Jelco SA370H Tonearm

[reubensm]

Hi all, was wondering if any one of you have experience with the Jelco SA370H s-shaped, 9 inch tonearm. A lot of people whom I know speak very highly of it. It is generally priced around the $300 mark, if not higher. Your thoughts and comments are most welcome, thanks in advance.

 

[anilva]

jelco is a highly reputed tonearm maker and has made tonearms not just under their brand but under various other oem names including Audio Quest, Linn, Mission for some of their models.

I use a 750D and 250st and they are very well made. I would anyday trust a Jelco tonearm. I personally do not have any experience of using a 370.

Cheers.

 

[reubensm]

thanks anilva, I am inclined towards the SA370H as it is S-shaped

friends have been looking up some options for me, but most are straight which I am not too much in favour of.

 

[jls001]

friends have been looking up some options for me, but most are straight which I am not too much in favour of.

Any specific reason(s) why only S?

 

[reubensm]

Any specific reason(s) why only S?

I've used quite a few straight arms in the past but noticed that the S-arms are better at tracking, especially on old records. I thought it was a Technics S-arm deal but noticed that even Pioneer S-arms were quite good. I have also noticed that tonearm alignment is also not that critical for s-arms. But while using a straight arm, the moment something goes very slighlly out of whack, in-groove distortion appears. Just my findings from personal experience.

 

[kuruvilajacob]

Reuben,
Jelco makes really good tonearms. I have seen a lot of Jelco tone arms and they are really well made. You have a good match for your Lenco

 

[anilva]

I am not quite sure, but the mounting distance of 370h is not same as 250St which is 211mm and which is what is the drop in replacement tonearm mount distance. In case you go for a 370 you may need to drill a different hole on the top plate. Assuming that this is for a lenco.

Regards

 

[kuruvilajacob]

I am not quite sure, but the mounting distance of 370h is not same as 250St which is 211mm and which is what is the drop in replacement tonearm mount distance. In case you go for a 370 you may need to drill a different hole on the top plate. Assuming that this is for a lenco.

Regards

If Reuben is deciding to build a new plinth, it may be possible to mount it on the plinth which will give the tone arm better isolation. I have done it on my Lenco while fixing Ortofone arm

 

[reubensm]

If Reuben is deciding to build a new plinth, it may be possible to mount it on the plinth which will give the tone arm better isolation. I have done it on my Lenco while fixing Ortofone arm

I know a call from me is pending on the subject, have to travel today evening and hence have been having 15 hour days, every day at work. I get time on HFV during my short coffee breaks. Need to speak with you in detail about the plinth. I have some advise that I need from you before I do anything (this is my very first experience with Lenco). Will be flying back into Trivandrum on Monday and will call you in the evening for a detailed talk. Regards.

 

[reubensm]

I had my eyes on an Ortofon broadcast tonearm, as I wanted the rig to be capable of handling 16inch broadcast records, however that was not to be. The $1000+ tag was something I could not indulge in at this point. Wify is pushing for new furniture for our home. Finally I had to retain my options within the $300-$400 budget range.

A friend of mine suggested that I get an old straight arm (probably Rega or Linn) and extend the tone-arm wand to 12 or 16 inches. The idea was hugely appealing for me but I let it pass as I don't have any experience with Tonearm mounting and positioning. I've always worked on TTs that have their tonearms mounted to the chassis

 

[reubensm]

I am not quite sure, but the mounting distance of 370h is not same as 250St which is 211mm and which is what is the drop in replacement tonearm mount distance. In case you go for a 370 you may need to drill a different hole on the top plate. Assuming that this is for a lenco.

Regards

I want this project to look very professional so I'm planning to hire a fabricator and have the existing tonearm, lift mechanism and tonearm stand holes sealed up. After doing that, plan to get it powder coated, black with a matte finish. As Mr. Kuruvila suggested, I think its a good idea to mount the arm outside the chassis, however this effect the cosmetics. Need to give this some thought. May be I can mount the chassis length-wise on the plinth to give the feel of a Technics SP10, etc. Just brain storming at the moment, lots of ideas. Need to spend some time discussing this with Mr. Kuruvila as he has a lot of experience with these aspects.

This project is also very important for me, cosmetically as it will be featured in our internal global magazine under the hobbies section.

 

[jls001]

I want this project to look very professional so I'm planning to hire a fabricator and have the existing tonearm, lift mechanism and tonearm stand holes sealed up. After doing that, plan to get it powder coated, black with a matte finish. As Mr. Kuruvila suggested, I think its a good idea to mount the arm outside the chassis, however this effect the cosmetics. Need to give this some thought. May be I can mount the chassis length-wise on the plinth to give the feel of a Technics SP10, etc. Just brain storming at the moment, lots of ideas. Need to spend some time discussing this with Mr. Kuruvila as he has a lot of experience with these aspects.

This project is also very important for me, cosmetically as it will be featured in our internal global magazine under the hobbies section.

Please see the way this builder positions his L75 (post#3):

http://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=13111.0

I use the same idea. The only difference being that his arm stays on the right hand side (as seen on the picture) whereas my arm is at the back. Of course this arrangement does not qualify as "mounting outside the chassis" or using an isolated pod for the arm, but it has one very distinct advantage - you are no longer tied down with arm choice of 210 mm mounting distance. You can choose any arm of any length and drill a hole to suit it. In fact, one very clever way of drilling a mounting hole is to drill a large round or rectangular or square hole with interchangeable arm board. The hole on the arm board can be drilled to suit the arm at hand. The hole must be large enough for both 9 and 12 inchers.

Sealing up the holes is a great idea.

Another great build idea (IMO) is this one: http://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=13499.0

I asked the builder how he managed to retain the on/off switch. He sent me some photos of the build but I haven't really understood them yet. Also, the dimensions are not clear to me. If one were to copy this design, a bit of experimentation with the size and shape of cutouts of second and third layers of the plinth will be required. I like the way it eliminates the top plate which is superfluous for the most part. If one is keen on retaining the top plate, one can fill the cavity at the bottom with marine grade resin that hardens like stone, to give it true rigidity. But all these ideas are a bit far out.

 

[reubensm]

Thanks Joshua, makes sense. Infact the picture on the thread which you are referring to is what I am actually looking at. However I am in 2 minds as wify says that the depth of the plinth will require a deep rack which is not cosmetically good :lol: Nevertheless I am still looking at this option. Maybe I'll just leave the Lenco stock arm on with a ceramic cart for 78rpm/16rpm and place the new one at the back. Let me give it some thought.

Please see the way this builder positions his L75 (post#3):

http://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=13111.0

I use the same idea. The only difference being that his arm stays on the right hand side (as seen on the picture) whereas my arm is at the back. Of course this arrangement does not qualify as "mounting outside the chassis" or using an isolated pod for the arm, but it has one very distinct advantage - you are no longer tied down with arm choice of 210 mm mounting distance. You can choose any arm of any length and drill a hole to suit it. In fact, one very clever way of drilling a mounting hole is to drill a large round or rectangular or square hole with interchangeable arm board. The hole on the arm board can be drilled to suit the arm at hand. The hole must be large enough for both 9 and 12 inchers.

Sealing up the holes is a great idea.

Another great build idea (IMO) is this one: http://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=13499.0

I asked the builder how he managed to retain the on/off switch. He sent me some photos of the build but I haven't really understood them yet. Also, the dimensions are not clear to me. If one were to copy this design, a bit of experimentation with the size and shape of cutouts of second and third layers of the plinth will be required. I like the way it eliminates the top plate which is superfluous for the most part. If one is keen on retaining the top plate, one can fill the cavity at the bottom with marine grade resin that hardens like stone, to give it true rigidity. But all these ideas are a bit far out.

 

[jls001]

Below pic is what I have done to mine. With a bird's eye view, you will notice that the top plate is nearly square so turning the turntable by 90 Degrees clockwise should not affect the form factor too much. You can reduce the length front to back, while increasing left-right length to accommodate the arm hole.





Below is the detail of the arm hole (top layer of plinth which is green in this pic is now changed to the one above as green one has incorrect thickness):





Below is the armboard:





Current armboard for the extra thick acrylic platter is simply raised by 2 inches (or about 50 mm).

 

[reubensm]

honestly I am all too excited about this project, I've never done anything at this level (and with such a level of investment), before.

 

[sachu888]

I am also considering same kind of plinth. We have successfully tested Diy Schroeder tonearm. FM Raghu made tested it with his Lenco. It made a major improvement over Jelco SA50 tonearm.

Regards
Sachin

 

[Record Player]

I am also considering same kind of plinth. We have successfully tested Diy Schroeder tonearm. FM Raghu made tested it with his Lenco. It made a major improvement over Jelco SA50 tonearm.

Regards
Sachin

Sorry OP, straying out of topic here. But just this one.

Hey Sachin - Nice to see you back. You were missing here from a couple of weeks .

 

[reubensm]

I am also considering same kind of plinth. We have successfully tested Diy Schroeder tonearm. FM Raghu made tested it with his Lenco. It made a major improvement over Jelco SA50 tonearm.

Regards
Sachin

I've been looking up the following Lenco/Schroeder build. Would definitely like to build a tonearm at some stage. Maybe after the Lenco starts singing

The Lenco Rebuild

 

[reubensm]

pictures of a typical Jelco SA370H tonearm

 

[kuruvilajacob]

Recently, a very close friend of mine from Trivandrum got a good Lenco L-75 from Australia . He also managed to get a Audio Technica AT 1007 tone arm for the Lenco. I fixed the Tone arm for him . Now he has requested me to build a plinth similar to the one i have made and fix the Audio Technica Tonearm retaining the stock arm. I am planning to fix it on the plinth on the opposite side of the original tonearm or at the top portion. since the plinth will have a dust cover fixed to the plinth, a practical solution needs to be worked out. Retaining the original arm takes care of the cosmetic part as covering the removed tone arm base is not easy. But if the original arm is removed, it is easier to fix the new tone arm. Some good idea will come to my head soon I hope. The Audio Technica arm is 10" and aligning it if fixed in stock arm point as done now is not possible.