arm for the first time but I need not have worried – it was amazing and I suppose in upgrade terms it’s a huge step up. Briefly, there just seemed to be much more control whilst lower level info seemed to emanate from a much blacker background. Obviously I had change several thing so the improvements were the summation of these (Arm, wiring, interconnect, additional mass on headshell)
So the next step is to replace the bearing as it will now be a weak point of the TT. The mechanical platter on/off lever and associated linkage will go as they are not used and this will possibly enable the MDF base to be glued together. I also need to raise the platter mat by about 6mm as the VTA is not ideal so will have to find some suitable material to this end (the Audiomods arm is higher than the Rega).
I hope this has been of use and once again thanks to you all. Any comments, questions or criticism welcome!
