Two strips, sandwiched so the bottom part of each strip is on the top side and the bottom side, has worked perfectly with a sub nearby---no feedback. My girlfriend asked me to paint them black to match TT.
I have purchased dozens of vintage components from Sony, Technics, Teac, Tascam, Nakamichi, Tandberg, Luxman, Dynaco, Eico, Heath, Marantz, McIntosh, etc over the years. I can report a ~90% failure rate within a year or less of operation with anything older than 30 years which has sat for any appreciable period of time which has never been recapped. Sitting is one of the key parameters though. When a piece has remained operational, these do tend to last much longer than when they have sat for long periods of time. But I agree with you about buying used. Very little of what I own was purchased new. But used can be 5 years or even 10 years old. It need not be 30+ years old. When you pass that 20-year mark, if a component has not been in operation for a while, then you should think twice about the purchase if you don't plan to recap it.
I have two Pioneer PL-518s. Seems no matter how loud I crank an amp, never get feedback, ever---and they both have the original feet (one is on a nice isolated shelf mounted to the wall studs). The problem each of those have is the pitch control---every 6 months or so it goes haywire on each one. I have to clean the pitch control with alcohol---after a few hours it's back to normal---other than that issue they are both great, durable. One has been in the family since 1978. The other, a co-worker gave me (for possible cannibalizing should the family unit fail) about 20 years ago.
I made all of the adjustments to the tracking, etc. and it's a little better. I'm starting to think that a slightly better turntable and preamp would help more. The rt85 is very pretty, but the tone arm quality is a little disappointing. Maybe the Rega RP3 and Pro-ject S2 preamp?
NO, NO, NO the low priced Rega T/T's sound dull & grey. If you are serious about upgrading the look for a S/H Technics 1200 & put a Hanna EL or E/H on it, then think about the phono amp. However if you are happy with the T/T side of things then just change the tone arm. You could put a 12'' with adapter plate on it for a little under $400, the change will blow you mind. Cheers
RT85 is a gorgeous but entry-level ‘table. Some good ‘tables to look at in the next performance class up: Pioneer PLX-1000 Rega Planar 3 Technics SL100c Technics SL1200Mk7 Mofi StudioDeck Foundation Technics SL1500c .
Ditch the Alva and get a Darlington Labs. Go from there. The MP7 made my Rega P1 and 2M Blue sound great! Honestly, I might not have upgraded but my P3 and new cart were already in the mail. The phono stage should be considered your foundation. It will let you hear upgrades behind it, instead of being a bottleneck. I promise you, the Alva is your bottleneck. It's adequate at best.
A good phono preamp can go a long way. The phono preamp and cartridge probably matter most. Another great preamp value is the Parasound Zphono XRM.
Nice report. I had a Pioneer direct drive, auto return turntable of about that same time period: late 70's early 80's. I'm not sure of the model number. But I remember it was a nice TT. For the 5 years or so I owned the Pioneer table it never gave me a single problem and provided good sound. I remember the speed adjustment was a small knob at the front of the table that one would rotate to control the speed. There was an internal strobe that one could see through a small clear plastic opening next to the speed control. The reason for the window? The platter was lowered so that the etched edge, which the strobe would highlight to show the speed was below the plinth. This gave the table a more stream line look. I don't think it had a quarts lock, because I had to check on and occasionally adjust the speed. It was never off much, but if I correctly remember, it seemed to migrate in one or the other direction, so over a period of time, if not corrected it would effect the sonic quality of the sound. And, I think the speed control was very sensitive. Just a touch would alter speed. Perhaps that has some baring on your issue. Still, it was a really nice looking, and fine performing table. I think I cost a little more than $200 in appx 1980.
It's better now, but I think the GIGO argument is accurate too. A Blue Note vinyl (Jack McDuff - Moonrappin) sounds better than a lot of my other vinyl
