Hi guys
It has been quite crazy and a bit busy lately but I thought that it would be a cool idea to start a topic in this circle about your recommendations and stories about cheap analog setup.
Some have trouble comprehending the reason behind this circle, others can't imagine putting together a decent system for less then 1K.
I think it is time to stir the pot some more.
Analog isn't easy, convenient or cheap. Actually, it can get quite expensive.
So, lets hear those fantastic stories.
Let me be the first to start things of.
I am not "analog junkie" but vinyl always intrigued me.
DIY, restored or new, does't matter.
The following system setup is not what I would called reference of state of the art but it sure is cheerful and most important, musical.
The story:
Turntable was rescued from ex-CBS employee's estate leftovers being loaded on the dumpster truck.
It was hard to believe that this piece of junk could possibly work. It was in very poor shape and appeared to be mishandle and abused. Dust & smoke buildup made it difficult to reveal its origin.
All that I could tell was that it was 4-speed version with some controls on the right side of the plinth.
It took about 3 hours of getting all that grease off and getting some lube into every part of this idler and another 2h on checking and reconditioning its phono and amp section.
The ugly duck turned into a swan.
Turns out it is a Garrard based Lafayette LSC-30 4 speed turntable with its own build-in phono and amp.
Cart and its wiring was in awful shape and needed replacement and some soldering.
Not knowing if it works, I picked up one of the cheapest but reliable carts that I know - Stanton 400.V3 for $35 at pro-audio store.(10mV output !!!)
It worked. Still does. And it sounds great ....... for about $50 worth of cart, contact cleaner, solder, compressed air duster and other restoration products - NOT BAD.
It drives some DIY speakers which cost around $300 total.
Grand total = $350 for analog system
Cheers
Mariusz
