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$12K Laser turntable vs $12k hi-fi turntable?

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I just read up on the ELP laser turntable. They have a model for $12k that plays 33&45 rpm records. You already know the skinny on laser tables that there is no contact with the lp. The question here is that will that same $12k put into a conventional table, arm and cartridge outperform its laser counterpart. I rarely see laser tables mentioned here. With their cost within the range of some conventional turntable setups, why don't we see more of them on Audiogon? Are they musical? I hear that they are very accurate.
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mitch4t

Showing 2 responses by mikelavigne

mikelavigne
2,237 posts
 
it's been 4 or 5 years since i heard an ELP turntable, so it's possible they've been improved. but at that time they had 2 major problems.

--any slight dust or dirt sounded like a gunshot (slight exageration).

--there was a 'veil' of mist over the music that seemed to take away the vividness and immediacey.

it was very detailed.

i could not live with what it sounded like.

in theory it could be good. maybe with 10 years of development the problems could be solved. but it was not ready for prime time when i heard it.
mikelavigne
2,237 posts
 
above i called the ELP 'veiled' with a mist over the music. certainly not like digital in a sense that good digital is not veiled, it's just missing information compared to analog. the ELP adds an artifact of the reading process which i heard as a greyness that always drew attention to itself. OTOH it was quite detailed and neutral tonally. the more i listened the more the artifact drew attention to itself.

there are reproduction artifacts i can live with and even enjoy, such as a touch of added warmth or maybe added bloom. but this particular artifact i heard in the ELP is a deal breaker for me.
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