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Old is not always bad, and that also applies to hi-fi equipment that may be 20 years or more under its belt.
So if you are thinking about your old vinyl collection these days and still have a turntable from your youth standing around, you can quickly get the good old piece up and running again with some expert tips.
"If it is a branded device that has not been used for 20 or 30 years and is just gathering dust in the corner, it can be worthwhile to get such a turntable back into shape", says Herbert Bisges from the specialist portal HIFI.de.
Because the spare parts stock at well-known manufacturers is basically good.
The prerequisite, however, is that the turntable is completely intact and the housing is not badly damaged.
Before a technical check, however, the device must first be dedusted.
Turntable cleaning and function check
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“The first step is a thorough cleaning.
The coarsest dust can be carefully removed with a vacuum cleaner with a soft soft nozzle at a low speed, then a damp cloth should be used, ”recommends Matthias Böde from the specialist magazine“ Stereo ”.
When cleaning, plugs and sockets should also be inspected.
Before going into the details, Ralph Werner from the hi-fi test magazine “fairaudio.de” advises a very first rough function check.
"Just connect the device to the power and see whether the plate is still turning and running smoothly and not wobbling," says Werner.
You should also take a closer look at the tonearm: "If it is bent or badly damaged, you can in principle forget it." Then the repair effort in a workshop is usually not in proportion.
If you hold a cleaning brush on the rotating record before playing, you will get clean vinyl - and often better sound too
Source: dpa-tmn
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Next you should check whether the tonearm bearing can also move freely.
Werner: “To do this, you lift the tonearm and slowly and carefully guide it over the entire record without putting it down.
That should work without resistance. ”If this first function check has been passed, you should take care of the pickup.
“The stylus of a pickup is a wear part, it is best to play it safe here and replace it.
This is easy to do with moving magnet systems.
The best way to find out whether there are still replacement needles for the old pickup is to do an online research, ”says the expert from“ fairaudio.de ”.
According to Böde, replacement needles are already available for 15 to 20 euros.
For replacement, only the needle insert has to be plugged directly into the pickup, which is possible for everyone with a little skill.
New cartridge or do you prefer a new turntable?
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If the complete pickup is missing, however, it can quickly become more expensive.
"A complete pickup with stylus can certainly cost 50 euros and more," estimates Bisges.
He therefore recommends calculating the estimated total costs first and then deciding whether buying a new turntable is the better choice.
Because acceptable new devices are already available for 200 euros.
If the entire pickup has to be replaced, skill is required again.
Bisges: “Four thin, different colored cables come from the arm with tiny plug-in shoes that can be very tight.
These must be removed when exchanging without damage and must not be exchanged. "
A new pickup must then be correctly set and adjusted.
“This is not rocket science, but you should have a little patience and sensitivity.
The adjustment templates made of cardboard or plastic required for this can already be bought for four to five euros ”, explains“ fairaudio.de ”expert Werner.
If you still have an old record player standing around, you can quickly get it back on the road with a few expert tips
Source: dpa-tmn
Then the tracking force of the tonearm has to be adjusted.
"As a rule, these are values around two grams. More details can be found in the documents for the respective system," says Werner.
“Some tonearms have a scale to adjust the tracking force.
If that is not the case, I recommend a small plastic scale for adjustment, which can be bought for a few euros. "
If the tracking force is not set correctly, the needle will not sit in the groove as desired, which will also affect the sound quality.
Another construction site with older turntables is usually the drive belt for the turntable.
Look under the turntable
“All rubber parts have to be replaced after such a long time, which is part of the process with belt-driven devices.
But here too it is usually not a problem to get a replacement, ”says Böde.
The price for a replacement belt is between 20 and 30 euros.
Anyone who has ever removed the platter in order to access the belt should take the opportunity to take a look at the platter bearing and its lubrication.
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“The best thing to do is to remove the old oil with a Q-tip and alcohol and then instill new one,” recommends Böge.
The same applies to other mechanical parts.
Low-viscosity oils such as Ballistol are suitable for greasing them.
After this basic inspection, the turntable only needs to be correctly connected to the amplifier or receiver.
As a rule, two variants are used here.
Connect the turntable correctly
“Very old turntables still have the 5-pin DIN connector.
There are special cinch adapters with an additional ground cable for connecting the device to a current phono input, ”says Bisges.
Newer devices have integrated the two cinch plugs, mostly in white and red.
It should be noted, however, that not all cinch inputs are also suitable for turntables.
“If you catch a line input, for example for a CD player, it only works in conjunction with a phono preamplifier.
If it is not integrated in the turntable, it can be bought for prices starting at around 40 euros. "
The thin ground cable of the record player must always be connected to the terminal provided on the amplifier or phono preamplifier, otherwise it will hum.
The records themselves do not require any special care, even after several years of play-free time, unless they used to be always played while wet.
“For a while there were lubricants for playing records, such as the Lenco-Clean system,” says Böde.
The big disadvantage of this moving wet brush, however, is that residues of the cleaning agent are deposited in the grooves, which is noticeable as a pattering during playback without the liquid.
The records could then no longer be played back dry.
Basically, according to Bisges, records would not lose any of their quality over the years if they were stored correctly, i.e. standing, and not exposed to the sun.
Records should always be stored vertically to avoid pressure marks on the covers
Source: dpa-tmn
“A carbon brush, for example, can be used to remove light dust.
Real vinyl fans even have special record washing machines with which even the last speck of dust is removed from the grooves. "
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If you don't want to get your old turntable back into shape yourself, you can of course also get help from specialist hi-fi dealers.
And if you want to expand your recording hobby even further, you will now find a large selection of devices on the market.
“You should invest 400 to 500 euros for a good device, for this there are good lathe operators from, for example, Dual, Thorens, Rega or Pro-Ject,” adds Ralf Werner.
Lifted off - This turntable makes the vinyl float
Hardly any old medium attracts nostalgics and music lovers as much as the vinyl disc.
A Slovenian company is now upping the ante with the player - with the first turntable that lets the record float.
Source: WELT / Kevin Knauer