| Since writing the first page on my
Lenco Project, I've done a bit of testing and made a few
changes. This page summarises those changes. All thumbnails open in a New Window!
Vitesse Parfaite - Decca
Vitesse Parfaite - Rega
The
first page about my turntable,
details the rebuild project, from Lenco to "Vitesse". If I'm to
be honest, I wasn't over-enthusiastic about the results. After
all, I'd spent a fair amount of money and had devoted a week of
my holidays to the task, so my expectations were quite high.
The sound-tests of the original design, with
Decca Tonearm were more than a little disappointing. The arm was
incredibly microphonic and I was generally unhappy with the
whole setup. Since that time, I have given the Decca to
Willbewill and he has identified faults with the tonearm which
were probably the cause of the poor sound. So on reflection, the
Decca is not to be dismissed completely - you just gotta make
sure you have one that is functioning properly.
I replaced the Decca with a Linn LVX and was
over the moon with the results. With a Shure V15-III cartridge
fitted, the sound was full bodied, detailed and sure of itself
(no pun intended). The LVX had none of the microphonic traits of
the Decca. Considering that I paid £40 for the Decca and only £2
more for the Linn, there's no prizes for guessing which one I'd
recommend!
Tagged onto the end of the Linn, was a Pro-Ject
Phono Box preamp. This was purchased on Ebay for £32 and made a
tremendous difference to the level of "floor noise". I was quite
impressed with this little box of tricks, but have to admit that
whilst it got rid of a lot of unwanted noise, I also felt that
it had filtered out a bit of the music too. I've just ordered
the next model up - the PhonoBox SE and am looking forward to
hearing the results.
Today (29 Aug 04), I removed the Linn and fitted
a brand new Rega RB250 and a Goldring 1042. Wow!! What a
difference! Yet again, more unwanted noise disappeared. This
time though, I didn't feel that I'd lost any of the music. Quite
the reverse in fact. I now have something that I love to hear in
music (especially unplugged stuff), a clear and open midrange!!
Everyone talks of the fantastic bass that the
Lenco's are capable of reproducing, but this punchy midrange
came as a bit of a shock to me. I now feel that this deck is
getting close to my CD17-KI. Hopefully, the PhonoBox SE will
take it that one extra step forward.
Pro-Ject PhonoBox SE
The Vitesse will eventually be refitted with the
Linn and Shure combo, since the Rega/Goldring are reserved for
my next project. That's why I haven't carried out any
modifications to the top-plate to achieve the correct geometry.
Even with a less-than-perfect fitting, the Rega sounds fabulous!
God only knows what the next project will sound like!
Some of you may have noticed the change in
colour to the plinth. When the first few coats of "oil-finish"
are first applied, it takes quite some time to soak in and dry.
After a couple of weeks it dries out and can either be left in
its current state or more coats can be applied. If I apply
another coat now, it will retain its colour for about 6 months,
before needing more treatment. As time goes on, the gap between
coats gets wider and wider.
UPDATE (11th Sep 04)....
The Vitesse was fitted with the PhonoBox SE and
I have to say that it is a vast improvement over the standard
model. Of course I've only tried the MM stage up to now, but I'm
so impressed with it that I just might invest in a good MC in
the near future. If you were thinking of buying one of these,
don't hesitate!
STAR-DESIGN
AWARD WINNER ! |
