I had a Klout for many years with a Kairn Pro, Pekin and an Ikemi. Fabulous amp and none of the SMPS amps that Linn made thereafter have come close to it IMO
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Michell Focus turntable.
As recently, in a different thread, I confounded Michell with Mitchell turntables, I investigated a bit the Michell tts history.
I discovered that one, from the 70’s. Nice looking.
Michell Focus.
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Ralph Vaughan Williams recorded his first collected folk song in 1904 quite possibly using a phonograph like the one in your picture. The song was Bushes and Briars. He recorded another 800. His fabulous symphonic compositions would follow using the influence of these songs. Perhaps using the phonograph made him one of the first hifi geeks!
Yes, I heard this this morning on R3 which reminded me that I was going to post pictures of my phonograph.
This Edison machine had a number of basic flaws. This first version was limited to just two minutes play but a follow on unit, the long play model, extended that to four minutes. The stylus is moved by a lead screw, so to change from two to four minutes required a gear change.
The fundamental problem with the Edison design, that can be seen in image 3 is that the stylus moves up and down not side to side.
The music phonograph was a development of a previous Dictaphone, where in stead of the wax cylinder was a tin (aluminium?) foil.
An interesting exhibit next to my number one system.
Paul.
p.s. I also love Vaughan Williams.
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That’s a lovely looking deck! And quite different to their later products, nice find!
I’m sure you did not need to atone by spending your afternoon researching Michell Engineering’s history 
10 minutes……but thanks for asking 
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Two great surprises of my audio life - how good my Creek tuner was with a Ron Smith aerial and how much better it was when I engineered a HiLine into its modified DIN output.
… and - how much improved my HeadLine was with a PowerLine.
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I had one of these for a time…
The Mission 774 arm is one of my favorite…should have kept mine.
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Gone.
How is that possible @Adam.Meredith ?
Unless you are talking about the power supply that is used with it
Nice work! Love the colorful grilles.
Just curious - what parts did you manufacture via 3d printing?
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They aren’t all great stuff by any means, but for £28 probably worth a punt and a play.
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The tangental arm is “driven” by a very thin piece of string, both ends of which are anchored by a very thin “post” - about 2mm diameter & ~5mm tall. This had snapped off, and glueing it back on was never going to be strong enough. So I designed a replacement with a baseplate to increase contact area, and beefed up the side of the post taking the most strain. Not pretty, but works a charm (& weighs next to nothing).
(The blob on the top is intentional - prevents the strings popping off).
It also meant that I could ditch my temporary Q-Tip anchor post which was also never going to work 
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Nicely done haffle. Thanks for sharing the details!
The Creek tuners were fantastic. I had a CAS3040 and a T40 (I guess it was a Mk III) and - connected to a good Hirschmann or the Ron Smith - both were close to the NAT02.
ouch
I sold my LP12 and curiously kept my vinyl. Years later a humble Rega RP3 came back into my system and playing those LPs was like meeting old friends
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The Troika with its rounded red body is still - to my eyes, anyway - the best-looking cartridge ever. I still keep thinking of getting an old one in decent nick and having Goldring rebuild it - but I have read that the rebuilt ones are nothing like a mint original, which is discouraging me.
And the ARO was - literally - built for it.
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Totally agree re: the Troika - never had one but lusted after them for years and they just look ‘right’. I believe they were made by Supex for Linn but I wonder what happened to Supex?
Anyway here’s my Ariston RD110SL purchased as new old stock by me just after university in 1992. While not spectacularly beautiful it’s an interesting, attractive and somewhat retro design! My local brand of P&A Audio in Birkdale Southport stumbled across around six of these in the back of their stockroom still boxed up and as it was reputedly very similar to the LP12 I purchased it complete with Linn LVX arm for if memory serves £235 or £325, I can’t recall which! It replaced my Systemdek IIX/LVX Arcam P77mg which had given me sterling service since purchase secondhand in 1988.
The Ariston RD11 was the flagship of the range and was first launched around 1971/2. Ariston contracted out some parts manufacturing to a firm called Castle Engineering who I think did some development work on the bearing. Castle were headed up by a certain Ivor Tiefenbrun who then then copied the design of the RD11, renamed the firm Linn products Ltd and launched the LP12 which was essentially I believe a replica of the RD11. Legal battles then ensued.
Ariston developed the RD110 middle range model and then RD80 budget model in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. I still have the original manuals and promo brochures for the RD110.
I mounted an Audio Technica AT-F5 on my RD110 - my first moving coil and I ran that with Naim Nait 1 and Linn Kan 1’s for years - a really nice system. The Nait obviously had no MC input so I used the legendary Ortofon T5 step up transformers which I still have!
When I upgraded to the Michell GyroDec in 1999 the Ariston ended up boxed up in the loft for a few years before I lent it to my parents who used it for years. When they moved into a retirement flat they offered it back to me and it ended up in my loft. Sadly my parents had thrown out the original Ariston box and packaging at some stage. After a few years languishing in the loft my daughter announced she wanted a turntable and so I got the old Ariston out of the loft again and it now resides in her bedroom while I constantly nag her not to put hard objects on the dustcover!!
It’s a very solid, heavy and well engineered beast and I really should fix it up with something better than its current budget Goldring cartridge. It certainly sounded vastly better with the AT moving coil.
Quite a rare turntable nowadays though and a rather attractive retro design I think with its carved walnut plinth, smoked lid and gold platter which seems to have dulled and faded over the years. Looking at it now I’m quite tempted to get it refurbished when my daughter moves on to Uni so if anybody knows any places who might undertake the work I’d welcome suggestions. It is fully working, although the platter does seem to need a slight push to get it going and the felt near the power button could do with a clean. I’m also tempted to get the platter re-plated in gold if it isn’t too costly, although I’m slightly hesitant just because there’s something quite appealing about the patina of age!
JonathanG
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