As for me... My first that I can remember was a Webcor - part of their Holidy package. then... Garrard, Benjamin Miracord, Dual, Bogen, Thorens TD 124, and 121, Rek o Kut, LinnSondek, Grado, Rega, SME, VPI... I probably have forgotten a few
The Vestigial tonearm has to be the weirdest device I ever owned. It should not have worked well, and I really have no recollection of how it sounded. But I think it inspired the Dynavector 505/507, which certainly is a top level tonearm. The Vestigial also reminds me of the 47 Labs RS-A1, in terms of its unorthodox approach. I really bought the Transcriptors because I could not resist its coolosity (to borrow a word from the late Harvey Rosenberg).
I wonder if all you Vestigial guys owned the ADC (was that the name?) high compliance cartridge. That was the must own cartridge with that arm. (so I was lead to believe) My Transcriptor or as I called it the Gold Octopus was so sensitive I had to re adjust the tracking force depending on the sight variations in temperature in my house. I think I might have been setting the force to low. Could it have been 1/4 gram. I can't remember now. Moved on to the Kenwood 500D, the white table direct drive, Had an infinity Black Widow arm (wish I still had that arm) . Boy those days were fun weren't they. Then came those cassette players. Ouch!!! Then came CD Players. Double Ouch!!!!
I did indeed have an ADC XLM at about the time I owned the Transcriptors/Vestigial, but I don't remember that there was any special association between the two. The XLM was just thought to be a great cartridge in those days. I once bought about ten XLMs in a local discount house, carried them on a plane trip to England, and sold them at about 40% profit to a dealer in London. (The deal had been arranged beforehand.) Just about the only time I've relished the wonders of buy low /sell high. The Black Widow tonearm comes up now and then on the Agon sale site and/or on eBay. Not as rare as the Vestigial, and probably a lot better sounding than the V.
In 33 years in this hobby, I've only owned 3 tables.
1. Technics SL-1500 or something like that back in 1976..kept it for 25 years. It was a direct drive machine. I started with a Pickering cartridge back then....then I moved up to the Shure V-15 type III, and outstanding cartridge in its day. Then I moved up to the V-15 type V, an even better cartridge.
2. I then bought my dream machine, an Oracle Delphi Mk1 with a Grado Platinum cartridge. I still have the table and cartridge, such a beautiful machine...a real work of art. It still works perfectly, but technology marches on and it does duty in my rack as eye candy or (audio sculpture). My guests always oooh and ahhh at it.
3. Michell Gyrodec with Sumiko Celebration cartridge is my current table. Great sounding and beautiful to look at. .
in my 'early era', 1968 to 1978, i owned 4, an AR, a Dual, a Technics and a Thorens.....in no particular order and i don't remember the models.
from 1979 thru 1995, during my 'kids growing up era' i owned a B&O linear tracker.
since 1995 i have owned a VPI-TNT Mk2 with Graham 1.5tc, a Basis 2500 with Graham 2.2, and a Rockport Sirius 2.....all of which are gone.
in 2002 i purchased a Rockport Sirius 3, which i still own and recently i have purchased 3 additional tt's which i am having plinths built for and adding arms; a Technics SP-10 Mk2, a Technics SP-10 Mk3, and a Garrard 301.
I think about 6, not counting the platic one with built in speakers my mom bought me because she knew I liked listening to records.
Panasonic - (part of all-in-one receiver/tapedeck) Pioneer BD Realistic DD Kenwood DD - (forget model, but pretty heavy) CJ Walker BD Linn LP-12 - This started as a Valhalla, but has been cirkus'd, Lingo'd, and currently has an Akito II and Monster Cable Alpha One cartridge (recently aquired right here).
Eleven. Started with a Philips fully automatic with flip-stylus (one side for 78 rpm, other side for 45/33 rpm), ended with a Goldmund Studietto/T5 arm/Kiseki Agaat cartridge. It has been a rough trip...
BSR 4800 w/ceramic cartridge BIC 940 w/Shure M91ED cartridge Philips 312 w/Signet TK7 cartridge Ariston RD11S w/SME arm, and various cartridges -Linn Basik arm and various cartridges Pink Triangle w/Syrinx PU-2 arm and Accuphase AC1 VPI HW19w/Syrinx PU-2 arm and Carnegie 1 VPI Aries w/Syrinx PU-2 and various Benz cartridges
1) AR XA with Grace G707 arm 2) AR turntable with Grace arm 3) VPI HW19 Mk II with Rega RB-300 4) Linn LP-12 with OL modified RB-250 5) Lenco L-75/CLD plinth with OL modified RB-250 6) Technics SL-7 for dining area system
Working on Garrard 301/CLD plinth and bigger Lenco plinth. Still have numbers 4-6.
Dual 1219, Linn LP 12, Aristion RD11s, Dual 1229 (with Grace 747 Tone Arm... yes it can be done) I missed the slam that my 1219 had with Idler drive. You just don't get the same difintion with belt drive. Also, I listen to alot of solo piano, and again the difference between good belt drive and good idler drive is amazing.. Dual 1229 with the Grace 747 is my table for life now..
Oh, I guess that means I have had only four in 32 years. :)
BSR 500 W/SHURE M44E PIONEER PL12D W/SHURE M91ED TO STANTON 500E DUAL 510 W/SHURE M95ED TO SONUS RED TO STANTON 681EEE HARMON KARDON ST7 W/GRADO G1+ TO A DENON 103C KENWOOD KD500/BLACK WIDOW/ SONUS BLUE DENON DP3000/DENON DA307/DENON DL103D (NICE COMBINATION) DENON DP6000/SMEIII/SIGNET MK111E TO GRADO G2+ GOT MARRIED! LINN LP12/ITTOCK LVII/ GRADO SIG. 1B TO GRADO SIG.7 HAD CHILDREN AND PACKED THE LINN AWAY 10 YEARS LATTER, LINN LP12/ ITTOCK LVII/VALHALA/ SIMIKO BLUE POINT (OH MY GOD, WHAT WAS I THINKING YUCK) TO LINN K18II BACK TO MY TO MY RETIPPED VINTAGE 1979 DENON 103D. the answer is 9
It is interesting to notice that many of us have made the upgrade path from early TT designs to very high end actual TT and finaly rediscover the virtues of the old designs like Lenco, TD 124, Garrard 301, EMT,... and it is thrue, the sound of my father's TD 124/SSME 3009/Shure M-95 ED is very similar to my VPI TNT fully modded/ graham Phantom/Allaerts Finish. And I did not made any modification to the TD 124. Apparently idler wheel designs are most popular and for good reason.
I have owned literally dozens. Most were of a fairly pedestrian nature, though. I have maybe a couple of dozen in the stable now. They range from a Linn to a lowly Sony idler. I'm probably the only one around here who has cut apart a plastic AKAI just to see what made it tick. Actually, it barely ticked at all, so I didn't learn anything from that exercise. LOL
1) 1968: Dual 1009 mounted on top of a Harman Kardon SC-7 Component Control Center (an all-in-one wood-cased receiver) 2) 1978: Bang & Olufson Beogram 2402 3) 1982: Linn LP12 (still spinning)
My first true audiophile experience was "snapping" on B&O's most expensive cartridge, it had a diamond cantilever!, and actually hearing what was hidden in that groove. I was hooked.
Dual 1219 which I stupidly got rid of for the Linn LP12, which I never cared for, then the Aristion RD11s which I liked a little better than the Linn and finally a Dual 1229 with a Grace 747 Tonearm which I am NEVER parting with...
Currently I have Clearaudio Bluemotion, Thorens TD145MKii, Dual 1219, Dual 1019, and Dual CS530, the last two not in perfect working order. ;) It is amazing that the Thorens and Dual 1219 works still fine due to their age.
That's a pretty good place to start! How old were you?
Ever own a ceramic cartridge and replaceable needle as your main rig?
Back in college days when I used to work at a well known NY based hifi chain, the Thorens were the bomb! Mapman (System | Reviews | Threads | Answers)
Yep, very first turntable was a Thorens.
Years earlier my parents gave me a used RCA 45 singles player, one of those with single speaker hidden behind a funky striped grill. Guess I was about 13 or so, I still remember playing Elvis's "Heartbreak Hotel" on it.
I bought the first Thorens when I was about 21 years old. I caught a lot of grief from friends about the price, because I also bought an Ortofon arm and Ortofon cartridge. It was about $325.00 for all, including the plinth and cover. At that time a lot of money, you actually could have bought a system.
My reasoning was that my records were too expensive to buy twice and I treasured them. So, I should buy the best turntable, arm and cartridge I could find, and then settle on the remaining gear as I could afford it.
I still have all my original Beatles and other old LP's from back then, and they still sound great in my current set up, even after all these years.
Maybe my idea was not so crazy, some of my original albums are now worth more than my current turntable :^).
By the way, the Philips 312 was a way cool looking table in its day and had a nice sound as well. I regret selling it years ago and not keeping it around. I still have some cassette recordings around that I made with it back then that remind me what a nice sounding table that beauty really was.
Here are pictures of a Philiops 312 if anyone is interested:
The mention of early Thorens TT brings back memories.I think it was the mid to late 60's.I was at the long gone Newmark & Lewis chain looking for a new TT.The salesman said he was selling his personal unit.A Thorens with Supex MC cartridge. Instead I bought a Marantz table which was then owned by Superscope. Just one of many audio errors.Live and learn
The old cassette recordings off the old Philips 312 may well sound clearer today 30 years later on my current system, normal tape hiss aside, than the original vinyl did on the original system I had around the 312 at that time.
I determined years later that the Hitachi Class G receiver I used in that old system then was the weak link. It delivered a lot of power out of a small box that fit well inside a dorm room at the time, but distortion levels with the Class G amp left something to be desired.
Went from a basic, cheap Gerard to a Techniques SL3300 to a Benjamin 4000 linear tracking, front loader, to a Dual CS5000 to a Rega P3 to my current modded VPI TNT.
I CURRENTLY OWN 5 TECHNICS OF VARIOUS MODELS. MY FIRST BETTER TURNTABLE BEFORE THE TECHNICS WAS A GARRARD, MODEL SL 40 I THINK. A PRETTY GOOD TURNTABLE, WAS BOUGHT CHEAP IN 1978 BUT WORKED WELL. MY FIRST TECHNICS WAS BOUGHT FOR $250 IN 1979 AND I STILL HAVE IT AND IT STILL WORKS BUT THERE IS HUM FROM THE RIGHT AND LEFT CHANNEL CORDS AND NEEDS FIXING. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND TECHNICS TO ANYONE. THERE IS VERY PRICEY STUFF OUT THERE THAT I REALLY CAN'T IDENTIFY WITH BUT TECHNICS IS VERY GOOD "MID LEVEL" TURNTABLES AND LAST A LONG TIME.
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