It had to happen sooner or later. I do have a rather small but treasured vinyl collection from the days when CDs were still a theoretical idea... and some my parents had when I was a theoretical idea. I have one of those cheap "same mechanism for everybody" type record players, but even I have to say that these are way too cheap for actually enjoying music. And I certainly do not consider myself an audiophile.
After watching several videos on the subject and weeding through a lot of information and pseudo-science, I came to the conclusion that I needed the following things in a record player to be happy with it:
Readily available new stylus - these things do wear out; adjustable downforce via a counterweight - not spring pressure; Direct drive - I don't think I would hear much "wow or flutter" in a belt drive, but the direct quarz controlled speed seems the better option to begin with; anti skating - while I am not 100% sure if that does much for my records, a well balanced tone arm seems a good idea.
Optional features that I like included: Fully automated start/stop. Everything beyond that is - to me - either bling or plain rip off. The one brand that always came up when I was asking people what to look for was "Technics". But after seeing those at 1000+ Euro, I had to set my goal a bit lower. Before Christmas though, I found an auction (with my usual preferred "Buy it now" option) and got this Blaupunkt XQ-240 for a mere 100 Euro. According to the seller and some other websites, it was made by Technics for Blaupunkt. So while it has Blaupunkt on the outside, it has Technics on the inside pretty much.
I set out to do my usual restoration process: taking everything mechanical apart, put new grease and oil on it, replace electrolytics and clean switch contacts on the electronics.
Overall, I am quite happy with the result! Adjusting stuff was a tad bit complicated and I had to open/close the cover several times - seven screws every time!
The LED mod didn't pan out this time. The switch uses two transistors that are switching each other on or off, but the residual current throught the LEDs is enough to make them light up... and/or mess up the control voltage for the input on the speed control chip. I might re-visit that if the bulb ever burns out or gets too hot.
0:00 Intro & Presentation
1:30 Technical details
2:15 Disassembly
3:39 Tone arm Disassembly
4:40 Mechanics Disassembly / Clean
5:35 Recapping / LED Mod
6:19 Cleaning the Switches
6:53 Tone arm Assembly
7:45 Mechanics Assembly
9:14 RCA Plugs / Grounding Socket
10:20 Turn on / Drop Off Adjustment
10:53 Speed Selection Problems / RPM Indicator
12:25 Autostartstop Problem / New Stylus
13:14 Personalization and Test Play
15:07 Summary / Credits / Outtake
Information Links
en.wikipedia.o...
en.wikipedia.o...)
Music:
My Train's A Comin'
Unicorn Heads
(KZfaq Audio Library)
"Duck and Cover" by Pepper Coyote
(content notice: some songs are beyond suggestive)
peppercoyote.b...