Re: [ARSCLIST] [MLA-L] Requesting feedback on laser turntables

[Jeffrey Kane <jeffkane@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I own the LT-2XRC. I see no advantage whatsoever to the ELP but quite a few
disadvantages given the situation as outlined. The turntable is
hypersensitive to contamination. Any dirt/dust/etc will cause a torrent of
audible pops and clicks where such distortion will be subaudible and/or not
as severe with a standard turntable. Thus, a mandatory investment would be a
Keith Monks or Loricraft record cleaner. Even they won't always get things
clean enough for the ELP and you'll still have annoying transients.

The subjective sound quality of the ELP is excellent. Yet, the conversion to
a streaming digital medium will likely negate any advantage. Note that the
ELP is fully analog and will still require A/D conversion.

As to the price, the ELP units can be had for far less than retail. I
purchased my unit as a 'refurb' for just under $8500 with shipping. I
believe that in the case of sales to institutions, etc, that ELP prices at
full 'retail'. When dealing with the private sector and individuals, they
discount quite heavily. My experience was prior to their change in US
'distributors', so the strategy may have changed.

I have not had reason to contact ELP for support. As I understand it, any
repairs require shipping the unit back to Japan. Should ELP fail, the
turntable will be a very expensive orphan.

In my case, the ELP gets very little use. I find it invaluable when working
with cracked LPs and 78s as it still plays through defects that would snap a
standard stylus straight off. It also has some utility in compensating for
groove wear as it can 'track' different points on the groove wall. It will
not work with colored vinyl/shellac (although it DOES work with dark
translucent vinyl such as Quiex II and JVC Supervinyl). In short, it's a
limited purpose tool that does a few things quite well. It's a nice
complement to a turntable, not a replacement for one.