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Nice turntables. Attached picture is an absolute requirement.

EarlessOldMan

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I had a few (old and new, cheap and expensive) turntables in my life, but nothing beats Technics for me. This is my actual one, a mint full original 1976's Technic SL1500 with an AT VM95EN cell. And the foolish money some spend on turntables that are worse i can spend on vinyl records ;)

View attachment 199697
Beautiful!

Right now, I'm very much enjoying an old Garrard Synchro-Lab 75, with an Empire 990C/X cartridge. I paid $40 for it. It has been sounding great to me.
 

TheBatsEar

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:D
PXL_20220413_211439017.jpg
 

Pogre

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My little ol' Kenwood KD-38R turntable. Nothing special per se, aside from that it was a gift from a forum friend on another site who is trying to get me into spinning vinyl, lol.

Anyway, it's not very fancy but it still gives me warm fuzzies because it was a nice gift. It is my first official turntable tho...

7977_copy_960x720.jpeg


7976_copy_960x720.jpeg
 

EarlessOldMan

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Another one from me: a Garrard Synchro-Lab 75, with an Empire 990 C/X cartridge.

As Winnie-the-Pooh might say, the old Garrard has a rumbly in its tumbly. I can tell that the stylus on the cartridge has seen far better days.

But I'm enjoying the heck out of the ol' thing . . .
 

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Angsty

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Beautiful!

Right now, I'm very much enjoying an old Garrard Synchro-Lab 75, with an Empire 990C/X cartridge. I paid $40 for it. It has been sounding great to me.
I could never get my Garrard Synchro-Lab turntables to keep accurate speed. How does yours do?
 

Angsty

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Another one from me: a Garrard Synchro-Lab 75, with an Empire 990 C/X cartridge.

As Winnie-the-Pooh might say, the old Garrard has a rumbly in its tumbly. I can tell that the stylus on the cartridge has seen far better days.

But I'm enjoying the heck out of the ol' thing . . .
Don't let an old stylus eat your records! When I got my Garrard, it had an old Radio Shack/Shure stylus that was clearly worn. Playing a worn stylus can permanently damage records, so I found a NOS stylus on eBay that worked great. It seems that Empire 990C/X styli are readily available online at sensible prices.
 

EarlessOldMan

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I could never get my Garrard Synchro-Lab turntables to keep accurate speed. How does yours do?
Well, if you don't check closely, they're fine!

I haven't bothered to measure. After all, my SL-75 has enough rumble that a little bit of speed inconsistency isn't going to matter all that much. And however much the speed may vary, it isn't enough to be significantly audible.
 

EarlessOldMan

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Don't let an old stylus eat your records! When I got my Garrard, it had an old Radio Shack/Shure stylus that was clearly worn. Playing a worn stylus can permanently damage records, so I found a NOS stylus on eBay that worked great. It seems that Empire 990C/X styli are readily available online at sensible prices.
I inspected the stylus, and it's actually in decent shape.

I am aware of the need to inspect styluses. But thank you for your concern.
 

IPunchCholla

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7C8ADC59-1AF3-41DD-9CD6-885B8D062F41.jpeg

Nothing fancy, but i’m very happy with it! I love the fully auto and the repeat!
 

anmpr1

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I could never get my Garrard Synchro-Lab turntables to keep accurate speed. How does yours do?
Which models? Those without speed control used a machined pully keyed to the mains line frequency that the synchronous motor 'locked' to. There should be no big variation among those models, as long as the mains is stable and as long as the pully/idler mechanism remains intact. A large stack of records on the platter could add an additional load to the drive system.

Variable speed models (Z-100) used a tapered pulley allowing the idler reduction disc to move up and down the shaft (for adjusting speed). Since this entailed a spring loaded mechanical connection, speed drift was not uncommon as the idler could move up and down on the pulley, over time (although it was usually gradual and not very noticeable, if at all). Someone with perfect pitch might recognize the variation on certain music, I'm sure. Wow and flutter was generally below most folk's perception threshold; rumble from the idler drive tended to breakthrough at times. At least that is my experience.

In order to accommodate the smallish motor (and come in at a price point) the SL series used lightweight platters. So you didn't get a larger mass flywheel effect.

By the early '70s, with the introduction and popularization of electronic servo circuitry, all the mechanical stuff became obsolete. Additionally, changers were no longer in fashion (however I believe the Garrard GT-55 changer used an electronic servo, and the BIC 980 had that, along with belt drive). Now, 50 years on, the strictly mechanical Garrards (and many of the others) are likely still working, whereas electronic servos from the era probably require servicing and/or electrical parts replacement.

One of the bugaboos of Garrards (and their like) is the grease used for the mechanical Rube Goldbergish gears and levers. It hardens, and that needs to be cleaned up--a labor intensive task. Also, with the exception of the Z-100, there is no way to adjust anything like overhang or offset-- that was fixed. Arm height adjustment was out of the question, although some of the later Duals provided arm height.

I would think that one of the moderately priced record players sold today would be at least as good if not better than any of the old changers. What you won't get (usually) is 78 rpm and the ability to stack records. Those are probably not important to anyone today. It would surprise me, however, if the cheaper belt drive record players have speed consistency that is appreciably better than the old machines. Once you get to quartz PLL it's goodbye Charlie.
 

EarlessOldMan

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Which models? Those without speed control used a machined pully keyed to the mains line frequency that the synchronous motor 'locked' to. There should be no big variation among those models, as long as the mains is stable and as long as the pully/idler mechanism remains intact. A large stack of records on the platter could add an additional load to the drive system.

Variable speed models (Z-100) used a tapered pulley allowing the idler reduction disc to move up and down the shaft (for adjusting speed). Since this entailed a spring loaded mechanical connection, speed drift was not uncommon as the idler could move up and down on the pulley, over time (although it was usually gradual and not very noticeable, if at all). Someone with perfect pitch might recognize the variation on certain music, I'm sure. Wow and flutter was generally below most folk's perception threshold; rumble from the idler drive tended to breakthrough at times. At least that is my experience.

In order to accommodate the smallish motor (and come in at a price point) the SL series used lightweight platters. So you didn't get a larger mass flywheel effect.

By the early '70s, with the introduction and popularization of electronic servo circuitry, all the mechanical stuff became obsolete. Additionally, changers were no longer in fashion (however I believe the Garrard GT-55 changer used an electronic servo, and the BIC 980 had that, along with belt drive). Now, 50 years on, the strictly mechanical Garrards (and many of the others) are likely still working, whereas electronic servos from the era probably require servicing and/or electrical parts replacement.

One of the bugaboos of Garrards (and their like) is the grease used for the mechanical Rube Goldbergish gears and levers. It hardens, and that needs to be cleaned up--a labor intensive task. Also, with the exception of the Z-100, there is no way to adjust anything like overhang or offset-- that was fixed. Arm height adjustment was out of the question, although some of the later Duals provided arm height.

I would think that one of the moderately priced record players sold today would be at least as good if not better than any of the old changers. What you won't get (usually) is 78 rpm and the ability to stack records. Those are probably not important to anyone today. It would surprise me, however, if the cheaper belt drive record players have speed consistency that is appreciably better than the old machines. Once you get to quartz PLL it's goodbye Charlie.
Hey, I ain't got nothin' agin most turntables, not nothin' not whatsonever. Y'all folks play yore records on just whatsomever hits y'alls' fancy, hear?

I have two Garrard Type As in good working condition. I love 'em both. Do they have a bit of rumble? Well, sure. But my hearing is bad, and my thinking's worse. So it don't make me no never mind.

I have period-correct cartridges (two Shure M7DMs and a Shure M99) in other headshells. I had a spare headshell, so I stuck an Audio-Technica AT-3600L in it. That sounded so good that I got another headshell and mounted another AT-3600L in it. Now I'm running AT-3600Ls in two Type As. (They're set up in different rooms. Trust me: this makes all sorts of good sense, even if it's complete foolishness.)

To me, this combination sounds great. And I love the looks of a Garrard Type A. It reminds me of a wringer washing machine or some kitchen appliance. Combination record player, juicer, and heel-scraper.

I'm listening to a period-correct album this morning on one of the Type As: Billy Vaughn, Pearly Shells. How sweet it is!
 

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Angsty

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Which models? Those without speed control used a machined pully keyed to the mains line frequency that the synchronous motor 'locked' to. There should be no big variation among those models, as long as the mains is stable and as long as the pully/idler mechanism remains intact. A large stack of records on the platter could add an additional load to the drive system.

Variable speed models (Z-100) used a tapered pulley allowing the idler reduction disc to move up and down the shaft (for adjusting speed). Since this entailed a spring loaded mechanical connection, speed drift was not uncommon as the idler could move up and down on the pulley, over time (although it was usually gradual and not very noticeable, if at all). Someone with perfect pitch might recognize the variation on certain music, I'm sure. Wow and flutter was generally below most folk's perception threshold; rumble from the idler drive tended to breakthrough at times. At least that is my experience.

In order to accommodate the smallish motor (and come in at a price point) the SL series used lightweight platters. So you didn't get a larger mass flywheel effect.

By the early '70s, with the introduction and popularization of electronic servo circuitry, all the mechanical stuff became obsolete. Additionally, changers were no longer in fashion (however I believe the Garrard GT-55 changer used an electronic servo, and the BIC 980 had that, along with belt drive). Now, 50 years on, the strictly mechanical Garrards (and many of the others) are likely still working, whereas electronic servos from the era probably require servicing and/or electrical parts replacement.

One of the bugaboos of Garrards (and their like) is the grease used for the mechanical Rube Goldbergish gears and levers. It hardens, and that needs to be cleaned up--a labor intensive task. Also, with the exception of the Z-100, there is no way to adjust anything like overhang or offset-- that was fixed. Arm height adjustment was out of the question, although some of the later Duals provided arm height.

I would think that one of the moderately priced record players sold today would be at least as good if not better than any of the old changers. What you won't get (usually) is 78 rpm and the ability to stack records. Those are probably not important to anyone today. It would surprise me, however, if the cheaper belt drive record players have speed consistency that is appreciably better than the old machines. Once you get to quartz PLL it's goodbye Charlie.
I replaced the Garrard with a VPI Traveler. It’s a much simpler and more elegant playing machine - I like it immensely.
 

Vacceo

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I really like non-square turntables. Perhaps this is the moment to actually ask if any of these two are actually good devices, because my eyes love them, but the performance may be terrible.

This one from Pro Ject.
pro-ject-rpm-3-carbon.jpg

And this other one, from Avid:

ingenium2.jpg
 

Angsty

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I really like non-square turntables. Perhaps this is the moment to actually ask if any of these two are actually good devices, because my eyes love them, but the performance may be terrible.

This one from Pro Ject.
pro-ject-rpm-3-carbon.jpg

And this other one, from Avid:

ingenium2.jpg
This ASR member has a "non-square" turntable that is really excellent:

 

phoenixdogfan

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Vacceo

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This ASR member has a "non-square" turntable that is really excellent:

The design is, to me at least, gorgeous.
 
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