I think I answered my own question when saying I was given the Magimix by the ex. Beware Belgians bearing gifts. I think my LP verses CD is quite good. The Magimix seems to offer everything one could want. But.......
Here is an interesting thing. No sound source I play causes my OB speakers to obvoiusly move. Conventional drive units were in trouble on the same baffle. The EQ I am using should be big trouble. So I thought something however odd is very right here. That was until I played an old Edmundo Ros Decca FFRR mono LP. These were cut on the same FFRR 78 lathes except the feed thread is for micro groove. FFRR has a swinger lead out groove part. The speakers nearly launched. This means recorded material is not as energetic as we imagine , even CD. I was listening to the 8 Bit Beatles. The speakers must be getting somewhere as they have attack and sweetness. Rather beautiful in fact. This is what I wanted. Something tonally nice that preserves detail ( almost no filters ). Surprisingly the 8 Bit Beatles has detail. Maybe like organ music simple waves when timed nicely make a new picture. The Organ does not have detail until time is introduced into the mix. The time thing inside the organists head. Hindemith Organ Sonatas ( Bowyer ) show this well on You Tube. Simon Preston Argo is my favourite. OMG Hindemith is beautiful. Schoenberg and Messiaen also. My mother asked me how I could listen to such music. I explained in real life there is enough space in the performance to hear each note. When hi fi this can be lost. She smilled as reflected she always loved the tune up of the orchestra. Messiaen's The Quartet for the end of Time is not sad as one must remember he did not die when he thought he would. The Decca Argo version is so very beautiful. The piano on this somehow better than real life. That is the music and not the piano. Schoenberg Five Piano Pieces should be OK for most people.
When I made the Garrard 501 turntable my boss Terry was so lazy as to have not screwed it to gether by Christmas. He hadn't even got the plinth together. It was to be on it's way to CES in about a week. I bolted it to a piece of MDF and built up a simple base board with squash balls as suspension. The only arm I could find was a rather shabby SME S2. It had no bias weight. I think it even was dented. Looking around of what might work only a Shure M44-7 was available. I had plenty of MC's, these were useless in a S2. On getting it running I only was trying for rumble. There was none!!! So I thought, lets play Dark side of the Moon. Stunning. So the Messiaen was tried. For the first time in my life it was music. The next thing I knew the Sun came up. The Shure was sounding as no turntable ever had. I understand that a German speaking magazine is placing 501 along with two other items as reference products. As this hasn't gone to press my lips are sealed. The 501 went to CES. Terry is like the owner of a gold mine who can not be bothered to go in and get it. I am doing a secret project on turntables. I doubt it will be anything to get excited about sonically. I will tell you more when I can. I can say Brian Mortimer who's dad Monty designed the Garrard 301 is team leader. It's a bit of fun. Monty held the first patent of autochangers, his was called the Drain pipe as Monty cut a piece of of his drain paipe to make the cam. He made it at home and took it to work. Garrard rush him to London by taxi and had the patent drawn up that day. Thorens made it under licence, the exact same turntable. Thorens are who Garrard looked to when making their first turntable in 1920. Martina Schoener who carries on the 501 was Thorens parts lady. She is a very good friend. Brian asked me when we started 501. He said " Dad was alive then , he would have stayed alive longer if he had known. On second thoughts no because he would have taken it off of you ". I said to Brian that would have been fine. Brian was head of quality control at Garrard. I do not have the money for a 501. I am building a 401 right now to the same recipe. I hope to use a Hadcock arm. Madame Schoener has my white 401 Naim Aro. It went on holiday and seems to have married Martina. I only have my LP12 Ekos DL110. It is a a Magimix and I need a Chef.
Here is an interesting thing. No sound source I play causes my OB speakers to obvoiusly move. Conventional drive units were in trouble on the same baffle. The EQ I am using should be big trouble. So I thought something however odd is very right here. That was until I played an old Edmundo Ros Decca FFRR mono LP. These were cut on the same FFRR 78 lathes except the feed thread is for micro groove. FFRR has a swinger lead out groove part. The speakers nearly launched. This means recorded material is not as energetic as we imagine , even CD. I was listening to the 8 Bit Beatles. The speakers must be getting somewhere as they have attack and sweetness. Rather beautiful in fact. This is what I wanted. Something tonally nice that preserves detail ( almost no filters ). Surprisingly the 8 Bit Beatles has detail. Maybe like organ music simple waves when timed nicely make a new picture. The Organ does not have detail until time is introduced into the mix. The time thing inside the organists head. Hindemith Organ Sonatas ( Bowyer ) show this well on You Tube. Simon Preston Argo is my favourite. OMG Hindemith is beautiful. Schoenberg and Messiaen also. My mother asked me how I could listen to such music. I explained in real life there is enough space in the performance to hear each note. When hi fi this can be lost. She smilled as reflected she always loved the tune up of the orchestra. Messiaen's The Quartet for the end of Time is not sad as one must remember he did not die when he thought he would. The Decca Argo version is so very beautiful. The piano on this somehow better than real life. That is the music and not the piano. Schoenberg Five Piano Pieces should be OK for most people.
When I made the Garrard 501 turntable my boss Terry was so lazy as to have not screwed it to gether by Christmas. He hadn't even got the plinth together. It was to be on it's way to CES in about a week. I bolted it to a piece of MDF and built up a simple base board with squash balls as suspension. The only arm I could find was a rather shabby SME S2. It had no bias weight. I think it even was dented. Looking around of what might work only a Shure M44-7 was available. I had plenty of MC's, these were useless in a S2. On getting it running I only was trying for rumble. There was none!!! So I thought, lets play Dark side of the Moon. Stunning. So the Messiaen was tried. For the first time in my life it was music. The next thing I knew the Sun came up. The Shure was sounding as no turntable ever had. I understand that a German speaking magazine is placing 501 along with two other items as reference products. As this hasn't gone to press my lips are sealed. The 501 went to CES. Terry is like the owner of a gold mine who can not be bothered to go in and get it. I am doing a secret project on turntables. I doubt it will be anything to get excited about sonically. I will tell you more when I can. I can say Brian Mortimer who's dad Monty designed the Garrard 301 is team leader. It's a bit of fun. Monty held the first patent of autochangers, his was called the Drain pipe as Monty cut a piece of of his drain paipe to make the cam. He made it at home and took it to work. Garrard rush him to London by taxi and had the patent drawn up that day. Thorens made it under licence, the exact same turntable. Thorens are who Garrard looked to when making their first turntable in 1920. Martina Schoener who carries on the 501 was Thorens parts lady. She is a very good friend. Brian asked me when we started 501. He said " Dad was alive then , he would have stayed alive longer if he had known. On second thoughts no because he would have taken it off of you ". I said to Brian that would have been fine. Brian was head of quality control at Garrard. I do not have the money for a 501. I am building a 401 right now to the same recipe. I hope to use a Hadcock arm. Madame Schoener has my white 401 Naim Aro. It went on holiday and seems to have married Martina. I only have my LP12 Ekos DL110. It is a a Magimix and I need a Chef.
LINN VALHALLA
Whilst I get my Garrard 401 together I have been using my 1989 LP12. Recently it has been slightly less than wonderful. I put this down to having heard better. A quick health check showed the 82V DC to the red phase was modulating. The cure is simple. Replace the 47 uF 250 V. One was showing zero. How it worked at all is a mystery as they are in series ( 24 uF > 340 V DC ). I used 220 uF 250 V of a similar diameter ( 110 uF ). These have a wire added and sleeved as axial is becoming rare.
There is a problem with Valhalla and any similar PSU. The fiixed 50 Hz beats with the incoming mains. About - 46 dB typical. This can only be seen by fitting a different crystal. There is one that will give 45 rpm to about 0.2%, that's how I saw it ( you will have to gain adjust the circuit as 45 rpm needs 110 V , the filter slope will fight you, in theory you need an additional 220 nF to give 110 nF phase shifft to blue, in practicce it seems not to be important ). 220 uF x 2 will give about - 53 dB. After that no obvious difference and a risk if going to lets say 680 uF. The limiting resistor is 47 R ( or thermistor ). That and the rectifier ( > W06 ) often fail. The dropper resitors also. 47 R carbon composition as fitted is the better choice as they resist surges better.
You can fit a 0 V thick insulated cable from the caps to the 0 V section of the 4060 ripple counter or close by point ( 2.5 mm ). This will get you about - 60 dB. This will vary with the frequency , sometimes despite the mods it is about - 52 dB. The input I think works as a voltage doubler when on 115 V. All in all it is an elegant circuit and seem to work for years. Be careful as it is easy to mess them up. The 45 mod a no-no. To do the caps is fast. Be sure you have discharged the circuit ( isolate PCB, let it self discharge for 5 minutes. Measure with a meter ).
I didn't bother with the 0V wire this time. Do not ground the unit. Also no suspect parts as the device is never switched off. The local TV repair shop might be where it can be done. Their life is often doing similar repairs.
BTW. The Linn sounds a lot better than it should. The Thorens TD145 I also have is not really as good. The thing is the Linn is silent and the Thorens is not. Both seem as they should be. Thorens seem ultimately to have not put the care in that Linn have. Apart from that two peas in a pod. It just shows how the eyes tell us very little. Lets be clear I do know a bit about the smaller points of turntables. There is nothing obvious that says one should be the better one. The Thorens bearing looks much the same. The Thorens belts last about 6 weeks before they degrade. The 45 facility kills them even quicker. These are genuine Thorens parts. The Linn belt is the 1989 original and seems as new. Linn said they sold them at a loss. I can believe it. Ivor insisted we shouldn't change them for the sake of it. Ivor was right.
If you want tune the blue phase 220 nF. Don't do it on the PCB. Just take it from the red phase. It is not to say the typical 82 VAC red and 90 VAC blue is wrong. It might just be that more equal has less vibration. Class X2 caps are cheap and do a good job. You might find you need 200 nF or whatever.
If you have an unusable Valhalla and 230 V 50 you can do this. Fit a 220 nF class X2 cap from 2 x grey wires of the motor and the spare end to neutral. Connect a 220 nF class X2 to red and blue wires. If the live is to the red the motor will go forwards and to blue backwards . The 220 nF to neurtral forms a heat-less ballast. If being super cautious 1500 V caps can be used. These may sit less comfortably with insurance companies as class X2 is for mains use ( I know, 1500 VDC verses perhaps 630 VDC class X2 tested. The 440 VAC class X is an excellent choice ). You will measure about 110 V this way from grey to colours. A 2K 5 watt can be added to the neutral if wanting about 90 V.
One thing you might question is the distortion of the Valhalla as Linn imply the Lingo is better. This is nonsense as inside the motor the distortion hits about 10 % due to how it works. One can not know a triangle wave from Valhalla inside the motor. To me this is a serious defect of these motors. If Lingo is better it is the low beat modulation. The 66 VAC runing is not my cup of tea ( 90V start with current sensor ). That says stick with Valhalla and go to 220 uF. Standard Valhalla is about 1 watt output @ 90VAC ( 330 VDC ) and 24 uF smoothing. 110 uF = 6 dB better beat rejection. The main reason being the asymetrical PSU is helped by lower ripple ( more than it should be ). I did feed it with it's own 9 VDC and loose the droppers. No big deal, not worth doing. The 0V wire is worth doing. I fear people will get it wrong so can not recomend it. You need a special scope as I have and you will be working live. You will need the 45 crystal to see it. I found many places where it worked worse, albeit subtly. Below is an example of mesurements. Take my ideas here as slightly down the road from this example.
BTW. LM324N is an OK op amp for this circuit.
Whilst I get my Garrard 401 together I have been using my 1989 LP12. Recently it has been slightly less than wonderful. I put this down to having heard better. A quick health check showed the 82V DC to the red phase was modulating. The cure is simple. Replace the 47 uF 250 V. One was showing zero. How it worked at all is a mystery as they are in series ( 24 uF > 340 V DC ). I used 220 uF 250 V of a similar diameter ( 110 uF ). These have a wire added and sleeved as axial is becoming rare.
There is a problem with Valhalla and any similar PSU. The fiixed 50 Hz beats with the incoming mains. About - 46 dB typical. This can only be seen by fitting a different crystal. There is one that will give 45 rpm to about 0.2%, that's how I saw it ( you will have to gain adjust the circuit as 45 rpm needs 110 V , the filter slope will fight you, in theory you need an additional 220 nF to give 110 nF phase shifft to blue, in practicce it seems not to be important ). 220 uF x 2 will give about - 53 dB. After that no obvious difference and a risk if going to lets say 680 uF. The limiting resistor is 47 R ( or thermistor ). That and the rectifier ( > W06 ) often fail. The dropper resitors also. 47 R carbon composition as fitted is the better choice as they resist surges better.
You can fit a 0 V thick insulated cable from the caps to the 0 V section of the 4060 ripple counter or close by point ( 2.5 mm ). This will get you about - 60 dB. This will vary with the frequency , sometimes despite the mods it is about - 52 dB. The input I think works as a voltage doubler when on 115 V. All in all it is an elegant circuit and seem to work for years. Be careful as it is easy to mess them up. The 45 mod a no-no. To do the caps is fast. Be sure you have discharged the circuit ( isolate PCB, let it self discharge for 5 minutes. Measure with a meter ).
I didn't bother with the 0V wire this time. Do not ground the unit. Also no suspect parts as the device is never switched off. The local TV repair shop might be where it can be done. Their life is often doing similar repairs.
BTW. The Linn sounds a lot better than it should. The Thorens TD145 I also have is not really as good. The thing is the Linn is silent and the Thorens is not. Both seem as they should be. Thorens seem ultimately to have not put the care in that Linn have. Apart from that two peas in a pod. It just shows how the eyes tell us very little. Lets be clear I do know a bit about the smaller points of turntables. There is nothing obvious that says one should be the better one. The Thorens bearing looks much the same. The Thorens belts last about 6 weeks before they degrade. The 45 facility kills them even quicker. These are genuine Thorens parts. The Linn belt is the 1989 original and seems as new. Linn said they sold them at a loss. I can believe it. Ivor insisted we shouldn't change them for the sake of it. Ivor was right.
If you want tune the blue phase 220 nF. Don't do it on the PCB. Just take it from the red phase. It is not to say the typical 82 VAC red and 90 VAC blue is wrong. It might just be that more equal has less vibration. Class X2 caps are cheap and do a good job. You might find you need 200 nF or whatever.
If you have an unusable Valhalla and 230 V 50 you can do this. Fit a 220 nF class X2 cap from 2 x grey wires of the motor and the spare end to neutral. Connect a 220 nF class X2 to red and blue wires. If the live is to the red the motor will go forwards and to blue backwards . The 220 nF to neurtral forms a heat-less ballast. If being super cautious 1500 V caps can be used. These may sit less comfortably with insurance companies as class X2 is for mains use ( I know, 1500 VDC verses perhaps 630 VDC class X2 tested. The 440 VAC class X is an excellent choice ). You will measure about 110 V this way from grey to colours. A 2K 5 watt can be added to the neutral if wanting about 90 V.
One thing you might question is the distortion of the Valhalla as Linn imply the Lingo is better. This is nonsense as inside the motor the distortion hits about 10 % due to how it works. One can not know a triangle wave from Valhalla inside the motor. To me this is a serious defect of these motors. If Lingo is better it is the low beat modulation. The 66 VAC runing is not my cup of tea ( 90V start with current sensor ). That says stick with Valhalla and go to 220 uF. Standard Valhalla is about 1 watt output @ 90VAC ( 330 VDC ) and 24 uF smoothing. 110 uF = 6 dB better beat rejection. The main reason being the asymetrical PSU is helped by lower ripple ( more than it should be ). I did feed it with it's own 9 VDC and loose the droppers. No big deal, not worth doing. The 0V wire is worth doing. I fear people will get it wrong so can not recomend it. You need a special scope as I have and you will be working live. You will need the 45 crystal to see it. I found many places where it worked worse, albeit subtly. Below is an example of mesurements. Take my ideas here as slightly down the road from this example.
BTW. LM324N is an OK op amp for this circuit.
I have several of his albums, tip from my guitar teacher at the time
(after all these years, I can still recall the penetrating mix scent of cabbage and Brussels sprouts in his conservatory student loft room)
I lost my copy of this . Glad to have the memory of it if only via MP3. Colleen doubts it would have been allowed. I only just remebered it was called...... On vinyl it is larger. The Gale 401 speakers if I remember rightly were great with it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GXcr_Me7yI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB93noPG42g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GXcr_Me7yI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB93noPG42g
There was a boring version of the 401, I don't think I ever saw a pair. The 401 was the perfect answer if wanting a more lively Spendor BC1 yet truthful. I dare say a pair of true subwoofers like in THX might be excellent with them . Place them under the speaker to get propper images.
If you listened to Paul Horn you should try the Pyramid. I didn't know that recording until I tried it on YouTube. The sound of the planets is good. I hope NASA are not having a laugh. When listening to what might have been Mercury on my new speakers I hear what sounded like somone bashing an oil drum. The more I listened the more it seemed that's what it is. To fake some Moon photo's perhaps. To fake planet sounds , why ? For all that the sounds are remarkably different planet to planet. I can only speculate that being spheres they will be musical. My new speakers do show things I can not hear on headphones. That is strange. I have Stax if asking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3fqE01YYWs
If you listened to Paul Horn you should try the Pyramid. I didn't know that recording until I tried it on YouTube. The sound of the planets is good. I hope NASA are not having a laugh. When listening to what might have been Mercury on my new speakers I hear what sounded like somone bashing an oil drum. The more I listened the more it seemed that's what it is. To fake some Moon photo's perhaps. To fake planet sounds , why ? For all that the sounds are remarkably different planet to planet. I can only speculate that being spheres they will be musical. My new speakers do show things I can not hear on headphones. That is strange. I have Stax if asking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3fqE01YYWs
It was said to be surplus BC 3 drivers coupled with the Audax tweeter in a chipboard cab. Derek's first hands on design. The Audax is a funny device. Mostly it sounds dull and/or weird. Derek got it to sound wonderful. The Celestion HF 1300 only did 15 kHz so needed a super tweeter. The Audax was the one he felt worked as well given the trouble to design the crossover was taken. The first version I think was called SP2 in a ply cab.
Hope you liked it ? It was me thinking of 1982 when I last remembered hearing it. 1980 was the most interesting time in audio. One foot in the past and one in the future was the 1980's. Hi fi reviewers for the first time said how something might sound. There was abused where sometimes things were not honest or well imformed. Still better than the guessing that specifications bring. One can make interesting comparisons by specifications. Seldom is it the whole story or even 50% of it. That 50 % assumes having heard many things. To someone new to DIY hi fi I doubt it says even 30 %? None the less that 30 to 50 % is where you start. To me that might be 100 watts >- 90 dB hum and nice distortion traits not exceeding 0.1% at 100 watts up to 50 kHz. This might be 0.01 % at 10 watts and no worse below that. 10 watts should be seriously loud.
In the 80th, being the student, I listened to more dynamic music 
. In intervals between lectures and other young affairs.
To tell about percent and watts irrespectively subjects and rooms - empty.
http://my.mail.ru/community/mir/video/_groupvideo/639.html
or
http://my.mail.ru/mail/niknik_/video/172/230.html
. In intervals between lectures and other young affairs. To tell about percent and watts irrespectively subjects and rooms - empty.
http://my.mail.ru/community/mir/video/_groupvideo/639.html
or
http://my.mail.ru/mail/niknik_/video/172/230.html
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