Vintage Turntables

[Paully]

Absolutely, I don't condemn Regas or regular tonearms.  I always wondered if my anti-skate mechanism was just messed up.  Regardless, the linear tracking tonearm didn't even have a counterweight mechanism so I felt comfortable with the whole concept of align it and call it good.  So I am darn happy with my current setup.  Works for me!

[Grainger49]

Jamie,

I was selling audio gear when 1/4g tracking first came into being.  It has been my experience that it is tricky.  I keep my cartridge(s) set at the high end of the range.

YMMV! 

Let us know what you think.

[rif]

Ditto on the vpi hw comments. I own an hw19 Mk iv with TNT platter parts. VPI is a great company too, family owned (I still think) based in New Jersey.

If you want to spend a few hundred less, look at the systemdek iix. I owned one before upgrading to the vpi.

[J. Mauro]

I am firmly in the DD camp. I have a relatively high end JVC from the late 70's and it sounds incredible. I have compared it to multi thousand dollar tables that revolve through my friend's house and every time it comes out on top. Also, being automatic has its perks. Check out the Quartz Lock tables from JVC. You won't be disappointed.

[Chris]

That is quite a statement...

[J. Mauro]

I have the luxury of paying nothing for the table as it was my father's since it was brand new. It is a JVC QL-F6 and it sounds fantastic. After nothing more than a thorough cleaning, tuneup, 12 lbs of plasticine,  new phono cable and platter mat, and a well setup DL110, I am loving the sound this table makes. It is absolutely wonderful and the money I have saved has been spent on a step up device, a Seduction, a Quickie and now a SEX to run my Klipsch Heresies. Now, I don't pretend to know everything about this incredibly subjective hobby of ours but I love the music it is making more and more every day. I guess that is what it is all about. The reason I endorsed the JVC tables is because they are great value and the prices aren't as high as the Technics tables these days.

[saildoctor]

I started off with a Technics SL-Q2 - direct drive, quartz lock, semi-auto.  It worked and sounded great - and importantly I found out I don't mind the extra care and side flipping that vinyl adds.  I finally stepped up to a VPI Classic and I've got to say - I don't think I will ever have to get another turntable.  There is always something epic about plopping down a record onto 25lbs of platter.  Still - sometimes I do miss the auto arm return on the Technics!  *Sniffle*   

[Chris]

Yes JM, I do believe you...   JVC is very often overlooked as a viable choice in favor of other brands, but they DO have great engineers as well... I agree... and nice to hear your review as well.. This is what I meant as "quite a statement"..

[J. Mauro]

Thanks Chris. I wasn't sure what you meant so I wanted to clarify. I am a DD er for life just like I am now a Bottlehead for life. I've always loved music but my discovery of vinyl and DIY tube gear in the last two years has really made it so much more fulfilling and enjoyable. I try to talk about my JVC whenever I can, just so people know there are other options out there.

[madbrayniak]

I will certainly look at the vintage JVC turtables a bit more.

I have to say, I am very curious about Vinyl as a playback medium. If anything I can see it as a way to sit down and enjoy it more.

Like when you take the time to cook a nice meal. You take the time to clean your record and drop the needle. You dont WANT to do multiple things when you take the time to do something you enjoy. Forcing yourself basically to slow down and relax.

Just like not taking a cell phone, tablet, or laptop on vacation!

[Downhome Upstate]

I will certainly look at the vintage JVC turtables a bit more.

I have to say, I am very curious about Vinyl as a playback medium. If anything I can see it as a way to sit down and enjoy it more.

Like when you take the time to cook a nice meal. You take the time to clean your record and drop the needle. You dont WANT to do multiple things when you take the time to do something you enjoy. Forcing yourself basically to slow down and relax.

Just like not taking a cell phone, tablet, or laptop on vacation!

Exactly! And, that meditation on music can be done without spending huge sums. Enjoy your journey.

[madbrayniak]

YEP!

I don't get how some people seem to live life in the 100 mile per hour lane. I was doing that for a bit when I first got out of college but I soon realized that I couldn't handle it.

So for the last year or a bit longer my wife and I have been trying to learn how to live a simpler life. We have been getting rid of alot of pointless junk. Learning to enjoy not having the TV on. Eating better meals(not necessarily healthier ones, it shows... )

And we have been pushing away technology in many ways. Being "connected" seems to make you busier all the time! Heck, my other hobby is building computers and I say that!

We are still working on "purging" our lives too. Trying to own less as the more you own the messier the house tends to stay.  Next step will be to downsize the house entirely. We love to travel so we would rather have a small house and be able to invest and retire younger and travel the world....

So I pretty much KNOW I will enjoy LP records. Cause it seems to just fit with me and my life style. Just need to get into it.

[Chris]

Remember  Will Ferrell in a movie where he was booted out of his house by his wife and was living in the front yard with all of his stuff and the thing most precious to him was his TT and vinyl.. And he hooked it up in the yard and was playing it... I have to say, I totally understood him...haha Maybe, we all do...

[madbrayniak]

I read somewhere on here that some of you find the DL-103 to sound good but a little dull.

I was wondering if anyone had heard some of these modified DL-103 like the one from Zu Audio? Supposedly the few changes that they have made to it have yeilded some vast improvements in the treble and bass range in particular.

[Downhome Upstate]

No (I use a DL-103R, which sounds great to my ears and which cost about USD $279 from Comet Supply, delivered), but I've got a preliminary question for you: Have you looked at any information about optimizing the relationship between cartridge compliance on one hand, and the effective mass of your tonearm on the other?

If not, try going to Vinyl Engine. You can use one of their tools to see if a given cartridge is a good match with whatever tonearm you plan to use (or, the tonearm that already comes with the 'table you're buying).

Try this: http://www.vinylengine.com/cartridge_resonance_evaluator.php

Just find and enter the effective mass of the tonearm in the small 'window' and hit "Submit". The tool will take you to a color-coded chart that helps identify good matches between (i) cartridge weight and compliance and (ii) a given tonearm.

If I've got this straight, the idea is to keep the resonant frequency of the combined arm and cartridge system low enough so that it doesn't materially add to the energy imparted to the stylus and cantilever (and thus the cartridge motor) by the record grooves. The chart is not the gospel (there is way more to tonearm design than effective mass, and some combinations that the chart doesn't indicate as optimum sound good anyway), but it's a good cheat sheet for those of us who are not engineers.