Old 'tables vs. new

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Noel Patterson, Nov 7, 2018.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Manimal

    Manimal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern US
    Me too. I love my Thorens TD 166 but would also love a “pass out feature” without doing the lifting thingy you can buy:)
     
  2. csgreene

    csgreene Forum Resident

    Location:
    Idaho, USA
    Boy, ain't that the truth! I was reminded of this just last night listening to a couple poorly mastered CDs (The Doors and LA Woman). Great source material helps a good system shine. Poor source material makes you wonder what piece of gear you need to replace instead of realizing, it's not your gear, it was the crappy recording. I was in a vinyl mood last night as well and noticed the vast difference in the quality of the recording/mastering with various records although, in my case, some of my records are over half a century old and that they are playable at all is a miracle.
     
    SandAndGlass, timind and enfield like this.
  3. classicrocker

    classicrocker Life is good!

    Location:
    Worcester, MA, USA
    Not sure I agree with him about not doing a recap job on at least the caps which are used in the power supply. Electrolytic caps dry out over time and stop doing their filtering function which can introduce noise into circuit. I have also read bad caps can impact speed stability as well so if it is not too expensive and you plan on using the TT a lot IMHO it is a good investment to do now.

    I am not familiar with the internals of the Denon so maybe the following is not required but when I tuned up my Technics SL-1700MKII I also had to do the following.

    1. Replace any belts related to the auto function
    2. Clean out the old lube and relub any gears related to the auto functions
    3. Look for cracks in plastic gears. I repaired a cracked gear in my Technics with Epoxy as you most likely will never find replacements for old TT's
    4. Clean all pots and controls with Deoxit or similar tuner cleaner.
    5. Check all solder joints and touch up any that look cracked or cold
     
    SandAndGlass, Wasabi and patient_ot like this.
  4. Noel Patterson

    Noel Patterson Music Junkie Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    I believe i have finally found what i am looking for: a sweet deal on a restored Dual 1249!
     
  5. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    What versions of those albums were you listening to that were poorly mastered? Decently well mastered versions should be plentiful as those discs have been pressed up a truckload of times. Matter of fact, there is a budget $5 pressing of the s/t original mix that is well mastered that just came out maybe a year or two ago.
     
  6. Tullman

    Tullman Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    Yeah, in the $350 price range the 160 is a better TT than any new stuff out there. I had a 160 for years. I loved it. I now own a VPI Avenger which is a totally different beast. I know it costs many times more than the TD160, but it performs likes it should for the money. It is in a totally different league than the TD160 in all aspects.
     
  7. Old Zorki II

    Old Zorki II Storm Watcher

    Location:
    near Tampa, FL
    Wow! /* drooling */
     
    Tullman and SandAndGlass like this.
  8. csgreene

    csgreene Forum Resident

    Location:
    Idaho, USA
    There are no special markings but here are the two reference numbers: R2 101155 and R2 101184. Discogs shows them as remastered 40th anniversary CDs. :shrug:
     
  9. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Those are not just remasters, but remixes. If you want to know why they sound different from a common 70s or 80s used bin LP pressing of those albums, it's because the multitrack mixes are entirely different.
     
  10. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Let us know how you like it. Enjoy your new TT.
     
  11. csgreene

    csgreene Forum Resident

    Location:
    Idaho, USA
    Thanks for the info, appreciate it.
     
    patient_ot likes this.
  12. Mmmark

    Mmmark Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Seriously. The way some folks talk, you'd think they play dead wax and just listen to the table :)
     
  13. csgreene

    csgreene Forum Resident

    Location:
    Idaho, USA
    I started getting bugged about my comments about these two discs earlier and went back downstairs and popped LA Woman into the CD and I couldn't have been more wrong. Sounds fabulous. All I can think is I'd moved the speakers back to their TV position (when they're pulled out where they should be they block the TV) or something wasn't right with my listening mood because both sound terrific and my comments about poor mastering were just plain wrong. I never owned these on vinyl so I can't speak to the mixing in either case but Jim sounds like he's right in front of me.
     
    Noel Patterson and SandAndGlass like this.
  14. Noel Patterson

    Noel Patterson Music Junkie Thread Starter

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Well sadly, i went to go get the Dual and the restore job wasn't quite what was advertised; the 'table only worked in manual mode, and some other kinda sketchy things turned me off of it completely. I made myself feel better by buying a ProJect Debut Carbon...:D:righton:
     
    SandAndGlass likes this.
  15. BrentB

    BrentB Urban Angler

    Location:
    Midwestern US
    Two vintage tables that are huge bang for the buck are Project/One DR-770 and Sony PS-x50. The P/O I see on eBay regularly for 100-125 USD and the Sony for around 200. Either one will leave a Marant 6300 in the dust IMO. If you buy one of these units and have them gone through by a tech for 100 USD they should last nearly maintenance free for another 40 years. The sound is excellent too on these. Upgrade the headshell leads and clean and treat pin/headshell connections too for max peformance.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine