RD11s w/ Summiko are; Value & Thoughts, Please

[peterjschmidt]

Please forgive a question as my first post, but you all would be the experts, and I could benefit from some advice.

After a long absence from vinyl, for the last several months I've been listening to a Technics SL-1350 I bought in the 80's, and since I've determined it isn't just a phase I'm going through, I'm looking to upgrade my system starting w/ the TT.

There is a local person selling an RD11s, with a Sumiko Premier MMT arm, no cartridge. He is the original owner, and during our e-mails gives me the impression he has been a caring owner and treated this equipment well. He is selling the table/arm for $500.

My decision is whether to pursue this at this price. He likes Ortofon cartridges, and if I add in say $200, I'm thinking I'd have a great TT for $700.

But I'm also thinking about buying something brand new, and am not adverse to doubling what the Ariston and am considering a ClearAudio Concept or a Rega RP6. I am in the dark when it comes to tweaking/repairing an old TT as the Ariston, so something new appeals to me in that regard. Because of the thread this topic is posting in, I'd suspect there are plenty of fans of the RD11s; is the Summiko arm well-suited? Also, would you be kind enough to give an opinion of the RD11s/Summiko sound vs. an RP6 with a comparable cartidge?

Thanks for any and all help/advice!

[Alec124c41]

The Ariston is a fine turntable, and I like the Jelco/Sumiko MMT arm.
The price might be a bit on the high side, but not too much. Offer him $400, and see if you can bargain a bit.

Cheers,
Alec

[peterjschmidt]

Thanks Alec.

Any ideas on my apprehensions over buying and maintaining an older TT? I've never been under the hood of one, but suppose common sense and being handy would go a long way. After reading all the tweaks and mods you guys do, it makes me think there's a lot more to getting the most out of a vintage table like this, which gets translated in my mind to a greater chance of things going awry.

Any thoughts on musicality from this unmodded RD11s/Summiko (as well as years of trouble-free listening) compared to a new TT like the Rega or ClearAudio I'm thinking about?

[Alec124c41]

You would have to spend a lot more money to better the Ariston.
The mechanism is not complicated. Careful set-up, and as good a cartridge as you care to buy, and it will sound superb.

Cheers,
Alec

[peterjschmidt]

Thank you once again, kind sir!

You have me convinced, that this is worth pursuing. At the risk of being bounced out on my ear, I listen using my home-theater setup; a Pioneer Elite SC-27 receiver (and B&W DM640's) so whatever cartridge I settle on will be a MM.

Can you suggest a cartridge that will match the arm/table well, in the $200-300 range? I mainly listen to classical music. My guess is that might be a subjective question, but again, I just don't know, since I've been out of this arena for so long. At least I know that I don't know.

The receiver's phono input sensitivity is 4.2mV, if that is a consideration.

[Alec124c41]

An Audio Technica AT 440 MLa would get you started. Or an Ortofon 2M Blue. The Nagaoka MP-150 or MP-200 might be even better matched.
BTW you could use a high-output MC cartridge, such as the Dynavector DV10x5. That one would be more like $400, though. It goes very well with that arm. On the lower end is the Denon DL-110 LOMC, which is quite decent.
Shure and Grado cartridges do best with lighter arms.
A $1000 cartridge would not be out of place on that arm and turntable.

Cheers,
Alec

[youngdand]

Thumbs Up for the Ariston too, its a very good table, i love mine to pieces. When i had the syrinx pu2, i had a nagaoka MP50 on it, and it was a fantastic cart, but its replacement the MP500 is a probably a little out of your price range. A lot of people rate the MP 11 boron if you can find one. I a on the look out for an nice MC cart to go on the new Zeta arm, currently have an AT32, but it just doesnt seem to have the oomph it should, but it is very detailed.

[peterjschmidt]

Well, things are falling into place.

The seller will not budge off of his price, but based on what I've read (and the input here) it's worth the money. If he would come down, that would be great, but in reality there's no reason to pass up on a great table/arm because of $50-100.

I believe I'm going to go with the DV10X5, purchased from a local audio shop that has a very good reputation. They've been a high-end sales/repair store for years. A friend I trust worked there years ago, and the owner said he'd take 15% off the cartridge, install it and set the table up no charge. He has a used DV10X4 on hand as well; if he tells me that has very low hours or was re-tipped, I will consider that also.

The online reports of that cartridge are all good, and most say there is a short break-in period, so I'm anticipating some great listening in the very near future.

[Alec124c41]

You should be delighted with that combination.

Cheers,
Alec

[peterjschmidt]

Well, here it is almost two weeks later, and I couldn't be happier.

After picking up the turntable, I headed to the local hi-fi shop who sold it to my seller back in the '80's. The owner said he'd set up that arm and balance the table if I bought a cartridge from him. I have a few friends who know the shop owner, so I trusted his judgment.

The cartridge he sold me is a Madrigal Carnegie One with (apparently) low hours. Because my receiver only has a MM phono input, I also bought an Audio Technica AT-650.

Who knows about the stock cables coming out of the TT, so I also bought some higher-end pure silver jobs, and had the stock cable/connector terminated/soldered to a strip, w/ the new cables also soldered to that strip. The cables from the transformer to the receiver are the same type. I just thought if the stock cables were a potential weak link I'd be better off taking care of it now.

Perhaps I simply wasn't acclimated to the sound of a MC cartridge, but it appeared overly bright and airy. I decreased the VTA a smidge, and like the sound better.

As you said Alec, I am delighted!

Thanks for your input and help in this process!

[Alec124c41]

Give the cartridge a bit of time playing music, and it will probably settle in nicely.

Cheers,
Aec

[youngdand]

Glad to hear your enjoying the ariston.

Mine came back for having the new arm fitted and a full set up a couple of months back, and to tell the truth i was actually a little disappointed when it did, although detailed, it sounded a little lifeless, no bass. I narrowed it down to the the AT32 that i had fitted on the arm. I have since bought a lyra lydian and once fitted the sound is so good that i can now hear a slight wow on strings and piano peices, so i bought a hercules psu which has a fault so has had to go off for repair, but once it comes back and its fitted, i think that i wont need to do a lot for quite a while barr listen to every record over again!

I have to say, even though i bought this second hand, edmond has been great, and offered to check the board and do any necessary repairs cheaply. He well also be lengthening the power switch cables to suit the RD11s switch position.

anyway, continue to enjoy the rd11s. A great deck in my opinion and i wount be getting rid of mine anytime soon.

happy listening.

Dan.

[Alec124c41]

Peter, what kind of mat did you get on that RD-11?

Cheers,
Aec

[peterjschmidt]

Peter, what kind of mat did you get on that RD-11?

Cheers,
Aec

Black felt.

Have anything in mind?