I went in for a Qb grille...

hmmm indeed.

First job Nigel is to swap out the ribbed mat (not original IIRC) for a flat one...

I have one of those in a box in the garage to rebuild. Along with a Hadcock tonearm and a couple of cartridges, I think an Eroica and something else...

 One day, one day...

Let us know how you get on

Richard Dane posted:

hmmm indeed.

First job Nigel is to swap out the ribbed mat (not original IIRC) for a flat one...

It's a Linn mat, which I was told was much better than the original...

What I actually need is a mega cheap MM phono stage, like £20 or less. Any ideas?

Pro-ject phono box E MM brand new with free postage over on Ebay for 39 quid should do the trick

I thought the first thing to do with the original ribbed Linn mat was to chuck it out and replace with a felt one...  But you're right, just about anything was better than the original Thorens mat - when they changed to a thick flat rubber mat for the UK tuned models it was a big step forwards.

Mega cheap phono stage options...  probably a s/h Project phono box (possibly a stretch at £20) or, how about an original QED discsaver - surprisingly good considering, and possibly within budget? 

You don't anything in your vast collection I suppose! Hilary seems quite keen to have it in the front room, but I'm not so sure. I wonder if it's actually any good?

Then you could digitise the vinyl with it and stream it instead of faffing around with a TT in your rack!

Good stuff, here is a post I thought I would never see!

Chris

Don't think this one has the ADC in it...

aaaah! you're right, it's the older one without ADC. I'll shut up!!

No, no it's a good idea. He can look for another one Rega phono + ADC and rip all his vinyl. Save him having to get a new cartridge...

Oh, hang on a minute...

I believe it is a decent, budget stage though

Or stick with your Thorens

We sold all our vinyl years ago, apart from a few of Hilary's that she wanted to keep. I just thought it would be fun to play them, and the Thorens was cheap. But now the A&R doesn't work! We may try and fix that rather than spending more on the deck itself. It has an Ortofon VMS20E Mk2, which still is ok, allegedly. From memory I think it was an OK cartridge. 

I reckon an A&R A60 comes up on ebay every week or go for a Creek, I still have my 4040 with phono stage built in. (Waiting for a Thorens to mate with...)

Might be worth looking for a Creek 4040/4140.  Cracking amps and probably cheaper than fixing the A60.  I have one behind the kick boards in our kitchen powering the kitchen speakers, great little workhorses.

Edit: Jamie beat me to it!

Hungryhalibut posted:

 But now the A&R doesn't work! We may try and fix that...

Class A will service it - they don't just do Naim stuff. (Although it may cost more than a working one on eBay.)

Hungryhalibut posted:

It has an Ortofon VMS20E Mk2, which still is ok, allegedly. From memory I think it was an OK cartridge. 

It was, in 1979.

Musonic have a replacement stylus for £31.50

C.

Hungryhalibut posted:

and came out with this (as well as the Qb grille of course). It works ok, but needs a new bias hanger, and apparently the stylus is still ok. I was going to plug it into The Boy's A&R A60, but it seems that's blown up. Hmm.

Its a slippery slope NIgel, I've got vinyl all over the house at the moment, but it is fun too.  You can pic a Stageline up for a couple of hundred  quid if you do want it in your living room

I'd like to remind members that unauthorised commercial links (which includes links to items for sale privately or by auction) are strictly forbidden in the Hifi Corner.

Oops sorry

Looks nice and tidy.  

Hungryhalibut posted:

and came out with this (as well as the Qb grille of course). It works ok, but needs a new bias hanger, and apparently the stylus is still ok. I was going to plug it into The Boy's A&R A60, but it seems that's blown up. Hmm.

 

Have you checked the internal fuse, Nigel? When I had an A&R A60 I seem to remember blowing the internal fuse a few times when I got carried away with rock music blasting out of my Heybrook HB2s.  Also, some years later when I fired up the A&R after a long period in storage, I found that it would only work on one set out out-put terminals. The non-switched pair (preferred) wouldn't work but the switched pair were ok. Worth a dabble I'd say.

Mike

That looks quite nice, Nigel. A far cry from  their latest and cheaply made decks. I had a MK VI briefly and it was just horrendous. 

Enjoy it!

MDS posted:

Hungryhalibut posted:

and came out with this (as well as the Qb grille of course). It works ok, but needs a new bias hanger, and apparently the stylus is still ok. I was going to plug it into The Boy's A&R A60, but it seems that's blown up. Hmm.

 

Have you checked the internal fuse, Nigel? When I had an A&R A60 I seem to remember blowing the internal fuse a few times when I got carried away with rock music blasting out of my Heybrook HB2s.  Also, some years later when I fired up the A&R after a long period in storage, I found that it would only work on one set out out-put terminals. The non-switched pair (preferred) wouldn't work but the switched pair were ok. Worth a dabble I'd say.

Mike

Thanks for the tip. The Boy is talking about getting out his soldering iron. He's just finished the second year of his electronics degree so it's a nice little project. 

Having invested heavily in the deck (£50) I don't want to spend much more. 

£50! What kind of financing terms did you get?!?!?!

Any Thorens joy yet?

C.