Found this Lenco L78 on a fleamarket for 20 euro. I just used it in stock form for 78s until i found a thread on Audiogon started by a Canadian who has been refurbishing these 1970s Swiss idler wheel dinos for 10 years. Change the tonearm, build a heavy plinth, remove everything except the TT, refurbish it and voila, a "high end" TT. I thought yeah right. But i was intrigued , got to work and this is the result of 3 weeks of hard labour. Decca International pickup arm, ordered NOS from the Tjoeb people here in Holland. Heavy custom plinth made of 6 layers of birch multiply and MDF, for every layer the shape sawed out needed to give the TT its place. Then everything glued together, sanded and lacquered. The sound just blew me away, in terms of speed, rythm, dynamics and bass slam this 100 euro monster is hard to beat.
I had some problems with the on/off mechanism of the L78, and the DL103 cart i had on the RB300 had developed a nasty distortion within 1 year of purchase, yikes MCs are an expensive hobby even this basement bargain. So i got this Italian made L75 from the attic and did the basic "Jean" mods to it. See the to-do list for details.
Of course i took the Big Plinth i had made for the L78 instead of starting all over again. I finally got 1 meter of M4 thread, just screw it in the bottom of the chassis and cut it off. Flange and screw on it, tighten. Notice the chassis ground wire on the right.
My trusty stethoscope. Doctor Freek at work! Great tool to check for rumble = the amount of motor noise leaking through to the chassis and especially the main bearing and the tonearm. Shocking discovery. The plinth the chassis is mounted on makes NO difference whatsoever to the amount of motor noise transferred to the chassis. Soundwise it's a different matter!
A Variac, a device which enables you to vary the voltage from 0 to 220 V. I hooked it up between the L75 and the power grid. Turned halfway down to ca. 110 V i could hear and feel, with my fingers on the transport screws, the Lenco Motor started spinning more quiet. At the expense of torque though, the spindle could hardly get the idler wheel in motion let alone the 4 kg platter! Interesting experiment though until the power failed in my house, ouch shortage or something!
Just scored two(2) vintage NOS USA Shure Era IV N97EJ stylii for an M97 body i had in my drawer. In the box, in plastic, original price tags on them (80 Hfl back in 1979!). It doesn't get much better than this!
The final result. Remember i had a L78/RB300/DL103 in this plinth. Now an L75/Decca International/M97, total cost ca. 200 euro with 2 brand new stylii. Amazing sound even though the cart still has to break in. Maybe not as controlled as the RB300 but OTOH not as "hifi" sounding either.
OK 1 more pic. I removed the isolation tape from the arm tube. The sound was a bit too woolly to my taste. It sounds more lively now. I glued a ballpoint clip to the arm lift to get it up higher. Ugly but it gets the job done. It beats cueing by hand!
My modded Lenco L75 even made it to the local press! They must have been desperate for copy.