Large, heavily-built and superbly engineered idler-wheel drives which differ from the norm in that the idler wheel runs vertically against the underside of the heavy platter.
- Lenco L75 Prototype rebuild 1992
This is the prototype that started me on the path to Lenco-dom. The marbling is sloppy (didn't stir it enough, didn't dip it in right), but still you can see the effect, it fools many into thinking it is made of stone. The two-tier design was meant to address that worrisome rumble aspect which I later found out wasn't an issue. I removed the motor entirely from the top-plate and mounted it on the large bottom plinth.
This Lenco body replaced a Maplenoll Athena/Ariadne/Kiseki Purpleheart Sapphire combo as well, which it beat by a large margin when armed with the Rega RB300 re-wired with Cardas and Music Boy interconnects, and mounted with an Accutex 320 MM cartridge. The photo shows the Rega tonearm in the original Lenco hole, showing the severity of the VTA discrepancy, which one can see is not so severe after all, a tall cartrdige going a long way to mitigating this.
This is an example of the marbling I started the thread with. In this case, the background was painted back, and gold-leaf lacquer was floated in a tub of water and stirred, and after a marbled pattern appeared, I simply dipped the black plinth in. After drying I sprayed the plinth with high-gloss clear lacquer to hold, protect and create the illusion of polished marble. It is made of layers of MDF, birch-ply and maple-ply as well, as this combination seems to get to the heart of the music.
- Lenco Corian/MDF Fifties Diner
This Lenco plinth is made of white Corian bonded to an MDF plinth, creating a Corian/MDF plinth. Though small, it is very heavy! It was inspired by a '50s-style diner with black and white linoleum I had a sody-pop in.
Photo shows how the whole thing is assembled and cut, the template for all my plinths, allowing air around the motor to prevent heat build-up and give access to the motor and bearing without dismantling the whole thing. The space is also meant to prevent reflection of energy back into the tremendously powerful Lenco motor. Note the holes for the fixing bolts. No one will see the interior, so relax.
- Lenco Fun! Freedom to Defy Convention!
This is actually my favourite, as it is the craziest. I call it the Canadian Rustic. Note the deer's head, as if you could miss it! It was originally intended to be a key-holder, heehee! The point here is freedom from mass production, let your imaginations run wild! I can't look at it without smiling, and people seeing it in the flesh love it! The edge is sanded to a high polish before lacquering, giving the visible pine-ply and birch-ply, stained red, a semi-precious-stone-like effect. The feet are hardwood balls, stained red to match the deck and fully adjustable and lockable for rigidity, again approximating TipToes. This is the prototype for the removable-armboard Lencos, and the armboards I have made for it are made of solid maple and solid oak, depending on the thickness required for proper VTA.
This is one I made recently, using MDF for the black stripe, and birch-ply and maple-veneered pine-ply for the plinth. It has four wooden ball feet, fully adjustable and lockable for rigidity, which act as Tiptoes, though they look more fun! It has the usual large space cut around the motor.
http://svalanderaudio.com/shoppen/sparepartseng.php http://www.turntablebasics.com/idlerwheels.html This one provides links to the other Lenco websites: http://members.home.nl/fmunniksma/Lencotdl.htm http://www.bhi.co.uk/hints/rust2.htm http://www.terrysrubberrollers.com/index1.html http://www.altmann.haan.de/tonearm/default.htm For ceramic ball bearings: http://www.mcmaster.com/
http://www.historicmasters.org/78.htm http://www.stefanopasini.it/My%20Turntables-Lenco-Thumbs.htm http://www.vandenhul.com/artpap/phono_faq.htm http://www.enjoythemusic.com/tablehistory.htm http://www.xs4all.nl/~rabruil/sp10page.html
In my experiments and purchases I have found many cartridges which can be bought for $100 or less on ebay and which are superior to the Shure V15VxMR in terms of detail-retrieval and energy, including the Audio Technica AT13e (very detailed and made in 1975!); the Ortofon M15E Super; the ADC XLM MKII. Don't get me wrong, the Shure is supreme at tonal correctness, and at timing. In the right tonearms the Pickering V15 can sound fantastic (very high output makes it a MONSTER), so keep your eyes open for a buzz on any older cartridges, as there must be many other great ones. What makes this so sweet is this supplier of genuine replacement stylii: http://www.stereoneedles.com/Merchant/default.html But my favourite overall giant-killer, when mounted in a low-mass tonearm, is the Grado Platinum, which sounds more detailed and more organized than an AT OC9 when mounted this way. Also sounds gorgeous in a Decca International. Now I get near no hum with the Grado on the Lenco as long as the Lenco top-plate is grounded, but this is a useful link anyway for shielding turntables for Grado-lovers: http://www.magnetic-shield.com/.
- Lenco removable armboard Audio Technica 1009
This is a photo of the work needed to make the Lenco arm-friendly. The armboard is long enough to accept oversized arms, as the cutout beneath the armboard is quite long, in case I ever want to try a 12" tonearm. This requires hacking off the corner, true, but the returns are proper VTA and geometry, and the flexibility which a removable tonearm-board brings with it.
- Lenco bolt-holes Lenco L75
This is an example of how to go about fastening your Lenco to your plinth. This allows the use of short bolts for just as much strength, which makes for much easier assembly and disassembly when you want to work on it. Notice the widening of the holes for the lower layers, so the bolts torque down on the top three layers only, allowing the use of 2-inch bolts, and you have easy access.
- Lenco Bullshit-Free Metal Polisher
Stop the Presses! I just used THE most effective metal polisher I've ever tried, superior and quicker than resorting to a cocktail of sandpaper and steel wool! I always steer clear of expensive "AMAZING" substances, and in this case paid $2 for a simple metal polisher called "Cameo", meant for scrubbing/bringing back the shine from pots, pans and sinks. Couldn't resist. Just tried it for the first time on a Lenco platter, and this is the best result I've ever gotten, actually shiny, and it only took five minutes!!! I should market this and sell it to audiophools for $25 a can. It's called "Cameo", an "Anti-Tarnish Cleaner for stainless steel, copper, brass & aluminum", and is apparently made here in Canada. Pure no-Bullshit results, I can't believe it (I was hoping of course, but doubtful). Looks just like Comet, and contains "sulfamic acid and surfactant", so if you can't find Bullshit-Free Cameo, then look for a cheap Bullshit-Free substitute with sulfamic acid and surfactant. Don't get it in your eyes, if you do you're supposed to rinse them for 15 minutes!!! Yee-hah!!
From a posting, useful information:
- Lenco idler-wheel rebuilds
Sent from a fellow Lenco-er: "I may have mentioned that I am planning to have a go with the plastic idler wheel. Anyway, I sent one for rebuild, and it came back today. The work done is very high quality, so I thought I would pass the info on. The cost was $27US which included shipping. The guy can rebuild metal ones, of course. His name is Ed Crockett. Here's his address to file away for a rainy day: Vintage Electronics 128 Buccaneer Drive Hattiesburg MS 39402"
Cleaning and optimizing the motor was as effective in increasing clarity and focus as marrying the plinth to the top-plate. I would consider this mandatory, and it has no negatives and causes no shifts in balance. To do this you have to go all the way (I compared a motor with the ends simply oiled, to a motor with the ass-end completely flushed and re-packed with new grease and oiled but the nose simply oiled, to a motor with both ends flushed and re-packed with grease and oiled; and the order of noise was, respectively: noisiest, middling noisy, quietest), even if it means buying a fairly expensive tool ($15-$20 US) for only this job: Snap Ring Pliers, to remove the snap ring which holds the workings in place at the nose of the motor. When disassembling the works at either end, keep a piece of paper handy and make a diagram of how the workings go, in what order and what orientation. At both ends of the motor casing there are brass balls drilled through to make the bearing bushing: I used a piece of string soaked in solvent (paint thinner, motor cleaner, etc.) to remove any baked-on grease from the inisde of the little bushings, and then ran dry string to remove what was left. I re-packed the workings with new grease (molybdenum or Mobil 1, placed wherever metal meets metal, and packing all empty spaces to damp resonances, even of the springs), after cleaning them in solvent (the springs, brass discs, etc.). At the nose end there is a screw which as 4yanx noted must be screwed in just so to reduce noise. Its secret is that inset inside the hollow screw is a little metal piece which is spring-loaded to absorb and kill off vibration of the motor spindle: it is a good idea to remove the tiny little pieces (keep a bowl nearby!) and clean them also in solvent, and clean the inside of the hollow screw using a piece of string. Rig the motor so it is running (place a jumper at the switch terminals, 2 and 3 where the white motor windings are attached on the barrier strip on the motor casing, and run an AC cord to the wall to positions 1 and 4, waiting until it is screwed into the terminal before plugging it in!) and sitting on a hard block of wood so you can hear the buzzing (louder or quieter), and screw the little nose screw in until the motor is actually whining against it making noise, then back off until it reaches the first silent point. Use the attached nut to lock it in place, you'll probably have to do it a few times to get it right, be patient. Finally, adjusting the motor core does work, there is an optimum position for the intrepid. Like Ronnie I first did this while it was plugged in, but when I became plugged in too (ouch) I ceased doing it this way and adjusted, re-assembled and plugged it in, took it apart adjusted again, reassembled and plugged it in, until I got the quietest point. To do this undo the motor casing via the four screws and take the ass end in hand. You will see four screws holding the motor core in which the motor spindle spins. You could simply tighten them down (they are likely loose) for quieter operation, or you could be daring (or mad) and undo them and play the re-position game until you reach the quietest orientation. Doing all these things results in a large improvement in sound quality, with no penalties. At the very least the flushing and fresh grease, re-adjusting the nose-screw, and tightening the core screws, is mandatory! BIG improvement! Finally, the idler-wheel arm and bearings. Damp the arm in the tape of your choice (teflon tape or stretchy plumber's miracle tape or...), this makes a big difference to the noise. For cleanign and lubricating the wheel bearing, grease is mandatory: remove the wheel, clean all bearings, place grease on the arm-spindle, slide the clean teflon washer down, put a little grease on that, oil the shaft, slide the wheel into place, grease the end, slide the other teflon washer into place, grease that, and put the holding clip back on. Push it all the way down, and then push slightly back with your hands (you want minimal spacing for freedom so the wheel doesn't wander) until the wheel is free. Presto. Make sure the sliding post where the idler-wheel attaches is well damped with grease, above and underneath, to prevent ringing. Don't forget to similarly clean and re-lube the main bearing, which has been found with both oil and grease, experiment, follow your preference! Finally, clean the underside of the platter and treat the idler-wheel rubber with Rubber Renew or a similar product.
The #1 aim in getting the most out of your Lenco is to bolt it securely and directly to a big, heavy, non-resonant weight, in order to squeeze the most performance out of the motor/platter/idler-wheel system. You dont want to use gaskets between the Lenco top-plate and the plinth; what you want to do is to contruct an inert mass, and make this mass One with the Lenco, in effect creating a Super Lenco. The inert mass is achieved by using the principles of constrained layer damping, intelligent choice of materials, and the actual bonding agents used in the construction. Problems with the Lenco were due to the resonant boxes it was mounted in as well as improper set-up. If you trolled through various websites you will have noted that the Lenco is said by many to be very quiet, while others claim it is noisy: the noise is due to improper set-up, as I know from experience these are very quiet, and very noisy without proper set-up. The issue is the motor: it must not contact anything (including the plinth so this must be measured and cut very carefully), the wheel must not contact anything but the motor and platter, the motor must be swinging freely from the springs. This said, the motor is very powerful, and the best way to sink the vibrations is mass. Remember, as quiet as the Lenco is, it has an extremely powerful motor, and this energy still has to be dealt with to extract the most from whatever tonearm/cartridge you end up choosing. We now know that resonant boxes are a big no-no in record-player design of any sort, and this goes ten-fold for idler-wheels with massive powerful motors and hollow metal top-plates. Most amateurs cannot build attractive boxes and anyway this is a bad idea. Simply cutting out slabs of lumber (or other materials) and gluing them together is much easier to do (the slabs being cut fairly accurately at Home Depot) AND is a better platform. In avoiding resonant cavities, each successive slab will have less cut out from it, which will result in higher overal mass, which is a good thing. Since the dimensions of the beast means at least 3" thickness, and at a minimum roughly 17" x 14", the total resulting mass becomes necessarily very heavy and inert, which is the central issue in rebuilding the Lenco and extracting the maximum performance from it. High mass is a Good Idea for all unsuspended decks, not just idler wheels. Part of the secret of the Walker Proscenium is it's extremely high mass. The Clearaudio 'tables become the more expensive the greater the mass involved, and the performance consequently goes up. Apply these principles to the Lenco, which actually needs the high mass more than all these belt-drive 'tables, which can be done cheaply at Home Depot. It is also a case of "Form follows Function": as the dimensions are intended to shroud the internal parts for attractiveness, and this gives a thickness of the plinth of at least 3 inches. The plinth also should be both wider and deeper than the metal top-plate, again for architectural attractiveness, but also to provide the room for the tonearm board, whatever cover you find, and to show off the final finish. For "proprietary damping material" there's carpenter's glue and contact cement, with the judicious application of various damping materials such as Dynamat for the Lenco's metal plinth, damping sheets available at car parts stores. For "constrained layer damping", which is essentially mixing your materials so there isn't a single resonant point (hoping for the best), consider a mix such as MDF glued to a sheet of birch-ply, or chipboard glued to a sheet of plasterboard for anti-resonance characteristics (this requires a box, however, as the plaster is naked), or a mixture of chipboard, MDF and Birch-ply and so on. Be inventive, follow your theories! Remember, chipboard (really cheap) is porous, so you will have to fill in the edge with plaster or plastic wood before starting to paint. I don't think solid MDF, which is easily cut and machined, is a good idea, as it has an unattractive sonic signature (lumpy and uneven bass, bright upper midrange). However, when sandwiched between other materials, it works well, is cheap, and very, very heavy, adding mass and being easily machined (wear a mask however when working with it). The bonding issue is a complex one. While it is true that epoxy spreads more evenly, it hardens to a glass-like consistency, and so adding potential resonances (or perhaps beneficial stiffness), while contact cement is itself a vibration-deadening agent (that "proprietary damping material manufacturers go on about). While the contact cement will leave some tiny spaces, it takes care of more problems than it creates, as the resulting mass is very dead and very strong regardless. This is what youll need for gluing slick plastic materials like Corian. After joining, move the clamps around to clamp down all points of the two contact-cemented surfaces, to make sure the bond is total. Of course, if the whole thing is made of wood, then it isn't an issue, just use wood glue. But be careful, as fast-drying wood glue will ruin your plinth by setting before you have aligned your pieces. Glue two slabs at a time, therefore, letting them sit, clamped, and then glue another layer to the two glued slabs, and so on until youre finished. The plinth's purpose is to be totally passive, to, by the sole means of mass, halt the attempts by various energies (the Mighty Lenco Motor, the cartridge's attempts to move the tonearm at the base and thus the whole turntable, etc.) to move the base on which the tonearm/cartridge sits, so the cartridge's entire energies, created by following the grooves in the vinyl, end up at the magnets or the coils intact, and on to the phono stage and on. Imagine focussing ALL the cartridge's energies like a laser beam at the phono stage. So remember, you want a passive plinth, inert and immovable, not an active comb filter, or a sponge at all frequencies which will rob the music of its potential energies. In choosing your materials, you want an end result which is "passive" and not "active", meaning that though you don't want it to resonate actively at any frequency (and constrained-layer-damping is the way to achieve this as it prevents the natural resonant frequency of any given material to express itself and be heard), nor do you want it to absorb energies at any given frequency, or across the frequency spectrum so that it actively damps the cartridge's/music's natural energy. Given the preponderance of space-age materials in modern turntable design, many high-end 'tables today are guilty of acting as "comb-filters", meaning they damp/absorb energy at certain frequencies. For instance, today acrylic is top of the pops in record-player design. If you pay attention to the reviews, you will note that almost all acrylic turntables have a characteristic clear sound, but seem lacking in warmth. This is because acrylic damps energies in the mid-bass, thus creating the illusion of greater clarity. This robs the music of much of its presence, and messes with the total recovery of the original performance. You don't want a comb-filter. When choosing materials, ask, is it active and so filtering out some energy? Hold the material up to your ear and ping it with your finger. In the absence of scientific instruments, a "feel" for the material is the only recourse. So do your best to choose materials you trust to be neutral and passive, and to avoid materials which sound like they might be active. Not 100% accurate, as you must rely to a certain extent on your instincts. A material which rings, like, say, marble, is better than a material which absorbs and transforms vibration into heat, as the ringing material can be damped by constrained-layer damping. A material which actively subtracts, however, will always be actively subtracting, no matter what you do. So hold it up to your ear, try to judge if it is too active, and go with your instincts. You can get the idea by doing this with Sorbothane vs rubber, for instance. The rubber, while a similar material in some ways, will still give a satisfying "thud", and so is not too active. Sorbothane, on the other hand, definitely is too active, and will actually absorb the energy so that there is no thud of any kind. Some materials, as well, seem hard, but like certain carbon-fibre formulations, actually transform vibration into heat. So no carbon-fibre formulations for a record-player, which however works great under amplifiers. When in doubt, do some research and find out if the material is used in any applications to transform vibration into heat. Constrained-layer-damping definitely works to diminish the contribution of any one material, so long as you don't go for active vibration-killers like Sorbothane and certain carbon-fibre formulations. Acrylic is not too active so long as it is layered with other materials. The massive, immovable plinth (you don't need tons here, however, as powerful as the motor and cartridge energies are, they have their limits) allows the motor's energies to be directed solely towards spinning the platter at perfect speed, which given the platter's flywheel design the Mighty Lenco Motor (4-pole, cogless, dynamically balanced, 1800 RPM, silent beauty!) can do. A truly passive immovable plinth allows the great musical energies (like Star Wars weaponry, focused and powerful) which results from perfect speed to reach your phono stages intact. Result? What you've all heard, musical reproduction which makes your collective jaws hit the floor! Direct Coupling, which is building your plinth so the bottom of the top-plate under the platter rests on a layer, either directly or via a neoprene rubber gasket, is mandatory!!!. In this way the large non-resonant mass is maximized for effectiveness, acting as a true sink for vibration and noise, and seems magically to even draw away surface noise, so youre your records also become much quieter. This shows the large non-resonant plinth REALLY works. The detail is more apparent, the surface noise diminished. The reason I build such a large space around the motors is not only to avoid heat build-up, but to avoid the transmission/reflection of energies into the plinth. I have explained this at various times in the course of the thread, but here we go again: I had a Maplenoll Athena turntable (before the Ariadne version) which had a fluid-damping trough. When I put it on expecting a great improvement, what I got rather than better control and noise suppression of my cantankerous Decca cartridge, was a doubling of the noise. I couldn't understand it at the time, and I tried various grades of fluid in an effort to make it work. Then we went to a larger trough: problem solved. The walls of the original trough were too close to the paddle, and so reflected the already-existent noise back into the paddle, effectively doubling it. This is the principle as well of such open architecture 'tables as the Oracle: rather than enclose the workings in a resonant box, leave them exposed to the air where the resonances simply disappear into the air, reflecting off nothing. This is the principle as well I applied to the Prototype Lenco under my "system".
This is a Direct-Coupled Lenco - meaning the top-plate is in direct contact with the plinth under the platter as well as by the usual four bolts - cut to accept the airbearing MG-1 tonearm. I have found so far that the best match is the famed and rightly popular Denon DL103. On this air-bearing tonearm the Denon sounds ultra clean and viceless, while preserving that excellent attack, dynamics and PRaT! The MG-1 has weak bass compared to my pivoted tonearms, but this is to a large extent mitigated by the Lenco, which gives it a boost which makes it more than satisfactory. The arm performs flawlessly, is easy to set up, and as one can see seems almost to have come out of the Lenco factory, the fit is purrrr-fect! Truly excellent combo for those who want air-bearing and all its advantages matched to the stunning dynamics and quietness of the Direct Coupled Lenco.
I bought it intending to make the most of it, delve into its Mysteries, and then sell it on, but didn't count on just how seductive all that beauty is! I also didn't count on how good this 'table really is: it is much better than the 1978-vintage Linn LP12 I was playing with a month ago or so, to put things in some kind of perspective. I have finally got the measure of the Vestigal tonearm, and so mounted my Grado Platinum on it, and now the 'table is not bright at all (everyone had told me it was, and thus crap) and in fact very detailed with tremendous dynamics and speed! The tonearm is very difficult, and proper set-up has an enormous influence on the sound, but when properly set up the tonearm is stellar, and in large part responsible for the sound. The platter is quite heavy, and the peripheral cylinders/flywheel-weights on which the record sits must have something to do with the sound quality as well. The suspension and motor on mine are perfect after all these years, and though I have lusted for an Oracle turntable all these years (a little bit of gorgeous Canadiana), now I have this Skeleton, why go for the copy when I have the gorgeous original in hand? Still, perhaps some time spent with it is enough then sell it on. The sound is a very amplified midrange with attack (like under a magnifying glass), and this I attribute to the essentially platterless design (the record sits on rubber nibs high above the flywheel-platter), as someone offered this description as well for the Hydraulic Reference, which has a different tonearm. Both bass and highs are quite good, though not in the same league as the Lenco. But, in the midrange and in terms of overall sound it is not embarrassed by the Lenco, and in fact I think the Transcriptors Skeleton could itself still embarass quite a few current darlings, and also bring into question the concept of Progress magazines always resort to to justify high price tags. It sounds good enough I could live with it, especially when you factor in the aesthetics! The Lenco is still relatively cheap and was cheap all these years because everyone was focused on the Garrard 301/401 and the Thorens TD124; similarly, the Transcriptors Skeleton is a relative bargain because a) it was the Hydraulic Reference which was featured in A Clockwork Orange and not the Skeleton and b) because it is so difficult to optimize the Vestigal tonearm and so the resulting sound is quite often bad. The tonearm is like an instrument, and once you've fiddled with all the knobs and worked hard to optimize it, you get a feel for it and you can dial it in (it's all done by ear and by result: too much or too little antiskate, and it simply skates; improper VTA and it's bright; fiddle with one knob, and you must readjust another, until it is dialed-in). I know this is an idler-wheel thread, but I have to recommend the Skeleton while it can be had reasonably cheap (remember, no plinth to build, no tonearm to buy) for the same reasons the Lenco could be had cheap, if you're going to go belt-drive, why not a stunning overachiever which is drop-deap gorgeous to boot? And the company still exists and will support all their old creations. Of course, keep a Lenco for your other phono stage ;-), it retrieves so much more information in the bass, thus fleshing everything out to the Lenco's tremendous 3D effects/enormous presence, and puts things back in their proper perspective (midrange). With a Skeleton in your livingroom you'll have a million dollars in looks and true high-end sound for less than the price of a Rega P25, for the moment.
- Garrard Cream 301 Grease-Bearing
After getting to know the fabulous NOS cream grease-bearing Garrard 301 which I deliver tomorrow (so bye-bye, sniff!), and testing it in all kinds of ways, I STILL cannot reliably tell any difference between the best I can do with the Garrard 301 - which is quite a lot thank you: utter silence, incredible dynamics, filigree detail, amazing bass, 3D imaging, & etc. - and the best I can do with the Mighty Lenco: ditto. I switched back and forth first with the Piezo and then with the Amazing Denon DL-103, and compared the Garrard 301/Audio Technica 1009/Denon against various iterations of the Lenco, and I would say one could have heard greater differences between two Lencos than I heard between these two Mighty Idler-Wheel Drives! What does this tell us? That each represents a pinnacle of the Idler-Wheel technology - the Lenco more evolved but the Garrard built like a tank - and that this Pinnacle of the Idler Wheel technology kicks belt-drive ass! It also shows us that when idler-wheels are built to such high standards, differences largely disappear between them (they may be audible in higher-resolution and wider-bandwidth systems than mine), which in turn shows that idler wheel technology brought to a high expression achieves what a record player is supposed to achieve: the closest thing to perfect speed stability it is possible to achieve for the moment, and that given this, the tonearm and cartridge take over to simply retrieve the information encoded on the discs to the best of their abilities. Or as a friend likes to say, these big idler-wheel drives are appliances: they do what a record player is quite simply supposed to do (but in fact rarely does), which is to spin at a perfect 33 1/3 RPM regardless of conditions (i.e. the stylus drag resulting from the diamond in the varying grooves). Perfect neutral platforms to let you reliably hear what your tonearms and cartridges can REALLY do, and let you hear what's REALLY locked in those grooves, inluding the musical energy which belt-drives simply cannot retrieve to the same extent. Now that I have had my hands deep inside each big 'table, I see that the Lenco and the Garrard take different but similar roads (idler wheels) to achieve this perfect speed stability. The Lenco is more lightly built, but its motor is more evolved, more complex and more effective at dissipating noise at the source, while the Garrard motor is more of a simple brute, and relies upon brute strength: the cast top-plate, the cast motor casing, the heavy and cast main bearing to control/dissipate noise. While the Lenco hides springs inside the motor and other vibration absorbing/killing techniques, the Garrard mounts the main bearing on a hidden spring. Both turntables spring-mount the motors. The Lenco has a graduated motor spindle thus achieving infinitely adjustable speed via its adjustable wheel, the Garrard resorts to a magnetic brake to achieve lesser control/range. The Garrard is a rim-drive, the Lenco's wheel is vertical, which may explain why the main bearing of the Lencos is almost always pristine, as there is no wheel actively pushing the platter outward and thus stressing the main bearing to a greater extent, and there is the very well-balanced platter to further reduce stresses. The Lenco's platter is a more impressive piece of machining and design, with more mass concentrated on the rim for increased centrifugal force, a higher standard of finish and perhaps a more effective alloy, and the main bearing rests on a ball bearing, which likens it to a ballet dancer with a deadly (and very regular) wallop. The Garrard is machined to a very high level, and relies on brute strength (more torque) to achieve what the Lenco achieves more elegantly. But each achieves the same thing and to a similar level of refinement: they are both Iron Fists in Velvet Gloves, no lack of refinement in either, and so here (as well) I part company with the reviewers so far, who have described the Garrard as being
- Giant Two-Armed Lenco L75
This is a Giant Two-Armed Lenco, Direct Coupled, in the making of which I discovered two things: 1) the extra mass, roughly double, results in greatly improved sound quality and 2) The JMW 10.5 tonearm is the perfect partner for the Decca Super Gold I have with VdH stylus, an especially ornery version of the famed Deccas. In fact, a Giant Two-Armed Lenco with JMW 10.5/Decca Super Gold is likely a contender for Best Record Player in the World, I've never heard anything even remotely like it!!
- Goldring-Lenco G88 Turntable
This is a classic: a Garrard-clone Goldring Lenco, mounted in a Giant Direct-Coupled plinth, to accommodate two tonearms, the SME 3012 in the upper left corner, and the usual assortment of more normally-sized pivoted tonearms in the upper right corner. It is finished in cherry veneer. This was actually a bit of a project, as the G88 had both a bum older motor, and a crappy idler arm, AND a crappy plastic wheel. So I cannibalized an L75 for its motor and idler-arm and wheel, and had to adapt the G88 body to make room for these new parts. Fortunately it worked, and despite the non-balanced smaller-diameter platter (which might in fact be heavier), it sounded every bit the Destroyer/Giant Direct Coupled Lenco!! The fellow bought two more Lencos within a week of receiving it. Another PR coup, this went to the distributor of high-end belt-drives, who must remain unknown for now.
- Lenco L75 for Air-Bearing MG-1 plus one pivotted tonearm
This is a Giant Direct Coupled Lenco built to accommodate both an MG-1 tonearm and a pivotted tonearm without each interfering with the other. Its top is veneered with burled maple, and the sides and tonearm-boards are solid rosewood.
- Thorens TD-124 MKI in CLD plinth
This is my Thorens TD-124 MKI which I rebuilt into a heavy CLD plinth made of birch-ply and MDF as always, and which I sold on once I had a good bead on its performance (the new owner is happy as a clam, proving that good 'ol simple birch-ply/MDF indeed sounds great with any vintage idler or quasi-idler). According to some the MKI is in fact superior to the MKII (debatable), as its iron platter (as opposed to the MKII's non-magnetic aluminium platter) has special sonic properties, and is heavier and so has more momentum/torque. Of course, since the platter is iron, a very thick mat is needed to make MCs usable: I had bought glass platter/mat a while back for this specific project, which worked beautifully, and the 'table was tested with a Rega/Denon DL103 combo. The plinth is slightly oversized to accommodate an oversized tonearm board, for the usual combo of classic Thorens with the fabulous SME 3012 tonearm. The finish is cherry veneer, and the tonearm boards are solid maple, being made of two pieces of maple clamped together in opposite orientation in order to prevent warpage over time. Very time intensive, as odd angles must be achieved to the fraction of a millimeter. Beautiful, highly-detailed sound; forceful and incisive.
- Lacquered Giant Lenco L75
This is the now-usual Giant Direct Coupled Lenco in black lacquer for serious coolness factor. This takes a lot of work to make ready for lacquering due to the layering. But now that that is sussed, I will start on my Final Lenco, to be done in the same type of lacquer, but in Nivea Cream Can Blue. It will be larger as well, and likely sport an MG-1 tonearm and an RS Labs RS-A1 tonearm, which is a contender for Best Tonearm in the World.
- Red Cherry Lenco/RS-A1 Bogen-Lenco L75
This is my special for playing Crush the Belt-Drive: a Giant Direct Coupled Glass-Reinforced Bogen Lenco L75 built to accept two tonearms, the two currently being used being the RS Labs RS-A1 with Denon DL-103 and the Moerch UP-4 with Decca Super Gold cartridge (where it behaves excellently well ;-)). The RS Labs may in fact be The Best Tonearm in the World: unbelievably good at everything, and musical with excellent PRaT (think
- My Two Companions Giant Lenco and Giant Garrard
On the one hand, my Giant Direct Coupled Glass-Reinforced Lenco, on the other my Giant Garrard with special mounting details in, for all intents and purposes, identical plinths (except for aesthetics, the one being finished in red-stained cherry, the other in maple, not yet finished). These both rock incredibly and are both excellent at filigree detail as well as the musicality thing, predictably. I have not yet brought the Garrard up to its full potential, but will eventually report on this. Fun to have them sitting side by side!!
- Giant Garrard 301 Grease-Bearing
This is a Garrard 301 grease-bearing in my traditional Giant Plinth, with my own implementation of Direct Coupling specially-adapted for the Garrard's different build. In order to get the Garrard up to the unbelievable heights of a Lenco taken to extremes, attention must be paid to every single detail (as with the Lencos), including taking apart and restoring the motor, cleaning and re-lubing all linkages, making sure the wheel is up to snuff. Fall behind in a single aspect, and the Garrard will not match the Lenco (which proves the Garrard is in no way inherently sonically superior to/more effective than the Lenco). For feet I use the same technique as I do for the Lenco: large carriage bolts which with their rounded heads approximate Tiptoes. The T-nuts are hammered into the inside of the plinth so that when torqued down (after levelling) with two wrenches (one to hold the bolts in place, the other to REALLY torque down the locking nut against the large washer which goes between the nut and the Lenco plinth), the marriage/effectiveness is supreme, the solidity incredible. This results in a great increase in detail/focus/dynamics and bass tightness/slam. Again, what works for the Lenco works for the Garrard, and as for any high-end turntable at all, be it belt-drive or not, suspended or not, a good platform MUST be found to maximize the performance. That done, I still have not found footers to match what I get from my carriage bolts. Of course, there are those who don't like the aesthetics, or prefer real Tiptoes, or who have special circumstances (cannot mount on a stand of sufficient integrity) and so on, and so must find their own way. Now the Lencos don't mind a neoprene rubber gasket at all, but to the Garrard, this is anathema. Ditto rubber mats: the Lencos LOVES them, the Garrard HATES them. Now those who don't have an ultra Lenco and are using a Garrard with rubber mat are not aware of the sonically-destructive effect of rubber on Garrards. But with a Lenco as Reference, it is all too clear. I found a Spotmat sent to me long ago by Willbewill (thanks Malcolm!) finally found its natural home on my Garrard!! So finally, when I attended to every little detail, securely and effectively coupled the Garrard to the usual Giant CLD plinth, removed every vestige of rubber, absolutely torqued-down the bolts/footers, put an identical marble/acrylic platform under the Garrard, removed the rubber mat and replaced it with the Spotmat, THEN the Garrard was precisely in the same league as the Lenco. A similar grease to the original is impossible to find these days (and original grease tends to break down and cause problems, as it did in mine), and so must be made. Too thick a grease dampens dynamics and clarity, too thin and who knows, but it likely ain't good? I concocted a special recipe of grease using Mobil 1 grease cut with Mobil 1 30-weight oil, mixed thoroughly until I had the same consistency as the original Garrard grease, which is to say the same consistence as phlegm, not to put too fine a point on it ;-). Then the Garrard started to sing. The plinth is also not yet finished, a few more coats of various subtances to bring out the grain and give it a nice sheen, and to darken the colour more towards the caramel, my aim. New photos to be posted along with my final impressions of the sound when we get there. For now, I would say the Garrard sounds BIGGER, like a widescreen cinema, as in everything is processed through a fish-eye lens to bring the midrange forward. But in addition to this, the soundstage seems bigger too, with shortened depth next to the Lenco, which in its turn is more laser-focused and precise and perhaps a wee bit less dramatic, though this depends on the recording I think (some types of/recordings of bass come across with more impact via the Lenco, others via the Garrard). But this could be the mats, or something else. More comparisons in the months ahead, hopefully I will be able to do a comparison of same tonearm/cartridge into same phono stage to nail things down. But in the meantime, I am happy to report the Garrard will be sharing playing time with the Lenco in my system, and I couldn't be more pleased, especially as it was the humble Garrard SP-25 which convinced me long ago that the idler-wheel system was quite simply the superior system, and once I discovered that there was such a thing as a bigger Garrard, and most especially the fabulous Beasts the Garrards 301 and 401, I began to dream of finding one and owning one, but one never came up back then, and instead I found a Lenco. Both are equally incredibly good at all the audiophile obssessions (detail, etc.), with the added virtues of idler-wheel SLAM and bass.
- Burled Funky Lenco/Dynavector 507 MKII
This Lenco has been finished in Olive Ash Burl, an exotic veneer. Being so striking, I decided the regular Lenco L75 colours - black or charcoal-grey - just could not be let stand, so I filled in the holes and painted both platter and Lenco body cream white to better match the veneer. You will notice a Dynavector 507 MKII tonearm mounted to it, which is absolutely superb. Despite "word on the street" that the Dyna is excellent with some cartridges but a disaster with others, I have found that even with cartridges which are in physical terms totally unsuited to it (i.e. high compliance cartridges), the Dyna is nevertheless always sonically superb (though for best tracking stick with medium and low compliance cartridges). Perhaps this is due to its being mounted to an Amazing Mighty Lenco (or Garrard, where it is also superb), in fact, any Mighty Idleer-Wheel drive at all ;-)! This tonearm has no weaknesses: it's imaging is first-rate, its detail is first-rate, its Pace, Rhythm and Timing (PRaT) are first-rate, its tonality is first-rate, its bass is first-rate, its highs are first-rate. But it has a very high price tag to compensate. Given the high price tag, I have to say that its construction, while excellent in some ways, is flimsy in others. The tonearm-lift often needs to warm up before working, and part of the mechanism tends to drift and get stuck under the tonearm; the base tonearm pillar is held in place to the base by a simple set-screw and another knurled screw which also sets the VTA adjuster, reminding me very much of the similarly-constructed (and flimsy) Audio Technica 1009 MKII from the late '70s/early '80s (and which I also found inferior in this sense to the more secure and consequently sonically-superior AT 1005 MKII). At this price point, I would imagine that such issues should be eliminated entirely (the tonearm modernized) and a better, more secure design invented and applied. That said, one can't argue with results anyway, which is that this tonearm deserves to be included amongst the World's Best, period. And, of course, yet more evidence properly restored and mounted idlers are worthy of the very best.
A photo is worth a thousand words, to wit, why is it a Giant? Giant Lenco with RB-300 sitting next to Rega P3 with RB-300. 'Nuff said.
- Garrard 301 oil-bearing vs Platine Verdier
This is a Big Showdown: a simple high-mass Russian birch-ply/MDF recipe (with the tricky Direct Coupling), set up with a Dynavector 507 MKII/Denon DL-103R; compared to both a low-mass, two-tier Cain & Cain plinth, and a Platine Verdier armed with a Schroeder and a Koetsu Urushi. Judgment rendered by the owner of all 'tables: "Well, got the stock i/c on the Dyna, and not all tweaked yet, and nothing sitting on stand, without isolation, and it betters the Verdier/Koetu Urishi on a special Isolation stand...I am candidly surprised. I did not expect this. I had the the Cain and Cain plinth and it did not sound good. This is way above. The 301 is incredible in your plinth. It has only the inexpensive Denon 103 R and that is not redone yet...and only a stock cable and it is better by a long ways than the Verdier on a special isolation table. Next I will try the Koetsu in the arm....and in my best phono stage and see. Damn...dont let this get out, or it will ruin the high end."
This is the Bauhaus Lenco, with single tonearm, that being the RS-A1 (with Denon DL-103"E"). The angular black-and-silver RS-A1 makes of the visually simple and thus elegant black-lacquered Lenco plinth with polyurethane gray-recoated top-plate and platter, with two simple and unmarked black knobs, a Bauhausian feast for the eyes (I like it anyway), simple, yet modern, a fortuitous accident! The sound is amazing, the RS Labs truly world-class, and the elliptical-tipped Denon DL-103 as usual musically incredibly potent. The retipping is offered by phonophono in Berlin, Germany, where the original cantilever is preserved, for purists, and a simple substitution done on the diamond with Teutonic precision. This is a HUGE upgrade for the Denon, with absolutely no penalties, preserving that warmth, drive, dynamics and PRaT the Denons are admired for, and greatly increasing detail and extension at both frequency extremes.
I just finished the restoration from junk of a butchered Lenco G88, which was not only spray-painted black with the irremovable paint from Hell (I finally had to have it bead-blasted), but also had a toasted speed control and on-off switch. The plastic trim cover was also spray-painted and, being plastic, couldn't be bead-blasted, so I had to fabricate a substitute from MDF, devise new switches, and have the extra pieces, along with the Lenco and platter proper, re-coated in cream polyurethane paint. The plinth, a two-armed affair for an OL Silver and a JMW Signature, is finished in blue lacquer, finished to a mirror finish.
- Waiting in Egypt For 6moons Lenco
Here I am killing six weeks waiting for my Lenco to be released by Cypriot Customs for the eventually-aborted 6moons review. This is Soa, a Korean jet-setter who helped me through the wait by many late-night beer-drinking sessions, we're still in regular contact, an unexpected positive in the generally-negative cancelled review plans. The review didn't happen, but eventually the Lenco was released, after six weeks, by Customs, and it landed in the living room of a fellow who had just taken delivery of a fully-restored EMT 930, an incredibly well-built idler-wheel drive, you could say a King of the Idler-Wheel world, which makes even the Garrards like like cheap flimsy crap. Something of a miracle, in fact. Fortunately, I had brought with me my RS-A1 tonearm, which can be easily swappped from 'table to 'table with no fuss, as it is essentially a paperweight (no bolting), if an extremely good tonearm too! We swapped the RS-A1, mounted with a Shure V15 V, from 'table to 'table. First time I heard the EMT I gulped and sweated, as it sounded SO much like master tape. I thought my Lenco goose was cooked! It must have been the system, which consisted of ESL-57s and vintage electronics, excepting a Van Alstine preamp with excellent phono stage (what a bargain!!). To my astonishment, and to the astonishmnet of the fellows (fellow #1, George, had an audio partner, Stan the Man) who had just paid 11,000 euros for the EMT (rebuilt by two fo Europe's leading EMT experts and overseen by A.J. Van den Hul himself), the Lenco took a SIGNIFICANT lead over the EMT, having better separation and organization, better timing, and quite simply better overall performance. Give your regards to Soa all, she's a terrific lady!!
This is the Ultra Lenco - 100 pounds - I built for the review on Cyprus, where it still sits. I went for '57 Chevy colours to get across the sense of fun, and made it huge as Mass is Class, the greater the mass, the better the sound. It was sonically a tremendous success, something I was not certain of as I had not yet heard one of these Giants with a European motor, handily outperforming a legendary EMT 930 (though I was sweating at first), using an RS-A1 tonearm, easy to swap from one 'table to the next, to make the contest fair.
This is posted just as a contrast to the Review Lenco, to show the possibilities of simple colour combinations for striking effect. What fun!! More of this coming soon as I play with Rek-o-Kuts and Sony 2250s, as well, of course, as Lencos, including the Reinderspeter Lenco.
In early March, a Shootout occurred between a smaller rebuilt Lenco, armed with a Sumiko MMT with a Benz Glider, vs a fully tricked-out EMT 927. The votes in the end, favoured the Lenco. This particular Lenco is only half the mass of the best I make (100 pounds) which makes a significant difference to the overall sound quality, which makes the point all the more clearly.
- George's System Athens Shootout 2010
Here's another pic of George's system, he who hosted the Lenco vs EMT 927 Shootout in Athens. Notice this system is not only very impressive, but that it indicates this man knows MUSIC: horn-loaded vintage speakers, Audio Research SP-11, Jean Hiraga amps, etc. The horn-loaded drivers will not hide anything, a true carefully-assembled Dream System. There's also an EMT 950 sitting next to his EMT 927!! Thanks George!!
- Athens EMT 927 2010 Shootout
Here is the 927 in all its glory, notice it has all the latest approved updates, and so is fully-charged and fully-loaded!!
- high-endaudio.com Reference Lenco
This is my new Reference Lenco, built for Arthur Salvatore, with a new main bearing designed by me, and a rethink and redesign of the plinth itself (though the bearing is a miracle of audio transformation, the new plinth achieves several times as much, but they were designed to work together, and this is a whole new issue I will address at some future point). To tell the truth, my old-style Top Lenco at 100 pounds had already outperformed a Forsell in every way (and a smaller/lesser one at half the weight outperformed an EMT 927), and so I would have been content to simply build one of these and ship it to Arthur. But then Arthur planned a Shootout versus the 4-motor Kuzma. The Kuzma, though a belt-drive, uses both FOUR motors, computer controlled, AND an extra-massive platter, and so approximates, by "cheating" (i.e. resorting to extreme and expensive use of resources, an engineering no-no and my whole point in championing the idler-wheel drive system) idler-wheel torque, SLAM, etc. Plus, I knew from experience that, given the Lenco is the "Challenger", any draw is considered - even by Lenco followers (and so pretty well everyone) - a loss for the Lenco. So I knew I had to outperform the Kuzma, in no uncertain terms, across the board, not to give anyone room to discredit, as someone always will, the results. So, given the review and Shootout to be reported on, I decided, via an intensive three-month R&D effort, to make reality what had long been percolating at the back of my mind, grown from the wide experience of years of rebuilding Lencos, Garrard 301s and 401s, Technics SP-10s and Sony 2250s, and Thorens TD-124s (MKIs and MKIIs), from each of which I learned many valuable lessons, and which each contributed, in one form or another, a particular (or several) audio pleasure, which I then tracked down and applied to my current Statement, the Reference Lenco. Read Arthur Salvatore's ongoing description, at this point unfinished (May 19, 2010), for details. The Shootout was postponed, and has not yet occurred, but hopefully there will be others.
This is a photo of the experiment to substitute a string and weight arrangement for the spring on the idler-wheel on the Lenco, to provide an absolutely stable and reliable pressure at all speeds all the time, without spring flexing, noise, or tiredness/variability. The end result is a great improvement in all sonic parameters, and peace of mind. It will never wear out, always be reliable, simple and effective! Details of the experiment: the Saran Wrap crib is evidently hanging in free space without touching anything; and no, it won't swing unless you push it or plan on using it in high winds. For purposes of the experiment, again evidently, I used pennies so I could add and subtract until I found the correct value/mass/weight/force. The end item is a single solid weight, made of brass, feel free to use whatever you want, this shouldn't be complicated, it's a string and weight.
