Arthur Salvatore's Reference Lenco MKIII by Jean Nantais, Restored and Improved

1) Noise floor to rival the top belt-drives including the theoretical best, air-bearing turntables, means top-tier refinement: "As it turned out, the Lenco's sound-floor was basically as low as the Forsell's (which has an air-bearing platter). In fact, I couldn't distinguish them. Since the Forsell had the lowest sound-floor I ever experienced, the Lenco's (highly welcome) achievement in this area is both surprising and unexplainable (at this time)." Arthur Salvatore.

2)  Once the noise floor eliminated, maximize the drive system, since noise is no longer a concern. This leads to digital levels of speed and state of the art dynamics.

3) specially constructed plinths using the Constrained Layer Damping principle done the correct way with different materials in order to achieve true tonal accuracy, extremely low noise floor and limitless energy, based on decades of experience and experimentation. My special Reference and Ultimate plinths are built with special tonewoods to make my turntables among the richest, airiest and most present. In combination with unfettered torque, this means state of the art bass. In short, the great potential of idler-wheel-drive to be the best drive system realized. Simplicity is elegance and effectiveness, not weakness.

This is Arthur Salvatore's personal Reference Lenco MKIII, among the best in the world at any price: all the slam and dynamics and more which is the hallmark of idler-wheel drive, plus all the refinement of the world's best belt-drives along with state of the art noise floor. Traded towards an Ultimate Lenco. It is fully restored visually to as-new, new varnish, new Ultimate Bearing, freshly rebuilt motor and all working parts. The platter has a true Goldmund mat bonded to it, very rare. In addition, it has now been upgraded with the installation of the extra-heavy base plate of my top Ultimate Lenco, making this only one of two Reference Lenco MKIVs in the world (the second is my personal 'table).  This upgrade is included free of charge in the price. The addition of my Reference Platter ($2500 USD) would make this effectively an Ultimate Lenco Jr. (finalized model coming out soon), useable with shorter tonearms (unlike the full-on Ultimate Lenco with its 14 1/4' platter which makes longer tonearms mandatory).

The restoration included stripping the original darkened oil finish and reshaping the plinth with greater roundovers, then resprayed with a water-based lacquer which greatly highlights the bright and colourful Canarywood side panels and maple peg details, and the curly maple main body. You can see the difference between the first few photos of the original build delivered to Salvatore, and the new refinished version in the second half of the photos.

Following some quotes from his review on High End Audio:
"The III's most easily noticeable improvements are in the bass frequencies: The bass goes deeper, and it's even more detailed and controlled as well. The III's and II's sense of power and weight are similar though. In short, the best bass reproduction I had ever heard is now even better. The other sonic improvements of the III are not as obvious, though still musically important: The III's sound is cleaner, and there is less homogenization, especially at high volume levels. There is even more intelligibility to the music. The sound stage is around the same size, though the boundaries and space are now better clarified, and the instruments are better focused. The Lenco Reference's sound-floor, already incredibly low by any standard, is even lower (with all the related benefits). Those many still biased audiophiles (I was once among them), quick to condemn all idler-drives as "too noisy" (with rumble), would be shocked to hear this turntable at its best (in a full-range system with an ultra-low sound floor, such as mine). And now I feel a "big picture" discussion is in order."

"I am enthusiastic about the Mk III's performance, though, unlike the Mk II, I was not surprised this time by the scope and scale of the improvements I heard. The bottom line for me is this: After now living with the III, I wouldn't want to go back to the II. Considering everything above, my advice to others is straightforward and consistent: For most serious audiophiles, the Mk III's improvements in the bass will provoke the greatest interest, with the other improvements I've described as a bonus. However, for those listeners with different sonic priorities, such as myself, it is the reduction in homogenization and the lower sound-floor that will prove to be the most musically satisfying, with the superior bass reproduction as our bonus. In short, the Reference Lenco Mk III upgrade offers something for virtually everyone."

Shipping to anywhere in the world at a good rate, provided a business address is used. Shipping ground to anywhere in the US roughly $350.

Tonearm is not included, the right-hand side is for shorter tonearms like the 9" Graham Phantom used by Salvatore (photos show also a Durand tonearm and a Kuzma 4-point, all easily mounted. Tonearm mounting is included in the price. If you have a tonearm to mount, ship it to me. Armboard for 9" Graham is already ready to go. New tonearms can be ordered separately and shipped with the turntable.

The Durand Kairos I also have up for sale will fit the tonearm board, but range of VTA may be high as the armboard must be mounted flush. Will check for anyone interested, offer a package rate.

The left-hand side is for 11" - 12" tonearms.

I have just shipped another Reference Lenco MKIII, same dimensions and weight, by air to Singapore, total shipping to the door is $700.00 USD, very good for international worldwide shipping, provided a business address is given.