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Anyone heard of London Acoustical Developments (LAD)??

There was a one or more guys selling LAD OEM parts on eBay in the last year or two. I'm pretty sure the direct drive system was a JVC oem system, and as others have pionted out the arm was a Jelco 370. I picked up one of the arms, and it sounds quite good, but the fit and finish, aren't nearly as nice as my 750D. Also the geometry is different from the 750, as is the headshell (crappy), the counterweight (light), and base (cheap looking). Still a good arm for the money they've been selling for, and I'm sure the LAD tables are quite capable.
 
LADs used a different version of the 370AH

I have a Jelco 370 arm and recently found an LAD arm on eBay. It looks like the 370 in every way except for the LAD headshell AND it is a different length.

In reality it seems to have the same dimensions etc as the 750D.

In trying to solve the 370 variant conundrum, I emailed Jelco and they confirmed the LAD 370 variant was different. They also sent me a PDF of the tech drawing and the specs. I was very surprised to receive this email from them as this information is now quite old .....

For your convenience I have attached the file they sent.

WRT the 750, I have not seen it first hand but the LAD/370 and the 750 are more similar than different but apparently there are differences that make the 750 better. Personally I find the 370 and now especially the LAD variant to be th best arm I have ever owned. And I have found the 370/LAD is a perfect match for a Denon DL103 EXCEPT that the stock counterweight needs some extra weight to achieve proper balance and VTF. You can buy heavier Jelco counterweights on eBay but they tend to run about $100, which for me seems out of line. So I have improvised by adding some extra weight to the counterweight.
 

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Please no offering stuff for sale or discussing gear values in this part of the forum please......read the rules........
 
taskerc said:
I have a Jelco 370 arm and recently found an LAD arm on eBay. It looks like the 370 in every way except for the LAD headshell AND it is a different length.

In reality it seems to have the same dimensions etc as the 750D.

In trying to solve the 370 variant conundrum, I emailed Jelco and they confirmed the LAD 370 variant was different. They also sent me a PDF of the tech drawing and the specs. I was very surprised to receive this email from them as this information is now quite old .....

For your convenience I have attached the file they sent.

WRT the 750, I have not seen it first hand but the LAD/370 and the 750 are more similar than different but apparently there are differences that make the 750 better. Personally I find the 370 and now especially the LAD variant to be th best arm I have ever owned. And I have found the 370/LAD is a perfect match for a Denon DL103 EXCEPT that the stock counterweight needs some extra weight to achieve proper balance and VTF. You can buy heavier Jelco counterweights on eBay but they tend to run about $100, which for me seems out of line. So I have improvised by adding some extra weight to the counterweight.
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Very interesting. I'm curious though...the PDF shows an arm with LAD as a logo, and the model number SA-370. Are you saying Jelco made two SA-370's in different lengths?
 
Yes

tmarx said:
Very interesting. I'm curious though...the PDF shows an arm with LAD as a logo, and the model number SA-370. Are you saying Jelco made two SA-370's in different lengths?
Click to expand...

When I got my LAD 370 I mounted it and found that getting the headshell aligned was not at all easy. So I finally measured my Jelco 370 and the LAD variant and sure enough - different lengths. The Jelco 370 is 10 inches I believe and the LAD variant is 9, as is the 750 and the 250. So I sent the email to Jelco expecting nothing, but in return got the PDFs for both - and they are different. Yes, it baffled me and it was a surprise as I was not even aware of LAD prior to this - I just noticed an auction for an arm that looked identical to my current Jelco 370 and pulled the trigger.
 
I recently saved a GAJ 835 MKII from being trashed.Unfortunatly one of the head shells is missing from one of the decks. Does anyone know what model number it is and where I could find a replacement for it?
Thanks
Bob
 
Jelco arms accept standard SME style headshells, so you have lots of choices. The original SA-370 headshell is kind of a lightweight cheap thing, personally I'd get a Zupreme headshell from LP Gear to replace it, they are made by Jelco but much higher quality.
 
I just purchased a new old stock L.A.D. Jelco arm which I plan on mounting on my TD150 when finished. It is a SA-370D MkIII with the 9 inch lenght. Looks to be very well built, and is of the direct wire type, with no plug.
Regards,
Jim
 
I recently saved a GAJ 835 MKII from being trashed.Unfortunatly one of the head shells is missing from one of the decks. Does anyone know what model number it is and where I could find a replacement for it?
Thanks
Bob





Hmm,the headshell on the arm looks a bit different to the one you suggested tmarx. It has a female attachment and is off-set type. Any clues?
 

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You're right Bob, that's a totally different beastie than a Jelco SA-370 would use.

That said, Jelco did make some straight arms with offset headshells (some of the Systemdek XII's had them), so it could still be one of their arms. Unfortunately I just don't know of a source for that style of headshell short of scouring eBay. I'd send a email to LP Gear to see what they suggest.
 
tmarx said:
You're right Bob, that's a totally different beastie than a Jelco SA-370 would use.

That said, Jelco did make some straight arms with offset headshells (some of the Systemdek XII's had them), so it could still be one of their arms. Unfortunately I just don't know of a source for that style of headshell short of scouring eBay. I'd send a email to LP Gear to see what they suggest.
Click to expand...

Thanks again tmarx, I've just added a couple more pics of the arm in case anyone recognises what it might be.The name of the deck and company is printed in gold on the side of the arm.London Acoustical Developments GAJ 835 MKII.
 
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