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Old 27th Aug 2019, 3:20 pm   #1
Jeremy39
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Default Connoisseur BD1 restoration

Having started on the long, and no doubt costly, journey to reinstate my old HiFi system (see QUAD 405, 44, FM4 thread https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...d.php?t=159099) I am now looking to reinstate my home made record deck comprised of Connoisseur BD1kit and Mayware Formula 4 Mark III arm with Ortofon VMS20E MkII cartridge .
The BD1 was originally purchased in 1979 and mounted on a Perspex plinth sized to fit a Thorens lid. The motor still works but has lost its single tension band that balances the belt tension and the clip around the motor that holds the band had previously broken and been glued in place. The belt itself seems still to be in a good condition. The deck hasn’t been used since c.2007.
I found the packages of replacement motor suspension web & band and drive belt that I obviously replaced in 1990 which was supplied by Technical & General in Crowborough , East Sussex. I haven’t tried contacting them yet to see if they still exist.
I have read an old thread (https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...d.php?t=122344) about availability of spare belts and motor suspension kits and ask if anyone knows if spares are still available.
For information, I have two versions of the BD1 assembly instruction pamphlet. If anyone needs a pdf copy I’ll happily oblige.
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Old 27th Aug 2019, 3:29 pm   #2
barrymagrec
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Default Re: Connoisseur BD1 restoration

Much information on Connoisseur decks Here:-

https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/thre...classic.18144/
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Old 28th Aug 2019, 7:38 am   #3
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Default Re: Connoisseur BD1 restoration

I don't think Technical & General is still around. However, 'williams-sonics' supplies complete belt/suspension/tension kits:

http://williams-sonics.blogspot.com/

I've no experience of these kits so cannot comment on their suitability. It's perfectly feasible to make satisfactory and long lasting motor suspension webs from a cycle inner tube. The same applies to the motor tension band providing your hook repair holds firm. Belts are available from one or two sources - see eBay. You should go for a latex belt rather than nitrile rubber as it will provide better grip without excessive tension. The motor and platter bearings would benefit from lubrication of course.

The tonearm and cartridge should need little attention other than the possibility of needing a new stylus. Really like the your perspex plinth from a visual perspective at least. All in all a very pleasing set up and well worth bringing back to full health.

Alan
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Old 28th Aug 2019, 7:57 am   #4
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Default Re: Connoisseur BD1 restoration

Technical and General PO Box 53, Crowborough, E Sussex TN6 2BY, UK. 01892 654534 I haven't rung them for years but I've no reason to think it's changed.

Bob
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Old 28th Aug 2019, 8:09 am   #5
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Default Re: Connoisseur BD1 restoration

I owned a BD1 from new which I bought as a kit with an SAU2 arm. I sold that years ago but have since got a couple of BD1s, a BD2 and an SAU1 and 2 from my local car boot.
The original suspension was literally rubber elastic bands which of course perished and the motor dropped off, only attached by the earthing pigtail.
I have experimented with various bands for the supension and have settled on suitable sized "O" rings from a kit of various sized ones I bought.
The belts I buy on e-bay for around £15.
The tensioning band which opposes the inward pull of the belt is vital and should be selected to ensure the motor sits upright when the belt is on.
You may find the pulley on the motor needs adjusting in height, it is only a grip fit and will move up and down with a little persuasion. I find they have usually been pushed down when I get them.
Nice decks though and much underated.
I also like the SAU2 arm even if the gimbals set at 45 degrees do mean that the cartridge "rocks" slightly as the arm tracks across the record.
I have the original instructions and template for the arm and will scan and post it later.

Peter
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Old 28th Aug 2019, 8:39 am   #6
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Default Re: Connoisseur BD1 restoration

If you really can’t be persuaded to throw the BD1 into the bin where it belongs, then three 20mm cassette drive belts will work as new motor suspension supports.
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Old 28th Aug 2019, 10:11 am   #7
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Default Re: Connoisseur BD1 restoration

Quote:
Originally Posted by Beobloke View Post
If you really can’t be persuaded to throw the BD1 into the bin where it belongs.
As I said, much underated, a simple and effective deck, no bells and whistles, just does its job, and does it well.

Peter
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Old 28th Aug 2019, 10:12 am   #8
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Default Re: Connoisseur BD1 restoration

If you decide to follow Beobloke's recommendation I'd be very happy to recycle it for you! All carriage costs reimbursed of course.

Alan
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Old 28th Aug 2019, 10:39 am   #9
Jeremy39
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Default Re: Connoisseur BD1 restoration

Never realised what strong feelings the BD1 generates! Just had a read through the pfm thread and (for a novice contributor) am amazed how much has been written on the topic.
It’s made me more determined to get mine back up and running.
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Old 28th Aug 2019, 11:48 am   #10
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Default Re: Connoisseur BD1 restoration

Remember that in the era of the BD1, the majority of people were playing records on BSR autochangers. Garrard autochangers were a little bit more upmarket. Not everyone could afford a TD150 and the Connoisseurs fitted in quite usefully. The people who bought them seemed to get a lot of pleasure from them.

Speaking as a B&O 4000 owner, there are other B&O products I'd consign to the rubbish. This can probably be said of most brands.

David
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Old 31st Aug 2019, 12:12 am   #11
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Default Re: Connoisseur BD1 restoration

Oh gosh, you've just made me feel very uncomfortable. I've got a BD2 languishing at the back of my wardrobe which I keep threatening to refurbish and install into my record playing set up. I've fitted it with an AT 95e cartridge and have possibly committed an act of vandalism upon it by supergluing the plug in headshell of the SAU2 arm as I once read somewhere that this was supposed to enhance the reproductive capabilities of said arm. I now regret this as I think I might have been better off spending around £2000 on a fresh set of leads with magnetically aligned pure 25 carat gold conductive cores which might possibly have effected a slight improvement in sound quality, but such is the problem of taking some so called "expert" advice. The original reason for buying this deck was to enable me to compare it with my old idler drive transcription turntable to see if there was a noticeable difference between the different drive systems, but, as the original plinth which came with the BD2 was a very flimsy wood and plastic affair I put it to one side intending to make a solid oak mounting base for it and somehow this has repeatedly slipped my mind. If I can overcome inertia I'll try and make it happen quite soon and write a quick report citing what ,if any, are the pluses and minuses of belt drive v idler.
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Old 31st Aug 2019, 12:55 am   #12
dave walsh
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Default Re: Connoisseur BD1 restoration

I just missed getting a BD1 recently. Having managed [with difficulty] to understand the principle of a DC winding being used to spin-up an AC Industrial Motor, I was impressed to hear [back then] that the company introduced ultra-minimalism. To the extent that the on off switch was a [cost saving] rubber bung flicking the turntable! Brilliant or what Good tip about the rubber bands Beobloke.

I understand the purist approach but really most people just go for what works for them [as David suggests!] Full marks for irony Parlour but it won't reach those who have the one and only answer. It's sort of scientific but a matter of belief in the end as we all hear differently and that's done in the brain.

Apologies for this but re purism, I am deeply influenced by reading a book about Dylan going electric while I was at the Shambala Festival recently. It says that people walked out of the second [amplified] half of the concerts in 1965 despite the fact that he [already] had non acoustic hits in the chart. Scottish Politicos ran the Folk Clubs apparently and decided what was pure or correct and what you should keep to-or else [eg Ewan Maccoll]. It's much the same with Hi-Fi. In the end you lose contact with the original aim or content, ie music

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Old 31st Aug 2019, 7:35 am   #13
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Default Re: Connoisseur BD1 restoration

What exactly constitutes purism in this context? Simplicity and fitness for purpose, perhaps?

Years ago, I watched a BBC documentary about Ronnie Scott's jazz club, in which someone said "the way it was done was to build out from the music". Despite the ghastly jokes of the gaffer and the vagaries of the Frith Street Charm School, this approach worked. The BD1 is an expression of the same idea - do that which is essential well enough and leave the fripperies to others. The thing worked and worked well - necessary machining was not skimped, and if a cheap and effective motor mount needs changing after four times its design life one can hardly complain. The Thorens 150 was certainly better, not least because it had a full size platter, but then it was something like four times the price, and you got more of that sort of sound from a BD1 than from a truncated autochanger.

Incidentally. the Microsorber doughnuts may have gone hard by now. I think it depends on storage conditions, and you may have been luckier than I was.

When I bought mine, it came with a little vial of silicone grease with which to dress the belt.

Last edited by Ted Kendall; 31st Aug 2019 at 7:44 am.
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Old 31st Aug 2019, 7:55 am   #14
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Default Re: Connoisseur BD1 restoration

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ted Kendall View Post
Incidentally. the Microsorber doughnuts may have gone hard by now. I think it depends on storage conditions, and you may have been luckier than I was.
Forgive my ignorance but what are the 'Microsorber doughnuts'? Thought I knew the BD1 inside out.

Alan
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Old 31st Aug 2019, 9:49 am   #15
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Default Re: Connoisseur BD1 restoration

Audio purists should seek out a recording of "The Song of Reproduction" by Flanders and Swan. It is a gentle send up of the advent of hi fidelity enthusiasts in the mid to late 1950's.

I think the last line of the song goes:- "Then I never did care for music much; it's the Hi Fidelleetee"
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Old 31st Aug 2019, 10:05 am   #16
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Default Re: Connoisseur BD1 restoration

I think the microsorber doughnuts referred to may be the squishy spherical feet which were fitted to the BD2 on its own plinth. If you got your unit on the perspex base then they probably were never fitted. These are still in good condition on my unit and I intend to transfer them to my more massive home built base. I've not fully inspected the motor mounting system on mine but can only assume that it will require a complete overhaul after many years of disuse. I was being facetious with regard to the "knowledgeable" advice given in regard to many audiophool upgrades and modifications but genuinely regret gluing the head shell to the arm, I certainly wouldn't advise anyone else to do this. I fitted a SAU2 arm to my idler drive turntable and am very impressed by its tracking abilities with an AT 440mlb cartridge at 1.8 grams. With a little careful adjustment of the gimbal bearings to remove play without introducing friction I think you too will be pleasantly surprised by the precision feel of this arm. I also like the uncluttered look of its appearance, I admit it lacks the quality engineered appearance of such as the SME, ACOS Lustre and countless other arms with their hanging weights, anti skating dials and other refinements but it can be adjusted very easily for downforce, anti skate, alignment and height in regard to whichever turntable it's installed with. You go ahead Jeremy and restore your little marvel, I think you'll be very happy with it and if I may give one more bit of advice, I think that if you have a finite and restricted budget, as I had, then by far the greatest effect on the quality of your sound reproduction will be brought about by the quality of the cartridge you select. It's the one time when I've noticed that throwing money at it has markedly affected the sound quality and, most importantly, the listening pleasure obtained. I believe your SAU2 will be very comfortable with any high end magnetic cartridge you but. I can't say anything about a moving coil unit as I've never tried one and can't justify spending on one.
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Old 31st Aug 2019, 10:14 am   #17
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Default Re: Connoisseur BD1 restoration

I obtained a BD2 as successor to my Goldring G101 belt drive. My only complaint was
I thought there was rumble down to the main bearing (single ball type).

Although it's almost in Audiophoolery territory, Hi-De-Fido, a track from Rotatey Diskers
by Stanley Unwin, may also provide an insight into the industry.
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Old 31st Aug 2019, 10:36 am   #18
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Default Re: Connoisseur BD1 restoration

I always suggest "The king's new clothes" by Danny Kaye as a particularly revealing test-record.

David
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Old 31st Aug 2019, 11:08 am   #19
Ted Kendall
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Default Re: Connoisseur BD1 restoration

Quote:
Originally Posted by ajgriff View Post
Forgive my ignorance but what are the 'Microsorber doughnuts'? Thought I knew the BD1 inside out.

Alan
Indeed you do - the OP mentioned using Microsorber feet on his home made Perspex plinth. Micro-Seiki sold these at the time for a few pounds a set and, unlike the later snake-oil products of similar intent, they were actually useful in isolating the unit from vibration and levelling the same with their built-in threaded adjustment. Only problem is that the rubber bits on mine went hard at some point in the subsequent thirty years, although I have seen others which haven't.

Connoisseur themselves did something similar on the de-luxe plinth they eventually made, but they were smaller and less compliant.
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Old 31st Aug 2019, 11:18 am   #20
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Default Re: Connoisseur BD1 restoration

Thanks for the clarification. I've never come across the Micro-Seiki feet. I think the Connoisseur rubber balls were fitted to the plasticky BD2 plinth towards the end of production.

Alan
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