spammoj Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Hi everyone, just want to share the results of this this TT that I've been working on. Got myself this Sugden Connoisseur BD1 and it was in pretty shabby condition. The plinth was weather faded, belt was very loose and slipping. Tonearm looked to be in decent shape, but the stylus was pretty worn down. I'm not much of a vinyl listener (oops, am I allowed to say that on this section of the forums?) but loved the aesthetic of the table and read that the tonearm was a pretty decent one so decided to overhaul it. Time to get to work! First off the stripped everything off to get to the plinth. A bit of a quick sand and some restor-a-finish brought it up to a nice even finish. In my excitement to get to work forgot to take all that many 'before' pics. The lid wasn't too shabby although it was covered in grease and muck, nothing some detergent didn't fix up. The original power cable was flimsy and had 2 pronged US style connections so those had to go. The rca plugs connect to a 5 pin DIN under the tonearm and I could not find a replacement online for a reasonable price, and the plugs were pretty beat up so I just replaced the rca plugs with nice solid amphenol plugs. A little spade for the ground wire and voila good as new! Had the sparkies at work check my power cable replacement but it was a straight forward exercise. DIN connections The belt was slipping off as it was really loose and also was sitting too high and proud so that wasn't helping. I got someone who knew what they were doing to look at it and he managed to get the pulley sitting correctly and not pulling inwards, towards the platter when the belt was on. Belt was also replaced but had to be stretched out until the speed was right. Quite a finicky process of trial and error! Stylus was replaced with a nice ADC. Everything is running well and I'm enjoying listening to my records after the hard work! Also put some new feet on My new plugs and cable! A very rewarding process, and putting on a record and looking at the turntable now gives me great joy! 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasebass Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Very nice...my first TT was a BD101 + Goldring G800 cart... Tase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevoz Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 My Dad had a BD1 years ago. It was very nice but I can't remember what tonearm it had. I do remember it had a Supex cartridge and it sounded great. Yours appears to have a Grace G840 tonearm.....and yes, it is a great tonearm. The headshell is the Grace HS-4. G-840 ■ Price 14,500 yen ■ Model Static balance type ■ Full length ■ Execution length 237㎜ ■ Over hang 15㎜ ■ Tracking error ■ Stylus pressure range ■ Arm height adjustment ■ Arm base hole ■ Anti skate device ■ Arm lifter ■ Lateral balancer ■ Cartridge weight ■ Line capacity ■ Launched around 1970 ■ Discontinued Around 1971-72 ■ Remarks The price is around 1970. This is the brand's first lightweight universal arm. HS-4 ■ Price 1,600 yen ■ Weight 7g ■ Remarks Aluminum press processing The price is around 1973. The price around 1975 is 1,850 yen. If you can obtain a Grace F8 cart for it, this set up will sing! Great job on the turntable......enjoy the music! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiofeline Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 It looks like a very nice restoration - well done! It's always good to hear of another turntable saved from a premature death. Enjoy listening to your records. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spammoj Posted December 23, 2019 Author Share Posted December 23, 2019 22 minutes ago, stevoz said: If you can obtain a Grace F8 cart for it, this set up will sing! Great job on the turntable......enjoy the music! Thanks for the info steve, will keep an eye out for that cart...for now enjoying spinning my records. May have stretched the belt a little too much in the process of trying to get the speed right, oooops. Now plays at about 32.5 rpm so slightly annoying. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spammoj Posted December 23, 2019 Author Share Posted December 23, 2019 From this weekend, completed a little shelf for my 'now playing' records. Sitting atop my diy stand + storage shelf Merry christmas everyone and happy spinning 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevoz Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 (edited) 18 minutes ago, spamnoj said: Thanks for the info steve, will keep an eye out for that cart...for now enjoying spinning my records. May have stretched the belt a little too much in the process of trying to get the speed right, oooops. Now plays at about 32.5 rpm so slightly annoying. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/TURNTABLE-DRIVE-BELT-for-CONNOISSEUR-BD1-BD2-BD-1-BD-2-BD2-A-BD2-AR-PRB-OA32-2/112543870223?_trkparms=aid%3D1110001%26algo%3DSPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D57928%26meid%3D412bac25825e4f8ab09ab66796b1a2e2%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dag%26sd%3D282554785024%26itm%3D112543870223%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851 $24. Edited December 23, 2019 by stevoz 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Rutter Posted December 24, 2019 Share Posted December 24, 2019 22 hours ago, spamnoj said: Thanks for the info steve, will keep an eye out for that cart...for now enjoying spinning my records. May have stretched the belt a little too much in the process of trying to get the speed right, oooops. Now plays at about 32.5 rpm so slightly annoying. Haven't read the whole post, if you are using your phone to check the speed of rotational they are not really accurate A strope disc is better If the "dots are moving and you time their motion you can work out the true rpm The frequency of our mains supply is rock solid. It has to be without going into why. Makes me wonder what the advantage of DC is other than starting torque 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Qld Posted June 4, 2020 Share Posted June 4, 2020 Steve, Nice reno on the Turntable. I have one of these also and is in working order. this may seem a silly question but do you / should you run through a phono- stage (pre-amp) before the main amp? If so any recommendations. Thanks Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spammoj Posted June 9, 2020 Author Share Posted June 9, 2020 On 04/06/2020 at 2:41 PM, Mick Qld said: Steve, Nice reno on the Turntable. I have one of these also and is in working order. this may seem a silly question but do you / should you run through a phono- stage (pre-amp) before the main amp? If so any recommendations. Thanks Mick Hi Mick General rule of thumb most TTs need to go through a phono pre-amp prior to bring the signal up to line level before going to the amp. So yes you'll need a phono preamp. Plenty of options out there depending on your budget from 100 - 10k. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spammoj Posted June 9, 2020 Author Share Posted June 9, 2020 In other news my belt has become very loose despite only being a few months old with hardly any use. Platter speed runs at 30rpm at the moment. Been reading up with interest about what people have used for DIY belts, from fishing wire to thread to dental floss. I will be giving the floss and thread a go when I get home but wonder if any members have experience with this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiofeline Posted June 9, 2020 Share Posted June 9, 2020 On 04/06/2020 at 2:41 PM, Mick Qld said: ... do you / should you run through a phono- stage (pre-amp) before the main amp?... Yes. If your integrated or pre-amp has a "phono" input, it has a built-in phono stage (usually for MM carts). If your amp doesn't have a "phono" input, you will need to get an external phono stage, which will then plug into one of your amp's inputs (eg. aux, tuner, tape). There are many phono stages available, at a wide variety of pricepoints. The one you get really depends on the quality of your turntable/cart and the rest of the hifi system. The cheapies will work, and most that cost a bit more are quite reasonable, and probably suitable for your Conniossueur. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Rutter Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 4 hours ago, audiofeline said: " probably suitable for your Conniossueur". Such condescension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiofeline Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 (edited) 48 minutes ago, Colin Rutter said: Such condescension. No condescension intended. I was intending to convey that the turntable is worthy of something better than cheap+nasty, but spending $2K on a phono stage would be over-kill for this turntable. You usually get what you pay for. Edited June 10, 2020 by audiofeline 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 Nice one. Love the Grace arm too. I have a JH turntable in the shed, that is very similar to this Conniossueur. I noticed the platter bearing shaft is very small diameter, and also there seems to be a little play that allows the platter to rock a small amount. Is that normal for these super light turntables? Does your Conniossueur have any play? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klackto Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 Even though they look kind of similar the Connoisseur had a pretty decent bearing ... certainly much more substantial than the one in the JH and the 10” platter was cast aluminum rather than pressed sheet metal. All in all a very simple but quite effective design. A BD1 was my first hifi purchase (at age 16) with a JH formula IV arm and Ortofon mm cart ... brings back memories. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 1 hour ago, klackto said: Even though they look kind of similar the Connoisseur had a pretty decent bearing ... certainly much more substantial than the one in the JH and the 10” platter was cast aluminum rather than pressed sheet metal. My JH is cast aluminium I am sure. Will check tomorrow - too dark in the shed now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Rutter Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 3 hours ago, aussievintage said: My JH is cast aluminium I am sure. Will check tomorrow - too dark in the shed now No it's pressed or spun aluminium. Like a saucepan lid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 7 hours ago, Colin Rutter said: No it's pressed or spun aluminium. Like a saucepan lid. OK, I dug it out of the shed. Apologies . You see, I had two of these types of turntables and only one was complete, so that's the one I kept. Thing is, this one is a Silcron, NOT a JH. I must be getting older than I think. The platter does not look pressed. There are even spots where they have balanced it by removing material with a machine tool of some kind. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klackto Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 This is the BD1 platter. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 Much more substantial !! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwstereo Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 Yes, it's quite a heavy platter and what I imagine is a lapped bearing sleeve with (I think) a ball bearing at the bottom of the hole. With a light oil it's a neat fit. I remember spinning it up by hand with the belt off, then going for a shower. It was still spinning when I came back. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Rutter Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 5 hours ago, aussievintage said: OK, I dug it out of the shed. Apologies . You see, I had two of these types of turntables and only one was complete, so that's the one I kept. Thing is, this one is a Silcron, NOT a JH. I must be getting older than I think. The platter does not look pressed. There are even spots where they have balanced it by removing material with a machine tool of some kind. Right on. The Silcron looked very similar to the JH but was a better TT imho. There is a great story to be told about JH and the Government Ammunition Factory when Gough got into power. It's a bit involved but in brief the GAF tooled up to make 1000s of TTs for JH not bothering to check how small they were WOOPS. The government tried to recover their set up costs, to no avail from memory. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Genesis56 Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 Wow! Nice restoration. This topic brings back memories. My first turntable was a BD1 kit which I purchased from Quality Hi Fi in York Street, Sydney in the 1970s. I matched it with a Grace 707 tone arm and a Shure cartridge. I built the plinth myself and it served me well for many years. I wish I still had it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bert van Zyulen Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 On 10/06/2020 at 1:40 PM, aussievintage said: Nice one. Love the Grace arm too. I have a JH turntable in the shed, that is very similar to this Conniossueur. I noticed the platter bearing shaft is very small diameter, and also there seems to be a little play that allows the platter to rock a small amount. Is that normal for these super light turntables? Does your Conniossueur have any play? That is the later John Harband (JH Repro Chadstone Melbourne released turntable) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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