Winter 2014 FrankenFest Workshop thread

audiodon

Addicted Member
Now that the holidays are over, it's time to put a wet thumb up in the air and hope it doesn't suffer frostbite while trying to figure out what workshops we should run at the Frankenfest.

Workshops typically run 30-45 minutes or are ad-hoc as interest dictates (in the case of tube-testing workshops n'stuff).
Typically, they'd run at 2:00 and if there's a second one, that'd be at 3:00.

Vinyl Workshop Series:
There's been a lot of interest in turntable stuff and here's a summary of the vinyl workshop series:

In the spirit of presenting and nurturing a series of vinyl workshops, here's a proposition for three vinyl workshops:
1. Turntable setup: Fall Frankenfest: Done!
2. Turntable cleanup: Crud removal and restoration: Winter Freezefest: Volunteers needed.
3. Digitizing vinyl rips, cleaning up clicks and pops, file rendering for digital playback: Summer Sweatfest: Bostown has volunteered. Others?

Who's interested in resurrecting turntables and would like to discuss it? In the spirit of the Frankenfest, who's going to show the innards of an old idler wheel turntable and talk about what to do to resurrect it?
How about an old console turntable?
What about resurrecting that old belt drive or direct drive turntable picked up at a yard sale?


Workshops require three things:
1. Enough people have to be interested in a workshop to request and then attend it.
2. Someone has to agree to deliver the workshop.
3. Space has to be made available and planning needs to be completed.

These are not onerous professional workshops.
They're fun informal clinics on subjects of audio interest by and for enthusiasts.

If you have a suggestion for a workshop, please post it in this thread.
If you have knowledge and are willing to perform a workshop, please post it in this thread and I will contact you to coordinate time and location and drum up interest.
If you have knowledge but are not experienced in delivering a workshop or are curious about how this works and would like assistance with planning, please let me know.

This post contains a history and links to other threads about workshops. This is how we keep track of workshops and threads from past NE AK'er get-togethers.
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Here's the generic workshop links and summaries:

The main thread with information and directions is here:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=564389

There is also a buy/sell/swap thread in BarterTown, but you must be a subscriber to view it.
If you're not a subscriber, subscribe to AK for $25 for a year and then, if you are not an audio industry professional, you can buy and sell gear.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/sho...d.php?t=541032

Here's a summary from the Summer Sweatfest 2013 workshop thread copied from this post:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/sho...d.php?t=528034

This post is a list of all suggested workshops from the OctoberFrankenFest thread and the WinterFrankenFest thread.
These are for future reference:
1. Turntable Setup -started
2. Cartridge Alignment - complete
3. Headphone Rig Showcase
4. Build and/or use a stylus microscope
5. DAC shootout - done in a half-handed way.
6. Nelson Pass gear listening.

Any workshops that don't happen but have inquiries will also be listed here.

Here is a link to the WinterFrankenFest workshop thread. The information on what workshops are and what they can be is here.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/sho...d.php?t=495876

--------------------------------------------------------------
Workshops require three things:
1. Enough people have to be interested in a workshop to request and then attend it.
2. Someone has to agree to deliver the workshop.
3. Space has to be made available and planning needs to be completed.

These are not onerous professional workshops.
They're fun informal clinics on subjects of audio interest by and for enthusiasts.

If you have a suggestion for a workshop, please post it in this thread.
If you have knowledge and are willing to perform a workshop, please post it in this thread and I will contact you to coordinate time and location and drum up interest.
If you have knowledge but are not experienced or comfortable in a public speaking role for delivering a workshop or are curious about how this works and would like assistance with planning, please let me know.
If you want to volunteer to work one-on-one or test tubes, check styli, or that kind of thing, please let me know.

Let the fun begin.
 
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Big "if" here. If a TT workshop comes about, I have a Gates CB77 table I can bring. It is semi functioning, motor works etc. Idler wheel drive. People can easily get a look under it to see what it is all about.
Still not sure I will make this one, would like to, but kids may have other plans.
 
As far as the console turntable forum goes, I'm not sure what I'd be able to contribute to teaching the forum itself, but I recently ended up with a bunch of what look like console pulls, if any demonstration models are needed. Several BSRs and Garrards, possibly with others as well.
-Adam
 
Adam,
You're very good at resurrecting turntables.
The gunked up console turntable was a strawman thought.
Got any belt or direct drive turntables you've been meaning to look into?
You could do something cool about where to order belts, lubricating motors that are 40 years old, things to consider . . . when it's worth it to look at a turntable to raid the arm or cartridge . . . Why you love B&O gear . . . whatever.
What do you think?
 
Adam,
You're very good at resurrecting turntables.
The gunked up console turntable was a strawman thought.
Got any belt or direct drive turntables you've been meaning to look into?
You could do something cool about where to order belts, lubricating motors that are 40 years old, things to consider . . . when it's worth it to look at a turntable to raid the arm or cartridge . . . Why you love B&O gear . . . whatever.
What do you think?

I will definitely have to ponder some of those ideas. One thing which just popped into my head is to compare various types of turntables, since I own or have owned just about every variation out there (auto/semi-auto/manual, belt/direct/idler drive, radial/linear tracking, single-play/stacking changer, etc.). I oughta be able to come up with something... :scratch2:
-Adam
 
As a further suggestion perhaps with less time-costs for the prospective presentee-

Does anyone use a PC / laptop-based measuring (Distortion / O-Scope & The like) set-up?

I for one would very much appreciate seeing such demonstrated and hear folks experiences with same...
 
Keep the ideas coming folks. We'll nail it down this weekend now that we know what we'll have for space.
 
I wouldn't mind a lesson on all the different digital formats. We could call it "Graduating from iTunes". I used to be up on this stuff, but can't seem to wrap my head around it all.

I really appreciated Don's tube lesson, so something along those lines.

I'd also suggest the workshops happen earlier in the day...

AND THANK YOU ORGANIZERS
 
Hi Don et al,

I have a Technics SL-QL1 that needs some love! I would be happy to bring it along, but remember that I sell snow blowers and tractors etc. for a living, and if it snows.....
 
Folks, I'm pretty sure my forum will be forum will indeed be on turntable types. I do have some requests which would help my forum:

1. Is anyone bringing a modern belt-drive turntable with them? Rega, Pro-Ject, U-Turn Orbit, what-have-you. I would like to have a belt-drive specimen which is a bit newer than an AR ES-1.

2. Is anyone bringing a semi-automatic turntable with them? Pretty sure that most of my serviceable turntables are either fully automatic, or fully manual. Would just like an example to show in with the others.

3. Any idea if there will be a camera/projector setup in place, as with the last workshop? Not absolutely necessary, but would be nice.

Not sure how much (if any) restoration info I'll be able to squeeze in there, since I'm not particularly mechanically-inclined, but I'll see what I can do. Hopefully, my forum will prove somewhat informative, and interesting. See you there!
-Adam
 
I will probably be there, and can bring a Gates CB77 broadcast table. It is an idler wheel. No plinth. Sparta tone arm. Not 100%, but the motor doeswork and it is easy to pull the platter to see the mechanics.
 
As a further suggestion perhaps with less time-costs for the prospective presentee-

Does anyone use a PC / laptop-based measuring (Distortion / O-Scope & The like) set-up?

I for one would very much appreciate seeing such demonstrated and hear folks experiences with same...
Along those same lines, I would like to see how one uses a scope for diagnostics and measurements.
Might be too late for this to happen, but maybe at a FutureFest.
 
I will probably be there, and can bring a Gates CB77 broadcast table. It is an idler wheel. No plinth. Sparta tone arm. Not 100%, but the motor doeswork and it is easy to pull the platter to see the mechanics.

That would be helpful, thanks. I'm indeed going to touch on idler drive turntables, and would rather not pull the platter off of one of my Duals, since they use spring clips which love nothing more than to go flying off into the Twilight Zone when you try to remove them. Will still be bringing the Dual(s) as reference models, since many of the idler drive machines out there are record changers, and those Gates wonders aren't often found in the wild nowadays (unfortunately).
-Adam
 
That would be helpful, thanks. I'm indeed going to touch on idler drive turntables, and would rather not pull the platter off of one of my Duals, since they use spring clips which love nothing more than to go flying off into the Twilight Zone when you try to remove them. Will still be bringing the Dual(s) as reference models, since many of the idler drive machines out there are record changers, and those Gates wonders aren't often found in the wild nowadays (unfortunately).
-Adam

Not a problem. Does a cardboard box qualify as a plinth?:D I will also bring another broadcast table, my Technics SP-25. :thmbsp:
Hopefully I can make it. The family tends to make the decision for me and usually last minute.
 
Not a problem. Does a cardboard box qualify as a plinth?:D I will also bring another broadcast table, my Technics SP-25. :thmbsp:
Hopefully I can make it. The family tends to make the decision for me and usually last minute.

Doesn't really need to have a plinth, as long as it can be placed in a way which won't hurt the inner-workings while I use it as a demonstration piece with the upper portion towards the audience so they can see the idler wheel and speed-change mechanism under where the platter normally sits. The SP-25 would go well as a comparison-piece vs. my original SL-1200Mk1. Hope to see you there! :yes:
-Adam
 
I'd like to know more about testing than I do before I'd feel comfortable tag-teaming with chinacave on a testing module.
I am awaiting payment on a restoration and will be buying a distortion analyzer with the proceeds . . . so that should help.
Let's put that one for a future workshop.

Al Wise has also suggested a "do different speaker cables have different sounds" for you zipcord vs. expensive speaker cable smackdown fanatics, but we're going to target the sweatfest for that one. Can someone with some forward sounding speakers volunteer to haul their speakers along for that one when we do it? The speakers should scale well into a noisy environment for this demo to be effective.
 
Op amp rolling

I want to do a simple demonstration of op amp rolling.

Simply put I'll bring a preamp and CD player that I've upgraded the OEM op amps with "audio-grade" op amps (and sockets).

We'll do a listening session with these "better" parts and then swap in the generic parts and see how they compare.
The down side is it would take 30 seconds to swap out the op amp - it would be cool to have a way to do a quick compare.

I'm tinking of using my Polk Monito 10 speakers, refurbed Nikko Alpha 230, home brewed preamp and Carver DTL-50 CDP.
 
Adam, our resident B&O turntablemeister, will be doing a turntable workshop in the main lobby at 1:00. He will describe the different turntable types, what to look for if you're in a position to buy one, and what typically needs to be updated.
There will be half-a-dozen turntables set up, though none will be connected, and each one will be a different type.
There will be (Adam feel free to update):
1. A linear tracker
2. A belt drive table
3. A fully automatic turntable
4. An idler drive turntable
5. A direct drive turntable
6. A semi-automatic turntable (maybe).
7. Other?

Does anyone have a semi-automatic like a Thorens TD-something that they can bring, even if they bring it to sell but allow it to be used in the demo? You know, one with solenoid driven tonearm lift at the end of a record?

w1jim, When would you like to do your demo?

Does anyone want to set up a system in the second floor pink room? If so, you'll have isolation for critical listening, though I'm not sure what the temperature will be up there for the Winterfest.

Al. Wise has suggested a different wires workshop, possibly for the summer Sweatfest and we'd like to assess the pink room's sonic qualities at the Winterfest to see if it will present a critical listening opportunity.
 
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