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It seems that most hi-fi gear manufacturer ads (speakers, amps and such) show a record player. LPs are definitely a trendy thing. Was in a 'big box' store the other day and noticed they were selling records. The SOL (does that stand for Schitt Out of Luck?) is certainly an attempt to play this market at a pretty low price point. Why they would attempt it with such a flaky/tweako design is a mystery. If I was looking to get into the LP hobby, its tonearm alone would scare me from buying--not to mention the Rube Goldberg-Mickey Mouse overall look of the thing.Either they didn't know it was off speed or didn't think any would would notice. I'm not sure which is worse.
I went through Fremer's measurements (he uses the discontinued Feickert iPhone tachometer app--and I suppose a test tone LP). None of the inexpensive belt drives were spot on in speed accuracy, but none of them were as bad as the SOL, which was exceptionally bad. Really, turntable speed variation was solved in the early 1970s with DD servo, and by the 1980s quartz PLL made the issue (even at a theoretical level) moot. Compare Mr. Analog's measurements of the inexpensive Technics SL-1500c (which are similar to the more expensive SL-1200GAE, and out of sight SL-1000), compare the fit and finish and ease of use, and then ask yourself why anyone would get involved with something like SOL?
Even sadder is the fact that Schitt had to use a non technical guy like Fremer to point out technical QC problems to them. How embarrassing is that? The scary thing is that if Fremer hadn't measured the device, the Full of Schitt guys might never have figured it out. LOL
This comes at a time when some Schiit electronics were starting to get interesting from a tech standpoint. Why the company would burn so much goodwill, time and effort on something like this toy is beyond me. I guess it's because they understand their customer. The Schiit faithful won't care. They will in fact enjoy being abused.