How to make your old turntable fit again

Old does not mean bad, this also applies to hi-fi devices that are perhaps 20 years or more old. So if you're thinking about your old vinyl collection these days and still have a turntable from your youth lying around, you can quickly get the good old piece back on track with a few expert tips.

"If it's a branded device that hasn't been used for 20 or 30 years and is just gathering dust in a corner, it can definitely be worth getting such a record player fit again," says Herbert Bisges from the specialist portal HIFI.de. Because the spare parts situation with well-known manufacturers is basically good.

However, the prerequisite is that the record player is completely intact and the housing is not badly damaged. Before a technical check, however, the device must first be dusted.

“The first step is a thorough cleaning. The coarsest dust can be carefully removed with a vacuum cleaner with a soft nozzle at low speed, then a damp cloth should be used,” recommends Matthias Böde from the specialist magazine “Stereo”. When cleaning, plugs and sockets should also be inspected.

Before going into detail, Ralph Werner from the hi-fi test magazine "fairaudio.de" recommends a very first rough function check. "Simply connect the device to the power supply and see whether the plate is still spinning and running smoothly and isn't wobbling," says Werner.

You should also take a closer look at the tonearm: "If it's bent or badly damaged, you can basically forget about it." Then the repair effort in a workshop is usually disproportionate.

The next thing to check is whether the tonearm bearing can move freely. Werner: "To do this, you lift the tone arm and slowly and carefully move it over the entire record without putting it down. That should work without any resistance.” If this first function check has been passed, you should take care of the pickup.

"The needle of a pickup is a wearing part, it's best to be on the safe side and replace it. This is easy to do with moving magnet systems. The best way to find out whether there are still replacement needles for the old pickup is to do an online search,” says the expert from “fairaudio.de”.

According to Böde, replacement needles are already available for 15 to 20 euros. To replace it, only the needle insert has to be plugged directly into the pickup, which is possible for anyone with a little skill.

If the complete pickup is missing, it can quickly become more expensive. "A complete pickup with needle can certainly cost 50 euros and more," estimates Bisges. He therefore recommends first calculating the expected total costs and then deciding whether buying a new turntable is not the better choice. Because reasonable new devices are already around 200 euros.

If the entire pickup has to be replaced, skill is required again. Bisges: “Four thin, different-colored cables come from the arm with tiny plug-in shoes that can be very tight. These must be removed when replacing without damage and must not be mixed up.”

A new pickup must then be set and adjusted correctly again. "It's not rocket science, but you should have a little patience and sure instincts. The necessary adjustment templates made of cardboard or plastic can be bought for four to five euros,” explains “fairaudio.de” expert Werner.

Then the tracking force of the tonearm must be adjusted. "As a rule, these are values ​​of around two grams. More details can be found in the documentation for the respective system," says Werner. “Some tonearms have a scale to set the tracking force. If that's not the case, I recommend a small plastic scale for the adjustment, which you can buy for a few euros."

If the tracking force is not set correctly, the needle will not sit in the groove as desired, which will also affect the sound quality. Another problem with older turntables is usually the drive belt for the turntable.

"All rubber parts have to be replaced after such a long time, which is part of the belt-driven equipment. But here, too, it is usually not a problem to get a replacement,” says Böde. The price for a replacement belt is between 20 and 30 euros.

Anyone who has ever removed the platter to get to the belt should take the opportunity to take a look at the platter bearing and its lubrication.

"The best way to remove the old oil is with a Q-tip and alcohol and then pour in new oil," recommends Böge. The same applies to other mechanical parts. Low-friction oils such as Ballistol are suitable for greasing them.

After this basic inspection, the turntable only needs to be correctly connected to the amplifier or receiver. Two variants are usually used here.

“Very old turntables still have the 5-pin DIN connector. There are special cinch adapters with an additional ground cable for connecting the device to a current phono input,” says Bisges. Newer devices have the two cinch plugs, usually in white and red, integrated.

However, it must be noted that not all cinch inputs are also suitable for turntables. “If you get a line input, for example for a CD player, it only works in connection with a phono preamplifier. If it's not integrated into the turntable, it can be purchased for prices starting at around 40 euros."

The thin ground cable of the record player must always be connected to the terminal provided for this purpose on the amplifier or phono preamplifier, otherwise it will hum. The records themselves do not need any special care, even after several years of non-playing, unless they were always played wet in the past.

"For a while there were lubricants for playing records, such as the Lenco-Clean system," says Böde. However, the major disadvantage of this revolving wet brush is that residues of the cleaning agent are deposited in the grooves, which is noticeable as crackling during playback without the liquid.

The records could then no longer be played dry. In principle, however, according to Bisges, records would not lose any of their quality over the years if they were stored correctly, i.e. upright and not exposed to the sun.

“To remove light dust, you can use a carbon brush, for example. Real vinyl fans even have special record washing machines with which even the last speck of dust is removed from the grooves.”

If you don't want to fix your old turntable yourself, you can of course also get help from a hi-fi specialist dealer. And if you want to expand your record hobby even further, you will now find a large selection of devices on the market.

"You should invest 400 to 500 euros for a good device, but there are good lathes from Dual, Thorens, Rega or Pro-Ject, for example," adds Ralf Werner.

Hardly any other old medium attracts nostalgics and music lovers as much as vinyl discs. A Slovenian company is now adding to the playback device – with the first turntable that lets the record float.

Source: WELT/Kevin Knauer

This article was first published in February 2021.