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Dual CS 515
Rega RP1
Rega P8
How many turntables have you owned?
My analog journey started in the 70's- I'm on my 6th turntable, which I have owned since 1998. I think it's my final turntable!
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Wow. So many here are into Japanese turntables. As a generality electrical engineering: great. Mechanical engineering: not so. Problem is nearly all the SQ functionality of a TT is on the mechanical side. Many people believe that if the platter rotates at exactly 33.33333rpm that's job done. Not so. The biggest engineering objective is to ensure the stylus is only free to move by tracking the groove. So no slop allowed all the way from the main bearing, through the arm bearing, cartridge cantilever right to the stylus. That requires superlative engineering of TT, arm and cart. Most Japanese TTs and ,where appicable their associated arms, do not possess this. |
dogberry,
Yes! I forgot about the steel needle on my first TT. My father talked about cactus needles being used at one time, I had no experience with that. Indeed, there was to be a long succession of TT's in my future, but that wasn't so uncommon in the 60's now was it? |
My first was a portable wind-up 78 player, with steel needles, or dried hawthorn needles for a softer sound. Given to me by a grandmother, probably to the disgust of my parents who had to listen! In those days we had a massively heavy teak Garrard radiogram. My mother had me chop it into firewood and I knew no better than to comply. It was chopped up as my brother had bought a Philips mono autochanger with a ceramic pickup. Next table was my wife-to-be's Sony, replaced with a Garrard SP25 MkIV. Left that behind in the UK, and bought a piece of Radio Shack crap on arrival in Canada. Then got seduced by CDs and didn't come back until I got a RP3/Shure V15 about 2006. Stepped up to an SME 10/Series V in 2011, and acquired a second SME 10 this year. No intention whatsoever of buying any more tables! |
Five; the life of a casual 78 collector-turned semi-professional transfer engineer in about eight years:
1) Audio Technica LP-120. Removed the built-in preamp to improve the signal chain. Used for a few years as a starter table 2) Dual 1229. Read good things, but the automatic queue feature broke a week after I bought it. Used it as a second table for stacking cheap 78s for a few months before I realized how bad it sounded. The speed stability was a lot worse than advertised. Whoever I bought it from claimed to have restored it, too. 3) Technics 1200 in DJ-worn shape. Intended to have it modded a bit to use with 78s, but never got around to it. 4) Rek-O-Kut Rondine 3 made by Esoteric Sound for use with 78s. Infinitely-adjustable 16-90 RPM, generally good specs for a ~$1,000 table. Used for several years, generally about as good as it gets for most 78 collectors. A lot of well-regarded reissue CDs were made (by others) with this table. Decent mid-level Jelco transcription tonearm. I generally liked this setup, but it still has an upper-mid-end sound. 5) Technics SP-10R. Endgame. Albert Porter panzerholz plinth, upgraded Fidelity Research FR-66S and Viv Labs Rigid Float tonearms. Soon to have a Soundsmith Strain Gauge to supplement the Shure V15 Vx (generally the best it gets for 78s because dozens of stylii are needed and MC cartridges are non-starters) |
9, All started 1970 with a Philips portable, and a ceramic cartridge. Lenco L-80 (1975) Dual CS130S (1982) Mission 775LCT (1985) Thorens TD160BC/Rega RB300 (1987) & Pioneer PL550(1987) Mission 775SM /Mission 774 (1989) Pink Triangle Export/Alphason HR-100S (1991), upgraded to GTI (1993), SME V (1994) Bauer Audio DPS 2/SME V (2007) upgraded fully to current status DPS 3 (2018)
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8 in total. During high school (early 80s): Garrard AT6 (my father’s old table), Technics SL-B1, B10, and B100 (used for my DJ business). In college (late 80s): Heybrook TT2, Linn Basik Plus, Sumiko Blue Point. Foolishly sold in 1990 when I thought I would never return to LPs. Returned to vinyl in 2020 by resurrecting by father’s AR XB. Shortly thereafter bought a Rega Planar 2 and was gifted a Technics SL1200mk2, which I refurbished. I currently run all three. Antonio
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My first was a Dual/Grado Black combo, followed by a Yamaha/Ortofon OM 20 in the 70's/80's. It was followed by a maxed out LP-12/Benz/Shelter 90X from the 90's thru 2020. My current and last TT is a Basis Signature/Umami Red and I am loving it everyday until golf season. I had my dad's Miracord refurbished and use it to play vintage 78's. |
Technically 4
The Linn will be the last TT although it may get upgrades as Linn introduce items I am interested in. |
Six Realistic LAB-400 Rega P3 Clearaudio Concept Lenco L70 (current an only one in use) 2 Lenco L75’s - about to be rebuilt/modded L70 that is in use, and heavily modded is far better (kinda obvious, I know) than any of the prior ones. The L75’s are going to be given the same treatment as the L70 (only better…) and hopefully sold . |
Well why would you invent something your not going to use? Kinda like the happy guy above, makes you wonder about natures jokes anyways.. LOL Sure they made a MC carts. They just haven’t made one sense (since) the 60’s, Like I said a guy in Elk Grove CA repaired all the FM station stuff including his hand made carts. He was a Grado guy. The machine shop for Russco was in Antioch. Marchio’s Machine and Iron. I worked there. Just a tidbit.. I was at a guys storage in El Sobrante he was way up there too, over 1000sf of racks and TT. He had a Fairchild 750 with 12 & 16" platers I sure would have liked. Regards |
Ok I fibbed, I have a collection of Zero 100s. They work perfect, they sound like Zero 100s too. That is one bad sounding TT. In custom plinths though. :-) I'm not kidding I bought one for 15.00 it had a MC Grado cart that was worth 600.00. I still have that cart. I have a TD224 that I had working perfect too. Looked new.. I like the weird ones. TD124 & SME 12" #1 TD2030 & SME IV #2.. TD121-124s and Russco are a ton of fun.. at least a couple dozen. HUGE! I made that plinth out of 1" red oak stair flats. 35.00 usd. I'm frugal. I paid 400.00 for 5 Russco. This is one of that 5. FM station pulls in the Bakersfield area in the late 90s |
In the old days BC (before children) I went through 8 turntables before I got my Sota Sapphire at age 27. AC (after children) there has been one more so far, the Sota Cosmos Vacuum. From here getting a significant increase in performance and usability is going to be expensive, very expensive. Right now I have more important fish to fry. |
past: 1. flip out of portable sylvania gizmo with detachable speakers, flip over needle. 2. bsr 3. garrard changer came inside Fisher President II 4. thorens td124 with sme 3009, made custom base 5. at120, built in phone pre sounded better than McIntosh C28's now: 6. jvc tt81, 3 arms, sut with 3 inputs, main 7. mitsubishi vertical linear lt-5v, office 8. technics sl-j33, compact linear scans tracks, programmable, garage/shop |
5 Gerrard sp25 mk? but it was belt drive with built in amp, piezo cartridge and crap. -Trashed. Micro Seiki DD24S, entry level direct drive with solid plinth and light weight arm arm. - Trashed Manticore Mantra with Rega RB300 with Goldring Eroica L - sold on minus arm. Townshend Rock mk2 with the same Rega arm but I trashed the cartridge during the install so used it with a succession of Dynavector 17D2s and 3s, now it’s my mono deck with a mono version of te Decca Maroon and a Naim Aro with 8g added to the headshell. Artemis SA-1 with Schröder Reference and currently an SPU Royal N |