I remember it, too. Fitted with a SME 3009 and Stanton cartridge. The consensus was, as already said by Ian above, to preserve its current state. Just some new oil and setup.
Of course you did…
Awesome deck
So Friday was NEW TOY DAY and I’ve been having an absolute nightmare ever since…
First the good: The new arm turned up looking like brand new. It has all the ‘V’ upgrades carried out by SME (mag tube, bearings, Litz wires etc) plus spare headshell and all the original accessories. So far, so good.
Fitting the arm and setting it up was a cinch using the SME template. It is such a simple idea by makes things extremely straightforward. I think the whole process took under 30 mins and I was playing my first record.
Some pictures for light relief:
Then…then the trouble started. Somewhere in my system there is an earthing issue. Previously, it was due to the earth on the Uniti not being set correctly. It needs to float and I had it grounding through the unit. Easy fix. This one…this has been more persistent. Long story short, I tried connecting wires EVERYWHERE. TT to PS, PS to Uniti, dedicated earth directly to plug…the list went on. And on. Turn out that the issue is my sub, which is powered from the same outlet as the PS. Turn that of and…well not silence, but very quiet. FFS.
Anyway more pictures:
Given the amount this arm cost me I was more than a little worried that the sound difference wouldn’t be all that. But it really is. Everything is clearer, tighter, bass hits faster and harder, tops and really crisp. The sound difference really is a jump. During testing I also tried my trust old Pro-Ject phono stage which doesn’t suffer from a hum even with the sub installed. It does, however, sound dull and flat in comparison to the Gold Note and I was shocked at the difference.
Ah the joys of vinyl…
Update: For no reason at all it all works fine now with no unwanted noise. I didn’t change anything.
Good news! Your TT is a thing of beauty
It was a test of commitment…
Where did you get your SME tonearm from? I think SME no longer make them now?
I got it used. You are right; you cannot get them direct from SME any more. There might be some NOS ones out there at dealerships. There are some Series V’s selling for £9k new…crazy.
EDIT: They still make the arms, but you cannot buy them unless packaged with a turntable.
All original 70’s with red button, with Hadcock 228 tone arm from same era. The cartridge is new though!
My V-12 is a thing of beauty - really.
It looks lovely @Richard.Dane has probably got a few stashed away somewhere for a rainy day😉
Very nice! Love the looks of the L70 and yours is in lovely looking condition.
Lots of L75s and a couple of L78s but sadly no L70s.
I have seen foto’s of different L70s but really like the ones with the one colour top plate and the white platter.
A bit Dieter Rams/Braun
Without trawling my receipts, I think my LP12 is 1983…
At least, the top plate and outer platter is!
MoFi Ultradeck in the home office, with Ultratracker pickup, feeding MoFi Ultraphono (a full MoFi getup! :)) into NAIM XS pre/power amp. A nice kit…
Tidy looking setup that!
…and whilst I was typing, another tidy looking setup!