Finally joining the club (TD124 and vinyl)

[Audible Nectar]

Introducing the latest member of the family, and long overdue: Some vinyl to go along with all those tubes[8-|] Courtesy of bliss53 - pics do not do this component justice. For the vintage Mac room......

[Audible Nectar]

Have the Michell Tecnoarm (Rega "hot rod") mounted with an Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge; the vinyl gods willing I didn't leave any wires crossing/touching on the cartridge install. Vinyl MUST be good to go through mounting cartridges[8o|] A very nice, smooth, easy to work with arm so far otherwise. It's really nice as an "instrument", we'll see how it sounds soon. I'll be cleaning out the MX110 for it's spring waxing tomorrow, then we'll see if Mr." 20+ years removed from vinyl" can get any results[H]

[Audible Nectar]

Pete packed this thing with a care and bulletproof fashion befitting of this piece of audio history. Shown here under the dust cover, it appears here to be "glowing"[]

[seti]

Have the Michell Tecnoarm (Rega "hot rod") mounted with an Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge; the vinyl gods willing I didn't leave any wires crossing/touching on the cartridge install. Vinyl MUST be good to go through mounting cartridges A very nice, smooth, easy to work with arm so far otherwise. It's really nice as an "instrument", we'll see how it sounds soon. I'll be cleaning out the MX110 for it's spring waxing tomorrow, then we'll see if Mr." 20+ years removed from vinyl" can get any results

It looks great. I am using the 2M blue with my Garrard 301. My brother let me borrow his MX110 for a while and I love its phono stage with those telefunkes. Mmmm goodness.

[gartenman]

Introducing the latest member of the family, and long overdue: Some vinyl to go along with all those tubes

Congrats!!! Let me know if you need any help tracking down vinyl. I may know of someone who may still have some of his collection he was selling off. I bought some and they are all great quality.

[4tay]

This section is rapidly becoming a Vinyl forum!

[jtnfoley]

Talk about jumping (back) in with both feet! Enjoy that piece, most opine (here and at Audio Karma) that it just don't get much better than that table!

[Boxx]

Very nice.. I hope you enjoy it...

[fini]

Beautiful! Take your time setting it all up. The HiFi News test record helps a lot with those fine adjustments. Very much worth the investment. Please report your impressions!

[Audible Nectar]

Talk about jumping (back) in with both feet!

That's the ONLY way to do this. I find that when make these component choices, the best method (and in the long run, less expensive) way to go is to get the RIGHT component THE FIRST TIME. There aren't many secrets regarding the capabilities of the TD124....I knew all along that this was the likely choice, it was a matter of the right table coming along at a time I was prepared to move on it.

I I would change for some reason, it would be more of a "lateral/"for taste" consideration vs the fact that I didn't buy enough table. And given the reported synergy with vintage Mac systems, I think this "shot" is on target. Soooo on target, if you saw the hockey game Friday night (Blackhawks/Sharks), you saw Dustin Byfuglein's "bottle popper" he buried in overtime???? Now THAT'S the kind of "on target" we're aiming for here.

(Insert Chicago Stadium foghorn here) WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH.....

[winchester21]

BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats

Can't wait for the listening report

[Audible Nectar]

Well, apparently no wiring issues....a clean MX110 and an installed Thorens today. From the inaugural listening session: Quite simply, fantastic.

I LIKE IT!!!!!!

[Audible Nectar]

A broader system view....

[hklinker]

WOW! A beautiful system. I love the TD124/MX110 combo. Keep us posted on your vinyl adventure!

[nu2toobs]

Well, apparently no wiring issues....a clean MX110 and an installed Thorens today. From the inaugural listening session: Quite simply, fantastic.

I LIKE IT!!!!!!

Congratulations on joining the TD-124 ranks.[Y]

[Timmikid]

Beautiful!.

[Audible Nectar]

Some initial comments:

I surmised that the best approach to amp selection (between two MC30 pairs) was to go with the Sonicap Platinums (think boutique Teflon cap kind of sound) to allow the unrestricted warmth and clarity of the table to shine through. This turned out to be the right choice...and I'm beginning to suspect that some of the unrealized payoff of those caps is about to be realized all over again.

These MC30's aren't your father's MC30s. In a grand experiment encompassing multiple builds (chronicled on forum by yours truly in prior postings) fellow forum member Joe and I said "what if we took a pair of MC30s as far as we could go?" Using the best caps we could muster for almost mortal prices (a good $600 just on the couplers alone), the experiment turned out to be a stroke of genius. With Joe's know how and my wallet, I let him build away with the best caps that we could find and fit. The Platinums are bullet speed and wide open, with just a touch of richness that makes them phenomenal in the 30s (along with proper resistor choices). After 1000 hours burn in and a couple of tweaks by Craig, the result was a highly tweaked pair of MC30s that became "my SET." I like these amps particularly for my best recordings, giving that midrange bloom and detail that I like in SET, but with the OOOOOMPH that push pulls can give you. These MC30's are "tubby-free", because those Sonicaps reach to the absolute depths of low frequency, so there's no "thunk" or cloudiness in the bass, just a nice, rounded, but tight and coherent bass. Well run, tubed out with Teles and RCA Blackplates, ready to go and matched into the system. And about to show capabilities that made the build even a better choice.

Enter the Thorens.

The "book" on the MX110 is the excellent phono stage. That's pretty universally accepted, as is the synergy of the vintage Mac tube preamps with TD124s. So I had good confidence that I had the right table, but didn't really know arms very well. I have read many good comments on the SME arms, and knew the Michell Tecnoarm had a good reputation (labeled a Giant Killer at $1200 retail new) but had no idea that they were a match in any way. But I had it on good word from Mr. Bliss that the Thorens Tecnoarm combo was a very good match for a number of reasons. I took him at his word on this; he stated it was a top couple/three combo amongst many others he's played with.

Initially I was patient, as I didn't realize that the MX110 doesn't run the phono tube unless you select the phono. So that section hadn't run in a while, and it was a bit "rushy/noisy" with the arm at rest. After an hour that section already was much improved, so I played a track or two with a significant channel imbalance shown, reread tonearm manual and discovered reason, and retested. Oh, WOW, that really WORKS.

About this time my wife walks in, already impressed by the initial out of box look, and even more endeared to the installed spot. I have loaded a copy of Pink Floyd's "Animals", and within 30 seconds we knew we made a good choice.

Now the Michell Tecnoarm (Rega hot-rod) doesn't appear to be the aesthetically matched to the Thorens. The arm looks like it came out of a Terminator flick, and the table from a James Dean black and white classic film, so it doesn't seem they would even be thought to be made for each other. Had to be for a modern rig, huh? But mounted on the table, the arm almost becomes chameleon-like, doing it's best to blend in. It looks just as "Swiss" as the table, although the arm is a British effort IIRC?.....but it does blend in an interesting way.

But the real reason I bought it was the reported sonic match, and oh boy does it ever. Most notably the bass response, very tuneful but with that full, rich, real tone that you just know don't come cheap[] It just makes you go "OOOOOOOOOHHHHH" because it's full, natural, and tight. No excess rumble beyond some inherent noise in the system; the bass has true impact and was a key area of my concern of making sure "I got enough table".

But OMIGAWD the midrange just LEAPS from the Belle Klipsch, the Gilmour leads just grabbing us with that oh-so-proper tonality and "bite". The smooth, rich keyboards behind those leads brought a sharp contrast immediately as to just how good this is, with good resolution and proper presentation of just how those instruments sound. And that sweet top goes up further than I ever realized on a vinyl rig, and I know I can get a liitle more if I need it via cartridge upgrade (from Ortonfon M2 Blue to Black). But this cartridge on this rockin' arm sounds too good for the price of the cartridge. It seems to be a good match, albeit I'm not qualified to really give tonearm reviews[8-|] But I can tell you when I'm getting a very rare and good sound that exceeds but only a few select demo sessions of some VERY expensive gear. It's GOOOOOOOOOD.

I've certainly got some fine tuning and other work to do on this. I have that arm "pretty darn close", especially for a relative rookie on such gear, and after about 8 hours of reading and then working patiently and deliberately with the arm rig think I have it "in the immediate neighborhood". I also have some other "pickups" to make...that test disc as well as a record cleaning/static/other care apparatus is at the top of the list (as well as some more vinyl). I do have to take a breather in the immediate re: purchases on this (I won't be affording the Nitty Gritty for a while), but will need to locate a more primitive yet effective cleaning setup to clean up the vinyl. I was fortunate to have a few well preserved LPs here that I could trust on the new rig, but I really need to get a cleaning setup before I play too much else here. About 50-70 albums remain from those days last played 20+ years ago, and most cannot be played until they see good clean-up.

But the table is an absolute hit, the initial launch was successful, and OH, by the way my wife absolutely LOVES it. The way it fits into the sytem, both sonically AND aesthetically, is perfect. It's not even tweaked out yet, and I know full well I chose (as we recall from Indiana Jones).....WISELEH[Y]

And I now see this system in a whole new light.

[Mike Lindsey]

Nice... I love mine and wouldn't think of selling it.

If looking for a tried and true combination, find a used SME 3009 and pair it with a Denon DL-103R from www.cometsupply.com for another $200 (will require a stepup transformer), and you will be in audio nirvana. Trust me on this...

Mike

[Audible Nectar]

Cool as cool can be! What vinyl rig were you using before this?

An Ah! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 CD player. As close to vinyl as I could come without actually getting vinyl. On really good recordings, (like Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab releases) it is so close to vinyl I put this purchase off for THIS long. Before that? A pedestrian rig (Pioneer?) or something.....nothing too memorable other than the fact that I did have a table....over 20 years ago.

I definitely have an interest in what the SMEs can do (as well as the Denon/Zu 103), if for no other reason than I've heard so much about them. This is on my "to hear" list, and is on my radar for when I get the opportunity to travel in close proximity to one.

And given my affinity for tube rolling (as well as rolling like amps with different caps), maybe I end up with two arms someday. I have a feeling that certain material may lend itself to certain specific rigs (like 50's/60's jazz might prefer one arm, rock or another type may prefer another). I must say, though, that what I'm getting here so far is enough to keep me entertained for some time, until I get a chance to investigate further.

My overall knowledge on this subject is a relative dot compared to the entire page this is written on, but playing "forum copycat" with proven combinations does tend to allow skipping some of the "mistakes" one might take on the blind, or with a less informed approach.

Writing Table/arm reviews is not so easy for one not used to all the nuances of the subject, but in system, I can sure show you how it feels:

FINALLY:

[oldtimer]

Ah! Toe Job.