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Returning to vinyl - which turntable?

What I love about this vinyl thing is the passion. The DD thing being an example.
The only thing that matters in the end is what floats your boat, but it's great that vinyl is naturally more personal than digital. I wonder what it is - it's almost as if analogue is tapping into an energy that digital is devoid of.

Anyway...carry on.
 
I've had a TD 160, an LP12, and a Technics SL 1210.

All have their good points, but I have stuck with the LP12.

The 1210 is metronomic in its timing, but the LP12 has more air and space in its presentation.

On the other hand the 1210 is easy to set up, maintain and use, compared to the LP12 which is neurotic.

Funnily enough, I might move back to a 1210 and put it through some upgrades.

Having said that I am loathe to get rid of my LP12 which I've had since 1980.

Jack
 
I've had a TD 160, an LP12, and a Technics SL 1210.

All have their good points, but I have stuck with the LP12.

The 1210 is metronomic in its timing, but the LP12 has more air and space in its presentation.

On the other hand the 1210 is easy to set up, maintain and use, compared to the LP12 which is neurotic.

Funnily enough, I might move back to a 1210 and put it through some upgrades.

Having said that I am loathe to get rid of my LP12 which I've had since 1980.

Jack

Amen to everything you say. I've had my LP12 since 83 and it breaks my heart to sell it, but the modded Technics wins the tunedems. We'll see. As you say, there's no question which is cheaper and easier to own and setup.
 
Good start, how about a bit more of various types of music. Is that a fresh Akiva your now using?

No, it's still the old ESC re-tipped ArkivB. If I get a chance later I'll do another rip for ya. Make a request - you never know, I might have it.
 
No, it's still the old ESC re-tipped ArkivB. If I get a chance later I'll do another rip for ya. Make a request - you never know, I might have it.

Just do a few two minute recordings of songs that you really like. So is the cartridge a fresh re-tip or worn out?
 
Do any decks exist other than the LP12 or technics SL1200 for some forum members ?. Sonddek this narrow experience clouds your views. A modified SL1200 is a valid choice and is very clean (pitch accurate to some) sounding but it sounds too CD like for others. The OP has to ask himself if he wants a similar sound to CD (with better resolution) or something more organic with air and space. If the later I suggest a belt drive.

As far as arm matching is concerned all decks will perform to optimum with certain arms. AOS members have settled on Jelco or SME and even Dynavector for the SL1200. The LP12 is particularly limited to Linn arms or maybe OA or moded Rega. Would have thought Jelco would work. Heavier arms work on other belt drives. Anything apart Dynavector should work on Mitchell. I can see most arms would work on non suspended belt drives. The suitability is likely to be governed by suitable matching the sound signiture of various arm / cartridge combos to create synergy. Trial and error or stick to trusted and tried combos recommended by forum members and dealers.

Good belt drives with speed controlers are sufficiently pitch accurate on piano from my experience. If they sound off this is usualy a matter of a fresh belt. As far as OP is concerned a thorens 160/160s/125 is a good recommendation but bear in mind some of these are now overpriced on ebay. How about a Heybrook TT2 or Michell Focus. Linn Axis' develop power supply problems as they age and apparantly the suspension deteriorates. No longer Linn supported.
 
Do any decks exist other than the LP12 or technics SL1200 for some forum members ?. Sonddek this narrow experience clouds your views.

I've heard quite a few decks over the nearly 30 years I've been a record buyer. I've heard and enjoyed Roksan, Pink Triangle, Systemdek, Heybrook, Rega, Well Tempered, Avid, Origin Live, Thorens, as well as Technics and about every flavour of Linn, and many others. The reason the Sondek and SL1200 are discussed most is because they are two of the most available, popular, and iconic examples of their respective kinds. I have also owned and used both with a variety of arms and cartridges. Does that make my experience narrow? I come here to generously share the little I know, and benefit from the enormous knowledge of others. Perhaps I shouldn't share my experience.
 
I've never had a 1200 but heard one with an OL modded Rega arm and a VdH Grasshopper (I kid you not) and it sounded fantastic. They can certainly go some. I don't rate the Axis, it's OK but overpriced by the badge. As for arms, I don't agree Linn LP12s need a Linn arm. I had one with a NA Omega, it sounded greatm better than an Ittok to my ears. I still have that arm, on a 401, it's lovely.:)
 
The suspended Thorens/Sondek designs are in fact much less adaptable than an SL1200 because there is a limit on how much the arm can weigh, as this affects the balance of the springs.

I have heard before that it is easier to set up a Sondek with a lighter arm, but is there actually a certain weight at which an arm becomes too heavy to use on one? Or a point at which the weight starts to compromise performance?
 
Indeed, wish more folks were more forthcoming sharing drops of their deck, beats bloviating! Chris has some excellent needle drops of his heavily modified Techy, look forward to hearing it with a new cartridge.

Hi John

Always happy to post my efforts ! For better or worse :) Regarding my own experience with the 1210 , well i agree with much of what Richard says but...

In my own experience the best sounding TT i have owned or used is still my old Voyd.5 REF psu , and the Techie doesn't even come close to it , but considering the price difference is hardly disgraced , as for the LP12 ? well if someone was to sit me down for an evening and listen to ' a good un ' I'm sure i would enjoy it :)


LPgear AT95HE now fitted to my 309 and playing some Hendrix (Axis) and my latest Lizzy LP (Chinatown)

Its a very different sound to the DL160 , but it sounds not quite together as yet , needs another 20-30 hours i think, i was expecting it to sound quite bright and very lean , but its actually very smooth ! Though with a typical MM balance to my ear's .

Not bad .
 
There will be a point at which the weight of the arm is so great that the susp won't work properly, yes. There may also be a point at which the susp may not balance up and rtain any sort of pistonic bounce. Will this happen with any commercially available arm? That I do't know, but the general view is yes.
 
There will be a point at which the weight of the arm is so great that the susp won't work properly, yes. There may also be a point at which the susp may not balance up and rtain any sort of pistonic bounce. Will this happen with any commercially available arm? That I do't know, but the general view is yes.

Interesting! I guess that this is too esoteric for Mythbusters! :D

I seem to recall that the Ekos SE weighs in at 750g which is not exactly light, I also seem to recall Johnny (J7) saying that with his PU7 (which he seems almost masochistically devoted to customising to meet the user's requirements) 700g-800g was probably optimal for most sprung decks. How many commercially available arms weigh more than that?
 
Interestingly, the SME V and IV, which are generally felt to be "too heavy" for the LP12, are 720g and 700g respectively, which is less than an Ekos. I can't offhand think of a 9" arm that's heavier. My own Notts A is a contender, but that sounded great on an LP12.
 
Thanks for all the help guys. I think I just struck a deal on a Rega P3-24 :D. Cheque sent... wait 2 weeks and the turntable should arrive. 2 weeks seems like a long time to wait but that's life (i've never yet been ripped off but I'm always happier when the goods are in my hands). Once it's in my hands I imagine I may be asking about setup and cartridges. It will go on top of a pine hifi cabinet first off but since the turntable has neither suspension nor weight to steady it I'll have to see how things go. I've also left a couple of offers on other kit and may find myself buying more than one, seeing which I prefer and then re-selling the other.
Cheers
Mike
 
No, it's still the old ESC re-tipped ArkivB. If I get a chance later I'll do another rip for ya. Make a request - you never know, I might have it.

How about the first 2 minutes of Dire Straits 'Love Over Gold'?
 
I was in the market for a new TT recently to replace and ageing but well modified Pink Triangle /Rega 300. Its impossible when buying 2nd hand to do comparative review so one very much relies on advice from forums such as this . I ended up with a Michell Gyrodeck with the Orbe platter and bearing with the higher grade power supply and technoarm . Very happy with choice even though I had to pay customs duties to import it to Oz .
 
Also these are over my broadband because I can't get mediafire to complete an upload, so expect glacial download speed, and please only click if you're really interested. Any tips on how to get mediafire working more reliably would be very welcome

I haven't experienced problems with Mediafire before. You might want to try uploading a smaller size file. I noticed the one file I downloaded was FLAC which is good but it's recorded at 96K which makes it quite larger. You might also want to just provide 2 minutes of the song which is long enough to get a feel for how it sounds.

I fixed it on my side but noticed that the channels are reversed on the Ekos/Arkiv file. Hopefully it's just a mix-up on the recording and not your cartridge wiring.

If you get around to recording a couple more songs, try doing it at 44/16 and just do a couple minutes. The uploads/downloads will go quicker for all parties involved.

There's a couple 'Love Over Gold' recordings on the needle drop thread if your interested. :)
 


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