[BT]

I've recently moved, which allows me to access and play a large collection of LPs that have been in storage for about twenty-five years (!).  My turntable, which still seems to be running well, is an '80s-era Harman Kardon T-45.  I've got an Ortofon cartridge (I think it's an OM-10) in place now.  I'm looking at the Longhorn Grado as an upgrade.  I have a few questions:

1.  I know that Frank liked the HK turntables way back when, so am I correct in assuming the Longhorn will suit the T-45?

2.  If yes, would the Green or Gold be a better match?  At this point, the rest of my system is pretty mid-fi, PSB bookshelf speakers being powered by a twenty year old NAD receiver.  (I do expect to add a subwoofer soon and upgrade the rest of the system eventually).

3.  Any opinions on the HK turntable compared to modern units?  Are new turntables (at a sane price point, let's say $1000 or less) audibly superior?  If so, any recommendations of new 'tables that are well suited to the Longhorn cart would be very welcome.

Thanks!

[dB Cooper]

Turntables being a literally antique technology, I'm not sure you'd get anything for 1K 2016 dollars that would be significantly (or maybe even any) better than what you already have, properly set up. Suggest you call Frank about lubing etc. BTW he used to remove all the power supply components from the HK's and put them in an external box to reduce noise. I'd ask him about that too.

I had the H-K T-25 modded by aVA, with the Longhorn, and it was a great little TT.

[Wayner]

A stock HK table will not work with a Grado, as it will produce a strong magnetic field about it, due to its unshielded transformer inside it innards. Frank's HK had that portion taken out of the turntable and remotely mounted in a separate box.

Here is a link to Grado compatible turntables: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1k_Wr5zx-hcJ0as6wub8wIqsMu2a67DyLhzE8grJp9mc/edit#gid=0

BTW, as with all collected data, there are some conflicts with this data base and should not be the final conclusion for your considerations.

Wayner

[BT]

Thank you both, dB Cooper and Wayner, for the replies. 

Too bad the stock T-45 won't do the job--I have no experience doing electronic mods myself, so I'm not about to fiddle with a transformer (and I presume such mods are no longer part of the practice at AVA--correct?).  Do I take it that the H-K T-60 had a meaningfully different design?  I see on your database where the T-40 is said to hum, but the T-60 is not. 

[dB Cooper]

Thank you both, dB Cooper and Wayner, for the replies. 

Too bad the stock T-45 won't do the job--I have no experience doing electronic mods myself, so I'm not about to fiddle with a transformer (and I presume such mods are no longer part of the practice at AVA--correct?).

Call him up. Never hurts to ask. It was a simple mod that required no custom parts. AVA simply took the power supply out and put it in a small metal box, and connected that to the TT via a RCA-to-RCA cable. Mounted an RCA socket in the TT base. I'm sure he could do it; question is, what would the total cost (parts/labor/shipping) be today and shipping the TT safely (how many people still have 30yo shipping cartons). And how would that compare to the cost of, say, a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon or entry-level VPI etc.

Another option is simply consider another cart that doesn't have the Grado's hum sensitivity (its biggest shortcoming afaik). But Frank may still have suggestions for the "lube job" it almost certainly needs to play its best.

I would probably just opt for a different cart (or a new deck) if the total cost of extracting the power supply reached half the cost of a new, warranteed Pro-Ject or VPI or the like. My first instinct would be keep the H-K even if it means passing on the Grado. You'd probably have to spring a fair chunk of 2016 dollars to better it significantly.