[Vintage-Audio] PICK-UP: SME ARM ON THORENS 124 TURNTABLE

Wed Apr 6 12:11:29 EDT 2005

Hey! I am glad you were impressed by the highs, but remember this is not the RCA
Nashville studio! You are listening to my incredible talent (think I just pulled
a groin muscle patting myself on the back!) and some high end audio gear housed
in my living room studio. It has a sixty percent Cork ceiling, nice carpeting
and heavy drapery opposite the primary speakers to dampen the  sound and
minimize bounce back. 	

The magic, if there is any, is in the method I use Michael. However, the Sony ES
DAT decks do produce the sound I want, just as close to the actual original as I
can make it. I do not enhance anything, no EQ of any kind ever.	

Let me know what this fancy analysis of yours shows, but if you want a urine
sample, forget it! (chuckle)	

There is an advantage to being totally blind when doing this custom recording
Michael, as I am never confused by all of those colorful flashing LED's, meter
needles dancing between safe green and dangerous red color bands, no 'tilt'
lights flashing, no scope patterns to figure out and so forth. I use my
experience, my keen sense of hearing (just monitor speakers, as headphones
bother my ears), familiarity with the music being recorded and my natural
ability to work with both hands at the same time to achieve split second timing.
Most importantly, one heck of a lot of practice!  	

I much prefer the mechanical switches as opposed to the electronic ones. I can
split a note in half with the mechanical ones, but the electronic ones do not
stop where you stop them. They either back up when you release the 'pause' and
clip off themusic prior to wher eyou wanted it to stop or otherwise insert some
kind of delay. Very difficult to work with. All of my high end audio equipment
uses the mechanical switching, by the way.  	

I used to have a Panasonic VHS deck, one of those that were the size of a
microwave! It had mechanical switching and it was fantastic! I could pause it,
wait for a commercial series to end, release the pause and it started instantly.
Not with what they make today! Overlaps, hesitations, video distortion for a
second and so forth. They may be cheaper and smaller, but they ar enot better!	

Duane W8DBF	

 ----------
From: Salmons, Michael <SalmonsM at missouri.edu>
To: Vintage home and professional audio equipment from 1975 back
<vintage-audio at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: RE: [Vintage-Audio] PICK-UP: SME ARM ON THORENS 124 TURNTABLE
Date: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 11:39 AM

Very true, my friend. I'm running a track through spectral analysis as
we speak. Not that that's crucial to the enjoyment, I was so in awe of
the highs that I was curious!

Michael 

-----Original Message-----
From: vintage-audio-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:vintage-audio-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Duane B.
Fischer, W8DBF
Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 10:24 AM
To: Vintage home and professional audio equipment from 1975 back
Subject: Re: [Vintage-Audio] PICK-UP: SME ARM ON THORENS 124 TURNTABLE

Michael, 	

You still owe me a review - 

----------
From: Salmons, Michael <SalmonsM at missouri.edu>
To: Vintage home and professional audio equipment from 1975 back
<vintage-audio at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: RE: [Vintage-Audio] PICK-UP: SME ARM ON THORENS 124 TURNTABLE
Date: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 10:59 AM

 Jim, you lucky, lucky man. What a find!

Let's see, you listen to classical mainly, and the SME 3009 is a fairly
heavy arm (is the ii lighter? Don't remember). You may be stuck looking
for classics such as the Audio Technica AT15S. Any of the various Shure
V15s would be an upgrade from your M70, just make sure the tracking
force range matches your arm's abilities. Old Empires have a very nice
sound too. Some of these models you can luck out and find new styli, but
I'm not sure what availibility is like generally.

As far as modern carts go, they may all track more lightly than the 3009
can manage. I could be dead wrong about that, this is just a guess.

Good luck! Let us know what you finally get and how it sounds!

Michael  

-----Original Message-----
From: vintage-audio-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:vintage-audio-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Welsh
Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 9:48 AM
To: Vintage home and professional audio equipment from 1975 back
Subject: [Vintage-Audio] PICK-UP: SME ARM ON THORENS 124 TURNTABLE

I had a stroke of luck the other day. 

At an otherwise really "junkie" local ham-fest, a Thorens 124 (II)
coupled with an SME 3009 (ii), plus a Dynaco PAS (with Telefunkens in
place) - all for ZAR300 (about US$50). 

The SME arm is equipped with an Excel cartridge with its stylus messed!
So, I am looking for advice on what to put in its place - not a needle
from my wife's sewing basket. I  mean which cartiridge should I go for?
Reasonably priced but good for my Archive and DGG classical vinyl. 

I have a Shure M70EJ in for the while but I think I can do better.

Any ideas and the names of trusted suppliers would be appreciated. I
would have to do the purchase via the Internet or wait until September
when I head off to the USA.

Jim
Johannesburg
South Africa
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