The HiFi chat, build and modification thread!

[Gerard]

Let me guess, at the time Linn said this, their only product was the LP12 before they made amps, cd players and speakers.

Yes. Suprise srise. Can't say I have ever been convinced by Linn.
The storey of the LP12 is interesting. Ripped off from another Scottish manufacturer Ariston (called RD11) who sub-contracted manufacturing of some of the parts to Ivor Tiefenbrun's (Linn's founder) fathers factory.

 

[legrandefromage]

Sorry but physics says otherwise regarding cables and interconnects. Especially over the distances used in the average set-up. Next it'll balanced interconnects...

Digital interconnects need certain aspects so that they can physically work. Analogue video can be disrupted by the dye in the insulation, audio cables do not work like that.

As for the Linn, it was released as a budget deck. By 1975 it was £131 with lid/ arm etc with the Ariston around £90, already getting expensive for what was then a single speed deck. A Garrard 401 being £36 at the same time.

'Hifi' was one of the worst industries for bullshit and snake oil. Stupid prices for fuses and power leads, CD pens, etc etc.

If you believe in that sort of thing, I have some £9000 retail Nordost interconnects in the loft somewhere ( I was given them) that I might dig out one day.

Look for original component retail prices of around £800 - £1500 new when buying second hand. Current s/h can be as little as £50 for some equipment. Dont ignore old home cinema surround processors either. These were ferociously expensive for a short time whilst in fashion and have some very good quality electronics in them. They make great stereo pre-amps.

Bi-amping gives a 10% db gain etc etc if you want to scream and go louder. If you can find specs on the internet, look for low THD figures for amps. Speakers with low db figures will be hard on an amplifer to run at high volumes 88db or above is ok - again, if you want to scream and go louder..

 

[02gf74]

'Hifi' was one of the worst industries for bullshit and snake oil. Stupid prices for fuses and power leads, CD pens, etc etc.

If you believe in that sort of thing, I have some £9000 retail Nordost interconnects in the loft somewhere ( I was given them) that I might dig out one day.

My favourite is small mushrooms made from some exotic african mahogany that you rest the speaker cables on so they dont trail on the ground. :facepalm:

 

[james1985]

If you believe in that sort of thing, I have some £9000 retail Nordost interconnects in the loft somewhere ( I was given them) that I might dig out one day.

9k! Wow, Il stick with the Nordost Valhalla 2 Reference interconnects. They are only £5499.99 a pair for its '10 conductors made from solid, optimized diameter 99.999999% oxygen free copper, each plated with 85 microns of silver'


But on a more serious note. I'm thinking about a turntable. somewhere around £1-200ish if possible, what should i look out for? Would it be better to get a Rega or something from Richer Sounds?

Edit, just looking at the Teac TN300! Anyone have feedback on these?

 

[The History Man]

If you believe in that sort of thing, I have some £9000 retail Nordost interconnects in the loft somewhere ( I was given them) that I might dig out one day.

9k! Wow, Il stick with the Nordost Valhalla 2 Reference interconnects. They are only £5499.99 a pair for its '10 conductors made from solid, optimized diameter 99.999999% oxygen free copper, each plated with 85 microns of silver'


But on a more serious note. I'm thinking about a turntable. somewhere around £1-200ish if possible, what should i look out for? Would it be better to get a Rega or something from Richer Sounds?

Edit, just looking at the Teac TN300! Anyone have feedback on these?

I went through exactly this process with my turntable choice. Went all around the houses with used stuff and ended up getting a new standard (no upgrade) RP1 at £169 delivered and have put an elys 2 cartridge on it. Very happy.

 

[The History Man]

Nothing ventured. Kept losing channels on back panel



Note nice shiny solder on left. Went mad with the switch cleaner as well.



Could be me but it seems 2 notches louder with way more clarity. No hum from turntable. rather pleased.

Loving the 'made in Scotland' sticker on the transformer.

 

[legrandefromage]

the constant pulling of interconnects usually does this.

 

[The History Man]

I know it's not a certainty but no bulging or leaking caps. Was pleasantly surprised. How had can it be to change a few? Recapping starts at £150 plus postage. Cyrus want more.

 

[xerxes]

Re:

How had [sic] can it be to change a few?

Not particularly, although de-soldering and re-soldering is more fiddly than soldering in the first place. However, the capacitors themselves can be quite pricey. The little ones might only be pennies, or a couple of pounds, but some of the large high voltage ones can be significantly more. You also pay more for the "premium" brands like Nichicon and Elna and their better quality lines for audio applications and if you want a shock, look up the price of some Black Gate capacitors.

When I looked inside a Cyrus 8vs amplifier a few years back I was quite surprised to see a sprinkling of Elna and Samwha capacitors inside. They're not super expensive, but would have cost a bit more than generic no-name capacitors of equivalent values.

 

[02gf74]

Re: Re:

Not particularly, although de-soldering and re-soldering is more fiddly than soldering in the first place. .

The main danger is ending up with the copper pad/track parting from the pcb. Never push the component down and be careful if using a solder sucker as that can pull the copper off.

What I find helps is to heat the solder at the lead and then either push on the component lead with the soldering iron tip or pull on the component, easy for a 2 lead component as you can rock the component off the board by alternately heating the leads, more tricky with 3 or more leads.