I'm in heaven

Lenco? All I knew about it back then was that it was known as “the poor man’s Garrard.” This was exactly a year ago when some of my readers started asking if I had ever tried or auditioned one. Of course, what I’m talking about here are two popular turntable brands — Garrard and Lenco — which have left an indelible mark on the way we listen to music. The rebirth of analog gadgets as music sources has likewise brought these legends back to the mainstream: those that have withstood the test of time are now being restored or modified by hobbyists, making them even better than they were before.

The ‘70s-era Lenco was supposed to have been the lesser brand of the two. But hobbyists insist that Lenco beats the pants off even the most expensive turntable ever made because of its revolutionary design. For those who have just tuned in to this column for the first time, turntables are like today’s CD players: they play back music. If a CD player has an optical lens to decode music stored on a CD as data, a turntable has a stylus mounted on a tone arm to extract sound signals that are etched as modulations into a spinning vinyl or LP record. The vinyl is spun on a platter, which in turn is run by a motor. The most important aspect of a turntable system is the uniformity of the platter’s revolving velocity. It is most especially crucial during musical passages with high level lilts (which are dynamic sounds characteristically carried by low frequency signals). During these passages a great deal of pressure is being placed upon the stylus. An inconsistent platter rotation reproduces wimpy or, worse, distorted music — an indication that the stylus is unable to withstand the pressure. Lenco, the defunct Swiss turntable maker, came up with a unique design that allows the platter to generate the required energy to ensure a consistently spinning velocity from the time the stylus is cued to the music album’s last track.

Lenco turntables employ a vertical “idler-drive” to spin the platter, while other turntables rotate theirs via a belt drive or a direct drive. This idler-driver provides exceptional rotational reliability, making it easier for the stylus to track even deeply modulated passages. Lenco lovers who have put up a special website called Lenco Heaven to venerate their revered playback gadget point to this “spinning consistency” as the raison d’être for the faithful reproduction of tight bass or “slam” in highly dynamic music. This is precisely the type of music I crave, and the Lenco approach to music reproduction proved to be too tempting for me to pass up.

I made several visits to the Lenco Heaven website and consultations with experts in the field before I started my Lenco project. I commissioned the crème de la crème of the local sound gadget field: Makati’s Rene Rivo for the restoration of a vintage Lenco L75, San Pablo’s Mandy Mariño for the manufacture of a kamagong wood tone arm, Pampanga’s Larry Roxas for carving a plinth out of a chunk of acacia wood, and Manila’s Mike Reyes for the acrylic dust cover. It took time, but it was worth the wait. The result is a priceless and handsome analog music playback gadget that, by its looks alone, can be placed alongside other, pricier turntable products of today. 

The plinth is designed to accommodate another tone arm (since I do not wish to waste my vintage Fidelity Research FX arm; it has been patiently waiting in safe storage to be resurrected someday). Audio Technica’s AT440mla cart was mounted on the Kamagong arm, while the FR FX arm was fitted with a Denon 103r cart. But as they say, the proof is in the hearing. So how did it all sonically come out? My verdict: Lenco is heaven-sent for vinyl connoisseurs and has proved worthy to be placed side by side with my other turntable, the Rega P9.

I’ve auditioned quite a number of turntables through the years, and each of them exhibited a particular house sound. Some proved excellent in reproducing the mid frequencies, such that the listener becomes enthralled with soothing vocals with feather-light highs. There were those that excelled in transparency and accurate sound resolution, while others expressed clarity and expansive soundstage.

Forget about audiophile jargon that is usually mouthed to describe a listening experience; with Lenco wired in my system, it is just me and the music. Now, I can relate to legions of Lenco lovers who are lavish in their praise of this sound playback gadget. Naturally, one can argue that a turntable is just a part of the whole system and that it is not the only element that defines the system’s overall sound character. But I’ve heard other turntables that were hooked up to my system for audition before, and they do not come close.

For the benefit of those who want to know more, the Kamagong tone arm/AT440 combination puts more icing on the sonic cake. It brings in discriminating levels of holographic sensation, a vivacious feel of harmonic richness, and controlled, cavernous bass. With the FR FX/Denon 103r combo, a live performance becomes alive… I’m in heaven!

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For comments or questions, please e-mail me at audioglow@yahoo.com  or at vphl@hotmail.com. You can also visit www.wiredstate.com or you can tweet audiofiler at www.twitter.com for quick answers to your audio concerns.