Anyone sticking with "vintage" turntables?

Yeah, you'd never guess from the avatar.

 

$3.50? SCORE!!!

That's less than 1/100th the price I paid for mine in 1988!

It's a great turntable, running 18 years and still going strong. Speed is still dead-on accurate. Must be the "microprocessor quartz lock" . . .

 

I also just picked up a PL-530 for $28 off of ebay with local pick up. Great table in perfect working order!

I have a Pioneer PL-50 which is a huge wonderful sounding belt drive TT. I compared the two side by side (interchanging my headshell w/Grado Blue) and the PL 530 sounds identical and excellent. But the speed is much more stable, which is why I bought the Direct Drive 530. I'm very happy with it.

These old quality turntables are just a super value if in good shape.

 

Yeah, I couldn't pass it up at that price. I'm really liking the Pioneer so far, but I guess I'll pick up a headshell and cartridge for the denon and do some comparing. Sure wish I wasn't moving next week.

 

I noticed in your other thread re: this 'table that your mat is upside down. Flip that sucker over!

 

LMAO Eric. You can rest easy, I flipped it over when I noticed it earlier.

"Our hero, Billy Budapest, had his super-powers temporarily neutralized after viewing pictures of upside-down platter mats."

 

Sorry, I guess it didn't come out right in print! What I meant to imply is that the flip side of the mat is smooth and will be gentler on your vinyl than the reverse . . . rest assured I am no longer stressed about your turntable mat. I can sleep easy now . . .

 

Anybody have a Victrola?

I saw this item in my local newspaper; looks interesting:
http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/sefton080906.html

 

Re: Anybody have a Victrola?

Great article. I just wonder if a Victrola had as much probability in permanently damaging a person's hearing as the iPod does.

 

Re: Anybody have a Victrola?

Only if you insist on using loud tone needles and sticking your head inside the throat of the horn.

Anent the 1902 Carusos, though, I don't know where the writer lives, but in this neck of the woods they are neither commonplace nor routinely in excellent condition. (The later Carusos fill that bill much better; do NOT expect to finance your next vacation in Bermuda by selling that one-sided copy of Caruso singing "O Sole Mio"!) In 1902, the open-horn machine was very much the only game in town, and usually "front-mount" at that, meaning the entire, massive weight of the horn, support hardware, and reproducer bore down on the record via a steel needle. Real record grinders! Back-mount designs, which used tonearms resembling that on the Victrola IX pictured earlier in this thread (nice looking machine, by the by!), were much gentler, but they didn't become available until a bit later.

 

Hi folks,

My wife and I have the following:

Thorens TD-124 (5) 4 working and 1 parts machine
Thorens TD-224 changer (3) all working and restored to like new
Thorens TD-126 (2) both NM shape with boxes and manuals
Technics SL-1200 (6) mainly working. One has a bad interconnect cable.
Technics SP-10 Mk II and Mk. III (daily drivers)
Empire Trobadour (2) Both in excellent shape
Linn Sondek LP-12 with Vahalla and Rega arm.
Technics SL-1600 (1) modded. My daily driver
Garrard 401 (2) One is NM and the other is undergoing restoration

There are more, but these are the essentials!

 

I have owned a Denon DP-59L since 1988 and found no reason to change. I replaced the captive signal cables with RCA jacks and binding post for the ground so that I can use various interconnects.

 

Wow Kent, that is an awesome collection of tables. Which begs the question, which is your favorite and why?

Man am I jealous!!

 

Hi Jerry,

I will openly admit to owning a GA-212. Very excellent performer. Good speed control, superb sound, OK arm. Mine got damaged when I moved from Oak Ridge to Athens, TN. I wish I still had it! Paid $60 used for it!

 

Hi www.records,

I love the Thorens TD-124 and 224 best. The 224 is the changer version and only has one record on the platter at a time. Entertaining to watch it work. Super gentle on vinyl and super sounding. Just hard to repair! I live in a house with wood floors, so my modded Technics SL-1600 is my daily driver. CP, Spina Bifida, and wood floors aren't well suited to suspended belt driven machines.

 

I have a Philips 212 as well. Great table! In addition to my AR-XB, I also have a Garrard Synchro-Lab 95B which I use for playing 78's. It sounds supprisingly good playing LP's as well!

 

Thanks Kent. I love the old Thorens tables, and if I had a choice, the 124 would be my first pick. But out of the tables that you list, the SP10 MKIII would be the one that I would love to hear. I have read LOTS of good things about them. Maybe someday!!

I currently have a Thorens TD160 with a Linn arm and a Technics SP-25.

 

I'm still using and greatly enjoying my Technics SL-1300 that I bought new in 1975. New cables, occasional lubrication, and a Grado Red cartridge are the only improvements. Since the cueing arm won't stay up anymore (a known flaw) I just don't use it. At least it's still fully automatic for those times when I know why I bought it in the first place.

 

What was wrong with your MMF-5?

 

I saw a used Rotel, I'm considering it

 

I don't know if anyone has noticed but the Lenco L75 is becoming more and more expensive on ebay. Recently one sold for nearly $600 (still a bargain given it's performance). The two I bought cost about $150. I'm not in it for the money and I will never sell those but it's interesting to see the table get it's due. There are still those who will criticize but who haven't heard the thing properly replinthed. Do not listen to those people.

 

Same here, but with MMF-2.1. Flimsy isn't the word for it--I'm glad I didn't buy it new! It was OK as a fixer-upper, but the engineering of that thing is a joke, and I have a mechanical background. It's a good $100 table, new, tops. Even my closeout direct drive Realistic from the late 70s is built a hell of a lot better, and has taken any amount of abuse from using it as a "beater" 'table all these years, and also survived one of my electrical modifictaions to play at 78RPM.

I REALLY want one of those cool-looking Micro Seiki direct drive tables that holds three tonearms. THAT is a head turner. But they are way overpriced on eBay--going "market" price is under $400 w/o arms.

 

If you're considering Rotel, consider Micro Seiki also. The Rotel styling is similar to the Micro Seiki, but I think the Micro Seiki's are nicer TT's.

 

Anybody have a Revolver Rebel 'table? I remember back in the late 80's when they were heralded as giant-killers--people putting them up against Linn Sondek's and Ariston 'tables and saying the budget Revolver came out of top!

Kind of like Spica TC-50 speakers in that regard . . . or NHT Super Zero's . . . or Jolida SJ-502A's . . . or Golden Tube SE-40's . . . etc.