What can you do with a lenco?

Love it or hate it, it just won't stop
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cressy
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#1 What can you do with a lenco?

Post by cressy »

I built this after a conversation with a customer, who asked how far could you really go. Set me thinking.
So I built it
Image
I wanted the smallest footprint I could reasonably get away with, and to address the issue with the on off control being right under the cart.
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cressy
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#2 Re: What can you do with a lenco?

Post by cressy »

Couple of other images
Image
And this
Image
And err this
Image
And lastly this
Image
The platter needs a polish and the paint on the trim ring where the speed selector comes out needs a tiny touch in,
And I need to let the paint on the arm spacer cure before I screw the arm down. Then I can have a listen.
The top plate has had an earth attached and power taken to an IEC socket on the rear. Should be good to go in the morning
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andrew Ivimey
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#3 Re: What can you do with a lenco?

Post by andrew Ivimey »

Shoddy!
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Paul Barker
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#4 Re: What can you do with a lenco?

Post by Paul Barker »

Nice.
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Mike H
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#5 Re: What can you do with a lenco?

Post by Mike H »

Wow! Image
 
"No matter how fast light travels it finds that the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it."
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#6 Re: What can you do with a lenco?

Post by cressy »

had a couple of hours listening to it and im rather happy with it. the paint on the arm spacer had cured enough to screw it down properly. gives a very solid performance.
twas' a right pig to build and get it perfectly circular and the sides square aswell. took about 5 hours of work with a big lump of oak i'd squared up on the mitre saw and sandpaper, keeping the bottom of the oak block in contact with the bench all the time to make sure it squared up as i sanded. would have been much easier if i had a 1/2" router, i could have used a worktop cutting bit and a guide bush. as it happens there aren't bits long enough for a 1/4" router like mine.

i did the usual, full strip, clean and rebuild on the motor with new grease, full strip clean and rebuild on the bearing, same again on the idler wheel shaft and linkages. all the thrust pads were still in good order so they were put back in.

veneering was done with iron on veneer again as i had just enough left from the last one i did.

id say it took about 20 man hours to build from start to finish.
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#7 Re: What can you do with a lenco?

Post by IslandPink »

That's really very clever and awfully shoddy .
Is there any disadvantage of eg. the motor being nearer the tonearm pillar or anything ( I don't know much about the Lenco's layout ) ?
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Greg
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#8 Re: What can you do with a lenco?

Post by Greg »

Lovely job Ant. Probably the most cut down Lenco I have ever seen. I really hope it sounds as good as it looks. I hope you realise it has the potential to accommodate a much more expensive and developed arm. If you invest here, you really could make it a giant killer. If you want to keep the budget lean, you can't go far wrong here.

http://www.audiomods.co.uk

Jeff Spall of audiomods offers the same kind of value you get buying a Beresford dac, NVA kit etc. In other words, you certainly get sound per pound value.

Look out Project, not to mention Wilson Benesch et al...................

Our Amt seems to be on your case!
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#9 Re: What can you do with a lenco?

Post by cressy »

The motor is at the front left now, about the 8 o'clock position so well out of the way of the arm and cart, the his means the idler wheel rotation is at an approximate right angle to the arm when it's playing
Thanks Greg, it did occur straight away that it could easily take a better arm
It's very good, better than I expected it to be
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#10 Re: What can you do with a lenco?

Post by gninnam »

Great job and looks great 8)
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#11 Re: What can you do with a lenco?

Post by Mike H »

Interesting description of the problems of making it, and there was me thinking you whizzed it off just like that, as something to do on a spare afternoon :lol:
 
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#12 Re: What can you do with a lenco?

Post by cressy »

Just been inside the origin live arm. Standard rb251 fare with an origin live badge on it by the looks of it. I am far from impressed. What I've done is to the repair the arm tube earth which had come adrift from the metal tag that sits in the counterweight stub thread, resoldered the leads to the horrible plug in the end of the arm pillar to cure an intermittent rustle (a dry joint by the looks of the Pidgeon poo soldering that was in there and to add a dedicated earth lead. I drilled a hole through the plug where the strap from the left channel earth was, removed the strap and soldered the arm tube earth to that.
Did it cure the bit of hum I will as getting?
No. Still the same which is baffling as from the arm tube to the end of the new earth lead there is continuity. And touching the arm makes it slightly quieter.
The hum is there when the phone stage is on with nothing plugged into it so the fault must be there......
I think.......
Odd
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#13 Re: What can you do with a lenco?

Post by cressy »

A knock on effect of the work on the arm is that for some reason the soundstage, imaging and separation is noticeably better. I guess, the separate earth is the cause, there are no other changes other than the corrected dodgy solder joint.
Ideally it wants a complete rewire with a din plug in the base of the arm pillar instead of the plug and shitty standard arm cable
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