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Iconic Turntables

Salamander said:
Please show a link to a different variation to the meaning of 'iconic' that would happily sit in describing the Continuum tt. It would never be how I would describe the Continuum tt.
Oh, and by the way is an Aussie tt. ;) 😁
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That invitation was to another member. And if as you state "It would never be how I would describe the Continuum tt" there would be no point in me engaging in a debate with you on that subject.
 
Not iconic.. but interesting..

This thing:

rs_tt.jpg


... (I have a better photo of it somewhere but can't be bothered to find it.....)...

..was briefly marketed by The Real Turntable Company in the late 90s. I had some dealings with them. The designer was a former jewellery designer. The idea was that everything was de-coupled from everything else.
So, the record actually sat atop three spikes which kept it clear of the glass platter. The arm hung by a thread, the cartridge was mounted on springs in the 'headshell'. etc. I have to say that such an approach, IMO, made the beautifully manufactured and finished plinth, platter, motor etc.. all pretty redundant. The whole philosophy flew in the face of 'accepted wisdom' by the likes of SME, Linn et.al. re: keeping the cartridge fixed re: the record groove etc..
To me it sounded as you might expect. Innoffensive, lightweight bass, little 'drive', 'impact' 'power' etc..

Still.. what do I know?
 
Bodhi said:
Somehow I find that comment patronising.
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Not at all, you must have missed the 'smile' after my quote. Just a friendly 'leg pull', thought you Aussies were into that, well at least friends of mine from Australia are, me being a Pommie after all.
 
I can never get passed how roughly made out of cheap materials the Michell Transcriptor was. It looked the business but was so poorly made.

If it was not for a fleeting glimpse in A Clockwork Orange I think it would have sunk without a trace over time and just be known as an oddity by a few.


edited to correct idiotic error.
 
Joe said:
I can never get passed how roughly made out of cheap materials the Gyrodeck was. It looked the business but was so poorly made.

If it was not for a fleeting glimpse in A Clockwork Orange I think it would have sunk without a trace over time and just be known as an oddity by a few.
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The Gyrodec isn't in A Clockwork Orange and it certainly isn't poorly made or constructed from cheap materials. Not sure you actually have the slightest clue what you're talking about. Michell are a properly engineering company and while people may not like the Gyrodec's sound or its looks it cannot be criticised for manufacturing quality... look a little closer to Glasgow for some serious errors in that department over time IMO.
 
I am gobsmacked that anyone can see the Gyro, or any Michell deck fo that matter as 'poorly made' etc. Simply untrue.

The Linn OTOH, whilst I freely admit that it 'looks' the business.. started out as a very flawed design, with multiple issues, 'under the bonnet', which were only slowly addressed over decades.
 
Joe said:
I can never get passed how roughly made out of cheap materials the Gyrodeck was. It looked the business but was so poorly made.

If it was not for a fleeting glimpse in A Clockwork Orange I think it would have sunk without a trace over time and just be known as an oddity by a few.
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Think you might be thinking of the Transcriptor. No experience of the original version, but the Michell badged ones seem decent and well put together
 
For me it will always be the Circa 1970's type Board of Education supplied record player, it's the thing I always waited to run to during free time:



Or the Magnavox console record changer my dad brought home when I was 5, I can still hear "Smoke on the Water" on that radio, they would play that song seemingly non-stop Lol.
:
 
Joe said:
I can never get passed how roughly made out of cheap materials the Michell Transcriptor was. It looked the business but was so poorly made.
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All nicely machined stuff made by a proper engineering company. The area which in hindsight seems less than perfect is the alloy parts either weren’t anodised or weren’t anodised well enough as they seem to tarnish. The glue holding the lids together decays too, but we are looking at things 50-60 years later. It is certainly wrong to assume the ultra-light and spindly tonearms etc were poorly made, that is just the ultra-low-mass thinking of the time and it was hugely influential. Transcriptors were ahead of even SME on that path. They were never pro-broadcast-grade turntables the way of say a 301 or 124, but they were beautiful things that still look iconic today. Wonderful things IMHO. A turntable I’d never owned but always wanted to just for the looks!
 
Tony..the plinth is a piece of chipboard with a plastic covering. The edging is an off the shelf aluminium extrusion that ironically was produced as shelf edging for the likes of caravan interiors. All the aluminium parts corroded if you looked at them. The gold plate was so thin you wouldn't dare polish it .

It did look good I agree ...I don't recall anyone ever making claims for it audiophile credentials though.
 
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