I'm Back!

[sjfloat]

After years trapped in the digital domain like Kevin Flynn, I have a TT on duty again (or nearly).

It's a Dual 607 that's been shelved (in a bad way) for years. Don't recall the details of acquisition, but it certainly came from a GW or some such place. Not the greatest, but after so long in digital exile, it's making me smile nonetheless.

I chose this one to start partly because it's direct drive -- no belt to chase down and wait for. And it turns out that I had a NIB OEM stylus for the (Ortofon) Dual ULM 55E that's fitted to it. Did a cursory clean and set up (didn't bother with the "anti-resonator" -- what's the story with that, anyway?), I trusted the tracking indicator for now -- about 1.5g, adjusted the anti-skate.

There was still a Tony Bennet LP on the platter from when I brought it home -- how convenient. Did a very quick clean and had a listen. Amidst the snap, crackle, and pop, there was some nice crooning (maybe candidate for a Titebond II experiment).

So then, I dropped on side one of The Doors's "Absolutely Live", sat back and enjoyed. Next, I get my listening space in order.

I don't plan on settling on this TT forever, but for now it's Just Fine.

And I may yet try to find or build a nice DAC at some point. But this, this is where I want to live.

Before:


After:

 

[cratz2]

Lookin' good.

Now you need to get some King Crimson on vinyl!

 

[sjfloat]

Lookin' good.

Now you need to get some King Crimson on vinyl!

Aw yiss!

I have a few such selections, including the one I'm currently using for a face ;-) They are imprisoned with their fellows in plastic tubs, waiting for me to liberate them all!

Soon, soon...

 

[sjfloat]

In the meantime, I had a nice listen to Tarkus on cassette a couple of nights ago on my also recently reanimated Onkyo deck. So, a little Greg Lake to tide me over.

 

[Bob in WI]

Rediscovery is a fun process.... good for you... the spending is just beginning...

 

[sjfloat]

Rediscovery is a fun process.... good for you... the spending is just beginning...

Thanks. It certainly is. It's also a good way to attack life in general and a decent Chicago song with a *great* laid-back wah solo by Terry Kath in his prime -- also waiting in a tub.

I used to have that album on reel-to-reel.

 

[Eric Lloyd]

Man, that's some fun. Now you're gonna have to pull out and play every single LP you own.

 

[sjfloat]

Man, that's some fun. Now you're gonna have to pull out and play every single LP you own.

As I see it, I've no choice. And I'm also gonna have to start obsessing again about vinyl hygiene and buying blank cassettes to record them all.

 

[Eric Lloyd]

HA! Good luck finding all the blank tapes you'll want. Good ones can be pretty pricey now. Maybe digitize 'em, then you can play them in the car, too.

 

[sjfloat]

HA! Good luck finding all the blank tapes you'll want. Good ones can be pretty pricey now. Maybe digitize 'em, then you can play them in the car, too.

Yeah, so I thought. I can't vouch for the quality of these personally, but the prices seems pretty good.

https://www.deltamedia.com/products/chrome-cassette-25pk.html
http://nationalaudiocompany.com/Audio-Cassette-Tapes-C1.aspx

 

[sjfloat]

Hmm. It looks like the Delta ones are just the tape, no box or labels etc.

 

[bobins08]

Welcome back. Your table/cartridge/OEM stylus us a nice start.

Lots if information on record cleaning posted in the sticky. The wood glue method works but us a huge waste of time imo. Other deep cleaning is faster and more effective. Nothing fixes deep scratches and groove damage. You will see.

 

[sjfloat]

Welcome back. Your table/cartridge/OEM stylus us a nice start.

Lots if information on record cleaning posted in the sticky. The wood glue method works but us a huge waste of time imo. Other deep cleaning is faster and more effective. Nothing fixes deep scratches and groove damage. You will see.

Thanks for welcome!

Yeah, the glue thing is a new twist since I was last cleaning my records. And I agree that it sounds like a lot of bother. But the anecdotes I hear regarding apparent lost causes are intriguing (and I have a few of those). Of course, there's no coming back from damage, but I wonder if there's still a chance for some of the hard cases that are bound for the trash. And doing cookie things like this, at least once, is part of the fun. I'll probably give the Scrubbing Bubbles thing a try with something with intolerable noise. The DIY cleaning machine projects look interesting too.

My practice used to be plain ol' dish detergent and water followed by a distilled water rinse.

 

[gary7]

Welcome back. Enjoy.

 

[sjfloat]

Welcome back. Enjoy.

Thanks

 

[NAD80]

Welcome back to vinyl. Have a 607 with a Dynavector 10X4 (high output MC)in it. Still have the ULM 55 cart. If you can find the adapter you can mount a 1/2 inch standard cart in it. Enjoy listening. Loved all ELP albums.

 

[sjfloat]

Welcome back to vinyl. Have a 607 with a Dynavector 10X4 (high output MC)in it. Still have the ULM 55 cart. If you can find the adapter you can mount a 1/2 inch standard cart in it. Enjoy listening. Loved all ELP albums.

Thanks.

That's a lot of cart for that TT. I'm probably not laying out that much on a cartridge right now. But it's encouraging that you considered the 607 worthy of it. Did you do anything to damp (or replace) the plynth? On the face of it, it seems like the weakest feature of this turntable. I really enjoy making small incremental improvements.

 

[NAD80]

Don't have anything to damp the plinth. Did not replace the plinth. I think the owners and service manuals are up on VinylEngine.com. The dynavector was gotten when I purchased the TT back in early 80's replacing a BIC 940. The Nad 3140 did pretty good with this cart. Check out this website. http://web.archive.org/web/20161203112711/http://www.dual-reference.com/