Tonearm Lifter

[Squishman]

Cuiing arms were a fairly regular repair in the '70s and '80s- they were assembled, so they can be disassembled and cleaned. The problem- did it use damping fluid, or just light friction?

Why replace the whole turntable if the cuiing is aftermarket? Have you contacted Q-UP? If they can't help and you want to try another brand, many are available and they don't need to be expensive.

Q-Up is not my issue. That is just an auto-lifter when the needle gets close to the label. It has nothing at all to do with lowering the tonearm. My issue is with the tt's cueing function.

 

[highfigh]

Q-Up is not my issue. That is just an auto-lifter when the needle gets close to the label. It has nothing at all to do with lowering the tonearm. My issue is with the tt's cueing function.

But you still have the Carbon Debut, right? Never saw the other lift. Have you contacted ProJect?

 

[TLS Guy]

If I did shop for one, I could trade out carts to keep the one I have. Anyone have a recommendation under a grand? Vintage if terrific value and works or new. I need the left top corner clear (no outboard motor positioned there) to accommodate my dust bug. Yeah, I know you can put it in the lower left, but I want it top left.

If you are in the mood for another turntable, which is a good idea, as yours is an entry level turntable, it is your lucky day.

This is on eBay now. If you are serious click Buy it now.

The Thorens TD 125, was made in Switzerland under the original ownership. This one has an SME series 2 arm fitted to it.

This would be a massive step up from your current rig, and is a better turntable than pretty much any made today,

If you are serious, jump on this as they don't come up often and especially not with an SME pick up arm.

This is the same rig that is in my Family room, but has an SME series 3 arm. I bought mine really cheap and restored, it. This one looks ready to play as soon as set up.

 

[Squishman]

If you are in the mood for another turntable, which is a good idea, as yours is an entry level turntable, it is your lucky day.

This is on eBay now. If you are serious click Buy it now.

The Thorens TD 125, was made in Switzerland under the original ownership. This one has an SME series 2 arm fitted to it.

This would be a massive step up from your current rig, and is a better turntable than pretty much any made today,

If you are serious, jump on this as they don't come up often and especially not with an SME pick up arm.

This is the same rig that is in my Family room, but has an SME series 3 arm. I bought mine really cheap and restored, it. This one looks ready to play as soon as set up.

I just bought it Mark! Says it needs a belt. Looks like those can be had. If you have a couple minutes, please give me a call. I have a couple of questions. It said there were 38 watchers, so I couldn't dilly-dally on it. He has a very good fb profile, so I felt good about it, even if I cannot use it immediately. I hope my cart is a match because he says it needs a stylus and my stylus is brand new. I am excited about this upgrade.

 

[TLS Guy]

I just bought it Mark! Says it needs a belt. Looks like those can be had. If you have a couple minutes, please give me a call. I have a couple of questions. It said there were 38 watchers, so I couldn't dilly-dally on it. He has a very good fb profile, so I felt good about it, even if I cannot use it immediately. I hope my cart is a match because he says it needs a stylus and my stylus is brand new. I am excited about this upgrade.

Well Done!

 

[Squishman]

Not sure I like the smoke dust cover. I prefer clear. Replacements are really expensive. Hopefully the scratches will come out. If not, possible cover replacement later. TLS Guy recommended I consider buying an Ortofon Black. Might be doing that hopefully soon. I'd do that before another cover.

 

[lovinthehd]

Don't really understand belt or rim drives myself They can be good, sort of.

 

[lovinthehd]

Or get another tt. I do not recall if it ever dropped this fast. I do not think it did. Got to get used to it all over again. If I did shop for another, I'd likely keep my cart or upgrade to the Ortofon Black. I'll use it as is for a while, just try to remember to lower the cue slowly.

That's always something you can do for now, i.e. just make sure to manually lower the arm with the lever rather than just relying on it to do it slowly.....my cueing lever drops faster than it used to but still manageable without too much manual help. One of these days I'll dig into it but just don't play vinyl so much where it really matters otoh....

 

[TLS Guy]

Don't really understand belt or rim drives myself They can be good, sort of.

What do you mean sort of? The belt decouples all motor vibration from the turntable. The Thorens TD 125 has a superb servo controlled motor with unmatched speed accuracy. It is widely recognized as one of the finest turntables ever produced. Many, if not most were produced without PU arms, and the owner fitted an arm of his choice, which is the case with the OPs purchase and has been fitted with an SME series II arm.

He has purchased a renowned and widely admired classic turntable that will deliver superb performance.

A really good turntable should ideally have cartridge and PU cartridge designed as a unit. In the case of my TD 125 this condition was met.

For optimum results the arm and cartridge should be designed as a functioning unit and designed to work together. It is especially important to match arm resonance to the cartridge compliance.

In the turntable below, SME designed there series 3 arms in cooperation with Shure to match arm resonance and moving arm mass and also provide a silicone fluid damper.

That rig is at the pinnacle of LP reproduction.

My Thorens TD 150 also has the same arm cartridge combo.

Decca knew that arm and cartridge should be an integral design, and so designed it so that most of their cartridges had to be fitted to a Decca arm.

In the turntable above, Peter Walker designed the Quad 22 phono stage to optimize those Decca variable reluctance cartridges.

The OP has played many of his LPs here and has been astounded at how good LP reproduction is. That is because care has been taken to optimize the integration of all the components.

 

[Squishman]

That's always something you can do for now, i.e. just make sure to manually lower the arm with the lever rather than just relying on it to do it slowly.....my cueing lever drops faster than it used to but still manageable without too much manual help. One of these days I'll dig into it but just don't play vinyl so much where it really matters otoh....

That's what I do and will continue to do until the Thorens arrives and I get it up to snuff. It is supposed to be 2-4 days shipping. I ordered a genuine Thorens belt.

 

[Squishman]

I watched a couple of videos to learn more about the tt I just bought. One tech said the consensus among experts is to not use a dust cover. He said that's a no-no as it acts like a sail when open, picking up resonant freqs and driving them into the tt. So since I don't like the smoke color or that fact that is is all scratched up and what the tech said on the video, I may just take it off and call it a day. I could either make a nice box or find one that fits over the entire unit when it's not being used because my tt sits up on top of my rack. Maybe something super light weight and then spray it with flex seal to make sure it is dust free.
Btw, I really think this unit was meant for me as it already has a dust bug post installed!

 

[lovinthehd]

I watched a couple of videos to learn more about the tt I just bought. One tech said the consensus among experts is to not use a dust cover. He said that's a no-no as it acts like a sail when open, picking up resonant freqs and driving them into the tt. So since I don't like the smoke color or that fact that is is all scratched up and what the tech said on the video, I may just take it off and call it a day. I could either make a nice box or find one that fits over the entire unit when it's not being used because my tt sits up on top of my rack. Maybe something super light weight and then spray it with flex seal to make sure it is dust free.
Btw, I really think this unit was meant for me as it already has a dust bug post installed!

Why not just use it closed rather than open, tho? There used to exist plastic shops that would sell all sorts of custom plastic, I remember many have had dust covers made from nice fresh clear acrylic....whether those shops are still around am not sure....

 

[lovinthehd]

What do you mean sort of? The belt decouples all motor vibration from the turntable. The Thorens TD 125 has a superb servo controlled motor with unmatched speed accuracy. It is widely recognized as one of the finest turntables ever produced. Many, if not most were produced without PU arms, and the owner fitted an arm of his choice, which is the case with the OPs purchase and has been fitted with an SME series II arm.

He has purchased a renowned and widely admired classic turntable that will deliver superb performance.

A really good turntable should ideally have cartridge and PU cartridge designed as a unit. In the case of my TD 125 this condition was met.

For optimum results the arm and cartridge should be designed as a functioning unit and designed to work together. It is especially important to match arm resonance to the cartridge compliance.

In the turntable below, SME designed there series 3 arms in cooperation with Shure to match arm resonance and moving arm mass and also provide a silicone fluid damper.

That rig is at the pinnacle of LP reproduction.

My Thorens TD 150 also has the same arm cartridge combo.

Decca knew that arm and cartridge should be an integral design, and so designed it so that most of their cartridges had to be fitted to a Decca arm.

In the turntable above, Peter Walker designed the Quad 22 phono stage to optimize those Decca variable reluctance cartridges.

The OP has played many of his LPs here and has been astounded at how good LP reproduction is. That is because care has been taken to optimize the integration of all the components.

Unmatched speed accuracy? What are you basing that on? Yes, some belt and rim drive tables were pretty good.

 

[lovinthehd]

That's what I do and will continue to do until the Thorens arrives and I get it up to snuff. It is supposed to be 2-4 days shipping. I ordered a genuine Thorens belt.

Good luck with the Thorens. I considered one way back when but despite a really good price for performance, just went with Technics direct drive myself. Still have that unit 40 years later.

 

[Squishman]

Why not just use it closed rather than open, tho? There used to exist plastic shops that would sell all sorts of custom plastic, I remember many have had dust covers made from nice fresh clear acrylic....whether those shops are still around am not sure....

I know of a plastics shop about 8 miles north of me. I may be able to buy 5 precision-cut pieces. Then I could learn how to assemble it. Or maybe they do that too or know someone who does. The tt supposedly arrives Thursday now.

 

[Squishman]

Good luck with the Thorens. I considered one way back when but despite a really good price for performance, just went with Technics direct drive myself. Still have that unit 40 years later.

Thanks. I had a DD Technics for 40 years too before I got the first Pro-ject. Model SL-3200. The first Pro-Ject was cumbersome to change speeds, so I eventually upgraded to this current one.

 

[Squishman]

I'll be selling my ProJect Debut Carbon Evo.
It has an almost new (last month!) Ortofon Blue stylus. I paid around $500 for it in December 2023. Amazon still has that model for $649, but with an inferior cart. I still have original box and papers, etc. It was TLS Guy's suggestion that I sell it with the Blue to fetch higher $$.
I bought an Ortofon Black for the Thorens. I am only a little nervous about the Thorens shipping. I hope the guy knew to remove the platter and belt, etc.

 

[highfigh]

I know of a plastics shop about 8 miles north of me. I may be able to buy 5 precision-cut pieces. Then I could learn how to assemble it. Or maybe they do that too or know someone who does. The tt supposedly arrives Thursday now.

It doesn't need to be separate pieces- the shape can be drawn with the top and all of the sides, then a heating device makes the bends possible.

The diagram in the attachment would be the basic shape for a fabricator, the dimensions would need to be copied from the original. Or, the fabricator could measure the existing cover.

Have you seen these sites?

Plastic Parts Manufacturer | Classic Acrylics

Classic Acrylics, a trusted plastic parts manufacturer, provides custom plastic fabricated parts for retail, industrial, & medical applications. Contact us now!

www.classicacrylics.com

Custom Acrylic Fabrication & Plastic Sheets | A-1 Acrylic’s Osseo, MN

A-1 Acrylic’s is your trusted source for custom acrylic products that sell. We specialize in cut-to-size plastic sheets, display stands, signage, sneeze guards, brochure holders, and protective barriers—perfect for retail, healthcare, and corporate settings. With fast turnaround, precise craftsmansh

www.a1acrylics.com

 

[Squishman]

I said they were a plastic shop. What I really meant was they sell plastic I don't know that they actually do fabrication I will have to check.

 

[Squishman]

Have you seen this site?

Custom Acrylic Fabrication & Plastic Sheets | A-1 Acrylic’s Osseo, MN

A-1 Acrylic’s is your trusted source for custom acrylic products that sell. We specialize in cut-to-size plastic sheets, display stands, signage, sneeze guards, brochure holders, and protective barriers—perfect for retail, healthcare, and corporate settings. With fast turnaround, precise craftsmansh

www.a1acrylics.com

No, I will look into it though thank you