Topic: Turntable for 33 and 78

[misterjones]

At some point I want to buy a quality turntable that will play (and play well) both 33s and 78s.  Any suggestions?  There don't seem to be a lot on the market, but this one sounds like it might work well with the purchase of additional cartridges:

http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATLP120-Professional-Turntable-USB/dp/B002S1CJ2Q

[Stuart]

I Have a 40 year old AR that works just fine--but I don't have any 78s.

Here's a site that has some high end stuff as well as reviews:

http://www.needledoctor.com/

You could also check the specialty sites for info re: 78 RPM gear:

http://www.78rpmcommunity.com/

as well as shoot an e-mail to the collectors to see what they have to recommend.

http://dismuke.org/ might have some info.

also http://www.78rpm.com/

http://www.78rpm.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=NRC&Category_Code=100

http://www.esotericsound.com/


(I've added a couple of links to the original post.)

[LB]

I have one of the nostalgia ones from the page Stuart posted. It's not high end but it sounds awesome and very gentle on the records. I learned very quickly not to play any on my vintage phonograph unless I wanted to destroy them.

[don o]

I have had a similar model for about 5 years now (Technica ATPL120) and have been very happy with it.  I have used it both to rip LPs direct to MP3s and as a player with my stereo.  I don't play many 78's, but the few I have played (and ripped) using the cartridge that came with the unit sounded just fine to me.  Your mileage may vary.

[eric]

I have one of KAB's Technics 1200 mods:

http://www.kabusa.com/frameset.htm?/

You would be hard pressed to find something better.

[Stuart]

Here's the link to a related thread:

http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?amp;Itemid=128&topic=2595.0


A reminder--Some of our more active members are at Port Townsend, so we're going to have to wait until next week for them to return home and chime in.


Thanks for the link to KAB, Eric--It looks like a source for the good stuff!

[Parlor Picker]

I may be wrong, but I think all or most Technics and Vestax models are aimed at the DJ/scratching market, so feature direct drives. A belt drive is supposedly better for a hi-fi system, as vibrations are not transferred via the rubber belt.

[jostber]

I got the Technics SL-1200 MKII turntable which a great, stable and direct driven turntable. KAB USA can also mod it for playing 78's:

http://www.kabusa.com/frameset.htm?/m1200.htm

[eric]

It's true that the Technics is preferred by DJs, but it was an excellent item before that era.  Way better than my old belt drive.  And by the way, with the right setup (correct stylus and cartridge, equalizer) 78s can sound great.

[jed]

I Have a 40 year old AR that works just fine--but I don't have any 78s.

My XA set me back $78 in 1970 and 1, but it only does 33 and 45 (with the spindle adapter or the record's own plastic one).  A main selling point was that it didn't have a rocket launcher (You had to be there). 

Maybe some later model, or some aftermarket motor pulley, turns 78s; I'd get that in a jiffy if the price would be in line with the turntable's quality/value ratio (amazed that you can spend nearly $200 on a replacement motor):  http://www.vinylnirvana.com/ar_models.shtml

This griped, 78 is apparently doable on an AR:  http://www.vinylengine.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=16332. 

Also, Thorens may still have some 3-speed models.

[Stuart]

I've only had to replace the belt and the mat once or twice in the 40 years that I've owned the AR. No rocket launcher, that's for sure. It had great ratings as well.

As I mentioned elsewhere, one blessing in disguise is that being lazy and not wanting to be bothered turning the record over, I would tape  both sides of my LPs to a single side of a cassette tape and listen to  them on my cassette deck. So those Yazoo, Folkways, etc. didn't get much wear. A true stroke of laziness!

The upgrades available for older equipment at the specialist sites are really something to behold--who woulda thunk it back in the day??!! But the older analog equipment has its fans. A fellow who repairs and restores older equipment out here told me that it's an analog world and thus it sounds better played on analog equipment. I guess many people tend to agree.

[Richard]

Goldring Lenco, super quality and still going strong after 40 years. A cheap and dirty alternative if you want something which has to do 78s is to find and a Garrard SP25.

[Parlor Picker]

Goldring Lenco, super quality and still going strong after 40 years. A cheap and dirty alternative if you want something which has to do 78s is to find and a Garrard SP25.

Thanks for the nostalgia session, Richard. Names from the past! I think most of us started with the Garrard SP25 and then progressed to a Pioneer PL12D back in the 60s and 70s. The hifi nuts went for either a Goldring Lenco or a Thorens back in the 60s - if you could afford them.

Thanks to a friend in the trade, I acquired a magnificent second-hand Linn Sondek LP12 some years ago which is a remarkable piece of kit.

Interestingly and inexplicably, music sounds better if the turntable has been running for about half an hour (black magic, or what?). Some hifi enthusiasts never turn their turntables off.

[Stuart]

Interestingly and inexplicably, music sounds better if the turntable has been running for about half an hour (black magic, or what?). Some hifi enthusiasts never turn their turntables off.

Probably has to do with the heat generated and how it affects the materials--"optimum operating temperature" is probably reached a half hour after you turn it on. The engineers might have considered these factors when they designed the LP12.

Remember in the days before "instant on"--when we had to wait for things to "warm up?"

[misterjones]

I would prefer:
(1) a new turntable
(2) one that doesn't need to be "modified"
(3) one that plays 78s

I'm of course looking for quality sound reproduction - and am willing to spend a decent amount -but I don't need something that vinyl audiophiles would insist on.