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Unless you're on a very tight budget, the
stock tonearm should be replaced, but if money's too tight to
mention, you should do your best to refurbish the arm with at
least a new set of V-Blocks for the knife-edge.
The GL75 tonearm will never reveal the
true abilities of your turntable and it is strongly recommended
that you replace it altogether. What you replace it with,
depends on how much money you have spare and how much work you
are willing to undertake. Probably
the cheapest option (and a popular one too) is to fit a Decca
London International tonearm. These are available new from a
company in Holland for approximately £40.
Visit the website.
The Decca is a unipivot design with a rather
clever magnetic damping arrangement, but although many people
are perfectly happy with theirs, I have to admit that I did not
get along with it. It proved to be a major disappointment.
Having said that, it could have been that I had a "bad" one, so
don't dismiss it altogether. It fits perfectly in the existing
tonearm aperture, so installation is a breeze.
Personally, I think that a much better buy
is the LINN LVV or LVX. I managed to get one of these on Ebay
for just £42. Now when you compare that to the Decca price, it
doesn't make sense to buy the former. Like the Decca,
installation is totally trouble-free. Unlike the Decca, the LINN
LVX sounds fantastic!!
At this level, you're just starting to "open
up" the Lenco and getting an idea of what its capable of.
The next step would be a Rega RB250 or
better still, an RB300. These are a little pricier, but you just
might get lucky on Ebay and pick up a bargain. Jean Nantais
recommends these tonearms highly. It should be borne in mind
that the Rega's will not sit perfectly in the standard Lenco
tonearm aperture. The spindle to pivot distance is wrong and the
VTA will be quite a bit out. Having said that, Jean is adamant
that the Lenco's strong playing abilities will overcome these
minor incompatibilities.
From here on, we start to move deeper and
deeper into your wallet! Some people use SME tonearms (the full
range), whilst others have gone as far as fitting a
Graham 2.2/IC-70 !!!
Lots of other tonearms have been fitted to
Lenco's but very few will fit in the standard aperture. If you
choose to fit anything other than a Decca, Rega or Linn, you
should look to cutting out a section of your top-plate to
accommodate a separate tonearm board. This will give you an
incredible level of freedom and options, but involves quite a
bit of work and determination. For ideas, take a look at the
decks of some of the plinth builders on this website.
A fantastic source of information on
potential arms to fit in a Lenco is
BLUEINTHEFACE's great website - LencoLand. Click
here to pay a visit and
gather all the technical information you need.
Good luck guyz! |
