I love Lencos. These turntables are extremely good when they are fettled and looked after, and are extremely tweakable.
The engineering behind them is very well thought out, and by and large, they are all salvageable even if they are in a very rough state. Standard parts are easily available, and newly manufactured upgraded parts are also available relatively easily
The 'weak' link is the tonearm which is a high mass arm and is a design of its time. They don't lend themselves very well to today's medium to high compliance cartridges, and the vast majority have knackered v blocks and sagging counterweight stubs.
The thing is, with sympathetic cartridge choice, and a few modifications these arms are quite nice sounding devices. The mods don't need to be far reaching, a new set of v blocks and the use of waxed thread wrapped into the gap between the counterweight stub and the arm tube to short out the old decoupling will pay dividends.
BTE DESIGNS TYPE ONE 'CLASSIC' LENCO GL75
The engineering behind them is very well thought out, and by and large, they are all salvageable even if they are in a very rough state. Standard parts are easily available, and newly manufactured upgraded parts are also available relatively easily
The 'weak' link is the tonearm which is a high mass arm and is a design of its time. They don't lend themselves very well to today's medium to high compliance cartridges, and the vast majority have knackered v blocks and sagging counterweight stubs.
The thing is, with sympathetic cartridge choice, and a few modifications these arms are quite nice sounding devices. The mods don't need to be far reaching, a new set of v blocks and the use of waxed thread wrapped into the gap between the counterweight stub and the arm tube to short out the old decoupling will pay dividends.
BTE DESIGNS TYPE ONE 'CLASSIC' LENCO GL75
This lenco is one I built into a new cld type plinth. When i got her she was in a sorry state, looked as if she had been in the back of a garage or a loft for the last 20 years. Which it probably had. I originally intended to do a complete rebuild including a respray. However, the paint was in really good condition underneath all the grot, so I polished it up to its former glory and kept it original.
The platter was polished and brought back from its pitted, grotty, nicotine stained former state.
All linkages were stripped, cleaned and rebuilt, the motor was completely stripped, checked and rebuilt with new lubrication, the idler wheel bearing checked and rebuilt, and the main bearing treated to the same.
The tonearm had the mods mentioned above done, and the wiring was taken to a set of phono sockets on the rear of the plinth.
The plinth is a cld laminate construction of mdf and ply, veneered in white ash with a coat of wax. I prefer this to all mdf which i find a little dull, and to ply which i find a little 'live'. mixing the two gives a happy medium. Of course slate is definitely preferable, but requires different tools, a respirator for use while machining it ( its full of silica, you really really do not want to be breathing slate dust in. even wet cutting cant eliminate it all, and is dangerous in its own right. as we know unless we are immensely brave or monumentally stupid, its a bad idea to mix power tools and water. with the obvious exception of tools specifically designed for this.)
With this in mind, and with the cost of a professionally made slate plinth somewhat prohibitive, i think that a cld plinth is a very good alternative. If you would like one of these built for you, prices start from £250 if you provide the deck you would like refurbishing, please contact me via email at [email protected] to discuss your requirements, if you want it painted bright orange, not a problem! ;-)
BTE DESIGNS TYPE ONE 'CLASSIC' GL72
The platter was polished and brought back from its pitted, grotty, nicotine stained former state.
All linkages were stripped, cleaned and rebuilt, the motor was completely stripped, checked and rebuilt with new lubrication, the idler wheel bearing checked and rebuilt, and the main bearing treated to the same.
The tonearm had the mods mentioned above done, and the wiring was taken to a set of phono sockets on the rear of the plinth.
The plinth is a cld laminate construction of mdf and ply, veneered in white ash with a coat of wax. I prefer this to all mdf which i find a little dull, and to ply which i find a little 'live'. mixing the two gives a happy medium. Of course slate is definitely preferable, but requires different tools, a respirator for use while machining it ( its full of silica, you really really do not want to be breathing slate dust in. even wet cutting cant eliminate it all, and is dangerous in its own right. as we know unless we are immensely brave or monumentally stupid, its a bad idea to mix power tools and water. with the obvious exception of tools specifically designed for this.)
With this in mind, and with the cost of a professionally made slate plinth somewhat prohibitive, i think that a cld plinth is a very good alternative. If you would like one of these built for you, prices start from £250 if you provide the deck you would like refurbishing, please contact me via email at [email protected] to discuss your requirements, if you want it painted bright orange, not a problem! ;-)
BTE DESIGNS TYPE ONE 'CLASSIC' GL72
This lenco gl72 has been built in the same manner as the above gl75. These decks are not a poor 'little brother' to the 75, not at all. The simpler arm is in my opinion a better arm than the 75 arm as it doesn't have the rider weight attached to the decoupled stub, so the stub doesn't resonate in sympathy with 2 different masses at either end. The general characteristics are the same. the only drawback is that the platter is steel, so using a moving coil isn't the best idea. However, this commission was built as the customer wanted to play 78s and the odd lp on it (he has an extremely high end 301 in his main system for lps). With a moving magnet cart, it is the equal of the 75. Dont believe everything you read, the 75 is not the be all and end all of the lenco range.
and with its big brother lenco 75 conversion
and with its big brother lenco 75 conversion
Type 2 lenco conversion prototype
This Lenco is another kettle of fish. the entire deck was cut away and just the drive section of the chassis retained. The plinth is a cld type again, which is veneered in american black walnut. The object of the exercise was to see what could be done with the drive section, but retain the on/off lever and switch, and the speed variation lever.
And to see what they are like with a 'better' tonearm. Turns out they are superb. As I thought.
the linkage to the on/off lever had to be modified, but as we were hacking the entire thing about this was not an issue. essentially the weak link in the deck was removed, and another level of performance is certainly possible from the humble old beast!
The circular ring around the platter was cut using a home made trammel for the router to get it perfectly round inside and out, and serves to mount the on/off lever and to cover up the edge of the platter where the balancing holes are.
They really got the important bits dead right on these decks!
BTE DESIGNS TYPE 2 LENCO CONVERSION
These next turntables are the conversions I am now offering as a complete new build deck. So far I have completed the conversions below. They are the culmination of quite a few years of experimentation, redesign, thought and tweaking. And the desire to get the best I can from the venerable Lenco. The first originally used a Rega RB 251, the second has a Linn Ekos. The first now has a Mayware Formula IV unipivot fitted as this was the new owner's preferred arm choice. It runs a Shure m97 moving magnet. The second runs the Ekos with an Ortofon Kontrapunkt B moving coil.
The first as originally built, in white ash veneer with a dark silver trim ring and Rega RB251
And to see what they are like with a 'better' tonearm. Turns out they are superb. As I thought.
the linkage to the on/off lever had to be modified, but as we were hacking the entire thing about this was not an issue. essentially the weak link in the deck was removed, and another level of performance is certainly possible from the humble old beast!
The circular ring around the platter was cut using a home made trammel for the router to get it perfectly round inside and out, and serves to mount the on/off lever and to cover up the edge of the platter where the balancing holes are.
They really got the important bits dead right on these decks!
BTE DESIGNS TYPE 2 LENCO CONVERSION
These next turntables are the conversions I am now offering as a complete new build deck. So far I have completed the conversions below. They are the culmination of quite a few years of experimentation, redesign, thought and tweaking. And the desire to get the best I can from the venerable Lenco. The first originally used a Rega RB 251, the second has a Linn Ekos. The first now has a Mayware Formula IV unipivot fitted as this was the new owner's preferred arm choice. It runs a Shure m97 moving magnet. The second runs the Ekos with an Ortofon Kontrapunkt B moving coil.
The first as originally built, in white ash veneer with a dark silver trim ring and Rega RB251
The second in English oak veneer with a gloss black trim ring
The first in its second guise with a Mayware Formula IV and shure m97, with an upgraded Neoprene platter mat
The demonstrator model I built in walnut and silver trim. The arm is an Audio Technica AT1100 with an AT150 sa
This one is a version specced for the 12" version of the Jelco SA750 tonearm. I had just finished the build when the picture was taken, hence the equipment everywhere. The finish is walnut veneer with an ebony stain to darken it right down with a wax finish applied. I didn't have the SA750, but I was provided with an Ammonite acoustics upgrade mounting boss for it to make sure the arm went straight on when it was delivered
And this one was commissioned to be able to accept any arm up to 12". The customer had an original mission 774 that he has both a normal and 12" arm tubes for, plus a Mitchell technoarm. He had already had a stretched SME baseplate and spacer machined, those parts dropped on above the stretched SME slot. It could have also accommodated both the SME 3009 and the 3012. The trim was done in satin black, and the veneer is African walnut with a teak oil applied, then a clear wax finish
The original Lenco in its third guise with Rega R200 arm and Goldring E3 cartridge, and a record weight turned from a solid oak block
Lenco in cherry veneer and Roksan Tabriz zi, and my Goldring Eroica mc cartridge in it for testing
And a one off Lenco Gl69 with an Acos Lustre GST-1. This one was slightly different to the 75 based conversions and had the on/off linkage removed. There is a small toggle switch on the rear plate to switch the deck on, and the subchassis design had to be altered so that the speed change linkage could be retained but be in an accessible place.
Nowt wrong with the 69, but really it's for mm carts only due to the steel platter. Thats the only drawback to the 69 and 72. There are no others.
Nowt wrong with the 69, but really it's for mm carts only due to the steel platter. Thats the only drawback to the 69 and 72. There are no others.
The decks are based on the GL75, although as the one off 69 above shows, pretty much any other of the idler driven Lencos such as the 69 and 72 can be used as the basis for these conversions.
The motor unit plinths are laminate construction, being alternating layers of mdf and ply with a real wood veneer finish. The original chassis is cut down, only the sections that are required for operation and mounting are retained. No extra purchases are required, all parts are from the donor deck. I service all parts of the donor deck. Motors and bearings are given a full strip and rebuild, and any parts that require replacement or refurbishment are dealt with accordingly.
The deck retains all the functionality of the original deck, including the infinitely variable speed. on the 75, the on/off switch is relocated to the rear of the plinth and set into the trim ring
The plinths fit snugly around the motor and bearing, retaining as much material as possible, with each layer cut to fit individually. This way, each layer is different, and thus its resonant frequency is different to the ones above and below. This means that the plinth damps as many frequencies as possible, and as the plinths are spiked into the support rather than having feet, as much energy as possible is sunk out of the deck.
The teardrop shape of the plinth means that there is not a single dimension of the plinth that is the same as any other, meaning no attenuation of any vibrational mode.
The result is a plinth that is very efficient in dealing with both motor vibration energy and the energy that the cartridge transfers into the chosen arm. It is all sunk away into the support the deck stands on.
The trim ring can be painted any colour the customer prefers and the main veneer finish can be specced to choice.
I recently had the opportunity to listen to both of the decks and my own jbe direct drive deck in the same system and was very happy with the results.
The system consisted of a WAD Phono 2 phono stage, WE 300b amplifiers and 'Jericho' horn speakers using a fostex t90 supertweeter and fostex fe 208ez drivers.
The differences were in the presentation, the underlying character of both the decks beautifully neutral. I very marginally preferred the Lenco with the Ekos and Kontrapunkt B to the Lenco with the Mayware and Shure M97 combination, but it was only personal preference as I have always had a soft spot for Ortofon mc cartridges, hence me still using a 1981 vintage original red bodied Ortofon MC10.
After listening to both decks I decided that my JBE really needed a good service :-)
Simon, the owner of the Ekos armed Lenco wrote about it on his blog if you would like to read his impressions here is the link
simonsnewadventuresinhifi.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/lenco-l75-replinth.html
Cheers Anthony