Things I never did with my turntables

                                                        Never did the DJ "scratch" thing!

                                                         

                                                        

Thorens

No discussion about turntables would be complete without mentioning Thorens, a Swiss company that is probably one of the oldest still functioning companies today. I still have a TD-125ab kicking around, which was arguably their most famous. Often paired with SME 3009 tonearms, this was a classic combination that at the time rivaled the best.  Very heavy and extremely well made, these represent still one of the best values in the used market today. I have also pictured one of their most recent offerings that I never owned but would surely lust after!

Luxman

Rumor has it that Micro Seiki manufactured these belt drive vacuum tables for Luxman in the '80s. This was before Alpine (think car audio) bought the company. I have two PD-300s, and absolutely love them! Dead quiet and extremely dynamic. Stable speed like an expensive watch. The suction is a bit overpowering when using the optional VS 300 pump unit, the table normally comes with a hand lever and a built in bladder(!) for the suction. This holds for about ten minutes, the record will not stay down for an entire record side. With the optional pump you will be lucky to take the record off five minutes after its done playing! These are extremely heavy and overbuilt, as is typical of high end Japanese tables of the time.

  Also shown is a PD-121, a more typical direct drive table from roughly the same period. The majority of the Lux tables were direct drive. Also very well made and heavy. Beautiful low profile cosmetics with real rosewood bases.

VPI

Probably the most enduring and arguably the most successful analog company still in existence, Harry and Sheila Weissfield have had some of the most diverse yet specialized product offerings in history! Also American made, their tables have had numerous accolades and recommendations. Many truly state of the art and always distintive in their appearance.

 This HW-19 Jr. with the upgraded TNT platter (about 20lbs!) is the only one I currently own. Also the only table I have with an AC motor. Impossible to use with a Grado or many other moving iron designs, the cartridge picks up the 60hz stray fields, getting worse as it gets closer. The same problem the original Linn and AR tables had. Otherwise, it is an excellent device, very musical with excellent build quality. 

   Equally  famous are their record cleaning machines, The 16 and 16.5 machine being in production for over 30 years! There are and have been many imitators, but this is still the most functional and best value in a commercial RCM. I will never part with mine, had several Nitty Gritty machines as well, I will touch on them later.

Transcriptors/Michell

Irish tables that were more art than anything- beautiful examples of analog. The Skeleton was made of glass, and the Hydraulic Reference gained its fame in the movie A Clockwork Orange. I had the Skeleton years ago and made the mistake of selling it cheap when I needed $$$. Kept the Vestigal tonearm, probably the worst part. You need a ridiculously high compliance cartridge for this, very few would work! I used an original ADC Pritchard XLM (american made before the company was sold to BSR).Years later, another Skeleton appeared on Ebay with no arm and  the caveat  "you will probably never find a tonearm for this". 

    Wanna bet? Sits proudly in my collection today, with an XLM (aftermarket stylus). Looks cool, never play it, some things are better left seen and not heard.

Micro Seiki

If there is any one turntable I wish I had kept, it would be a Micro Seiki RX-1500FVG. If nothing else, it has tripled in value! There were basically three versions of this, the table with and without vacuum, and an air bearing version. The vacuum was so strong you couldn't pull the record off five minutes after you shut it off! All were "thread drive", which meant you could use whatever you wanted as a belt.

All had a huge brass platter and weighed a ton! They could accommodate up to three tonearms with the optional arm boards. Mine had two. Cool because you could compare arms and cartridges on the same table! MM cart on one, MC on the other.

The motor unit was separate but could be conjoined with the base. Most people didn't, preferring to spread them out. I liked using unwaxed dental floss for the belt  the best.

There were numerous Micros in Japan that never were imported, RX-5000, etc. Many cheaper direct drive units were brought in. I had a DD20 when I was in my early 20's. The better ones command a huge price today.

 My 1500 actually had feedback problems near my sub woofer, something that the suspended tables never had a problem with.

The Linn Sondek LP12

There were numerous jokes about the reason Ivor Tiefenbrun raised the price of this, his Rolls Royce payment was due, etc. The original was cosmetically nicer than an AR, but that was about it. The numerous updates were outshadowed by only Audio Research with their constant and sometimes silly upgrades. Valhalla, Trampolin, Cirkus,Lingo, LSMFT. Had four of these, don't currently own one. Probably would, though. Just for nostalgia.

Oracle

Their Delphi tables were and still are famous in their own rite- not sure I could decipher the difference in the Mk I and II. Very little. Still have two of these. Linn beater, great tables on the used market.Canadian company designed by Marcel Riendeau, they are still worth considering. The Alexandria was a less expensive more conventional offering, and the Premier was a more refined version. The Paris currently represents a great value if you don't want to step up to the newest version of the Delphi.

SOTA turntables

These remain to this day my favorites.... I still have and use a Star Saphire Series III and an original Cosmos. I have had non-Star Sapphires and the Nova as well in various incarnations. The brainchild of Robert Becker and David Fletcher- two Berkeley physicists who lit the world on fire with american technology, craftsmanship and magic.

The current owners Kirk and Donna Bonadet who have taken it over today are strictly business people who have lost all the warmth that this brand created. There is a website dedicated to analog (the Vinyl Engine) that I will share  a link with later that they demanded that the downloads of their owner's manuals be deleted. Their almighty $10. per copy needed to be preserved.! I remember looking for a pressboard vinyl wrapped replacement cabinet for a vacuum pump, they had a used one laying around that they wanted $80 for! Needed a motor for an older Saphire, he might have found one if he could trek back to the trailer in the back yard through the deep snow for $400! God forbid you should need the vacuum seal replaced on the platter, they will insist on completely rebuilding/upgrading it!

  
Best bet- if you have a Sota that needs some work, buy another used Sota for parts.

Shipping the Sapphire versions is particularly tricky- make sure you buy from someone that knows how to pack them! I have had at least a couple of them show up damaged! I would always keep my fingers crossed when opening the box........

 The vacuum versions of these represent a new level of quiet/sonics.