Personal Turntable Evolution

1) BSR table in the late 70's.

2) Drawer loading Pioneer in Mid 80's..  Don't recall the model number.

3) Onkyo Integra CP-1057F.

4) Music Hall MMF-5.

5) Marantz TT-15S1

My first real table was an;

''2 Pioneer PL-45D''.

2 Technics 1200 mkll

Thorens 126 lll

Technics 1210 G

EMT 948

The Pioneer’s are the only decks that are not hooked up.

All have their own sound. The EMT & the G are side by side in the main listening room.

The Thorens & the 1200 are in the basement setup. (full retro system)

I sold the other 1200 to help finance the G.

Audio-Technica LP120. Removed the built-in preamp

Dual 1229 as second table to stack records. Didn’t last long, too many issues with the automatic features.

Technics 1200 mk2, probably the 80s or 90s version. Intended to get it modded for 78 and never got around to it. It was kind of beat up by the previous owner and ended up selling it for about what I paid. Kind of wish I’d held onto it with how prices for these skyrocketed, but this one was a little too far gone to really be an ’investment piece’.

Rek-O-Kut Rondine 3. Good features for 78 collectors such as a wide-ranging pitch control and long transcription tonearm. Sold because I was staring to hear the limitations of what’s basically a homebrew turntable with cheaper parts and mild speed stability issues. Wish I got rid of it sooner.

Technics SP-10R. Done, hoping it lasts the rest of my life. Perfection. Went through a variety of arms; sticking with the Dynavector DV505 (great for tracking 78s with irregular surfaces) and a Fidelity Research FR66S as a backup. Using Shure V15Vx, Soundsmith Strain Gauge, and maybe some Stanton 681s. 99% of what I play are 78s, so I haven’t really gotten into higher-end LP cartridges. My existing cartridges work well enough for the handful of times I play LPs.