Music Lover Stashes Away Thorens, Pulls Out Old Sansui

I've finally done it. After months of having been driven away from listening to LPs by the frustration resulting from the fussiness of my Thorens/Grace setup, I just carefully disassembled the whole thing and stashed it away in a dark, cool closet. I just hope it'll work whenever I decide to give it another chance.

As for the Sansui, it was my 'comeback' turntable. I got it for like $10 at a flea market and it served me more than fine for 2+ years. It developed a slowdown after I stupidly tried a glass platter on it. But it should work alright with a tiny dab of nail polish on the motor pulley.

This (with an Audio Technica AT110E cartridge) is the turntable that made me realize analog is INDEED superior. I haven't set it up yet but I'm hoping I'll get to experience at least part of that excitement again .

Whatever.. I'm just sad I ended up shelving the Thorens after all the high hope I had for it.

 

Sorry to hear that it didn't work out Damián. Sounds like it was a bit of a bummer.

 

Constant turntable tweakage makes some people happy. Other people it makes homicidal.

I happen to be in the latter group with you, Damian, never fear...

 

Well, actually.. I like tweaking a bit myself. There is improvement to be had even on modest turntables (specially on modest turntables) if you just take the time and have the patience and uh.. creativity to come up with new ways of fighting vibration, adding mass in the proper places, etc.

I am not a fan, however, of tweaking things to the point where you've very much torn the thing apart and put it together again when you're done.. that's just not for me. But I'm all for trying mats, looking for VTF 'sweet spots', etc.

Of course I don't do that every day, but every once in a while I'll be listening and think I dunno.. 'this sounds too "slow" .. how about I lighten the VTF by 0.5 grams?'. And to my surprise, it's things like this that have, over time, made my rig sound closer to the way I picture it should in my mind, somehow.

In fact the one single thing that meant about a 10x increase in enjoyability back when the Sansui was my only 'table was a cork mat. A 12"x12" sheet cost me about $5 in an art supplies store and once cut, it was just magic on the turntable.

If you're paying attention to this thread, I suggest you give this simple tweak a try, Michael (PB). You might be surprised. Just use the platter mat as a guide for cutting the new one.

Note to self: stay away from the forums when you've had a couple drinks .

 

If your Sansui has a DC motor, you don't need to put anything on the pulley. There are adjustment pots for 33 and 45, usually accessable from underneath. Look for two holes about one-eighth of an inch in diameter close to where the motor is. A small flat screwdriver should reach in ther fine.

 

I had something similar to that on one of my direct drives. In fact, that's what led me to take the motor apart and create a modification to operate at 78RPM. (I was set to enlarge a pulley on an old belt drive 'table to play 78s.) Once I located the adjustment pots, I was in the right "neighborhood" as far as the circuitry went. Piece of cake after that.

 

I feel your pain, Damian. I had to put away my beloved Fisher tonight as it's developed a pretty nasty noise in the right channel on shut-down. Nobody has been able to figure out the problem and it's getting worse. I also haven't biased the amp since October, so it's time for service. In it's place rests my Scott 299-B; a sweet little amp....but it's just not the sound I'm used to so it's throwing me in a strange way. I'm sure I'll get used to it.

Regarding the turntable tweaking,...don't let it drive you insane. You've got to get on top of it. Dude, it took me a LONG time to find the courage to attack my table...and it's still not 100% right...but it's close and I can at least listen to it while I finish it off. I finally decided I WASN'T GOING TO DO ANYTHING until I finished my table and I locked my doors for 4 DAYS and I did it more or less. Did I feel like I was losing my mind? Yes. Did I sometimes let neurosis take over? Yes. But it doesn't matter now. Just finish it off, bro. You can do it. Set it up as close as you can get it and be happy with it. Buy yourself a speed strobe and rest assured that the difference of .5 grams isn't going to create any perceivable variation in speed. You're hearing things, bro...and it's not speed variation from .5 grams of extra weight....of that I'm fairly certain. Don't let this table beat you, bro.

There are some excellent pages on Thorens restoration....some that break it down step by step. If you don't understand something...start a thread about it here or somewhere else. Grace makes wonderful tonearms and it should be fairly easy to set up most of them...depending on which one you've got. Now take that Sansui out and pitch it into the nearest bin and get to it. Otherwise, send me a PM and let me know how much you want for your table. If you're not going to finish the job and enjoy such a killer machine, I will.

 

I have a newer Thorens TT. Been in the shop since March while the tech tries to track down a speed controller. He's talked to a guy overseas about the replacement part. The guy has it but isn't overly concerned with shipping ot over here any time soon. Very frustrating to say the least. I have a couple month old Shure on it that was just breaking in. Meanwhile, I pulled out my old JVC direct drive warhorse, ordered a new AT cartridge and I am at least playing my vinyl safely. Sounds good actually. Sorry for the venting but you can drive yourself nuts with this hobby/obsession LOL!

 

No, no.. this one's an AC motor. Thanks for the suggestion though, Lord H. and Rudy.