Dan_ed, these are excellent suggestions for someone planning to build several DIY projects, but IMO, it's overkill for a single project. I completely agree that a good soldering iron *and good solder* makes the difference between struggling and having fun. However, I don't think a one-time builder needs a $150 Weller. I've been happy with a $20 Weller I bought at the local hardware store. Just my two cents.
Cartridge, Preamp advice: Bottlehead Seduction?
Hi,
I've been having a ball upgrading my mid-1980's system for the first time in over 20 years!
I now have a pair of Totem Arro's, a Unison Unico hybrid, integrated amp that was a "steal" here on Audiogon, a Music Hall CD 25.2 CD player for digital, and my dear, old SOTA Sapphire will soon be back from SOTA with a new bearing, belt and suspension springs. I'll soon be back in analogue business! :-)
The Sapphire has a Linn Basik tonearm on it, along with a very ancient Audioquest cartridge that will obviously need to be replaced. The tonearm will have to stay for the foreseeable future... by the time I buy a phono stage and interconnects and a new cartridge, my budget will be thoroughly maxed out for awhile.
It turns out that you can buy the phono card for the Unico and install it retroactively, but a Unison dealer told me that it's only "okay," on the level of, say, a Pro-Ject Phono Box (SS), and that for the $250 they were asking I could do better.
I've been thinking seriously of buying and building a Bottlehead Seduction phono stage and pairing it with one of the better MM cartridges out there (maybe Shure or Ortofon) and I was wondering what people more knowledgeable then I (that would be all of you) think of that, along with how it might mesh with the rest of my system.
P.S. — I understand that the Seduction would limit me to MM cartridges, since it doesn't really have the gain for MC.
I've been having a ball upgrading my mid-1980's system for the first time in over 20 years!
I now have a pair of Totem Arro's, a Unison Unico hybrid, integrated amp that was a "steal" here on Audiogon, a Music Hall CD 25.2 CD player for digital, and my dear, old SOTA Sapphire will soon be back from SOTA with a new bearing, belt and suspension springs. I'll soon be back in analogue business! :-)
The Sapphire has a Linn Basik tonearm on it, along with a very ancient Audioquest cartridge that will obviously need to be replaced. The tonearm will have to stay for the foreseeable future... by the time I buy a phono stage and interconnects and a new cartridge, my budget will be thoroughly maxed out for awhile.
It turns out that you can buy the phono card for the Unico and install it retroactively, but a Unison dealer told me that it's only "okay," on the level of, say, a Pro-Ject Phono Box (SS), and that for the $250 they were asking I could do better.
I've been thinking seriously of buying and building a Bottlehead Seduction phono stage and pairing it with one of the better MM cartridges out there (maybe Shure or Ortofon) and I was wondering what people more knowledgeable then I (that would be all of you) think of that, along with how it might mesh with the rest of my system.
P.S. — I understand that the Seduction would limit me to MM cartridges, since it doesn't really have the gain for MC.
Showing 2 responses by mingles
I'm sure others know more about soldering than I do, but from what I understand, a soldering station usually has a temp controlled soldering iron. A stand-alone soldering iron usually has a fixed temp and a fixed watt rating. I use a 25 watt Weller and it works very well. I started with a 40 watt Radio Shack iron and found that it couldn't keep a consistent temperature. I hate to call it garbage b/c it got me through my first few projects, but it's pretty damn close to garbage. You'll want a wet sponge nearby to clean your tip in between solders. You'll find some good practices here: The Basic Electronics Soldering & Desoldering Guide If you hunt through the forums, you'll find plenty of opinions on what people like for solder. I've only used Cardas Quad-Eutectic solder, but I've heard a lot of good things about Wonder and WBT. |