Hey guys, Wasn't quite sure which topic to post this question under, but seeing as how my first project shall be swapping parts between 2 nad 5125 turntables, figured this is good as place as any. So now, I have actually never done any soldering, but picked up a soldering iron and some solder yesterday, in order to replace the tonearm in one of the nad's with a dual tonearm I picked up on ebay. Not real sure if it will mount up right, but that should be half the fun. Also, future projects might involve soldering, so more or less the tonearm replacement will be pratice. My question being, what would be the solder to use on a project like this? I picked up some 1.0mm electro-tek rosin core solder, (97.3% tin, 0.7% copper, and 2.0% rosin flux core). Is there a higher copper or silver content solder I should be looking for?
And the higher the silver content the better I would imagine. Cool, will check radio shack tomorrow, thanks Jan...... one more question. I've been looking at the music hall turntables. Is it worth it to purchase a mmf 2.1 and upgrade the tonearm and cartridge?
i'm looking to make a frankenstein turntable right now, to shed a little light on future possibilities really, lol....... to see what I am capable of for now. If I can change a tonearm on an expendable mid-fi nad table then I can change a tonearm on a music hall or a rega? maybe even easier? I've just never done it and it sounds fun.
What you are capable of right now is screwing up two tonearms. The Dual arm is not meant for a table like the NAD and will perform at a lower level than when it is installed on a Dual table. Leave well enough alone and concentrate on worthwhile projects rather than just jerryrigging BS together. Just because you want to or think you can is not a good reason to screw with things. While a turntable is fairly safe, if you take this same approach to a component, you could do serious damage to yourself and those things around you.
Lots of people started by working on components trying to make something better than what they had. However, just screwing with something to see if you can is not the route to success. The one thing all of these people tend to have in common is a sense of how to make something better not just to see if they can create a frankenstein.
If you want to see what you can accomplish, take a course in electronics or mechanical engineering. This will provide you the basic understanding required to know when you can make something better and when you are just going to destroy two products.
Very direct and to the point Jan. I definitely appreciate how in depth your advice is. And to add a exclamation to your advice, just 2 days ago I smoked a pioneer turtable trying to change the power cord. Dang it anyway. I swap out circular saw power cords often at work, but this seems a different ball game. Advice understood, and I will think twice about frankenstein.......... Turntable recommendations under $600?
Rega is my standby in new tables in that price range. If you can find a used VPI for the same money with a decent arm, that would be my second choice. It's very easy and straight forward to change out an arm on a VPI at a later date. A third but unusual recommendation would be an original Well Tempered. The only one I know you can find for the money you want to spend is the Rega.
Thanks Jan! I've been looking at the Rega's along with the Music hall's and Pro-ject's. And have heard good things about the VPI's. I know nothing of the Well tempered so will be looking into them, cause the longer I wait the more I can afford.
Ooooh, stashing pennies! Cool, DB. I see no reason not to look at a Rega table. Easy setup and stable, tons of parts and tweaks and upgrades, lots of tables around. Look at a P2 new, P3-24 used, with a good arm.
In the VPI, you might find an older HW19 Jr, but with what arm, I do not know.
Rega is very much licenced and copied for a reason. Look for a table with the RB250 arm, stock is best, because bad re-wiring or cart is sold for a reason.
Yep Nuck, saving up for either a quality turntable or dac. Not sure which I am gonna go for yet. I did read a little on the P3-24. It comes with a separate power supply right? And upgrades are fairly simple?........ And Jan, taking your advice and leaving the turntable soldering well enough alone till I am a bit more learned. I get carried away in messin' with them electronics, always have. So now I am gonna take my time and find me that perfect system upgrade!