Inexpensive Good Vintage Turntables?

@clearthinker There are Technologies that have progressed and are in use today, due to their usage being proven to be fit for purpose. That have been cutting edge in providing non metal solutions for the methods employed to produce a mechanical device in all sectors of industry.

Aviation and Performance Vehicles are using Wood Products produced using very accurate and reliable methods for their construction, these wood products can be machined to have the tightest of tolerances, no different to a metal and will remain stable to perform as per their designed for function in all environments met.

The same Industries as above, are also using Composites and Thermoplastics, of which the merits for their usage is very well versed and adopted by numerous industries, each are known for their capability to be used in place of a metal.

The use of such materials are much more planet friendly as their production is not as energy absorbing as metals and the methods used to form shapes from the non metal materials, is requiring much less energy when moulding or machining.

Used as a Material Globally, the improvement in the environmental impact on the Planet, when selecting non metal materials is encouraged that is a good thing for all.

There are alternatives to the above, and methods can be adopted that will be the better for all.

All the above does not offer the same energy preservation as choosing to buy a already produced TT from a Vintage era, over a modern design.

Any methods where a obsolete Design/Model is given a resurrection and a second life gets my vote over any other methods used to acquire a device. 

If the chosen model is seen to be a little needy in some areas, and the wish is to get the device back up to a Top Level of performance, then why not see if a Modern Method for using materials will be fitting for ones needs.

I am slowly going through the process of swapping out worn sacrificial Bearing Housing Parts for ones produced from Thermoplastics and other non metal materials.  

@pindac 

"Aviation and Performance Vehicles are using Wood Products produced using very accurate and reliable methods for their construction, these wood products can be machined to have the tightest of tolerances, no different to a metal and will remain stable to perform as per their designed for function in all environments met."

All woods move over time, however intensively or carefully they are prepared.  This makes wood unsuitable for critical engineering applications where minimum tolerances are critical.  To utilise it in turntables is just fashion bling, not good engineering design.

If you want to fly in a wooden plane that is your privilege but I doubt you will find one - they went out 100 years ago, in the 1920s, save for the Mosquito fighter/bomber plane that the UK created in WW2 because of shortage of metals.  My mother's first husband died in one..  Neither do I know of any wooden performance vehicles, unless you count the Morgan car, a design also perfected nearly 100 years ago.

"The use of such materials are much more planet friendly as their production is not as energy absorbing as metals..."

You must be a scientist as, like most of the others, you have not evaluated the causes of environmental damage correctly.  By far the most costly elements of product production and use are the creation and disposal of the product.  So to retain an already extant product in use for a longer period and not replace it with a new one, however environmentally friendly its producer claims it to be, will always trump the production of a new item.  When will scientists understand this very simple fact?  Your post does belatedly acknowledge this principle in your para 8, which  partially contradicts your para 4.

An example of this that really irks me is the battery car.  The battery lasts for 8 years, maybe 10, and when it fails to hold its charge the car is scrapped (along with the battery) because producers have elected to integrate the battery in the structure of the car, rather than make it removeable/replaceable as I advocated nearly 10 years ago.  In the result twice as many cars have to be constructed and scrapped compared with the ICE car that typically remains in use for more than 20 years.  Duurrrrrr.

Great thread! I have several vintage tables, both belt-drive and DD variety. Three Thorens (TD-160, 160 Super, TD-320), a JVC QL-5, and a Denon DP-72L. My 'modern' table is a Music Hall MMF-5SE with Goldring 1042 purchased in the early 2000s. I just made a minor upgrade on the interconnects to the MMF-5 that paid off big time. CD players have improved (along with DACs) over the years, but they still can't match vinyl for sound that just seems 'right', for lack of a better, more nuanced term. But I am not a Luddite....I own and use 8 or 9 CD players

Get this classic AR turntable off of EBay for $600.

@clearthinker to retain an already extant product in use for a longer period and not replace it with a new one, however environmentally friendly its producer claims it to be, will always trump the production of a new item.

The methods you use are very much in place and maintained within my system.

Racks Built using Repurposed Wood and Salvaged Granite Stone cut into the correct dimensions. The same Granite was used to produce a Idler Drive Plinth approx’ 20+ years past.

Wall Racks produced from a Salvaged Material that was a Surplus Gallows Type Brackets, the used Shelf Material that has been a Salvaged Item that is a extremely highly compressed material, it is actually the most compressed form of the used material.

The Power Amp’s are seated on a Construction of a Salvaged Sub Floor Material used in Laboratories to assist with Vibration Management and rested on this Structure is a 200Kg repurposed Engineers Granite Slab.

Most of my equipment is a, 'one off', Bespoke Built Device, either built from scratch or from a Donor Model of which the youngest donor used to date, is from a product produced from the 2000 era.

The last 'usually used' concept of of purchasing an item I have bought,  is a used sale item CDT. The DAC I use with this is a Prototype from a EE, belonging to an earlier design of theirs, I had some of their latest designs added to the device, as there were New Parts produced using modern manufacturing approaches that were offering improvements over the earlier ones used in the design.

Apart from Two Types of Tubes, all other Tubes in use are Vintage, ranging from early 1960’s Production with the youngest Vintage being 845’s produced from the 1980’s.

I know through experiences that a Item produced in another era, can excel as a device when a use of a modern produced material is added to it, or when a design intent has a modern approach as part of the fundamental for the rethink of the devices function.

I have no desire to condemn any Technology from any era, even though some of the sins of the designs are glowing clearly in the spotlight when assessed, I know these supplied devices have been able to supply numerous hours of enjoyment for their users, I will not poo poo on that, with unnecessary commentary .

In general when modern Technologies are adopted by Industries as a global usage, there are benefits for all flora / fauna that are impacted on by the improvements of the industrial practices are creating, the only shortcoming is the speed at which these approaches are being adopted.

In the normal World with the usual occurrences taking place, Industry is here to stay, any other thoughts about its future is fantastical.

It is better that the practices being adopted, even though slowly are seen to be beneficial other than detrimental.

I have very little concerns about using wood, I use densified woods produced by a few Brands known for the quality of their products. I have peace of mind where maintaining stability and dependability is the requirement for the use of a wood. These materials will not turn into anything other than what I intended for them in my life time and very likely a few other life times as well,  if the devices using my selection of densified wood are around for the that long.