Two new turntable builds in progress!

I'm excited to announce that I've have begun two new turntable builds.  One is an Acoustic Research (AR) XB which will be given an updated arm, Brazilian cherry frame, a few minor tweaks, and a lot of cleaning.  The other will be a combination of Thorens motor and platter, a custom after-market tonearm, and a nice flamed maple slab I ran across recently.

The XB was in pretty bad shape when I got ahold of it.  I have removed all
of the mechanical and electrical parts and will be thoroughly cleaning
everything before putting it back together.

This image gives a good view of how the XB was originally constructed
from particle board and cheap laminate.  The Brazilian cherry wood will
be a welcome improvement.

The AR XB has a three point suspended sub-chassis which I will be modifying to ride on sorbothane bushings instead of the metal springs.  It will no longer be adjustable, but will retain all of the original vibration dampening and isolation properties.  The weakness of the original XB is that over time the springs wore out and caused the suspension to sag creating an overall "mushy" experience.  The original tonearm is being replaced by a much newer AR tonearm from one of their "The Turntable" models.

I'm really impressed by this wood.  Nice grain and color!
(It's been lightly coated with mineral spirits here to show
off what it can look like when finished.)

Initial frame cutting done.  It looks better already.

The other turntable is a fully custom build that will be very similar to the Thorens TD-316 that I rebuilt last year and use daily.  It will retain the electrical system, motor, and platter from a Thorens TD-150, with custom isolation and dampening, and then be given an Acos Lustre GST-1 tonearm. 

This flamed maple slab is 33"x15"x1" so I'll be able to select
the most attractive 13x16 portion of it for this turntable.

A closeup view of a section of the flamed effect that attracted me to this piece.

I've been waiting for an opportunity to use this arm in a build and am excited about the aesthetics and performance that it will bring to my new turntable.

This photo and the one below are from Audio Andromeda.  Check out their
blog.  It features all kinds of interesting audio gear.
http://audio-andromeda.blogspot.com/2005/06/acos-lustre-gst-1.html

More to come as these two turntables progress.

Austin Vintage Audio Phono Preamp

http://www.austinvintageaudio.com/

I had been thinking for some time that the Dynaco PAS2 I was using - particularly the phono stage - was the weak link in my audio system.  My setup includes the Maple Thorens TD-316 that I built last year, which has been upgraded to include an Origin Live Onyx tonearm with a Dynavector 20x (HOMC) cartridge.  I had also improved the Dynaco by adding new, original circuit pcb's, upgraded i/o and selector switch, and an Alps Blue Velvet volume control.  I then performed Curcio Audio's RIAA correction to the phono stage and bypassed the tone controls to clean up the signal, but I was just not satisfied.  So I commissioned my buddy Andrew Draper of Austin Vintage Audio to build a new custom phono preamp for me. 

He had already built my power amp based on an old RCA 6V6 console amp, and we talk about speakers and other components on a regular basis, so he was familiar enough with my system to be able to build just the right phono pre.

"This pre features (2) 6DJ8, (2) 12 AT7, and a 6by5 rectifier tubes. All stages are
actively loaded using current sources. A passive, feedback free RIAA filter fed by a 
cathode follower is used for equalization. The power supply is tube rectified
and choke filtered. Output impedance is low enough to drive any power amp.
What does all this mean? Beautifully detailed, accurate, warm, non fatiguing
music from sweet vinyl records."

I picked up the AVA Pre about 3 weeks ago and hooked it up between the Thorens and my amp and, after a good listening and break in period, I am immensely pleased with the richness and dynamics of what I hear.  Finally I have a matched system that delivers the kind of musical listening experience that I have been searching for.

The Guts!

Andrew kept it simple for me on this pre, but he tells me he could easily add additional
inputs and a selector switch, along with a slight modification to the circuit to make this a
full-functioning preamp capable of handling multiple input sources.

Take a look at the Austin Vintage Audio Facebook page for some information on their other projects.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Austin-Vintage-Audio/167627996676522

My 6V6 power amp built by Andrew Draper.

The schematic for the 6V6.

Thanks for taking some time to check out Austin Vintage Audio.  I am a huge fan, as you can probably tell.

A shout out to Rick at SimplyPhysics

Cables and isolation products are always a major consideration in any audio system.  Having waded through much of the swamp of not so good but affordable products out there, I stumbled across Simplyphysics about a year ago.  Simplyphysics is a company owned by Rick Roberts in Houston, TX.
http://www.simphys.com/

Medium ToneCones on my turntable grounding base

IsoPod 5's on my home-built speaker cabinets

Small ToneCones and IsoPod 3's on my custom-built tube amp.

Medium ToneCones in ConeCup T6's on my Preamp - This was custom
built by my friend Andrew of Austin Vintage Audio.  Look for a
write up on it and some of his other gear soon!

For the price, you can't find better cables or isolation feet.  I have used his Isopods, Small ToneCones, and Medium ToneCones for isolating my gear.  I also use his SCKT Phono cables on all of my new turntable builds.  Rick recently posted one of my applications on his user page.  Check it out here:
http://www.simphys.com/Pages/AV%20products.html

I had Rick make me some phono cables from his SCKT cable products.

I have two more turntables that I'm starting this weekend.  Once I have a few photos to share there will be another new post.

More TD-180 Pics

At the suggestion of a few friends and coworkers I'm adding some variations of the Thorens TD-180 photos that highlight the glossy top suface of the turntable a little better.  Being surrounded by photographers, who also happen to be self-promotion experts, can't hurt when you're trying to show off something you've done.

Not a big change, but it adds a little dimension to the surface.

This one really shows it off in the reflection of the tonearm.

Thanks to everyone for your input and support!

Thorens TD-180 Restoration

I've been building, rebuilding, and refurbishing turntables for a couple of years now, and in my constant striving to improve each new build I have learned a lot about woodworking and finishing.  This latest rebuild maintains all of the original functionality of the Thorens TD 180 that was its foundation, and adds improved vibration dampening, a hand polished gloss black lacquered top and beautiful zebra wood outer frame.  The pictures below will walk you through the process of transforming this basic black production unit into a highly customized show piece.

The final product - more final images below.

Zebra wood and a hand-miter saw.

A comparison between the old and new.

I learned a lot about joint work in trying to
make the zebra wood striping appear continuous.

The top plate was duplicated with a router
using a circle-cutting jig, and then a
pattern-cutting bit.

Test assembly before finishing.  I've decided on a lustre finish
lacquer for the zebra wood, and a glossy black for the top plate.

The piano-gloss black had to be wet-sanded using eleven progressively
finer sandpaper grits, and then three stages of polishing compound.  All
together, the finish took me about 30 hours of labor.

Finishing in progress - you can't see it from here but at this stage there was
still a fine orange peel texture to the black lacquer.

Here are some additional final photos.  A few minor tweaks such as adjusting the speeds for accuracy, and setting up the cartridge properly, will get this beauty ready for delivery.  I'm not sure I will pursue the piano-gloss black in the future, but I am much more informed about professional finishes, and that will improve each new turntable project.

Thanks for stopping by,

Brian

Detail of the speed control switch.

The zebra wood plinth contrasts very nicely with the gloss black.

I added a Grado moving iron cartridge to ensure quality audio reproduction.

Brian's Turntable Manufactory

After lots of construction and reworking of my space this past 6 months, I'm finally back up and running.  It feels good to be back in the shop!  I have one major rebuild nearly complete and will be posting it within the week.  With another refurbished classic and a completely redesigned vintage Thorens on the way I should be pretty busy for the next few weeks.

This 9'x9' space actually works out fairly well.

Repurposed Ikea Furniture is now workbench and shop storage.
(And a sneak peek at the new turntable!)

A little organization goes a long way.

The light is good during the day, though I
need a couple of shop lights for evenings.

Soldering Station

iPod and Phono interface for the
shop stereo.

More to come.  With so many projects in progress I'll be posting weekly over then next month or so to update and show off the new turntables.  Stop by for a look and let me know what you think.

BC

Simple Restorations

There is a lot to be said for a good, classic turntable that works.  The problem is that so many of them have quirky little problems that condemn them to life in a box in the attic.  I've recently rediscovered the joy of restoring these little jewels in a couple of small projects.

An old Marantz 6100 that I put a good bit of time into in the past, and a recent repair job on a Dual 1246.

The Marantz 6100 was one of my first turntables, and I put a lot of time and effort into it.  I disabled the automated functions and removed some of the parts, overhauled the tonearm bearings and cable, and then installed Dynamat on the sub platter and inner plinth for resonance dampening.  After that I put in a new motor and belt to complete the restoration.

Marantz 6000 Series are really sharp looking and well built.

Overall, the Marantz is a very capable turntable with a full and rich sound.  I used it for almost 2 years before passing it on to a friend.  When his turntable got upgraded this one came full circle, back to me.

Marantz's early stock tonearm remains one of the better mass-produced arms available.

The second project was the recent repair of a Dual 1246 for an acquaintance.  While these are much more complex and have way too many moving parts for me, they also have a reputation for being some of the best automatic turntables around.

Dual 1246 - One of many excellent models from this maker.

Mostly this turntable just needed lots of adjustments.  The tonearm would no longer move into place when using the automatic start and stop, and the way the system is designed makes it difficult to use it manually.  A couple of hours, and a few Google searches later got this back up and running like a champ.