What is best turntable for listening to Rock from the sixties like Led Zeppelin?

In rock, and on some rock records, too much definition can be a distraction.

It is possible to 'tune' (or voice) a turntable to compliment one genre of music or another.  With sixties and seventies rock it might be advisable to select a cartridge and stylus profile that would not be too terribly revealing of guitar amp fuzz and distortion.(the intentional stuff).  Perhaps conical or, at most, an elliptical stylus profile would omit some of the definition of the distortion. We don't want to highlight guitar amp fuzz. Better to extract less of it while still reporting the overall content within the groove.  A cartridge/arm pairing known for producing gobs of bass energy and a muscular midrange.....and a little bit rolled off in the highs could be nice.  Try to imagine a certain 'warmth' within the higher frequencies.  That might help screaming, screaching guitar solos sound more stellar...and cleaner.  To some ears anyway.

Arm and cartridge are certainly key players.  For that matter the signal chain going into the phono stage.  If LOMC, then step up trannies play a role in determining part of the sonic character of the cartridge in use.  Tune for punchy and clean. A DL-103R sounds more aggressive with a 30:1 turns ratio than it does at 10:1..  We want aggressive for rock...and just about everything else for that cartridge. 

The motor unit itself.  (turntable less tonearm).  many possibilities.  But we want a TT that will not at all be affected by stylus drag as the highly modulated passages are read.  I'm thinking idler territory but also direct drive.  Belt drive...?  some belt drive turntables rock out better than others. Those least affected by stylus drag are the ones that will produce the visceral wollop, muscular drive and the drums that leap out of the speakers in front of you.

This is why I keep more than one turntable ready for work.  One in particular for rock.  It is more of a blunt instrument. A sledge hammer that over time has been voiced (by me) for groups like Led Zeppelin.  But the other turntable is more revealing, far more capable of extracting detail, micro and macro and retrieving the gentle nuances as well as the astounding feel it in yer guts wollop of the bass drum in Stravinsky's Firebird so much so that it resounds througout the listening room and is felt in the listener's bones.  The full range of what the symphonic orchestra can produce.  that is a player tuned to a sharper degree. We want that for classical. 

In rock,  and on some rock records in particular, too much definition can be a distraction..

m2c, ymmv, etc.
-Steve

" Yeah…anybody who isn't clueless about actual music might have differing views. What nonsense…a clear weird bias against supposed "guitar amp fuzz" indicating a very limited understanding or appreciation of great Rock and Roll music renders the previous post hogwash. "

Getting excited are we?  Point was that a particular record player can be made to sound better playing back one musical genre over another.  Led Zep records are recorded fairly clean...if not perfectly.  Some of those albums sound like they were recorded in a 55 gallon drum. (LedZep II some masters more than others)  And the listener can decide whether it is preferable or not. 

Can any 'one' player reproduce a superior result in all  musical genre's ?  You'd expect it at some of the going rates.  Yet some players sound their best while reproducing music made with acoustic instruments and not a particular energetic rhythm component.  I can think of one or two expensive belt drivers that ended up being cast in that light.  But I won't mention those names.  Yes, it is possible to tune the player to the listener preferences. 

Reproducing rock music with a super energetic rhythm component, Santana for instance (1st album), does require a player that responds less to modulating stylus drag. than some of the other belt drivers out there.  A spinning platter with a higher moment of inertia at the rim is recipe for success here.  And it is clear that not all turntables are stellar in this one performance aspect.

Some phono cartridges sound a bit piercing in higher frequencies. And while playing rock loudly and the guitar solos are reaching for the moon it can over-cook the solo.  While other carts that have more warmth in the highs can reproduce the same solo to a more enjoyable effect.  And these are individual tastes as well as the difference between individual phono cartridges.

Yep, I stand by it.  Rock needs a slammy player that doesn't try to sort out the pepper from the fly-shit while playing through that groove.....and there are lots of record players out there that do not meet the definition of 'slammy'. 
Over here I set up different record players for different records.  One excels at rock, the other does Classical much nicer.

-Steve

"I’ve professionally mixed, recorded, and performed electric and acoustic music for decades, and if anybody thinks acoustic instruments are less dynamic than electric ones, they’re unaware of the of the basics of music sound and reproduction. And that’s OK…comments like "over cook the solo" demonstrate a sincere but utterly naive perception of sound not actually existing in reality. Steve is almost charming in his somewhat innocent weird little world, and Atmasphere is 100% correct."

Dynamic?  Each acoustic instrument has a dynamic range.  Yes some will get rather loud.  Thinking of a Steinway grand piano.  I've been around live music and musicians myself.  Studied and performed.  Then got a day job.  but I know the sounds of instruments.... particularly acoustic ones.

But still, amplified rock and roll takes 'loud' to another level.  Amplified electric guitar vs acoustic guitar. The electric guitar produces a less complex mixture of tones and texture than does the acoustic guitar which has a sound box made of selected woods, rather thin and carefully seasoned, that affects the plucked string with woody under and overtones.  there is a complex texture of all the vibrating elements within.  Even the very air that carries the sound. 

  Some phono cartridges will describe the texture and tones of an acoustic instrument better than others.  But will the same cartridge that so deliciously described the wood inside the soundbox of that Martin guitar also lend itself toward getting that over-cooked Jimmy Page electric guitar solo rendered so that the listener perceives its reality?   

Well, maybe the recording engineer is responsible for that slightly 'over-cooked' guitar solo because it was mic'd a tad hot and he chose not to use as much compression as do the other engineers in the trade. 

Will that same cartridge deliver the muscular thrust, intensity and speed of the rock performance as it did reproducing a string quartet?  I'm saying there is always a compromise.  And different cartridges have their own sets of strengths and weakness'.  The cartridge designer, when he voices his particular cartridge, will favor one genre of music over another.  Some have, anyway.  Where is the sweet spot in your low output moving coil cartridge?  They all have one.

Amplified rock and roll.  It can have its subtleties, but mainly it works best when you've pressurized the room.  The energy of the reproduction should deliver a compulsion to the listener that will cause him/her to involuntarily move  feet, tap toes, bob head and generally be body and soul immersed into the groove of it.  Some turntables will deliver this compulsion better than others.  All you have to do is hear this to know it.  And you evidently have not heard this.  Though you think you do.

Will that same turntable that rocked out so nicely get the subtleties of the acoustic mix in that string quartet?....  Only your ears will tell you this much.

I get the impression you guys are listening with your intellects rather than your heart.  If you believe a thing from the outset, your mind will allow you to process all sensory input you receive in a manner that supports your preconceived notions.  This even extends to recording engineers.  And especially opinionated ones.

-Steve

" Again, the idea that a turntable or cartridge (or other component) serves a certain genre of music better than some other is one of the biggest myths in audio. "

It is entirely possible to optimize the TT for one genre over another.  Much of that is merely cartridge /tonearm selection.  Though the selected cartridge/tonearm may be entirely fine in all other genre's, it has been voiced by its owner for one particular genre.

With regard to the motor unit, all genre's will benefit from a platter spin that doesn't change its pace, however minutely, in response to modulated stylus drag.  But it will be more apparent when reproducing rock.

I maintain, different turntables for different records.

-Steve

The sound quality isn’t great, so rather than something super revealing, something that is very musical, and can also convey the magic. Sort of the Decca cartridge equivalent of turntables. I am guessing less Caliburn and Techdas, more Linn, Roksan, Denon, EMT 927, Rega, even

. Original post quoted above.

Actually, to deliver the raw energy with more force it is hard to beat a healthy idler deck.  Choose arms and cartridges to compliment your individual taste. 

This discussion has veered off-course somewhat while musicians speak of the differences between electrified instruments.  And it is worth the discussion.

The point:  we're playing records here, not making them. 

No way can the recording of it capture the live event so that it is anywhere close to the same as being there.  Not the scale of it.  But you can play the record in the privacy of your own listening room. 

In that venue (listening room) and for playing rock records, I'll choose an idler deck like a healthy TD124.  Choose tonearm and cartridge that best synergize with the deck to reproduce rock.

-Steve