Recent content by plbeard

  1. plbeard

    Wharfedale W60 - Any Good?

    I know this is an old post but I agree with it so much I wondered if I had written it. My W60s's have rotated out of service, but I was thinking about them as I just packed them for a move. They are a) some of the best looking speakers of that era b) very like the tone of amps themselves (like...
  2. plbeard

    Denon DP-45F with SERIOUS issues, fixable?

    This advice is gold--I just got a Denon DP-3000 and I favored some explanation for nutty-speed issues that was due to jarring in transit. The tape-reading head (a pre-quartz speed control, under the platter, that reads a band of tape inside the platter for a speed signal) on this TT was too far...
  3. plbeard

    Acoustic Research vs Thorens

    I own (and have rebuilt) AR XA tables and I have a Thorens TD150-MkII. They have similar design conceptions: to isolate the tonearm and platter from motor vibrations by mounting the tonearm and platter on a unified, sprung suspension. The Thorens is likely copying AR. The AR was designed by...
  4. plbeard

    Thorens 150 Mk II Rt. Front Spring Tuning?

    All good, yes: this 150 Mk. II is speed correct (and actually was previously, with the "too tight" belt) but what is critical (or what slightly annoyed me--it is debatable if that is "critical") is that the tonearm platform is now independent of any rubbing against the chassis, although, in an...
  5. plbeard

    Thorens 150 Mk II Rt. Front Spring Tuning?

    I'll confirm: what is crucial is the belt. Even though I had a belt that spun at 33.33, somehow it was, by a tiny-but-significant amount, too tight, and tended to tug the tonearm's platform slightly toward the center and (at the front) against the chassis. Cure: a real Thorens belt. I didn't...
  6. plbeard

    Review of AR-3a Speaker, Audio Magazine, October 1968, Vol 52 No. 10, Page 72-73

    I am surprised there was not more commentary on this, as I have learned that older class A amps (a well-behaved, rehabbed Sansui 999, e.g.) can get quite hot driving AR 3as, even though the amps are rated for 4 ohms. 3as can demand loads of 2 ohms, for intervals, though. I am going to try the...
  7. plbeard

    AR 3a Grill Cloth Options

    More notes on AR 3a grill cloth replacement, with a few notes on sound. I recently got a pair of 1969 AR 3as. They were original, and in pretty good cosmetic shape. I rehabbed all of the caps and pots (which were shot). I refreshed the finish, which was sunbleached in places, with light steel...
  8. plbeard

    AR 3A Grill Cloth?

    Original AR 3a linen has a high thread count (something like 24), but the threads are quite thin, and thus there is a lot of space between threads. The threads also were not very fuzzy. The trick they achieved was a cloth that was acoustically transparent (it is almost like nothing-at-all) but...
  9. plbeard

    Isolating my turntables. Ideas for something inexpensive??

    I worked in radio for 15 years, and know how to isolate turntables from from floor and wall vibration; I don't need to be pointed toward "pros in broadcast" on this subject, which results from idiosyncrasies of tinkering; the Sony, e.g., is a 1971 relic that originally had rubber feet, which it...
  10. plbeard

    Isolating my turntables. Ideas for something inexpensive??

    In my own recent exp.: Japanese turntables that have wooden boxes for plinths (Sony; Pioneer; 1970s vintage etc.) can hit feedback resonances at moderate-loud volumes even if the turntable itself is isolated from the walls or floor (i.e., on a studs-mounted shelf). Practice hockey pucks (the...
  11. plbeard

    Removing Tonearm Pivot Screw/ Arm-rewire Sony 2400

    Short term, and likely long, solution to the 2400's tone-arm issue: as I like the aesthetic and function of this, is a NOS Grace 340 tone-arm that took less time to install than the rewire of this Sony 2400's original arm, but which I will take up if I lay my hands on / make the right tool.
  12. plbeard

    Removing Tonearm Pivot Screw/ Arm-rewire Sony 2400

    I might end up doing that (making my own) as the depth of the "U" needs to be steep in this case. We'll see. Astoundingly, these U-bladed screwdrivers are easy to get (like Wiley Coyote getting stuff from Acme) and not expensive, so I'll experiment with ready-mades first. Some makers also...
  13. plbeard

    Removing Tonearm Pivot Screw/ Arm-rewire Sony 2400

    Here's the tool needed (though the protruding screw will make it tricky to use, still)--it is called a U-tip screw driver or a slotted spanner.
  14. plbeard

    Removing Tonearm Pivot Screw/ Arm-rewire Sony 2400

    The wires must pass through a right angle through a 1/8 inch wide transit point. That is a cool idea (using the current wires as tethers), but it isn't happening with this design. I need eyes on the transit point.
  15. plbeard

    Removing Tonearm Pivot Screw/ Arm-rewire Sony 2400

    Sorry, I should have said Sony 2250. It's here; the link is suffixed "incomplete" but I think the service manual must be 98-100% complete--I am not sure what that meant: https://www.vinylengine.com/library/sony/tts-2250.shtml
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