The TJN Kit: A Total Success
Hi Jean,
I wanted to wait to report until I was sure of what I was hearing, but it’s clear that replacing “that damned spring” with your thread-and-weight mod is a howling success. It sounded great to me right after completion, but I’ve found that my early reactions to something like this aren’t 100% reliable The effects of this mod, though, seem to grow even more obvious and significant — more openness and clarity, better bass and dynamics, a sense of total pitch stability, control and “thereness” — the longer I listen to music now.
In particular, I had not really been aware that the Lenco spring compromised the sonics of 45 rpm records because it was not as “springy” with 45s as with 33s. (You have to look at the tapered shaft, idler wheel, and how the spring is extended at both speeds to appreciate this.) Before, I had a hard time justifying the extra expense of today’s 45 reissues because they didn’t sound much better to me on my Lenco than the equivalent 33s. I can finally hear that they are, indeed, worth the premium. Now I get the same higher torque no matter what the speed.
I wanted to compliment you particularly on the way the kit was well thought out, both in terms of the step-by-step instructions and how precisely your template positioned the threaded tube so that there were no obstructions or hang-ups for the silk thread. That’s the only part that initially unnerved me — finding the exact right spot to drill the hole in the top plate, knowing that if the thread/weight hung up on anything it would compromise the mod’s effectiveness. And there’s not a lot of room in there, as you know.
I had originally planned to bring a friend into the installation process if only because, at 81, I’m pretty old for this sort of thing. But I took it slow and managed to do the deed in an afternoon and it worked perfectly from the beginning. You’ll remember that my Lenco L75 is the first one you ever built that accommodated two arms (currently SME III and JMW 10.5i). I loved it from the beginning but the mod takes it to an entirely new place. Many thanks.
Dave Pogue