This is my 2nd post as I put out it there that I have a Audio-Technica AT-LP120 turntable that I've modded and still possibly have anti-skate issues. I was wondering how many other members here have this TT and what they've done to address this issue. I've cut the spring by 2/3 and it seems to work okay for now. I bought my TT in 2012 and really wished I had done my homework more thoroughly as this TT is a cheap POS made in China
. First improvement I did in Spring of 2013 was upgrade to the AT440MLa cartridge from the AT120e. Better sound, but something was still muddling the sound somewhere. Starting seeing a lot of posts about the crappy built-in USB preamp. The sound was affected even in BYPASS, but some contest this as they haven't actually heard the difference since they won't try it
. I only used the USB once as it only made a loud squealing sound even though it was grounded properly. Early 2014 I finally ripped it out and bought a Cambridge Audio 551p preamp and WHOAH! That built-in preamp was a huge factor that was screwing up my sound.
By this time I had just lost a great paying job and buying a different TT wasn't quite an option. Since then I've worked on many other improvements to get better sound. I've dampened the bottom of the platter with a coating of Flex Seal and Sound Coat, applied Sound Coat the underside of the plinth and bottom base, combination use of a Herbie Foam pad with an acrylic Achromat by Funk pad, replaced the tonearm wiring with Cardas shielded wiring from the DIN to newly mounted RCA jacks on back of the plinth, new grounding terminal, tonearm lined with Latex rubber, and my turntable is suspended from a 4-point setup using turnbuckles to keep it level with inner tubes at the upper brackets and a inner tube sandwiched between two 3/4 boards. I also upgraded my cartridge to Ortofon MC-3 Turbo Moving Coil that works great with any moving magnet preamp (it's high output). My TT uses a Blue Jeans Cable LC-1 Stereo Audio cable connected to a ARTcessories DJ PRE II preamp that is connected to a Novation 2x4 Audiohub connected to my custom made PC using ASIO drivers for a very clean and great sound
! I listen to my music either through my Bose headphones or Logitech 5.1 surround speakers.
I digitize my album collection by recording, cleaning up, and editing with Adobe Audition CS6 and store at 96/32. I convert my favorite songs into 44.1/16 for my PC usage and 256mbps MP3 for my smartphone.
I have a second turntable that I recently refurbished to use in my living room. I bought an early 80s Pioneer PL-7 direct drive TT from Goodwill's online auction. It's connected to my Cambridge Audio preamp connected to my surround sound system. I also upgrade the cart with a Grado Black and it sounds great!
I have videos of my mods and other turntable and vinyl related topics on my YouTube channel at:
https://www.youtube.com/user/1980smetalrules/playlists
