Showing posts with label LP Playback. Show all posts

Sunday, September 14, 2025

Japanese Idler-Driven Turntable FINALE: NEAT P58 + FAQs

This is the final installment of my Japanese idler turntable adventure but as Sean Connery said, "Never say never again..." 😉

KARMADON 311 Tonearm

Miyabi

In late 2023, Serge Rogozyansky of Karmadon posted his exquisitely crafted Ortofon-inspired 12" tonearm on Facebook. Being an aficionado of bespoked pieces, I was smitten! When I mentioned it to Tish, her immediate reaction was, "You already have too many turntables and tonearms!"😉

Due to an upcoming visit to the Philippines, I had to curb my enthusiasm.

Japanese Idler-Driven Turntable Part 7: Kenwood PC350

Kenwood PC350 - a Japanese TD124 spinning a jazz tune!😉

Japanese Idler-Driven Turntable Part 6: Realistic Mark 8

Just like cars, a new turntable model has to be introduced every year or two to keep consumers' interest and convince them that newer is better.😊

from page 37 of the 1960 Radio Shack Catalog

The Realistic Mark 8 improved upon the similar looking "motor unit-stye" Mark 7 in Part 4 of this series by adding a 16 rpm speed and supplying a half pound heavier cast aluminum platter.

Minimalist Twin-Armed Thorens TD124

Ever since I left this twin-tonearm compatible TD124 plinth in the attic, I've been trying to find the simplest way to use two tonearms on this turntable.

Japanese Idler-Driven Turntable Part 5: Lafayette PK300

I bought this Lafayette PK300 idler-driven turntable because it looked like an improved Shield MO-19 (aka NEAT P58H) with the added feature of an eddy current pitch control as found in the Garrard 301/401 and Thorens TD124.

Finemet FM-MCT1 MC Step Up Transformers

Japanese Idler-Driven Turntable Part 4: Realistic Mark-7

Here's a tale of two idler-driven turntables of Japanese origin sold by Radio Shack in the late 50s. They share the same model badge and engineering features but they aren't exactly twins.🤔

Cork Turntable Mat

Rubber hardens as it ages and this is exactly what happened to the rubber mats originally supplied with my Garrard 301, 401, Thorens TD124 and other turntables. I'm aware that modern reproductions are available, but I wanted something more affordable and practical. So I surfed and found a 3-pack cork mat with an LP label indentation for $12 on Amazon.

Does this mat make the sound better?🤔 Hmm...frequent visitors to this blog know better that after several decades in this hobby, I've grown averse to typical audiophile hair-splitting.😉

However, I'm happy to report that a few LPs from my collection which are slightly dished or warped now lie flat. That's good and I like the sound.

Try it and hear for yourself!😊

Happy Spinning!🎻🎷🎶

Saturday, May 6, 2023

Japanese Idler-Driven Turntable Part 3: Lafayette PK245

A TEAC OEM

Warming up the Denon DL102

Japanese Idler-Driven Turntable Part 2: NEAT P58H/Shield MO-19

In the early 2000s, the swinging tonearm mount of the Shield MO-19 caught my attention because it looked like the perfect partner for my Velvet Touch viscous damped tonearm. It turned out that this Japanese 4-speed idler-driven turntable is actually a rebadged NEAT P58H.

Two Unknown Magnetic Phono Cartridges

I found this interesting phono cartridge on eBay for under $30 shipped.

It was advertised as a vintage Sony magnetic cartridge. After clicking Buy It Now, I asked the seller for more details. Sadly, my inquiry fell on deaf ears...

😊May 23, 2024 UPDATE!😊

~~My instinct pointed towards an early Audio Technica OEM. However, the chunky plastic body doesn't exactly match the AT-1, AT-3, AT-3M or AT-5 featured on this Japanese website.~~

~~The stylus assembly is very similar to that from the AT-5.~~

~~But the body shape is somewhere between an AT-1 and AT-3S.~~

After getting a feel of cantilever compliance and seeing the bonded conical stylus under a USB microscope, it felt safe to set VTF at 3 grams. The stylus has yet to skip a track!

Although not quite as dynamic, the tonal balance of this vintage cartridge is reminiscent of my all-time favorite Shure M3D. I’ve listened to it extensively mounted on the Tokyo Sound ST900, Fidelity Research FR54, and Bokrand AS309. I would've recommended this cartridge highly as a nice budget alternative to the M3D or M7D IF the eBay seller didn't go AWOL.

I posted about these cartridges at HifiHaven.org and member Fran604g uploaded pictures of a red version of this phono cartridge. The box is marked CM500 stereo moving magnet cartridge.

When I was writing this article, I visited audio-database.jp several times but didn't search the Coral section deep enough. After clicking Other, I found Coral CP-30D!👍

A video of the ~~vintage cartridge~~ Coral CP30D tracing an Abbey Lincoln track.

While debating whether it was still worthwhile blogging about a mysterious vintage cartridge that can't be found anywhere, an elongated box arrived at our doorstep.

Inside the ginormous box was a tiny little box. Apparently someone in the packing department couldn’t care less about conservation.

It turned out to be my order for a phono cartridge, which showed up on my feed while I was searching for Blue Note Jazz LPs on Amazon. No literature was provided aside from the stickers on the outer box and plastic protective case. The cartridge isn’t even identified with a trademark or model number. Henceforth, this will be referred to as the Amazon cartridge and the other, the vintage cartridge.

A phono cartridge for under $18 shipped and taxed is like an early 80s dèjà vu when I could walk into Leonard Radio on Sixth Ave. NYC, listen and browse to my heart's delight, and walk out with a $15 Grado GTE+1.

The plastic body is quite robust weighing about 6.5 grams. Instead of traditional mounting holes, the body is threaded. Over tightening the two Allen head mounting screws can result in stripped threads.

The google translate camera app on my iPhone gave the above info. I suppose 2.2 grams acupressure = Vertical Tracking Force, since it uses a stylus not an acupuncture needle. OTOH, the printed 5 gram weight doesn't match my digital scale's reading.

I haven’t mastered the use of my USB microscope and this is the best stylus image I managed to capture. It looks like a nude mounted rock with traces of facets. Could it be an elliptical or a not too highly polished conical? I'm not an experienced stylus peeper, so please let me know what you think.

I mounted the cartridge on a generic Technics-style head shell and set the acupressure to 2.2 grams on my Bokrand AS309. After a couple of tracks I heard sibilance. Increasing the VTF to 3 grams fixed the problem. IMHO, 2.2 grams is too optimistic!

The metal shield of the Amazon cartridge looked similar to the entry-level Audio Technica AT3600L. So I took it out and, as expected, it sounded comparatively dark and veiled. Switching to the Pfanstiehl conical stylus opened up the sound a bit. However, the full bodied tonality of the Amazon cartridge wasn't at all apparent leading me to believe that the two cartridges don't share the same motor.

The Amazon cartridge is a very exciting performer! Macro and micro dynamics are more nuanced, I hear more air on the top end while midrange vitality and low frequency extension are at par with the vintage cartridge. If I'm forced to split hairs, I'd say the vintage cartridge is a tad more refined compared to this Amazon special.

Same Abbey Lincoln track traced by the Amazon cartridge

As I was about to link to the item on Amazon, my original source was showing as currently unavailable. But a bit of searching yielded a blue/gray variant as pictured above that's listing from $19.46 to $23.99. Happy shopping!

As featured in the two videos, most of my listening and testing were done via my near field hifi. But I also cross referenced the cartridges fitted to the Bokrand AB309 + Garrard 401 downstream to the Altec 753Cs in the main system. Neither cartridge unseated the Shure M3D as my favorite magnetic cartridge but both provide a level musical satisfaction unimaginable at this price point!

Addendum

More stylus pictures

Click on the images to enlarge

I forgot to mention that when I did the AT3600L vs. $18 Amazon cartridge comparison, I was reminded of a Pickering V-15 vs. XV-15 match. Could there be a moving iron motor inside this Amazon cartridge?

@gary7 at Audiokarma identified the origin of this Amazon cartridge.👏 But is it the entry-level $79 or the more bling $129? 🤔

Suffice it to say, I've been enjoying my $18 version so much such that I'm not in a hurry to re-mount the Shure M3D.😊

Here's another video of the $18 Amazon cartridge, this time mounted on a Fidelity Research FR54 tonearm tracing a track from Naked Eyes in honor of Burt Bacharach (1928-2023).

Friday, October 21, 2022

VAS Audio: SPU GME II and Supex SD900 IV retip + Stax UA-3NL and Tokyo Sound ST900 repair

VAS Audio Workshop

Before lockdown, Ding promised that he'd introduce me to his friend, Steve Leung, of VAS Audio. He's had his Denon DL103S, Ortofon SL15, Supex SD900, and other classic cartridges re-tipped and repaired by Steve. As the pandemic wound down, I finally got to meet Steve and brought the following MC cartridges for new tips, as well as tonearms for repair at his shop.

Ortofon SPU GME MKII

SPU GME MKII - BEFORE

My Ortofon SPU GME MKII has had a hard life ever since it was gifted to me by my SETUP buddies in the 90s. It's been on semi-retirement since I acquired an SPU#1s + a late 60s or 70s(?) SPU-G (below) with a low mileage nude mounted conical stylus.

SPU-G

This SPU-G portrays a wider and airier sonic landscape with perhaps a bit more detail compared to my more recent SPU#1s. It also sounds more organic than the GME MKII.

SPU GM~~(E) MKII~~ - AFTER

I attribute the SPU-G's sonic superiority to the better polished nude mounted conical stylus vs. the bonded conical stylus of the SPU#1s. So I asked Steve to fit his finest nude mounted conical stylus on my GME MKII.

Ortofon SPU GM~~(E) MKII~~

Agreeing to my downgrade idea,😉 Steve may have turned the GME MKII into an SPU-G equivalent of the SPU-A wood. All I know is, it can stand up to my cousin's SPU Synergy!😊

Supex SD900 MKIV

BEFORE

The Koetsu Black and Supex SD900 were my dream cartridges back in the 80s. When I finally found an SD900 I could afford, it sported a ruby cantilever + complex stylus profile upgrade.😏 Although traces of the classic Supex tonality were still there, it sounded compressed and swamped by dry analytical detail.😞

AFTER

I asked Steve to work the same magic on my Supex as he did on Ding's, albeit with a twist. We agreed upon an aluminum cantilever just like the original and I requested for another nude mounted spherical stylus.

SD900 MK IVs (s = spherical)

Steve remarkably transformed the Supex! The harmonic richness and dynamics this classic MC cartridge is known for was restored. To my ears, the SD900's edge over my SPUs and DL103s is its ability to focus and retrieve detail without inducing tinnitus. Because of Steve's phenomenal restomod job, I'm no longer yearning for a Koetsu! 😊

Stax UA-3NL

Being an ardent fan and committed user of the Gray 108 viscous damped tonearm and its Japanese clones for monaural hifi applications, I needed to experience a modern iteration of a uni-pivot. This design actually dates back to the late 60s. Scroll down to page 1413 for the review in the Hi-Fi News November 1969 issue. The UA-70 seems to be essentially the same tonearm updated in the 70s with an anti-skate mechanism.

More Stax info at vinylengine.com

I added the UA-3NL to my collection in early 2018 and paired it with my Thorens TD124 and Sony TTS 2500, respectively. I was going to include this tonearm in my Alfred Bokrand AB309 write-up but one channel dropped out.

When I finally accessed the internal hair-like strands of enameled wire, I realized that repairing it was beyond my DIY abilities.

Similar to the knife-edge bearing'd SME 3012, the Stax presents a mid to back row concert hall perspective, which is an atmospheric experience without any loss of detail. Although I've used it satisfactorily with the SPU#1S, it brings out the best from cartridges that track in the 1.5 > 2.5 gram range. Just like the SME 3012, the UA-3NL may not appeal to listeners who favor a front row seat/kick drum on your chest presentation.

Thanks to Steve's skill and nimble hands, I'm enjoying my UA-3NL again!

Tokyo Sound ST900

This 9" tonearm from the early 60s has an NHK broadcasting heritage. Comprehensive information about the ST900 is available at audio-heritage.jp. Surprisingly, the spindle to pivot mounting distance wasn't specified.

So I took out my ancient Cart-Align protractor, did some measurements with my Ortofon SPU#1s cartridge attached and got a pivot to spindle distance of 223mm. I haven't had any problems with cartridges I installed conforming to the SPU's overhang.

Claus Volke and this Japanese audio blog have more to say about this tonearm.

It's equipped with a non-standard 4-pin connector in which the negative phase of the right channel is internally grounded. This limits its use to the stock plastic head shell. In an effort to make it compatible with modern metal head shells, I successfully detached the 4 pin connector at the base of the tonearm pillar. It turns out the ground connection was near the head shell collet, which I couldn't remove. Instead of risking damage, I relied on Steve's expertise.

The design may have been inspired by the Ortofon SMG212 and SKG212 with added Japanese innovations. It is quite massive and can easily balance a 30+ gram SPU. So far the lightest cartridge/head shell combo I used successfully was 19.5 grams. Given its high tolerance bearings, it's an ideal partner to the Denon DL103, Ortofon SPU, and similar low compliance cartridges. Consider this as an excellent alternative to the classic Ortofon AS/RM/SK/SMG 212 series tonearms especially if you prefer the svelte proportions of a compact plinth!