Hello,
I bought a Sony PUA-7 (not standalone version) and a SH-165 headshell that I intend to use with my Denon DL-103. while at it, I took a brand new set of silver Litz tonearm wires from another arm I own to replace the (possibly) original PUA-7 wires.
Running the wires along the arm was relatively easy. Now I have two choices: either hook up the wires to the stylus attachment, as in the original layout, or directly to the cartridge (as I saw in more modern arms).
The first choice (original design) is the easiest and most maintenance-friendly, but it's a bit awkward, because the contacts of the stylus side are flat and the wires are soldered to them, while my new wires have nice color-coded round connectors that I don't want to lose. Also, my headshell leads (also silver) are pretty long and the DL-103 is quite bulky, so the wires will bundle up in the tight space and might even touch the record surface. Also, part of the headshell wires is rigid due to the connector solder and sleeve, and the two rigid parts could bump into each other if I have a short overhang.
The other solution (direct cart hook-p) is cleaner design-wise and removes the extra connectors in the headshell and stylus, which may make a difference with a LOMC cart (I will place the step up transformers inside the turntable and connect the tonearm wires directly to them). However this may be a destructive process because I have to remove the plastic parts inside stylus and headshell and I don't know if I can keep them whole. Also there would be some weight loss due to the removal of the plastic part that I may have to make up for.
Does anybody have experience removing the internal connector parts without destroying them? The PS-X60 manual considers them a single part. I tried placing a long machine screw in the center of the stylus attachment and pounding it carefully with a hammer, but it didn't slide off a hair.
Any other suggestions before I risk breaking some critical parts?
Thanks,
gm
I bought a Sony PUA-7 (not standalone version) and a SH-165 headshell that I intend to use with my Denon DL-103. while at it, I took a brand new set of silver Litz tonearm wires from another arm I own to replace the (possibly) original PUA-7 wires.
Running the wires along the arm was relatively easy. Now I have two choices: either hook up the wires to the stylus attachment, as in the original layout, or directly to the cartridge (as I saw in more modern arms).
The first choice (original design) is the easiest and most maintenance-friendly, but it's a bit awkward, because the contacts of the stylus side are flat and the wires are soldered to them, while my new wires have nice color-coded round connectors that I don't want to lose. Also, my headshell leads (also silver) are pretty long and the DL-103 is quite bulky, so the wires will bundle up in the tight space and might even touch the record surface. Also, part of the headshell wires is rigid due to the connector solder and sleeve, and the two rigid parts could bump into each other if I have a short overhang.
The other solution (direct cart hook-p) is cleaner design-wise and removes the extra connectors in the headshell and stylus, which may make a difference with a LOMC cart (I will place the step up transformers inside the turntable and connect the tonearm wires directly to them). However this may be a destructive process because I have to remove the plastic parts inside stylus and headshell and I don't know if I can keep them whole. Also there would be some weight loss due to the removal of the plastic part that I may have to make up for.
Does anybody have experience removing the internal connector parts without destroying them? The PS-X60 manual considers them a single part. I tried placing a long machine screw in the center of the stylus attachment and pounding it carefully with a hammer, but it didn't slide off a hair.
Any other suggestions before I risk breaking some critical parts?
Thanks,
gm
see if you can check both settings before modifing anything. FIrst Connect as it is in original. That is 1) Cartridge-Headshell wires in removable bayonet socket. Listen or measure if possible. 2) Now remove the headshell wires. Connect your new litz wire. (For time being wires outside the tonearm wand would not matter if twisted and properly shielded) then listen and measure for difference.
now for other problems :
now for other problems :
Most probably they will fit tightly and contact area is sufficient I think. Also how were the original wires soldered to stylus/Cartridge side ? Isn't that risky ?
See if new lugs and shorter headshell wires can be made. You can remove lugs from another headshell wires and use short wires. Or if you dont mind remove headshell wires from cartridge and they can be cut to short length and one side can be soldered again.
thanks for the tips.
See pictures of new wires in stylus and old wires still soldered to stylus lugs with insulation sleeves. After I remove these I guess I can try to fit the contacts. If they don't, I will take them off and solder the new wires to the lugs.
See pictures of headshell. The lugs are sunk deep, so soldering is not an option. I can cut the leads to size and re-solder the contacts though.
You mention twisting and shielding the wires. As you see, my wires are not shielded. What does twisting improve? That would be only an option with attaching them to the stylus lugs, because they come out short out of the base end and twisting would further reduce their length, so they might not make it if they have to run all the way to the cart.
All things considered, I think I will follow your advice and keep a conservative approach for now.
See pictures of new wires in stylus and old wires still soldered to stylus lugs with insulation sleeves. After I remove these I guess I can try to fit the contacts. If they don't, I will take them off and solder the new wires to the lugs.
See pictures of headshell. The lugs are sunk deep, so soldering is not an option. I can cut the leads to size and re-solder the contacts though.
You mention twisting and shielding the wires. As you see, my wires are not shielded. What does twisting improve? That would be only an option with attaching them to the stylus lugs, because they come out short out of the base end and twisting would further reduce their length, so they might not make it if they have to run all the way to the cart.
All things considered, I think I will follow your advice and keep a conservative approach for now.
I have rewired a pua-7 and pua-9 and it's not that difficult if you follow the manual. Ideally you solder the new wires to the old one at the base of the arm (use as little solder as possible as it might otherwise get stuck). Make sure to remove both screws near the head shell, bottom, and gently take out the SME socket. gently pull the wires and use pliers to pull the green plastic strip out with the original wires.
When (de)soldering the SME socket, use an old head shell (push blue tag inside it against the pins) and screw it to the socket. This will function as a heat sink so the pins of the SME socket won't get stuck when you apply heat.
If you are using a Sony PS-X50/60/70/9 turntable, the stylus tip of the cartridge needs to be 49mm from the beginning of the head shell. Wires with insulation won't work as you can't bend it in the right angle and the cartridge is too long to fit. You need short cartridge clips with wires like the original SH-165 came with.
When (de)soldering the SME socket, use an old head shell (push blue tag inside it against the pins) and screw it to the socket. This will function as a heat sink so the pins of the SME socket won't get stuck when you apply heat.
If you are using a Sony PS-X50/60/70/9 turntable, the stylus tip of the cartridge needs to be 49mm from the beginning of the head shell. Wires with insulation won't work as you can't bend it in the right angle and the cartridge is too long to fit. You need short cartridge clips with wires like the original SH-165 came with.
Gattu,
sorry if I was not clear in my post. Since you wanted to check difference in sound quality I suggested to have your new litz wire connected outside the tonearm just for the time being temporarily. The new litz wire will be taken from bottom of the headshell, tied along the line of tonearm wand. See attached rather crude picture.
This way you can listen/measure/compare against original conservative method of tonearm wiring and decide if the upgrade you want to implement are worth doing so or not.
Regards
sorry if I was not clear in my post. Since you wanted to check difference in sound quality I suggested to have your new litz wire connected outside the tonearm just for the time being temporarily. The new litz wire will be taken from bottom of the headshell, tied along the line of tonearm wand. See attached rather crude picture.
This way you can listen/measure/compare against original conservative method of tonearm wiring and decide if the upgrade you want to implement are worth doing so or not.
Regards
Attachments
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cont..
also from pictures I see cutting shoert headshell wire will take some skill. ANd the old original wires I see has plastic bush which holds 4 pins. in the past I have resoldered my Pioneer TT tonearm and this Plastic holding 4 pins melt. So Please be carefull.
Regards
also from pictures I see cutting shoert headshell wire will take some skill. ANd the old original wires I see has plastic bush which holds 4 pins. in the past I have resoldered my Pioneer TT tonearm and this Plastic holding 4 pins melt. So Please be carefull.
Regards
Indeed the plastic holding the 4-pins melts easily. That's why I used an old headshell as heat sink. First of all it pushes the 4 pins away from the plastic and the heat gets absorbed by the blue tac in the headshell (you could also use clay). Blue tac also works to absorb heat on wires to avoid insolation from melting.
Personally I used a tiny bit of flux on the pins and a temperature of 380 degrees to solder the wires within a second.
Personally I used a tiny bit of flux on the pins and a temperature of 380 degrees to solder the wires within a second.
Thanks for all the advice. Hooking up the wires externally may be a good choice especially since I am rebuilding the whole turntable and I can test the SUT connections before I mount them in the plinth. Also good idea to attach a headshell as a heat sink. I don't have a spare one but I guess if some heat damage were to be done it would show up in the stylus attachment first.
FYI my turntable is a Thorens TD-150 (or at least, the mechanics are the only original part left).
FYI my turntable is a Thorens TD-150 (or at least, the mechanics are the only original part left).
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Thorens TD-150 is a good TT. You would need a new arm board if the original tone arm is not the same length. The PUA-7 is a decent performer. I rewired it with KAB Electro Acoustics http://www.kabusa.com, which is copper litz. Not a huge difference in sound quality compared to the original, but I like the fact that they are really flexible, light and easy to solder (easier than Cardas). You might get more detail from silver cables, but personally I am a bit allergic to hearing ticks and accentuated treble from a lot of them. Definitely worth the experiment. 😉
De-soldering the original wires and attaching the new contacts was painless. Leaving most of the solder on the lugs to keep a rounder shape helped, and the contacts slid in with the right resistance.
Yes, I'm rebuilding the armboard with the rest because the wider base needs a 200mm wider board. There seems to be a lot of mumbo jumbo around effective mass, which for the DL-103 is supposed to be quite high, but very few of the older, bulkier arms actually have it published. I opted for the PUA-7 after looking for some time because it was mentioned as a good match for the 103 in some reviews.
I will post a pic when I'm done, but it will be a while because I ordered the Sowters in April and they have a lead time of 12 weeks... ugh.
Yes, I'm rebuilding the armboard with the rest because the wider base needs a 200mm wider board. There seems to be a lot of mumbo jumbo around effective mass, which for the DL-103 is supposed to be quite high, but very few of the older, bulkier arms actually have it published. I opted for the PUA-7 after looking for some time because it was mentioned as a good match for the 103 in some reviews.
I will post a pic when I'm done, but it will be a while because I ordered the Sowters in April and they have a lead time of 12 weeks... ugh.
I have a Denon DL-A100 which is fine (the Sony XL-55Pro is heavier). Do you have the auxiliary weight too?
That is the exact tonearm I purchased.
You see the rest is not original, they swapped it and I had a struggle to get the broken parts from them. I have it back to original condition.
I have since picked up a PUA-9 as I was so impressed with the PUA-7
Hi gattuthanks for the tips.
See pictures of new wires in stylus and old wires still soldered to stylus lugs with insulation sleeves. After I remove these I guess I can try to fit the contacts. If they don't, I will take them off and solder the new wires to the lugs.
See pictures of headshell. The lugs are sunk deep, so soldering is not an option. I can cut the leads to size and re-solder the contacts though.
You mention twisting and shielding the wires. As you see, my wires are not shielded. What does twisting improve? That would be only an option with attaching them to the stylus lugs, because they come out short out of the base end and twisting would further reduce their length, so they might not make it if they have to run all the way to the cart.
All things considered, I think I will follow your advice and keep a conservative approach for now.
I Got a a pua 9 (not standalone version)
is the arm tube filled with damping material as standard or is it hollow?
I am thinking of running from headshell to rca plugs unbroken
thanks
lohan
Hi my bad I have the pua 7 like you. That’s good news as I am considering a rewire