Despairing of the many positive reviews of the Dynavector xx2 and Simplex t/t I decided to afford mine some tlc with a view to improving its fairly horrible sound, especially compared to my digital front end.
Careful listening and process of elimination suggested the right channel of the cartridge was a bit knackered. Looking at the stylus I could see it was a bit skewed and tried to pretend to myself that I hadn’t caused it when I had that wrist twitch a year or two ago and dropped it from a height onto a record. It was also bright and lacking bass. I bought it used and wonder if it was more used than I’d been told. (No more buying used cartridges). So I exchanged it for a new xx2 and just fitted it. What a difference…
Anyway, the point of this post is to recommend to anyone who wants to avoid a (£1k) bill as a result of having a nervous hands disposition and no arm lift on their t/t that it really is worth investing in an aftermarket device. I decided I had to get something to prevent a repeat performance and to remove the stress I felt every time I had to drop or lift the arm.
There are a few devices on the market but the one that worked for me was a Yamomoto. I’ve just fitted it using very strong double-sided tape - didn’t fancy tapping screws into the t/t. Took about 15 minutes of tip-toeing around to work out where it needed to sit to be able to work at beginning and end of a record and then just fit the tape, press down and go. It’s changed my vinyl life. Putting on a record is now a thing of joy rather than a worry. Flip the lever and it drops super slow and gentle into the groove. At the end of the record, lift the lever and the arm rises safely and can be moved back to the rest with no fear of it dropping if my finger slips. Also it means I can drop the stylus with precision onto any track and with no fear of bouncing it. Happy day.
Careful listening and process of elimination suggested the right channel of the cartridge was a bit knackered. Looking at the stylus I could see it was a bit skewed and tried to pretend to myself that I hadn’t caused it when I had that wrist twitch a year or two ago and dropped it from a height onto a record. It was also bright and lacking bass. I bought it used and wonder if it was more used than I’d been told. (No more buying used cartridges). So I exchanged it for a new xx2 and just fitted it. What a difference…
Anyway, the point of this post is to recommend to anyone who wants to avoid a (£1k) bill as a result of having a nervous hands disposition and no arm lift on their t/t that it really is worth investing in an aftermarket device. I decided I had to get something to prevent a repeat performance and to remove the stress I felt every time I had to drop or lift the arm.
There are a few devices on the market but the one that worked for me was a Yamomoto. I’ve just fitted it using very strong double-sided tape - didn’t fancy tapping screws into the t/t. Took about 15 minutes of tip-toeing around to work out where it needed to sit to be able to work at beginning and end of a record and then just fit the tape, press down and go. It’s changed my vinyl life. Putting on a record is now a thing of joy rather than a worry. Flip the lever and it drops super slow and gentle into the groove. At the end of the record, lift the lever and the arm rises safely and can be moved back to the rest with no fear of it dropping if my finger slips. Also it means I can drop the stylus with precision onto any track and with no fear of bouncing it. Happy day.