Who Still Uses A Turntable? What kind?

[seabiscuit]

<font color='#000000'>I still have about 400 records and spin them on a 1978 vintage Dual 704, automatic, direct drive, with an Audio-Techinca ML-440 cartridge. &nbsp;It still performs well and although it does not match my former Rega Planar 3/Sumiko MMT/Bluepoint rig, vinyl is still important to me.

And you........? &nbsp; <img src="http://www.audioholics.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt='???'></font>

[Yamahaluver]

<font color='#0000FF'>Over 360 LP and around 55 78rpms, two TT, one a Technics SLDD-33 and one the famous SL-1200Mk-II, both fitted with Shure V-15 Mk-IV.</font>

[Rob Babcock]

<font color='#8D38C9'>What's a &quot;turntable?&quot;

Just kidding! <img src="http://www.audioholics.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':laugh:'></font>

[Rip Van Woofer]

<font color='#000000'>Lots of old '60s and '70's vinyl, mostly classical. I play them on my &nbsp;Thorens TD 160, bought new back in the day. Right now I have an Audio Technica cartridge; probably upgrade to a Shure eventually.

Have you guys seen these megabuck turntables these days with platters nearly a foot thick? Freakin' ridiculous! Talk about products for people with more money than brains!</font>

[Chuck]

<font color='#000000'><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>seabiscuit : I still have about 400 records and spin them on a 1978 vintage Dual 704, automatic, direct drive, with an Audio-Techinca ML-440 cartridge. *It still performs well and although it does not match my former Rega Planar 3/Sumiko MMT/Bluepoint rig, vinyl is still important to me.

And you........? * <img src="http://www.audioholics.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt='???'>
Some of the old vinyl is irreplaceable; So are some of the shellac and metal recordings. *I'm not one of those who enjoys the rituals that go along with vinyl, but we have two turntables, four tone arms, and a selection of phono cartridges and phono stages to choose from, plus a nice NItty-Gritty vacuum record cleaner, precision SFG, stylus microscope, test recordings, and all the other stuff it takes to get the most out of the formats. *We have wide-groove recordings from the 20's and 30's that require a special stylus, rotational speeds other than 78 RMP (80 RPM is common), and non-RIAA equalization. *Getting the most out of old vinyl can be non-trivial, but it can also be quite enjoyable.

Newer vinyl recordings can be interesting as well. *Making a listenable recording on vinyl is a lot tougher than making a listenable recording using a digital format. *Making a good vinyl recording is as much art as science. *Add to that the fact that all current vinyl releases are targeted toward and mixed for the &quot;perfectionist audiophile&quot; and what we end up with is a group of people with musical and artistic talent cutting vinyl that is mixed for optimal reproduction (within the limits of the format) on upscale audio systems. *CD's on the other hand tend to be mixed to &quot;sound good&quot; on more typical home and automotive audio systems. *Good &quot;modern&quot; vinyl recordings, reproduced on good equipment, almost always sounds stunning, in spite of the limitations of the medium. *The primary reason is the target customer, the skill and taste of the recording engineer(s), and the mix. *Vinyl attracts the cream of the crop.

If it weren't such a pain our turntables would get a lot more use, but we're rather be listening to music than cleaning vinyl and constantly tuning the mechanical playback setup. *My guess is that vinyl probably has at least another 50 years before it will be seen in the same way we see wax cylinder recordings today.</font>

[Dan Banquer]

<font color='#000000'>I still have a turntable. It's a heavily modified AR turntable with a Rega Arm and a Shure cartridge. The only reason I still use it on occaison is that some of the music I love dearly has never been put on CD, and probably never will.</font>

[goodman]

<font color='#CCCCCC'>I have a Technics linear tracking turntable from the early1980s, and a collection of vinyl from the 60s and 70s. *Every Thanksgiving, we spin Arlo Gurthrie's &quot;Alice's Restaurant&quot; to everyone's amusment. *However, any time I put some serious music on the turntable, I am disappointed by the sound quality. *Give me SACD in two, four or five channels any day.</font>

[jeffsg4mac]

<font color='#000000'>Goodman; I agree. I too have long since moved passed vinyl. Give me DTS 96/24, SACD and DVD A any day of the week. I have had and heard some superb vinyl recordings, but I never thought we would have access to the formats we enjoy now. They are quite simply astounding. I loved vinyl in it's day, but that day is long gone. However, I have about a dozen albums that I need to get onto CD somehow <img src="http://www.audioholics.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt='???'></font>

[seabiscuit]

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Rip Van Woofer : <font color='#000000'>Have you guys seen these megabuck turntables these days with platters nearly a foot thick? Freakin' ridiculous! Talk about products for people with more money than brains!</font>
<font color='#000000'>For a guy with zillions of great vinyl these newer &quot;super tables&quot; are probably well worth the $. &nbsp;I hail back to the Oracle, VPI, and SOTA days which when factoring in inflation were far more expensive than today's units.

Besides 'tables are more fun to fool with!

<img src="http://www.audioholics.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'></font>

[seabiscuit]

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Dan Banquer : <font color='#000000'>. The only reason I still use it on occaison is that some of the music I love dearly has never been put on CD, and probably never will.</font>
<font color='#000000'>By far the best reason to retain your 'table. &nbsp;I cannot part with mine for the same reason.</font>

<font color='#000000'>I still have a turntable for my wife's old vinyl that she loves. &nbsp;But I'm having a problem with my new A/V receiver and the turntable. &nbsp;The sound is so low that you have to crank the volume almost to 95% just to get an audible sound when playing vinyl.
The turntable sounded loud and clear on my old Sony rack stereo with &nbsp;a turntable input. &nbsp;But on my new Pioneer VSX-D811 the same turntable in an AUX input requires the volume at 95% to get any sound. &nbsp;The turntable is just a basic Kenwood unit. &nbsp;Nothing fancy.
I saw at a web site where there is some type of pre-amp unit for a turntable to plug into to boost the signal for a pre-amp in on a receiver. &nbsp;Is this what I need or might there be a setting I'm missing on the receiver somewhere? &nbsp;Has anyone else experienced something similar? &nbsp;Any thoughts would be appreciated.</font>

[mustang_steve]

<font color='#000000'>1fldave:

Are you using phono inputs, or just regular inputs (aux, cd, etc)?

If your not using phono inputs, get a phono to line level adaptor. &nbsp;You can get a decent one for $30 ( iave one from radio shack that uses a single 9v batter, got it for $24). &nbsp;All it does is a slight amount of pre-amplification as well as RIAA equalization, so your records sound like they should.</font>

[1fldave]

<font color='#000000'>Thanks for the info. &nbsp;Thats exactly what I did and it sounds great. &nbsp;But when I went to Radio Shack and asked for a phono preamp they looked at me like I had three heads. &nbsp;I eventually found one at Circuit City.</font>

[MerlinMacuser]

<font color='#000000'>I use an Elac Miracord turntable and a Stanton cartridge to spin old vinyl into digital gold using my Apple G5 computer. I redo the album art too. I have a one of a kind collection of cds like Ford Theater, Buckingham/Nicks and some others that'll likely never become commercial cds.</font>

[frkuhn]

<font color='#000000'>I don't listen to LP's anymore (altough I still keep mine, AND my turntable, in my closet, just in case), but this topic reminded me a very good scene in a recent brazilian movie called &quot;Durval Discos&quot;.

Durval is a guy who keeps a shop selling exclusevely LP's, and refuses to start selling CD's. In this scene he's arguing with a potential customer, who's trying to to convince him that selling CD's would be a better idea. The guy says:

&quot;Durval, you have to admit CD's sound better!&quot;

To wich he replies:

&quot;Well, the sound in the CD may be better, but the MUSIC in the LP is better!&quot; <img src="http://www.audioholics.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'></font>

[stiletto pat]

<font color='#000000'>I have a 1975 B&amp;O 4002 tangient tracking table, which I had silver wired in the late 70's, with a B&amp;O MMC 20 CL cartridge. &nbsp;Love it because it takes wonderful care of my vinyl. &nbsp;Probably about 300 albums, many irreplaceable for all intents and purposes.

I agree with the last post, many of the CDs, SACDs and DVD-As sound wonderful, but just an overall lack of good music these days....

Pat</font>

[fdrennen]

I am using a Miracord Elac 50H that I bought at a thrift shop with the manual fo $8 about a year ago it came with a stanton cartridge. That is a horrible match for the TT. I have since replaced it with a shure, Much better the TT performs flawlessly and I am more than happy with it. I seldom listen to my CD player anymore.

[Dan]

I have a Bang and Olafson linear tracking turntable with a I bought in the mid eighties. The need B&O cartridges which are fortunately still available.I use a Parasound phono preamp. The B&O replaced and old AR with a Shure which was a great table for the money but totally manual. I got tired of running over to it every time the side finished.

I did not get into the CD game until 1989. I bought about 300 albums prior to that. There is one good used vinyl store near me that I occaision. I agree there are many things not available on CD I would never do without. I do think digital sounds better and it is far more convenient. I was thrilled this year to finally once again store my vinyl in the same room as my audio gear.I am too cheap to replace my vinyl thus my CDs are complementary to the vinyl. Captain Beefheart spins again!

[Yamahaluver]

As a matter of fact I am using two turntables, one Techincs SL1200 Mk-II and other a Technics SLD-33.

[Rip Van Woofer]

Thorens TD160 and AudioTechnica cartridge for old vinyl.

[Jaycan]

2 TTs. Dual CS-5000 with stock arm and cartridge(ebay). Rega P9, RB1000 tonearm and Exact cartride played through Bat VK-P10 phono preamp. I have 2 classes of vinyl. Those that are considered irreplaceable, and those that are not. I play the treasures on the hi-end front end.

[fdrennen]

In addition to my Elac I have a garrard zero 100 in the garrage that needs rewiring. anyone know of a shop in the NYC area that could be recomended for such repairs?

[dsa220]

I guess I am in the minority here as I listen to vinyl just about everyday. I have several hundred albums of which probably 25-30% will never be available in a digital format.

My current rig is:

VPI HW-19 Mk III.5 - Modified Arm Board
Eminent Technology ET-2.5 Air Bearing Tonearm w/Dampening Trough and WISA Air Pump w/custom surge tank

Cartridges:
Koetsu Black Goldline
Audio Technia OC-9
Sumiko Blue Point
Shure V-15 Mk V
ADC Series 1

[tubelvr]

VPI TNT MkIV with SDS
ET II (modified) with WESA pump, surge tank and high pressure manifold
Benz Ruby
VPI record cleaner and
Over 5000 LPs

[Polygon]

I still use my Technics SL-B3, mostly to transfer my vinyl to digital.

[nigeljkuk]

I collect vinyl still , just got a new direct drive to replace my old pioneer dd that speed went eratic on pl300 I n process of trying to set up a 5.1 system see my threads :)

[GeorgeM]

I have a Technics (Panasonic) SL-1300 that's been sitting in a box for about 15 years with either a Shure V-15 or AudioTechnica cartridge.

Occasionally I use a Bang & Olufsen 5943 turntable with B&O MMC 2 and MMC 4 cartridges. Nice piece of gear!

-GeorgeM

[Unregistered]

I have a Sota Sapphire with a Grado Sonata Cartridge. Phono Stage is made by Gold Areo and the arm is made by Well Tempered Labs (with an arm modification). Hands down, my vinyl beats digital any day of the week. Most the music I listen to may never see the light of day on SACD or DVD-A. Lots of new artists are releasing plastic (vinyl) stuff these days (Modest Mouse, Wilco) and reissues abound. For a time when DIGITAL is supposed to be all that, I am glad that someone is taking care of serious listeners and meeting our demands for a better way to listen.

[ACoolRomeo]

Hi ,

I still have my Acoustic Research EB 101 with an Acoustatic Tone arm. I bought this at Goodwins in Harvard Square in 1987. Paid almost $1000!!
I was damned if I was going to get those new cd things.

Sweet machine, I moved 4 months after getting it, boxed it and there it sits. Only about 50 hours on it.
Wanna buy it?
Best,
acoolromeo@yahoo.com

[scsiraid]

Oracle Alexandria. Dynavector Diamond. Vandersteen OL-1 Head Amp.

[Willow]

I am about to buy a rega p2 this weekend

[Unregistered]

Same as a Rega P2. The platter is upgraded to an acrylic one, I have a fancy graphite mat, and the arm is an upgraded Moth RB250. The motor has also been upgraded to a Rega P25 model.

[rschleicher]

I still have the old Dual turntable I bought in 1977, with a Shure V15. It's a belt-drive semi-auto table (meaning manual cueing to start play, but an automatic lift-off and power-off at the end. This came in handy in case of falling asleep while listening to that last record - no wearing out the inner groove! The tone arm is actually pretty nice, in my opinion.

One somewhat unusual characteristic of the Dual tonearm from back then is that tracking force is applied by a little coil spring, rather than by unbalancing the mass of the arm/cartridge. Basically, the arm is balanced in all planes, then the tracking and anti-skating forces are applied via springs. As a result, the tracking force is always perpendicular to the plane of the record, regardless of whether the turntable is level, or tilted. With a record clamp to hold the record in place, you can play a record with the turntable on its side, or even upside down, for that matter. The cueing still works, too. Not that there is any practical value to this - it's just an amusing thing to try out.

Going a bit further back (mid 1910's, I think) we also have a working Victrola in our family room, with a 25 or so old 78's. It is wind-up, of course, and instead of having an external horn, it uses a folded horn arrangement built into the cabinetry below the turntable. Volume is controlled by how open you leave the little doors in front of the folded horn baffle/"port". The "stylus" is literally a carbon or graphite needle, meant to be replaced pretty often as they wear down. I have a bag of about 30 of them. Speed control of the turntable is actually not too bad, as there is a built in speed gauge. But, you have to keep it "cranked", so to speak. Fidelity is low, but appropriate to the software being played. Most of the 78's came with the Victrola when I bought it, and reflect an eclectic mix of old musicals (think Nelson Eddy and Jeanette McDonald), 20's era jazz and pop standards, and marches. Not my usual musical tastes!

[aspaceintime]

I have a Denon DP-52F. I love it and it has sentimental value, my wife gave it to me for Christmas many moons ago. Still works great...

[diggerdave]

700+ RnR, and Reggae and about 200 classical
A B&O and Connoiseuer turntables. Just pulled out the TimePeace Young Rascals Greatest Hits the other day and cranked it waaay up while the wife was out of the house. think I'll go do it again right now...

[enob]

I have many(records) vinyl :rolleyes: also and i just recently purchased a Numark TTX1 Direct-Drive Turntable with a Shure white label Cartridge which work great for me.

[Lee_Kee_Brain]

Teac P-A400 Built In Amp

[Robie]

Technics SL-Q3 Atomatic Direct Drive Quartz lock , Technics SL-D2 Semi automatic Direct Drive Pitch control and SONY PS-FL770 Full Atomatic Linear Tracking Turntable. :)

[Electone]

I have a Thorens TD-166 MkII from 1989 with a Nagaoka MP10 MM cartridge. Sounds sweet... I removed the stock patch cord and installed 2 female RCA jacks on board so that I can try different interconnect cables with the unit.

[warpdrive]

I have a Revolver turntable, which doesn't get any use anymore, but it was a great turntable of its time.

[Moli]

Technics SL1200 with Ortofon Cartridge

[Engine Joe]

Technics SL1200 with Ortofon Cartridge

Are you happy with it? I want to get a new turntable, but I don't have a ton of vinyl - just a few dozen albums - so I don't feel the need to spend a ton. The SL1200 is priced about right for me...

[JoeE SP9]

I expect my VPI HW19 Jr Rega RB300 bought almost 10 years ago to last at least 10 more years. I bought my first LP in 1967. I still have that LP and play it once in a while. It is Aretha Franklin I Never Loved A Man. Now with 1K plus CD's my LP collection is still almost 3 times as large. I want to thank all those who sold their LP's when "perfect sound forever" was introduced. You allowed me to get a lot of "killer" vinyl for a paltry sum. If you are new to TT's most vinylphiles use belt drive TT's. There are almost no direct drive audiophile TT's. See www.needledoctor.com for all TT's and vinyl accessories. :cool:

[20to20K]

I've got a Denon DP37L with the heavy rosewood base. I just love it. Got a Signet catridge...E20 or somthing like that. I had some custom Monster cables connected about 12 years ago and now the right one has become jittery...shorting in and out. Real bummer. The hard part has been finding a certified Denon servicer who can work on it in Maryland. Been lookin' for two months!

I may just have to buy another one off Ebay and fix this one whenever! I'm missing my LP's!!! I know many will disagree but to my ears LP's sound waaay better than CD's to me!

[qdrone]

I have been collecting records since 1963. I still remember buying my first "Introducing the Beatles" on Vjay records. Since then I have amassed a collection of 18,000 and I listen to them on my last turntable. I own a Brooks Mod Oracle Delphi Mark I which is heavily modified. It has the Unobtrusion teflon bearing and clamp,Cardas Gold wiring in the tonearm,a Mystic Mat and a special box that makes sure the platter spins at either 33 or 45 rpm. I use a Monster Genesis 2000 moving coil cartridge mounted on a Eminent Technology 2.5 tonearm with the damping trough which is run into a modified Klyne5A as its head amp.I use the Wisa pump and original ET pump in tandem run to a home made surge tank. I still buy records, in fact today I purchased Mobile Fidelity's The Plastic Ono Band on 180 gram Vinyl and Neil Youngs Greatest Hits which he supervised being cut with tubes on a Grundig mastering lathes at 30ips. That one is 200 grams. The useal grammage (is this a word... well it is now) for a record is 120 grams and I refuse to let records that RCA and others produced in the mid 70's that were around 90 grams exist. I love the sound on records,and when I retire to persue my writting in 6 years I will have 18,000 friends to keep me company. I do own Cd's and the newer ones being recorded sound damn good, but the ealier AAD CD's blow :eek: and don't hold a candle to the original pressings on Vinyl.

[qdrone]

Is the cartridge on the turntable Moving coil? If it is it is in need of pre amplification. The other amp you used may have had a small switch that you pushed to Moving Coil instead of Moving Magnet which requires NO pre amplification.

[Tomorrow]

Oh, this thread has me dearly missing my old Thorens. I always thought that Direct Drive was a spawn of the devil. Had to have belt drive for true audiophilia. :) I had to sell my little friend during a time of financial distress. But I still have my 20 year old Yamaha P-320 armed with some ancient Shure ctg.

I believe many will agree that vinyl has a warmth that is sorely lacking in ALL digital music reproduction formats. CD's are awfully convenient, but....

Whoever posted earlier that making records/lps involved an 'art'... as much as science contributes today to the digital music world...is right on the moolah.

[Sleestack]

VPI Superscoutmaster w/ Grado Statement, Ray Samuels XR-10B phono stage and Billy Bags phono table (I also use a Techinics SL1200 Gold w/ Grado Sonata):



http://www.afreeimagehost.com/upload/8647/123.JPGhttp://www.afreeimagehost.com/upload/8647/1544.JPG
http://www.afreeimagehost.com/upload/8647/12345.JPGhttp://www.afreeimagehost.com/upload/8647/1234.JPG

[Tomorrow]

Sleestack,

What a nice, uh, er, ......platter. :eek: :eek:

[Sleestack]

Sleestack,

What a nice, uh, er, ......platter. :eek: :eek:


Wife-approved dust cover. :D

[WndrBr3d]

I use a Stanton STR8-90.

Picked it up at a great price.

[Shadow_Ferret]

Glad I found this thread. My 5-year-old over the weekend just destroyed my *cough cough*Realistic*cough cough* turntable and I need to replace it quickly. Now I have some ideas. Maybe a Thorens off of Ebay.

[20to20K]

My turntable is the second oldest piece in my system. My Denon POA2400 power amp is my oldest.

My turntable is a Denon DP37F fully automatic that I bought in the mid 80's out of a newpaper ad from a widow who was selling her husbands gear. It cost me $25 and was in immaculant condition with a Grado cartridge.

It still works flawlessly to this day!

[GregorB]

I'm still regularly using a Technics SL-1300 purchased new in 1975. Been through lots of cartridges over the years, but currently the space in the headshell is occupied by a Grado Red. It recently got a major workout copying some 300 albums to cd for a vinyl-playing friend whose health went way south, and he could no longer change his records.

[Dapper Dan]

Rega Planar 3...

[BostonMark]

I still have my first "Hi Fi" turntable from the time before CDs. I had a huge record collection (over 500 LPs), and still have many of them. My first good system was a Yamaha 150 w/ch stereo integrated amplifier, Advent Legacy speakers and a Bang and Olfsun Turntable. A couple years ago, I took the turntable out of storage, and had to special order a new cartridge for it right from the B&O dealer in Boston. The kids at Tweeter didn't know much about turntables. It actually still sounds pretty good!

[Buckeyefan 1]

Pioneer PL-730 back from the 80's. Was a decent direct drive, fully automatic unit with a polymer graphite arm. Weighs a ton. Still has the Audio Technica AT91E cartridge. My best recordings were from this table through a 10 band eq to TDK MA-X90's and a Nak deck. Burning music onto CD-R's just isn't the same. :(

[moregear]

Still have a Sony PSX-555ES Linear table w/Shure V15/5mx. Every time I contemplate selling my 600+ LPs, I go out and buy one more LP....can't shake the LP habit but find SACD an acceptable alternative.

[Rob Babcock]

Forget the 'table- I want some pics of the Epiphanies in your rig!:D