B and W Matrix 801 Mk II Garrard 301 Thorens 124 Lenco 75 DIY Tonearm Decca Cartridges

Click all pics to enlarge. The Ever Changing Landscape. Compared to before, the Infinity Ribbon Columns are further back, and the Resurrected B and W Matrix 801 are in more advantageous positions. 

Virtual Home Visits (2): Man of the Year at Work

Regular Readers know all about Kevin, our super-diligent friend who is constantly on the move. In my 2019 Year in Review (here) I named him "Man of the Year": "...This category is a First! Of course, it has to be Kevin, who has acquired and done so much this year that this blog has worked hard to track him. I thank him for all the good time, the great food, and of course for making my Thorens TD-124 arm board! His DIY and restoration efforts are also deserving of praise. I am still amazed by his DIY Tonearms (bottom pic; feel my admiration? description here) and Cactus Cantilever/Stylus (left pic, click to enlarge, here). This man re-invents himself virtually every minute; watch this space!.."

Well, that happened to be the last time he was mentioned in this blog! I actually saw him a couple more times before the lockdown but did not write about it. Fear not, his tinkering has not stopped. I just got a lot of pics from him to update you. He mostly worked on DIY turntable plinths and tonearms.

According to him, the sound just kept improving. Most gratifyingly, he resurrected his B and W 801 Mk II and now the sound fills the room (as it should, and didn't last time).

Sometime ago he helped repair the Wadia Transport of Andy's brother-in-law. He could not forget the sound (better than the computer for sure). He consulted with Andy and I about transports. I asked him to try out hid DVD players first. He did and told me the result with a Marantz was not bad (though not quite a Wadia). This morning I asked him to try Bluetooth; I hope to get something from him later! Sorry, no food pics...

A newly acquired Garrard 301 Grease Bearing, with DIY Plinth and Tonearm. Cartridge is

VdH tipped Decca Super Gold

Thorens TD-124 in a New Plinth, with Decca Professional Arm

and H4E Cartridge. Note a Pair of Bell 2122C Behind.

Lenco L-75. Note the Modifed Double Platter. The Plinth has a New Top. The DIY

Tonearm Employs SME Bearings. Cartridge is Ortofon MC-5000

 At the very back is the VPI with Decca SC4E Cartridge.

Next to the Thorens 124 is the Citation I

He is Working on his Digital (Computer Music) too. The box with the screen is the

Digital Interface, which connects to the small TEAC DAC next to it.An old

Marantz professional DVD Player serves as Disc Player.The cheap

Chinese "Blue Velvet" Tube Preamp Buffers the signal before the Preamp