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Phono cartridges

As you may know I do this on my spare time and for the last few weeks I’ve been studying for a certification exam related to my main business line of work so I have not had much time to post on the blog.

Phono cartridges come in various flavors, moving magnet, moving iron, moving coil, and optical (yes, optical!!!). The most common ones are the first two types since most brands and models are relatively cheap but make no mistake, some of them are stellar performers. For example, the Audio Technica AT95E, has been regarded as a ‘giant killer’ since its performance and musicality is way over its relatively low cost (aprox. USD $75), but still has its limitations. As the name says, it is a moving magnet attached to a cantilever with a precious stone stylus, and the moving magnet induces a voltage into the coils which is then sent to a signal amplifying device when the stylus traverses the grooves of a vinyl LP. Below is a diagram of a moving magnet cartridge:

The most expensive ones are known as moving coils, which as the name implies, are coils that move as the stylus traverses the grooves on the vinyl LP. In this case the magnet is fixed and the low mass of the coils allow the stylus to traverse the grooves with more precision. The only drawback is that the signal generated by the moving coils is much lower than that of a moving magnet cartridge and requires a special moving coil phono stage. Below is a diagram of a moving coil cartridge:

One advantage of moving magnets/moving iron cartridges is that the stylus can be easily replaced if damaged. This is not the case of moving coils, they need to be scrapped, traded-in, or sent back to the factory or 3rd party for a stylus/cantilever replacement or a full rebuild job, which I fully recommend since moving coil cartridges can last for many years before requiring service due to their exotic stylus profiles which tend to last a lot longer than the ones used in less expensive moving magnet cartridges.

The following picture is of two different moving coil cartridges (Linn Arkiv) which were sent a few weeks ago to a certified moving coil cartridge rebuilder. The one on the left is is my personal moving coil cartridge which only requires a replacement stylus, but since it is an almost 30 year old cartridge I requested a full rebuild service, and the one in the right is from a customer which by accident tore off the cantilever and stylus while cleaning his turntable, and is also requiring a full rebuild. For what is worth a full rebuild involves replacing the stylus/cantilever, damping material, coil rewind, and full tuning of the suspension assembly.

When these cartridges come back they will be as good as new or even better since stylus profiles, cantilever alloys and damping materials have evolved since these were manufactured back in the early 90’s, so I’m eagerly waiting for their return to install mine and have a very long music listening session!!!

Enjoy!

Vic

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It’s been a year already…

It’s been a while since I’ve posted in the blog and I just want to say sorry but I’ve been very busy at work, and I was planning on doing so today but them I remembered ‘It’s been a year already…’ since we Puertorricans were battered by the worst hurricane in recent history, Hurricane Maria.

A year ago at 6:15AM September 20th 2017 the eye of Hurricane Maria entered Puerto Rico somewhere in the Yabucoa municipality with Category 4 force winds of 155 miles per hour and stronger gusts.

Over 100,000 residences were totally damaged due to wind, flood, terrain slides, over 95% of communications infrastructure was lost, 100% of the electrical grid was down and severely damaged,  almost 100% of traffic control infrastructure was lost, and over 65% of the island lost potable water service due to the electrical grid damage.

The immediate aftermath was 64 deaths directly caused by the hurricane and a estimated total of between 3,000-3,500 deaths during the following months due to lack of basic services (power, water, medical, food, etc.).

Today is a day of remembrance, to all lives lost, and to all the Puertorricans who gave the extra mile to ensure we rise again.

Vic

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Jelco

It is my pleasure to announce that we have been appointed as the official Jelco tonearms representative for Puerto Rico and the Caribbean!

Since 1920 Jelco-Ichikawa has been manufacturing precision micro-mechanisms such as diamond stylus for phono cartridges, jewel bearings for watches, and has been the official OEM manufacturer for several well regarded tonearm brands.

Below is a link to all Jelco-Ichikawa products we represent:

https://www.jelco-ichikawa.co.jp/

Enjoy!

Vic

 

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Partners

About two years ago one of my business partners, Audiovisionaries, was interviewed by one of the local online newspapers. By pure coincidence I was visiting their store and I was chosen for a cameo!

Below are some pics taken while documenting the video:

The full interview video with my cameo:

Enjoy!

Vic

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Repair of Technics SL1300-MkII

A few weeks ago a customer requested me to repair one of his turntables, a Technics SL1300-MkII direct drive turntable:

This turntable is a variant of the famous Technics SL1200-MkII turntable but with a tonearm auto-return and auto-mute mechanism. This one had a faulty tonearm auto-return mechanism, a very common defect for this 35+ year old turntable model (issue is also present in all models with auto-return mechanism). The issue was a faulty plastic part that is not made anymore by Technics, but finally ended up sourcing it it from a 3D printing company in Europe.

The faulty part:

Replacement part after installing bushing:

New replacement part installed in tonearm auto-return mechanism:

New replacement part installed in tonearm auto-return mechanism:

Video of the final test:

Success!

Vic

 

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Options

Most of my work is around setup and fine-tuning of Linn Sondek LP12 turntables, including the installation of the full suite of upgrades made by Linn. In fact, I own a Linn LP12 turntable with all Linn components (Ittok LVII tonearm, Arkiv MC cartridge, Cirkus subchassis/bearing, and a Lingo 2 power supply.

A while ago I did own a non-Linn subchassis (Greenstreet) which I consider provides an excellent price/performance value and significantly raised the performance level of my LP12 for a relative small investment at that time, and surprisingly maintained its ‘Linn sound’ signature. Some customers were aware of this and have come to me looking for advise regarding alternative upgrades (non-Linn) since they have read much about then in internet forums. In some cases I have made clear my point of view stating that if you like the Linn sound you should stay on Linn’s upgrade path, but there may be other options which may provide a satisfying musical enjoyment experience without a significant investment, and maintain the characteristic ‘Linn sound’.

As such we are pleased to announce that we have been appointed as dealer/representative for Puerto Rico of the Dynavector line of moving coil cartridges, and StackAudio line of Linn LP12 upgrades.

Dynavector was founded in Japan back in 1975 and is highly regarded as a manufacturer of one of the finest high-performance moving coil phono cartridges in the world.

StackAudio manufactures a series of affordable Linn LP12 upgrades which are focused on the source (the turntable). Everything flows from the source, and obtaining a pure clean signal is paramount to realizing the finest musical experience from any system.

These brands are excellent options for Linn LP12 owners who want to follow an alternative upgrade path for their Linn LP12 turntable, at a very reasonable cost.

Vic

 

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Klimax

Some may wonder about the above word but it’s not what you think (in that sense anyway!). ‘Klimax’ is a range of hi-fi components produced by Linn Products which are designed to produce the most satisfying and musical listening experience ever from any audio system. Last weekend I upgraded a customer Linn LP12 turntable to the latest Linn Klimax power supply (Radikal) and phono stage (Urika II). The power supply provides power to both the motor (24v DC single pole synchronous) and the Urika II phono stage. This phono stage is unique since it sits inside the turntable and converts the fractions of a millivolt analog signal produced by the phono cartridge into a 32-bit 384khz digital signal which is fed into the Linn Klimax DSM preamplifier/streamer using Linn’s proprietary Exakt communications protocol, thus ensuring that no information is lost. The digitalized signal is then converted back to analog by two Linn Klimax Exakt crossovers which feed eight (yes, eight!!!) Linn Klimax Solos amplifiers connected to a pair of Linn Komri speakers.

The customer’s system also has two Sonos music streamers feeding two Linn power amplifiers (LK2 and LK280) to indepedent music zones in the rooms and the terrace.

To ensure proper power is fed to this system independent 240v 50A electrical circuits feed two Torus Power conditioners.

The only thing I can say is that it is an ‘orgasmik’ experience listening to music, specially vinyl, in this system!

Vic

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Tonearms

Tonearms are one of the most distinctive items of a turntable. Designs vary from S-shaped, J-shaped, straight, knife-edged bearings, race-ball bearings, gymbal, unipivot, linear tracking, and so on. Its most important function is to ensure that the phono cartridge properly tracks the record grooves and allow it to convert this mechanical energy into a very low electrical signal without adding or subtracting any energy captured by the phono cartridge. To ensure this bearing play should be nil or none and the cartridge compliance specs should be properly matched to the tonearm’s total mass.

Below is a nice example of a Naim Aro unipivot tonearm I recently removed from a Linn turntable as requested by its owner.

This tonearm was designed and built more than 30 years ago and it is still in excellent shape. A very rare example since not so many were built and the first one I’ve personally worked with.

Vic

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Power supplies

Every turntable has one, some very simple, others very complex designs, but without one a turntable won’t even start. This 1990 (28 year old) Linn Lingo 1 power supply is suffering from speed issues at 45 rpm, normal for a power supply its age. Replacing aged parts with more modern ones, adjust voltages, and it will be back in business and as good as new.

Vic

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