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Showing posts from July, 2012

Trio Kenwood KD-1033 turntable main bearing service

  One of my first posts in this blog was regarding the servicing of the Pioneer PL12D turntable, and that has proven to be the most popular by a significant margin. The Pioneer PL12D had its competitors, and probably the most popular alternative was the Trio Kenwood KD-1033 turntable. I use both names (Trio and Kenwood) as the company operated under different names in different markets. In the UK they were Trio, possibly because the brand Kenwood was most famous here for food blenders. 95% of a KD-1033 is similar to  Pioneer PL12D, and servicing them is very much the same process. Both are belt drive , have an AC synchronous motor,  mechanical speed change , a main bearing, sprung top deck and rubber motor mounts. the KD-1033 uses a different type of anti skate mechanism, employing a thread and weight. The plinth is shallower with an internal cross brace. One aspect that is different is the design of the main bearing, and servicing it is a little harder than a PL12D. The Pioneer main b

Kef Cresta speaker renovation

Left had example is 1968 ( one of a pair). Right hand example is 1970 model ( one of pair) I recently managed to acquire two pairs of vintage Kef Cresta speakers. These are the original speakers to bare this name, one pair date from 1968, the other from 1970 according to the makers hand signed labels. With original failed T27 tweeters   I purchased both pairs from a nearby charity shop where they looked a bit forgotten. Their styling is rather dated, or possibly retro 70s depending on your viewpoint. What makes them particularly interesting is that they were one of the first speakers to use the combination of the Kef T27 tweeter and B110 mid-range/woofer. This same combination was subsequently used in the Legendary LS3/5a speaker, which i also own a pair of. I was interested to see how they compared.   Of the two pairs, the earlier 1968 pair were slightly better made. The cabinets of both are chipboard, not the ply of the ls3/5a. The 1968 unit had black grilles and a better veneer. T

Cleaning vinyl lp records

I grew up with vinyl LP's in the 60s and 70s but by the mid 80s I embraced the new CD revolution and sold my LP's. However recently my teenage son started buying vinyl LP's even before we had a turntable. I got him a NAD 5120 for Christmas, which needed a little work but now plays very well with a modest Audio Technica AT95 cartridge. Our vinyl collection has grown and grown, some new but mostly old copies from charity shops, record stores and eBay. Often with purchases from charity shops ( thrift stores in the US) the records might be in poor condition. Always worth inspecting the disc out of its sleeve to see if it has any serious scratches. If it does its probably worth giving it a miss, but if its just dirt or grease these clean up very well. Its fun browsing boxes of old LP’s again, and if the charity makes some money then even better. However even apparently clean records sometimes "skip". This can be due to scratches but if the skip is a single one off i.