My New TT : The Cello from Scheu Analog

[square_wave]

What a beautiful piece of equipment !

Great choice and congratulations Asit. I had completley missed this thread. Just now I was talking to Jochen about trigon and he mentioned that you had picked up a TT...Great way to roll...ahem...spin

 

[venkatcr]

All discussion on Malvai's TT has been moved to the following thread:

http://www.hifivision.com/phono-turntables/19995-malvais-tt-setup.html

Please continue your discussions there.

Cheers

 

[Hiten]

I am guessing so parden me if wrong. After X hrs. of play cartridge will have little more compliance then original and low frequencies will be more accurate, tracking will be improved so increasing tracking weight a wee little bit will help stylus tip in following grooves more precisely. In short SQ with more fidelity.

 

[Asit]

What a beautiful piece of equipment !

Great choice and congratulations Asit. I had completley missed this thread. Just now I was talking to Jochen about trigon and he mentioned that you had picked up a TT...Great way to roll...ahem...spin

Thanks a lot. There is a great sense of community. So many people are happy and so appreciative, and that touches me. I have not written about my research on the TT, but for the past year and a half I was looking for a TT that I can afford, can be happy with to start off and at the same time there is an upgrade path open. Finally I decided in favour of this one, and so far I am very happy. I only hope it fulfills most of my requirements. Only some of my colleagues at office think I have gone completely nuts. First Leben, then Scheu - brands they have never heard of before.

Hopefully, Jochen will send the Trigons quickly so that I will have taste of a good phono stage with this TT.

Regards.

 

[Asit]

I am guessing so parden me if wrong. After X hrs. of play cartridge will have little more compliance then original and low frequencies will be more accurate, tracking will be improved so increasing tracking weight a wee little bit will help stylus tip in following grooves more precisely. In short SQ with more fidelity.

Hiten,
What a coincidence! I was thinking along the same lines, but my conclusions are slightly different. Yes, if the breaking-in actually means more flexibility for the cartridge suspension, then sure, the compliance will increase from the initial value. That part I agree. But, I think it will not increase beyond the specified value mentioned in the tech specs. I believe they make the measurements after the cart breaks in, it is the more stable value and hence more usable. So my guess is, initially before the break-in, the compliance will be lower than the spec value, and break-in will gradually bring it to the spec value. Tracking weight and all other specs should also be given assuming a steady and stable state of affairs. Hence I think, no adjustments are needed after the cart breaks in.

At the same time, it raises interesting thoughts about the resonance frequency. Since Jochen did the measurement of the resonance frequency just after the TT arrived from Germany (and naturally long before break in), it could be that the result of 10Hz was somewhat afftected by the cart not broken in and hence having a lower compliance value. If measured after a full break in, the value of the resonance frequency could be a little lower, say 9Hz or so, closer to the theoretical calculation of mine (with compliance taken at 25 in appropriate physical units).

I will have a discussion with Jochen about the above two issues.

Regards.

 

[ajay124]

Only some of my colleagues at office think I have gone completely nuts. First Leben, then Scheu - brands they have never heard of before.

asit

You can't throw bouncers like Leben, Scheu and Trigon at non-audiophiles and expect them to be able to defend with a straight bat

Most of my friends and relatives view my 'esoteric' pursuits with indulgent, mocking or bewildered smiles. They probably think I have gone overboard, with what is actually the simple pastime of listening to music.

 

[Asit]

Ajay,

Yes, bouncers are difficult to handle with a straight bat. I know because I have played the game at a decent level and was an opener. Later when I played in the North American league (this is a league from which the US team is selected for the ICC associates championship), I used to come down at number 3 and I have faced many West Indian young fast bowlers (undergraduates in US universities) and some Pakistani zonal under-19 bowlers on very very ordinary, unpredictable and uncovered pitches, and I never used a helmet initially because I was not brought up with it. Only during a match, a few times after the ball reared up from almost a good length at great speed, my teammates (mostly British and from the Wimbledon Club) almost forced me to wear a helmet in the middle of the innings (I used to wear glasses and looked kind of thin like Anshuman Gaekwad in his playing days). We won and I remained not out .

Sorry for the completely OT talk. Just remembered this and could not help it.
Regards.

 

[sachu888]

Ajay,

Yes, bouncers are difficult to handle with a straight bat. I know because I have played the game at a decent level and was an opener. Later when I played in the North American league (this is a league from which the US team is selected for the ICC associates championship), I used to come down at number 3 and I have faced many West Indian young fast bowlers (undergraduates in US universities) and some Pakistani zonal under-19 bowlers on very very ordinary, unpredictable and uncovered pitches, and I never used a helmet initially because I was not brought up with it. Only during a match, a few times after the ball reared up from almost a good length at great speed, my teammates (mostly British and from the Wimbledon Club) almost forced me to wear a helmet in the middle of the innings (I used to wear glasses and looked kind of thin like Anshuman Gaekwad in his playing days). We won and I remained not out .

Sorry for the completely OT talk. Just remembered this and could not help it.
Regards.

I like this OT.

Regards,

Sachin

 

[Bluu]

Asit sir, can you quickly go to England and save the third Test?

My question about leveling the TT got lost in the moving of threads. I'll ask it again: did you do anything specific to level the TT like the bubble thingy or did you just eye-ball it?

 

[sachu888]

Asit sir, can you quickly go to England and save the third Test?

My question about leveling the TT got lost in the moving of threads. I'll ask it again: did you do anything specific to level the TT like the bubble thingy or did you just eye-ball it?

Hi,
I level my TT using carpenter water leveling scale available at local hardware store in Rs30.
Pic for ref.

Regards,

Sachin

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Eyeballing is not good enough for a washing machine even --- certainly not for a turntable!

 

[GeorgeO]

Asit

I have been following this thread on and off, and must make it a point to come and audition the TT and phonostage at your place on my next Calcutta trip( whenever that happens!). I make it a point to come there at least once a year to meet my buddies and play golf at Royal/Tolly, and a trip is due after the weather gets better.

Cheers

 

[Dr.Bass]

Hearty Congratulations Asit !!!
I never knew you got a TT. It is such an experience even seeing so many audiophiles getting into Analogue. I hope to get into it some day. BTW, do you have LPs or are you starting to collect them ?

 

[Asit]

Asit sir, can you quickly go to England and save the third Test?

Too late now. Well, Gavaskar, Shastri and Ganguly are already there. Ganguly can still bat better than some of the middle-order in this team. Look at his performances in all his trips to England. In the 2007 tour, he certainly looked the best Indian batsman by quite a distance.

My question about leveling the TT got lost in the moving of threads. I'll ask it again: did you do anything specific to level the TT like the bubble thingy or did you just eye-ball it?

Sorry, Bluu. I should have responded earlier. I have a very good and relatively expensive spirit level from Stanley. At the same time it measures the level in 3 directions on the plane (2 orthogonal directions and also along the diagonal direction). My rack is quite level, and the TT also came level. I did not have to do anything. Yes, I probably still can do the minutest of adjustments, but it can also mess up things, so I intend not to do anything and keep it as it is (which is level to a very high degree).

Regards.

 

[murali_n]

Hi Asit,

Congrats on the new acquisition.:yahoo:

N.Murali

 

[Asit]

Asit

I have been following this thread on and off, and must make it a point to come and audition the TT and phonostage at your place on my next Calcutta trip( whenever that happens!). I make it a point to come there at least once a year to meet my buddies and play golf at Royal/Tolly, and a trip is due after the weather gets better.

Cheers

George,
I am particularly sorry that I could not respond to your post earlier. Internet has not been working properly at home for the last few days. Since last night, it is completely dead.

You are very welcome to our place. Please let me know the approx time and date.

Regards.

 

[Asit]

Hearty Congratulations Asit !!!
I never knew you got a TT. It is such an experience even seeing so many audiophiles getting into Analogue. I hope to get into it some day. BTW, do you have LPs or are you starting to collect them ?

Dr. Bass,

Thanks. As I said above I have trouble with Internet at home. Right now I am using a Photon+ borrowed from my son. My wife has a Reiiance Netconnect, but she does not want to give it to me, because it's for her office connection. So I am the only person now in our household without a net connection (not counting Cell connection).

Well, I have now owned a TT since 1986, although I have never been a true vinyl person. First, I had a DD from Technics (in a previous post, I mistakenly called it belt drive, and cannot edit it now any more). Then in 1989, I got a Dual CS5000 which I still have with an almost new Shure M97xE, but its motor has recently given away for a second time.

I have only about 100 vinyl records at the most, with about 20 of them bought in the last year or so. About 90% of these have been bought new, and the rest used ones. Some of the used ones are quite nice in quality.


Murali,

Thanks for the encouragement.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

About 90% of these have been bought new, and the rest used ones. Some of the used ones are quite nice in quality.

How do you feel about playing the ones that are less than quite nice? I always thought that, if I ever bought an expensive turntable (or catridge/stylus even), I would worry about the effect of scuffs and scratches.

 

[Asit]

How do you feel about playing the ones that are less than quite nice? I always thought that, if I ever bought an expensive turntable (or catridge/stylus even), I would worry about the effect of scuffs and scratches.

Obviously, I do not feel very good about the ones which are not well preserved. Usually I remove them after a short while, and try them later after a second round of thorough cleaning. If they are still unsatisfactory, I do not think they will ever be played again. Fortunately, at the moment I do not have a large number of such records. This is one reason apart from the finances, I did not go for an expensive MC cart, and settled for a middle-of-the-road cart. I knew an entry level cart would not satisfy me and also would not justify buying a decent table. As it turns out, I am so far very happy with the Super OM 30. However, I do not think, stuff like lint etc harms the cart, although the resulting noise while playing may be quite irritating, but dust particles and grease may seriously damage both the cart and the records. It is absolutely essential to clean the needle after every record being played with a cleaning agent. I am at the moment using a Clearaudio cleaning solution which is essentially non-alcoholic. Alcohol may dissolve the glue that fixes the needle to the cantilever if used too often.

There are also quite a few CDs that I do not listen to if I find the quality (musically and pressing-quality-wise) seriously lacking. In any endeavour, there is always some waste, I have to accept it.

Regards.

 

[ajay124]

asit

What is the life span of a brand new, carefully used vinyl recording?

Is there degradation of sound after it has been played a certain number of times?