Jelco Tone Arms

[Beobloke]

The only higher end cartidge I have used in the Jelcos is my Audio Technica AT-OC9MLII which worked very well in the SA-750D. It was less certain of itself in the SA-370 but then this went away for a service and wiring upgrade and apparently the bearings were in a bit of a state! I have not tried it again since it came back.

With regard to headshells, I use the standard item that came with the SA-750D and generally use Vestax items with the SA-370s - these are good performers at a reasonable price and also come in some nice colours, namely gold, silver, black, blue and green. (Most of the LAD decks are blue, so the whole effect looks good!). They are also virtually identical to the items that LAD headshells that came fitted on the arms originally. It seems that all the cartridges I have used on it are in the 7-8g weight range so i have not needed to experiment with different headshells or balance weights.

With regards to the oil damping, I personally do not use it. I have experimented with it and found on each occasion that it made things rather slow and lifeless sounding.

It's a shame you have discounted the SA-250ST as I personally think this is a better arm than the SA-250. The SA-250ST sounds cleaner and more precise, and vibrational measurement shows it to be a much better damped design then the SA-250.

[rbwinterlink]

Gentleman thank you both for responding. Again I am building my own plinth and will be using the massive bearing and platter from my old Cranfield Rock Turntable. The Excalibur arm is the first arm offered in a commercially available Rock turntable, so it's old school with minimum amenities. It is the most basic tone arm you could buy back then (1982). That is the reason I am looking for an interim arm until I can afford one of the great arms (SME, etc). I am going inexpensive right now due to my budget.

Dave, I note you use the inexpensive SA-250 ST and appear to have great success with matching it to several great cartridges to include the Shelter 501. My only concern is that it does not have a removable head and I have problems installing cartridges in this type of setup. I have longed for the opportunity to purchase an arm were I can remove the head to replace the cartridge. However it looks as if you have done a great job mixing and matching and that's wonderful.

BeoBloke, I think it negates the price of the SA-370H if you had to have all that extra work done, rewiring and other things. Actually I am looking for an arm that I can use right out of the box that will mate with a good cartridge and play well so that I don't cringe. I thought the Jelco SA-370H or the SA 250 would do the trick but .........

Bob W.

[dankaz97]

HI guys,
My 1st post!! Ok, been trying to find a suitable armboard for my Jelco SA750D or possible DIY. Been checking out Micro Seiki armboard e.g. AX-1, AX-1G but can't seems to find the dimensions. Any of you gents can assist?
Much appreciated! Cheers

Hi,
The mounting for the SA-750D is similar to Linn but the stated mounting distance is 214mm. Mounting the arm on a Linn arm board (30mm hole at 211mm) and using a Baerwald protractor should give better alignment (lower tracing distortion) while still leaving the cartridge central in the slots. Possibly worth a try?

The Micro Seiki tonearm base list shows the hole size for some AX arm boards but the list is pre-Linn arms (!) so some cross referencing with the tonearm database may be needed?
http://www.vinylengine.com/library/micr ... list.shtml

Regards,
JaS

Thanks JaS! As I'm using a Roksan, there's no way I can mount a 2nd arm, l'll probably DIY the armboard as well as the base support. A kind of project to keep myself (brain) busy. Will be mounting either AT 33PTG or DL 103R. Don't know how it'll sound??? Well, back to the drawing board. Cheers

[rbwinterlink]

Again I want to thank everyone for your great input. If I may, how would a body be able to discern which (MM or MC) works best with a particular tone arm? I now have a very, very basic understanding of the importants of a tone arms mass plus the mass of the head shell. I think that the cartridge's mass also plays into the equation.

However, there must be a mathamatical formula for figuring all of this out. I also believe there is more basic way to make these conclusions that the common man (me) can understand without being a rocket scientist. I would be very pleased to get some help with this problem. I am sure I am the only one who still does not understand how to figure this all out.

I have started work on my plinth. Because I want to use the excellent bearing and platter from the Cranfield Rock turntable I am going to have to have the metal that holds the bearing cut to the size I want and need. So the old Elite Rock Turntable won't go to waste. Also I won't be using the springs because I always thought they made the turntable less focused. So, I will soon have to determine which tone arm to purchase and then I've got to get down to the business of finding a cartridge I can live with. Hence, why I am looking for some help with cartridtge/tone arm matching. Thanks all.

Bob W.

[hesson12]

These links may help. They include a lot of information, including calculators you can use to determine resonance frequencies, etc.

http://www.cartridgedb.com/tools.asp

http://www.theanalogdept.com/cartridge_ ... tching.htm

-Bob[/url]

[rbwinterlink]

Hesson12,

Thank you so much for this additional and very important information. I have already followed the links you've provided and very happy with what I am finding there. I do appreciate this.

Bob W.

[WmAx]

The Excalibur arm is the first arm offered in a commercially available Rock turntable, so it's old school with minimum amenities. It is the most basic tone arm you could buy back then (1982). That is the reason I am looking for an interim arm until I can afford one of the great arms (SME, etc). I am going inexpensive right now due to my budget.

While much more expensive than the Jelco, the Clearaudio Satisfy($1200 USD) Aluminum might be another option. I don't think this arm gives up anything in performance; very low resonance design, top notch bearings (tungsten points into sapphire bearings), non-interference anti-skate that is removable if you don't like anti-skate systems, absolute top notch build quality. This is considerably cheaper than the high end series of SME arms, but you may find that you don't necessarily need to get these, after using the Clearaudio.

I am able to consistently get real sounding playback on my system, using the Clearaudio Satisfy Aluminum. Very low noise pickup, also.

-Chris