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Mitsubishi LT-30 restoration

OK, just checking current info.
I have to look at the Pearl 2 but that shouldn't make a diff as neither should the cart reversal in theory. If one cart channel return serves as a case shield connection for the cart then that could be the problem. I had for years a phono module that inverted polarity in it's line driver and had to invert the cart's connections to use it with a passive controller. That created no problems in the Souther arm due to it's ungrounded simplicity, unlike the Mitz.
Edit: I see we've discussed this in your Pearl thread. Of all the things I've lost I miss my mind the most.

About the background low level hum problem cited otherwise, I'm not entirely secure with the way the signal routing is handled in the arm base, the metal casing of the mute switch may be a problem as well. It looks like avoiding the muting module altogether and providing an inter-terminal board to replace it in the base away from the other wiring might help with background hum level. Regardless, rerouting the arm wires down to the muting board away from the others in the base should help.
 
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Pio1980 said:
OK, just checking current info.
I have to look at the Pearl 2 but that shouldn't make a diff as neither should the cart reversal in theory. If one cart channel return serves as a case shield connection for the cart then that could be the problem. I had for years a phono module that inverted polarity in it's line driver and had to invert the cart's connections to use it with a passive controller. That created no problems in the Souther arm due to it's ungrounded simplicity, unlike the Mitz.
About the background low level hum problem cited otherwise, I'm not entirely secure with the way the signal routing is handled in the arm base, the metal casing of the mute switch may be a problem as well. It looks like avoiding the muting module altogether and providing an inter-terminal board to replace it in the base away from the other wiring might help with background hum level. Regardless, rerouting the arm wires down to the muting board away from the others in the base should help.
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There are so many wires coming out of the tonearm base of the LT-30 it's going to hard to segregate the signal wires from the others.

The stock wire from the muting switch to the interconnects is shielded. I didn't notice any additional noise when I replaced it with the short run of unshielded Cardas.
 
I think the problem is inside the base with the wires coming from the cart to the muting module. It should only be apparent when unmuted.
 
I just put the LT-30 in the main system in place of the VPI Classic if that gives you inspiration...

Ok, so I have two 'main' systems but the most listened to one with the Leben just got the big Mitsu with the Shure V-15vmr on it. I swear I like the Shure better than the Benz Glider. It sounds more natural.
 
JohnVF said:
I just put the LT-30 in the main system in place of the VPI Classic if that gives you inspiration...

Ok, so I have two 'main' systems but the most listened to one with the Leben just got the big Mitsu with the Shure V-15vmr on it. I swear I like the Shure better than the Benz Glider. It sounds more natural.
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John,I'd have loved to have heard your impression of the LT-30 with the Glider.It'd be closer to a true one component substitution.

I think that you will enjoy the LT-30.Who knows whether the naturalness that you are subscribing to the Shure,isn't actually the contribution of the LT-30? :scratch2:

I surmise,should you put the Glider on the Mitsu for a truer one to one comparison,that you will prefer some aspects of the Mitsu and miss some aspects of the VPI.

For a very,very natural sounding,very high resolution non-moving coil cartridge I can recommend the Soundsmith The Voice.It is extremely revealing yet never pulls the recording apart even when less than well partnered or set-up.Unlike some cartridges which if they aren't set-up just so are amusical and irritating.

To all reading this I wish a Happy 2012. :thmbsp:
 
theophile said:
John,I'd have loved to have heard your impression of the LT-30 with the Glider.It'd be closer to a true one component substitution.

I think that you will enjoy the LT-30.Who knows whether the naturalness that you are subscribing to the Shure,isn't actually the contribution of the LT-30? :scratch2:

I surmise,should you put the Glider on the Mitsu for a truer one to one comparison,that you will prefer some aspects of the Mitsu and miss some aspects of the VPI.

For a very,very natural sounding,very high resolution non-moving coil cartridge I can recommend the Soundsmith The Voice.It is extremely revealing yet never pulls the recording apart even when less than well partnered or set-up.Unlike some cartridges which if they aren't set-up just so are amusical and irritating.

To all reading this I wish a Happy 2012. :thmbsp:
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It really took me until yesterday to get the Glider set up correctly on the VPI- or I'd take it off and put it on a headshell to swap into the Mitsubishi. I spent about an hour dialing it in, and finally got rid of a slight sibilance that had been bugging me..and it sounds fantastic on the VPI. But there's just something about the V-15vmr that I really really like. I've had an AT-150mlx on this table but I don't really care for that cart. It's not that I necessarily prefer the LT-30 to the Classic, its rather a case of the 30/V-15 combo being more about the music and less about me trying to eek every last bit of detail and resolution out of the system- and the system that the VPI is in (Klyne preamp/levinson amp) is more along those lines. The VPI wins in dynamics, though- it is rock solid in every sense of the word.

I'll look into The Voice, though. I have some other older MMs to go through here as well. Going to try out this little A&R Cambridge E77 I got in a little trade next, as its so easy to swap out carts on the LT-30.
 
The Voice,unfortunately,isn't inexpensive.It is however a relative bargain.I have many,many times seen testimony on the 'net of owners of The Voice preferring it to their other cartridges (XYZ,Dynavector,Lyra) which cost twice the price of the rather costly The Voice.

I would buy another one,should GOD forbid something happen to the one I have.Big $$$$$ though. :tears:
 
theophile said:
The Voice,unfortunately,isn't inexpensive.It is however a relative bargain.I have many,many times seen testimony on the 'net of owners of The Voice preferring it to their other cartridges (XYZ,Dynavector,Lyra) which cost twice the price of the rather costly The Voice.

I would buy another one,should GOD forbid something happen to the one I have.Big $$$$$ though. :tears:
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Yowza- just saw the price! Well, nothing worth having ever comes easily now does it? I had been looking at the Dynavector Karat for this table- but first I'm going to send the one I have that's missing a channel to Soundsmith. At that time I may inquire about The Voice. I really feel this turntable could easily support any cartridge of whatever quality.
 
I've heard that with the ReVoX B795 Linatrack carrying the 'better' budget Digitrac, something much more about the music as you say then about great gear working well. This also highlights how having a musical phono stage rather than a technically excellent one is significant. That was my problem years ago with the Signet TK-7E insofar as it always sounded like calling attention to a great cartridge rather than me getting lost into the music.
Looking forward to getting into the Mitz as soon as I get my resources together, I'm thinking of swapping the Denon DL-110 in an unknown but decent composite headshell from the Sony PS-X70 into the Mitz to start.
BTW, anyone have a parts donor, just in case a lift motor or something is NF?
 
I looked into used Soundsmith carts for the LT-30 and what stopped me from getting one was the compliance issue.

The Soundsmith cars are available in two compliance versions, 27 and 22 (IIRC) and the one or two available at that time had a compliance of 27. However, I am afraid that even 22 could be too much for not that light LT-30 arm.

JohnVF said:
Yowza- just saw the price! Well, nothing worth having ever comes easily now does it? I had been looking at the Dynavector Karat for this table- but first I'm going to send the one I have that's missing a channel to Soundsmith. At that time I may inquire about The Voice. I really feel this turntable could easily support any cartridge of whatever quality.
Click to expand...
 
kotofei said:
I looked into used Soundsmith carts for the LT-30 and what stopped me from getting one was the compliance issue.

The Soundsmith cars are available in two compliance versions, 27 and 22 (IIRC) and the one or two available at that time had a compliance of 27. However, I am afraid that even 22 could be too much for not that light LT-30 arm.
Click to expand...

Kotofei, I don't think the arm is that light. It's a pretty beefy stainless steel tube with internal damping. Using Luckydog's effective mass calculator and a digital scale, mine comes in at just over 17g effective mass. That's using a Grace F9 and the OEM headshell.
 
With the New year's weekend house guests gone I've bitten the bullet and started the process by flipping the Mitz onto suitable spaced padding and digging into it's innards. While checking things generally prior to lamp replacement I found one of the tie points for the lift motor slightly loose in the PCB and determined a cold solder joint from the factory may be the reason the lift motor wasn't responding to commands. Corrected that and replaced the sled track lamps to start as I knew the end-of-play function was nonop. Next the control panel indicators and the record sensing lamps get replaced and then I make decisions whether to mess with removing the arm carriage for a relamp and rewire now or later as I have yet to confirm lift motor function restoration. FWIW the original external signal cables are ca 63pF ea minus the arm and internal wiring, the majority of the total capacitance loading (ca 250pF ea) is the mini-shielded internal run (ca 180 pF ea) and they can probably be shortened by at least 2/3-3/4 upon reassembly from this point. I think I can get each channel down to ca 100pF total without replacing any of it.
I'm relubing the mechanism bits as I go along with appropriate light oil in the bushings and bicycle bearing grease on the gears.
 
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I've decided to remove and disassemble the arm carriage and now have the tracking shuttle light gate exposed and ready for a lamp replacement. This has given me the opportunity to clean and lube the tracking rollers and the rest of the lift mechanism and motor. Not difficult so far but time consuming so I'm hopefully making it a one-time procedure. As every other person that has preceded me has discovered, these things are exceptionally well-built.
The last choice to be made before reassembly is whether to go with drastically shortening the existing internal signal wiring or replace it entirely.
 
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