Most hyped turntable, tonearm, and cartridge?
As regards Garrard 301 there is a factual answer. An idler wheel taking motor noise and vibration directly to the platter is clearly a bad design. All this noise and rumble for $20,000 is just a big laugh. Afficionados are kidding themselves. Yes time does move on in 70 years but all the 200kg bling tables with 30kg platters and costing up to $250,000 are over-hyped too. You don't need all that to spin an LP quietly at a constant speed. |
Ihcho, I don't think you are a deliberate troll, but the kind of question you ask has no factual answer and is only a call for opinions on a subject that is probably for vinylphiles only a little less provocative than questions about Trump or religion. You can see the battle lines forming already after only 8-10 posts. Ask yourself, what do you hope to learn from this thread that could possibly benefit you? I can't think of anything. |
The Linn LP-12 was, and maybe still is, the most hyped turntable, but over-hyped? Maybe, but let's not forget that it was the pioneer (not that Pioneer) of high-end turntables and changed audiophiles' views concerning the importance of a good front end in the audio system. There are many original LP-12s still spinning vinyl today, some upgraded to today's specs, some in their original form ~ a classic nonetheless. |
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$15k is simply insane, but audiophile world is full of nonsense. They are definitely over hyped, but I like the design of Garrard 301 hammertone (fully refurbisged by Audio Grail in UK), it’s GBP 3000 (the rest if for plinth, tonearm, cartridge). At least it’s beautiful! Most of the modern turntables are so ugly that in my opinion people who spend a lot for such garbage have no taste (just money). For over hyped ones look for this Nakamichi that goes for $100 000 Looks weird ... There are many great vintage turntables, in my opinion this is one of the best design ever. I'm using two of them and practically this is the best turntable for people like me (who collect tonearms and cartridges). |
I recently saw a new Garrard 301 (at $20K) and a new Thorens TD 124 (at $15K) . I thought the only reason why they decided to remake the vintage models at that hefty price is that there are demands. If there are such demands but if they are not as good as contemporary tables at the same price point, they must be hyped. Garrard and Thorens may be over hyped and as mijostyn suggested, those vintages are not as good as many people think. It appears that LP12 is hyped too. I myself one time thought LP12 was one of the best tables ever made even tough it is hard to setup correctly. I'd like to hear what other models are over hyped. Thanks for your reply. |
@mijostyn I'm talking about tonearm that I own and use myself, do you own Reed ? There is no 3G, only 2G Reed 3P is excellent tonearm, it's cheaper and absolutely perfect, but there are several models available. I never tried anything from Reed, except for my Reed 3P "12 inch Cocobolo. This model is very often used by Artisan Fidelity on Thorens and Garrard 301 turntables. |
My friend also insists that Ortofon RMG 309 tonearm and the original SPU Silver Meister (not MKii) are best for Garrard and Thorens. Ortofon is not the best tonearm and SPU is not the best cartridge, there are many more classic high mass tonearms and low compliance cartridges. If you want something ultra high-end then Reed 3P is perfect for Garrard and Thorens turntables (it can be used with modern cartridges). Anyway, this is a personal choice. Why do you want some boby else to tell you what's the best ? |
@millercarbon, "You want to know the truth? Once a very reasonably affordable level is reached there are a whole lot of turntables that are so good that what you will hear is at least as much due to what the turntable is sitting on as the table itself." That was certainly my truth when I placed a cheap plastic turntable upon a solid wood rigid open framed table and was taken aback at what I was hearing. A wonderfully open dynamic sound lacking very little other than deep bass! I guess all turntables must vary in the extent that they are influenced by their environments, but none seem to be totally indifferent. OK maybe this one real got close. Yes, it’s that AR hammer test once again. As for most hyped. Easily the LP12 through the late 1980s, at least in the UK. You really had to be there to see some of the messianic nonsense written about this latter day AR and the rebadged Audio Technica cartridges it often came with. https://youtu.be/1rgK0YMsJXM |
ihcho, those people are on another planet. Stay away from antiques. They are antiques for a reason. For 10K there is so much modern equipment that will handily out perform any of that stuff you mention above. In a modern system with solid output down to 20 Hz those turntables are awful. Big heavy arms and low compliance cartridges have a hard time following record irregularities (warps) adding distortion and increasing record wear. I am not into romantic sound. I am into accurate sound. With a good system you are better off with modern turntables, tonearms and cartridges. Do your antique collecting on the side. Get into old cars or something. |
You want to know the truth? Once a very reasonably affordable level is reached there are a whole lot of turntables that are so good that what you will hear is at least as much due to what the turntable is sitting on as the table itself. This goes for the tone arm as well. When it comes to arms, the turntable is to the arm as the shelf and stand are to the turntable. Playing a record sets the whole shebang to vibrating like crazy, and its this vibration of the total rack/table/arm/cartridge system that you hear when playing a record. Not the cartridge. Not the arm. Not the table. Not the rack. The whole thing all together. That is the truth. This explains why people can feel so strongly that one or another is better. Once you hear the combination produce that magic then of course, if you are the kind of audiophile who doesn’t understand this then you are very likely to pick out one part or another as the one responsible for this great sound. And you will be right. In part. But only in part. Its the whole thing all together that you heard. Once you figure this out then you can forget all about what is hyped or not, and focus on what really matters- how it works, how it looks, and how it fits in with your intended use. Some guys for example never will mess with VTA other than maybe one time to set it up, if that. If that’s you then VTA on the fly is useless. But if you know what it does and use it, well then VTA is essential and you will never have another arm without it. Like that. And all they hype or lack thereof in the world won’t change that one bit. |
