Re: [ARSCLIST] turntable recommendations

[Eric Jacobs <ericj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

What speeds?  33/45?  33/45/78?

Consider mounting your turntable on a wall shelf (the Target shelves
work great and don't cost an arm and a leg), with the shelf mounted
preferably an exterior wall or bearing wall that rests on the
perimeter foundation or footing.

For 33/45, a good all-around table that won't break the bank is the
Rega P3.  If you want to play 78s, consider two tables, a Rega P3
and a Rega P78.  Another good 33/45 TT are the Nottinghams - they
cost a bit more than the Regas, but they sound very nice.

One 33/45/78 combination worth considering is an older J.A. Michell
Gyro SE.  It has to be older because you need the older AC motor
which accepts the optional 33/45/78 RPM pulley.  The newer Michell's
no longer support the pulley, and the newer motors synch to 60 RPM
instead of 50 RPM (or something like that).  A potential workaround
would be to use a newer Michell Gyro SE, and add the Clearaudio
Syncro motor controller which can tweak the motor speed, but the
Clearaudio Syncro adds $1k of cost.

Aside from the older JA Michell, I've not found a 33/45/78 belt
drive table that sounds great and doesn't cost a small ransom.

I settled on a Simon Yorke S7 (33/45/78) resting on an atomic
force microscope isolator - you could operate a jack hammer next
to the turntable and nothing would get transmitted, literally.

Eric Jacobs
The Audio Archive



-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
[mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx]On Behalf Of James Lindner
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2005 8:13 AM
To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ARSCLIST] turntable recommendations


I would like to get a turntable for personal use - not for restoration, just
to play back some of my personal collection of LP's for personal listening.
No transcription disks or anything fancy - just for home use, no "DJ
Scratching" - just playing some old disks in reasonably good condition.

I want something that has good isolation, that may be the most important
issue where my turntable is located. People will walk on the floor nearby -
it is unavoidable. Nothing huge - it has to fit on a normal "entertainment
center" shelf.

I hate hum - I had to throw away a thorens 145c - worst hum in history and I
could not get it out of the system no matter what I did and no matter what I
tried, it did however make a very nice sound as it smashed into the dumpster
when dropped 20 feet - that was probably the best sound it ever made. I am
not interested in another  "project" - I just want something out of the box
that works.  I would prefer automatic or semi-automatic.

Suggestions??

Jim Lindner

*
        Email: jim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
*
        Media Matters LLC.
*
        Address: 500 West 37th Street, 1st FL
        New York, N.Y. 10018
*
        eFax (646) 349-4475
*
        Mobile: (917) 945-2662
*
        www.media-matters.net

Media Matters LLC. is a technical consultancy specializing in archival audio
and video material. We provide advice, analysis, and products to media
archives that apply the beneficial advances in technology to collection
management.

-----Original Message-----
From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
[mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Richard L. Hess
Sent: Sunday, June 12, 2005 12:12 AM
To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] My new "studio"

At 11:14 PM 6/11/2005, phillip holmes wrote:
>  What you
>do with tape looks more "fearsome" than 78 restorations (some of it looks
>positively impossible to fix).  I guess it takes patience for good results,
>whatever the media is.

Well, I joke about knowing what I don't know for grooved media. Selecting
the correct stylus and tracking force is something that is "fearsome" to
me. It's all what you get used to. I've been playing with tape for a long
time. I used to joke in high school (in the 60s) when asked what instrument
I played, "the recorder.......as in tape." <smile>

>Do you have any idea what the weight is?  Items like that can cost an arm
>and/or leg to ship to Texas from Montreal.

I paid $500 CDN for it in Toronto, I would expect that you can get a good,
electrostatically shielded transformer from a far more local manufacturer.
It's about 100 pounds--it's all copper windings. It needs to be isolated
and mounted away from the room.

SquareD make good transformers. Check with your local electrical
distributor. Ask for an electrostatically shielded transformer. See what he
comes up with. That's how I found Marcus.

Cheers,

Richard

Richard L. Hess                           email: richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Vignettes
Media                           web:   http://www.richardhess.com/tape/
Aurora, Ontario, Canada             (905) 713 6733     1-877-TAPE-FIX