Re: arsclist My experience with the ELP Laser Turntable

[Joe Salerno <salernoj@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Makes me wonder if it would play aluminum discs - thought not black they
should be p-l-e-n-t-y reflective, perhaps too reflective and would require a
neutral density lens in front of the optical sensor.

Joe Salerno
Video Works! Is it working for you?
PO Box 273405 - Houston TX 77277-3405
http://joe.salerno.com
joe@xxxxxxxxxxx
----- Original Message -----
From: "St-Laurent Gilles" <gilles.st-laurent@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, June 08, 2001 7:56 AM
Subject: arsclist My experience with the ELP Laser Turntable


> First of all would like to say that I am pleased with the machine.  The
> National Library of Canada purchased it mostly for public service use.
The
> ELP turntable is in my studio and the music is piped to the patron at
> listening booths down the hall.  This way, the patron can listen to the
> record 1,000 times if they so desire with no wear whatsoever on the disc.
> The fact that we do not have to make consultation copies alone is worth
the
> price of the machine.  The sound quality is excellent and with
exceptionally
> good channel separation and accurate sound stage.  Another big advantage
is
> that it will play warped records which conventional tone arm (SME 3012-R)
> have trouble tracking.  The tunrtable is so easy to use that non-technical
> staff can use it.  It has all the functionality of a CD player:  fast
> forward and fast rewind while listening, jumping from track to track by
> hitting a button, etc.
>
> There are some drawbacks though:
> I find that for such an expensive unit the construction is a little cheap.
> We had to return the turntable to Japan for some repairs to the drawer
> mechanism (to ELP's credit, the repair were done promptly at no charge).
If
> the disc has a larger than normal label, the label needs to be covered
with
> a piece of black plastic (which ELP supplies).  It is pretty well
impossible
> to play acetate discs.  The surface is too shiny for the pick-ups.  It
only
> plays records that are black, and will not play records where the groove
> walls are not at a 90 degree angle (early Berliners for example), or
smaller
> than 7" or larger than 12".  The biggest drawback is that the record must
be
> _completely_ free of dust as dust will create an obstruction for the laser
> and creates ticks and pops.  This can be quite a serious problem with
> microgroove records, though it may not be quite as critical with larger
> grooved discs.
>
> Overall I would say that, for our use, it was worth the expense.
>
>
> Gilles St-Laurent
> Music Division
> National Library of Canada
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Graham Newton [mailto:gn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> > Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2001 12:43 PM
> > To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Cc: Susan Harvey
> > Subject: Re: arsclist Playback equipment for phonograph records
> >
> >
> >
> > I would caution you on the ELT, simply because if you want to
> > cover a wide
> > variety of disc types and composition, the ELT is not the one
> > to do it.
> >
> > Gilles St. Laurent at Canada's National Library in Ottawa
> > would be pleased
> > elaborate, since they have one and found that it was a nice
> > idea, but there
> > are many problems that have not been addressed.
> >
> >
> > ... Graham Newton
> -
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