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Where it all began...

Lenco Heaven would like to thank Richard for his amazing contribution and would remind everyone that all the material below is Copyright 2004 Richard Steinfeld. Reproduction, in whole or in part, is forbidden in any medium without the express permission of the author.

Permission is granted for one-time use on the Lenco Heaven web site. Thanks Rich for a most compelling, interesting and most of all VALUABLE contribution. This must surely be a best-seller in the making and will no doubt outsell the Da Vinci Code.

The major question in selecting a cartridge for a classic Lenco turntable should be to ask yourself "What do I want to do with this turntable?" This question should follow another question: "What are the capabilities of this turntable?" And this question, in turn, should follow "What kinds of music and records do I like?" You could also ask "What are the years during which the records I want to listen to were sold?" The answers to these questions should influence your choice of cartridge, and your tonearm as well.

Although most people who are serious about Lencos will have focused their attention on the best models -- the L-75, the L-78, and perhaps other heavy platter implementations of the unique under-running idler wheel concept, the "lesser" stamped steel platter versions will benefit from the same logic you'll find below. The stamped sheet-steel platter models have their uses, too: the Lenco stamped platters are better than any other stamped platters I've seen (Weathers excepted). The cast platter machines bring the Lenco design very close to the audiophile realm, and can make for a very satisfying turntable. The stamped ones are simply not as good, developing some audible vibration within the platter, but they're fun nonetheless. All can be tweaked to deliver better sound.

Whether the best Lencos can become fully-audiophile turntables is a matter for people to discuss -- I think that knowledgeable people familiar with Lencos will all agree that in order to bring out the very best of the design, the turntable will have to be tweaked: modified to a degree of perfection that the factory never felt obligated to persue. Tweaking is required because the Lenco company brought us an "almost marvellous turntable" -- we've got to take it the rest of the way ourselves.

Let's begin with what the design offers us: the Lencos play all three standard speeds, and throw in the esoteric 16 2/3 rpm speed as well (not so esoteric for the visually-handicapped or the blind -- it was the standard for talking books before cassette tapes). In addition, the Lencos offer continuously-variable speed. The variable speed is not significant for LPs and 45s because virtually all of these records were cut "right on the money." But the shellac records were made to a few different actual speed standards; it's for those records that the Lenco can become a serious archival and transcription tool, as well as a tool for students of musical performance and musicology.

So, the Lenco is almost unique as an all-purpose turntable. Except for 16 inch broadcast transcriptions, when fitted with the proper cartridge and stylus, it will play almost any historic flat record ever made. So, what's special about the Lenco is its ability to work with many old shellac records in addition to the most modern LPs. But if all you want to do is listen to stereo records, you can find dozens of excellent turntables that will satisfy you: you simply don't need a Lenco. I'd be remiss if I didn't add that you can now buy brand new direct drive turntables that will match the Lenco's versatility (but the Lenco has less to go wrong with it and is closer to the audiophile's goal).

No principle of turntable drive is any better or worse than another. I've worked with too many turntable designs to have any single favorite -- but there are certainly good and bad implementations of each concept. One may be more practical than another for a certain type of use, however. And, in fact, if all you want to play are LPs and 45s, when presented with the severe problems of the "classic" Lenco tonearm, you will find life a lot easier if you pass the Lenco by -- and leave it for someone else who really salivates for the almost-unique all-in-one abilities that this machine is beloved for.

Most people who take these machines seriously will replace the tonearm -- other arms are better and easier to live with. The classic Lenco arm with the aluminium headshell has three distinct design defects; one of them (sagging of the counterweight "decoupling" rod) is often terminal; and if this happens, there's virtually no way to salvage it. Whether you use a Lenco with its original tonearm or not, it makes sense to select a phono cartridge that will deliver what this machine can offer.

So, now we face the decision of what we want to listen to. Here's the major choice -- check one!
- I want to have a leading-edge audiophile-quality turntable. I only listen to stereo records -- no monos whatsoever.
- I want to play 78s, mono LPs, and stereo records

You can't optimize the setup for both of these -- you'll have to settle for one. The reason is simply that the requirements for playing the records are substantially different. Let's begin with groove sizes.
- Stereo LPs have a nominal groove width of .7 mil (18 my). This means that the rounded ball-shaped tip of the ordinary "conical" stylus has a radius of .7 mil; this size will fit comfortably inside the triangular groove. There are stylus shapes that are much more advanced than the simple rounded cone -- elliptical shapes and variations of them offer greater and greater precision in tracing the sound vibrations. The best of these styli are mounted in a very compliant suspension, which in turn, requires a very low mass tonearm in order to have the proper relationship with each other.
- Early mono LPs had a slightly larger groove: one mil (approximately 22 my). If you can manage to find one (!) your mono LP stylus will be slightly stiffer and track heavier than most good stereo styli -- at least 2 grams -- and won't be compatible with an arm that's optimized for audiophile stereo use.
- The later 78 RPM grooves were three times the mono size: these were played with styli between 2.7 and 3.0 mils (approximately 65 my). For various reasons, in order to stay in the groove because of the faster and greater forces involved, the typical 78 RPM stylus is mounted on a cantilever that's held in the cartridge body with greater rigidity. This rigidity requires greater downward force (usually beginning at 3 grams) and also a more massive tonearm to control it.

So, to play 78s and mono LPs, you'll need at best a medium-mass tonearm to go with the styli for these records. But if you want to listen with light-tracking perfection to stereo records, you'll need a low mass tonearm that won't be compatible with 78 and mono LP needles. To repeat, we can't have it both ways. But maybe we can find a compromise that we'll be happy with. That compromise won't suit certain perfectionists, but it will provide good musical pleasure for most of us. And when I say "good," I really mean it.

To put this another way: with a low-mass tonearm, we'll be able to enjoy audiophile-quality stereo LPs using a fine audiophile cartridge. Such a cartridge will reveal all the imperfections of most recordings -- we may not like what we hear, so we may indeed be limited to audiophile records! And our Lenco's 45 and 78 ranges will go unused and unheard.

With a medium-mass tonearm, we'll be able to match the styli for 78s and mono LPs. And we can also fit a cartridge that will play the stereo records at slightly more pressure -- let's say, instead of tracking at 1.0 grams, we'll be tracking at 1.25 or 1.5 grams, perhaps just up to two grams. Now, we've got a much larger range of cartridges to choose from, and probably at lower cost, too.

So, to get the most out of the Lenco, I'll eliminate a group of cartridges from consideration:

Here are the cartridges that don't make sense with a Lenco (especially if you've got a fixed-head tonearm):
- Moving coil pickups
- Other fixed-stylus cartridges or cartridges that prevent easy, quick stylus changes
- Interchangeable-stylus bodies for which the manufacturer only offers styli to play one type of record
- Modern audiophile cartridges (they only play stereo records)

Here are the cartridges that do make sense with a Lenco:
- Cartridges that accept interchangeable styli

The best choice is a cartridge with a standard body for which a variety of quick-change needles are available. In some cases, one of the needles that you will want won't be available from the cartridge maker, but will be made up by a third party. And in other cases, the cartridge will allow styli to interchange, but won't allow you to use a stylus that plays the particular type of record that you want to listen to: a custom stylus solves that problem.

For LPs, you may decide that you want a few different tip shapes and dimensions, depending on the time periods of the records themselves or the condition of an individual record (I won't go down this path -- it can get really complicated). For the earlier 78s, especially shellac records pre-dating electric microphones, a number of groove sizes were used, and a range of stylus sizes is required to properly play all of them. A stylus that's too small for a groove simply rattles around on the groove bottom, playing the imperfections and the dirt with copious distortion. This is why 78s sound terrible when played with stereo needles. And, in fact, why many early LPs sound pretty poor when played with a stereo stylus (Aha -- so that's it!).

Of the three basic needles I mentioned, the Mono LP stylus will be the most difficult to find; today, you'll probably need to have one custom made, although this tip is available in a dedicated cartridge from Grado (if you want to go this route, you'll need an interchangeable headshell tonearm and two headshells to play both types of LPs).


These are the brands which can make good mates for Lenco machines:

- Shure
Compared with Stanton/Pickering and Ortofon, the range of styli has always been rather limited for each body, and different bodies and styli that would otherwise work won't fit each other; but for a few models, there are both stereo as well as 78 tips. A couple of the 78 tip shapes for the best cartridge that have been offered in the past are, in my opinion, overkill for the records they'll be asked to play -- which runs up the price and will actually cause poor results by accentuating the sound of record wear. For certain combinations of records, there have been Shure models of which some people have been very fond. Check what's available relative to the records you want to play and see if you can get a sense of whether the needles you want to use will be available in the future. For stereo records, the viscous-damped brush assembly (on the few cartridges that have them) works OK for picking up some dust off the LPs, and adds stability to the pickup, as well as draining static off the record.

- Ortofon
The moving magnet and/or moving iron models from this company are outstanding choices. The reason is that the styli just plug right onto the cartridge body, and that the company still offers a range of tips for each body, both in diamond dimensions as well as in compliances. Make sure to verify this for for each model you're interested in (I am not an expert on Ortofons so you should determine what's available yourself). I expect this company to remain a source for this variety into the future -- they've proven to offer a stable range, so you should be able to get replacement styli for many years to come. Phono cartridges are Ortofon's only business, and I expect them to be in this field for the long haul. You can study the offerings and choose a cartridge based upon the characteristics of the styli in its line -- begin by ensuring that there's a 78 tip for the model you're perusing. Expert Stylus (see below) can re-tip an appropriate used stylus "core" with a mono LP diamond, if you wish.

- Stanton (and Pickering)
In the past, Stanton was the serious American supplier for broadcasting and other professional work, including archival transcription. For almost every body and principle, a range of styli were available. The high-performance audiophile models of the late 80s all accepted 78 and 1 mil (25 my) mono LP styli, but only offered a single high-performance stereo stylus. All Stanton/Pickering styli slip in and out of their body in an instant.

In the range of the Stanton 680, 681, and Pickering XV-15, there was a superb assortment of tips for stereo LPs, as well as the one-of-each 78 and mono LP tips. The knowledgeable user could select a stereo needle with a very precise match to the type of tonearm and performance desired. This great range was also true of the Stanton 500/Pickering V-15 models (although the other group's more advanced). These two lines were the professional workhorses; consumers also bought them, not realizing or caring about their versatility.

I wrote above that in the past, all 78 and mono LP tips in these brands were low-compliance models tracking at 2 grams and up, regardless of the cartridge body; a body's stereo needle might be an excellent match for your expensive low-mass tonearm, but its 78 tip would cause groove jumping due to the compliance/forcemass mismatch. This is the type of concern that you should be particularly attentive to when choosing your arm/cartridge selection to go with your Lenco, and one reason why I generally recommend against high-performance, low-mass audiophile arms for these machines. For versatility, you need to "get all your ducks in a row."

The company's range of styli is much smaller now. I have not been able to get clear information about the stylus range lately, and the company has concentrated on disco cartridges and styli. I haven't seen any signs that Stanton themselves are making 78 and mono LP tips any more. But I've seen at least one aftermarket 78 needle offered from another manufacturer. Also, Expert Stylus (England) is very familiar with putting new diamond tips on existing Stanton stylus assemblies -- they offer a marvellous range of tip shapes and sizes for serious transcription work -- and they're just the people to buy a mono LP tip from. Expert's custom re-tipped styli are slightly-expensive, and worth the money. You may be delighted that you spent the money if you're into badly-made records, such as old 45s and LPs from the USA of good classical music pressed on grungy plastic.

I am particularly fond of the integral brushes that are mounted on the finger grips of many Stanton and Pickering styli -- these brushes do a very good job of removing the dust ahead of the needle using static attraction. These brushes also provide a subtle improvement in stability. Stantons, in fact, neutralize the static charge near the stylus due to their cantilever design. Also, these Stanton/Pickering brand-mates have a justly-deserved reputation for toughness relative to performance. You can break a Stanton needle, but you may have to work to do it. I hope that Stanton returns to their former range of stylus offerings.

Audio Technica
Ordinarily, I would not recommend this brand for playing a wide range of records, except that I've recently seen a 78 tip offered for at least one model -- possibly made by another company. In the past, I saw many AT cartridges on used turntables with bent cantilevers, so I assumed that the designs were vulnerable to user damage. I still assume this. I've found the styli just a little more awkward to change than the Stantons/Pickerings and Ortofons, but manageable if you're careful.


Good tonearms for these cartridges and needles:
As I mentioned above, a medium mass arm is the way to go to obtain the Lenco's versatility. And the original Lenco arms for, let's say, the Lenco L-75 and the B-55, are examples of medium-mass arms. However, there are better ones out there than the Lenco counterweighted arms -- don't keep the Lenco arm unless you've got a good reason! For a serious listener who enjoys a wide range of material that includes a wide range of old records, interchangeable headshells offer great versatility. Easy-change plug-in headshells permit the owner to use more than one cartridge; each cartridge can be fitted with a dedicated stylus. I'm talking heresy to the audiophile, who knows that the only proper platform is an absolutely rigid single-piece tonearm: no removable shell for him! I say that we're working toward intelligent compromises -- let this audiophile use a different turntable. However, to be fair, you can also mount an interchangeable-stylus cartridge in a rigid one-piece arm, too, and cover the problem that way.

A friend has just had his classic Ortofon moving coil cartridge re-tipped for 78s. Putting this cartridge into a Lenco headshell will allow him to put a nice stereo cartridge in a second headshell, if he has one. Also, this approach would work well for Grado cartridges. Grado makes specific mono cartridges for early wide-groove LPs as well as for wider-yet 78s. This is, of course, in addition to their fine stereo cartridges. Grados allow for stylus replacement by the user, but their styli don't "pop in and out" the way that they do for the other brands above -- they can be tricky to replace. If you had three headshells, you could cover all three types of record grooves with Grados, beginning with the late 78s. Or use two Grados for the mono's and another brand of stereo cartridge.

An alternate approach to cartridges for your Lenco turntable is to make your own large custom base (plinth) and use two tonearms. One arm would be fitted with a fixed audiophile stereo cartridge. The other arm would have one of the cartridges I've recommended above along with a set of styli for that cartridge, or an interchangeable shell mount -- and this could permit a further range of bodies and styli. For best results, the turntable would need to be rigid with that base. Alternatively, you can put the second arm on an outrigger bolted to the Lenco's chassis. In fact, you can see that there are alternate ways to get the best from this machine.

My own personal approach right now is to use a separate turntable for audiophile stereo records. For the Lenco, I have a number of Lenco headshells and cartridges (and styli) to go with them. Having all these Lenco headshells dictates that I remain with the Lenco tonearm. I have tweaked the arm and the headshells to improve their sensibility, too. If I didn't already have these Lenco shells on hand before I acquired the turntable, my choice would have been to use a good medium-mass interchangeable headshell arm made by a different company -- possibly a conventional S-shaped arm or something similar (no, not one of the contemporary disco record killers). The "S" tonearms were, and still are, a widespread standard. But note that most of the headshells are floppy on the tonearms -- you've got to do some (hopefully easy) tweaking to civilize them.

A special note for people with ferrous platters -- the stamped steel models and the older steel castings -- your choice of cartridge should be done carefully to avoid excess vertical pressure caused by magnetic attraction between the cartridge body and the platter. Induced magnet designs (also called "variable reluctance," "moving iron" and my favourite, the elegant, trademarked "fluxvalve"), typically have powerful magnets in the cartridge body to induce a field within the cantilever. Moving coil models also have powerful magnets in the body. I have heard of cartridges being sucked down against the platter with so much force that the cantilever collapsed. Moving magnet models, in which the magnet is contained inside the hollow cantilever, may be affected as well, although without such ruinous force. The performance of these styli may be modified by the close distance to the platter. There's no uniform rule about this. The inspiration for these turntables comes from a time when crystal and ceramic cartridges were the norm for popular use -- these aren't magnetic so there's no problem; they also don't sound so good. High-performance, non-magnetic cartridges have been very rare in phonograph history, and none have been offered since 1984, so you're going to be using some form of magnetic cartridge. The magnetic attraction effect is related to the distance from platter to the magnet in your cartridge. So, my advice is to use the thickest practical platter mat (magnetism falls off with distance); adjust your tonearm to be flat with your cartridge, and see if there's any problem -- you'll probably be OK with a thick mat.

Regarding the oldest Lencos -- the ones with springs for force: their arms aren't troublesome, so you can keep using them with lower-compliance cartridges and styli. These arms are particularly good at tracking the high-speed warps of some 78 rpm records. These arms don't come with antiskate compensation, which I find beneficial with all records, and absolutely essential with stereo records. But, who knows, you may be able to rig up your own antiskate mechanism for these arms. These tonearms are klutzy, so they really aren't in anyway close to good performance with stereo records. If you want to do better with vinyl, replace the arm.

Your choice of cartridge may come down to what's affordable. This may be dictated by importer markup and import duty fees in your particular country. Make sure to check out the cost and availability of replacement styli before settling on a brand and model of cartridge body!

OK: before I go, a quick note about stylus size for stereo records. For all-around stereo playback (and many mono LPs, too), I have become fond of the "ordinary" elliptical tip sized .3 x .7 mil (7 x 18 my). And that's especially good because it's now a standard tip -- easily found. It can be had in both medium- and light-tracking versions. And it tends to be affordable. Let me emphasize that although this is not an "audiophile" tip size, it is very often thoroughly satisfying with most real-world records. If you can only afford one stereo needle, I recommend this one.

This is opposed to what I'll call audiophile tips. Audiophile styli include the .2 x .7 mil elliptical (5 x 18 my), parabolic-shaped needles, "line-contact" designs, Shibata tips, and other costly, difficult-to-manufacture shapes. These are wonderful styli, but usually not well-matched for the Lenco's capabilities. They reproduce record defects with painful accuracy! To get what you paid for one of these marvellous needles, you'll have to align your cartridge with great care. The regular elliptical is much more forgiving of slight alignment errors.

Conversely, I'm not a fan of the ordinary .7 mil (18 my) conical stereo stylus -- it's cheaper, but you can hear that it can't fit the finer groove undulations, especially on those symphonies that come to a rousing climax at inside grooves of the record -- the distortion is painful -- spend the few dollars extra for the all-purpose elliptical.

Finally, keep your records clean, and replace your diamond styli after about 500 hours of use.
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Remember that this article is my original work, the result of my long experience and my labour. It is copyrighted, protected by copyright law, and for your eyes only. All reproduction, in whole or in part, is forbidden without my express permission.

Richard Steinfeld


 

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