The turntable itch
I have been recently infected with the itch to change up my turntables. I have two vintage turntables that I use as daily drivers. Neither of them are high-end; remember I am the budget audiophile! I have a belt-driven Technics SL-B3 turntable, this table has an interchangeable head shell system, it was built around 1980. I brought this one back from the junk pile, I traded a 17" monitor for it. This thing was very dirty, the belt had melted to the platter. I restored it, cleaned it, lubricated it, got a headshell a new belt and brought it back from near-death. I also have a direct-drive JVC L-F210. This table is a direct-drive straight-arm table from around 1982, it also has the interchangeable head shell system.
Each of my turntables have it's strengths and weaknesses. Both have interchangeabe headshells, albeit both are different styles of headshell. The JVC sounds brighter than the Technics, which has a nice and rich sound. I have each one of them for a reason based upon preferences and performance. The question is, what do I replace and with what?
I have been looking around the Internet and have been toying with the idea of purchasing a used turntable of a higher-grade than what I am currently using. I have also been looking at some of the new turntables available. What are the considerations I must think about as I start the pursuit of a different turntable?
On the surface purchasing or replacing a turntable seems pretty easy, right? Do you know which direction you would take with each of the listed choices below? Which would be your primary consideration?
I have found several good, used turntables. Dual 1219 and 1229 would be nice turntables to have, although not necessarily an audiophile pick. I was looking at a couple Garrard's from the 1970's and they look pretty good. These models have the fixed head shell so I cannot interchange needles on them. As much as I would like either of them I will probably steer clear until I have one perfect needle that I wish to live with on one perfect turntable. (as-if...). The cost of these can range from less than $100 to more than $300. I thought about Technics, but in order to get a better turntable, I would have to buy a 1200. Shipping is another problem, over the years I have had about a 50% success rate with having turntables shipped to me. Half have arrived either broken, smashed or not working as intended. I hesitate to have anything shipped to me except in original packaging, with shipping insurance or a guarantee.
I have looked at some new turntables, like the Rega and the Project turntables. I like the way they look, they get great reviews, however there is no way to swap the headshells on the affordable ones, (if you consider $369 - $700 afordable). I found a Thorens which is in current production that has the removable headshell, 3-speeds and auto return, very nice, but over $1200. I tend to avoid the Stanton, Numark, Crosley and the remainder of the budget, entry-level or USB turntables.
What about a custom-built turntable from parts? I have an old Garrard with a very heavy platter that spins forever, it has that funky, antique astatic needle with vibration pickup arm. It is not audiophlile by any stretch of imagination, (YET!). I have acquired a couple tonearms from broken turntables that I have had in the past and online and I plan to use one. The arms that I have all use the interchangeable head shell setup for which I have about a dozen needles ready to go. To make this a reality, I need to have a base, or plinth designed which will house the motor assembly and the electronics, and needs to be heavy enough to deal with the vibration that it will encounter and big enough to house everything under the covers. I will remove the old tonearm from the turntable, move the motor, base and platter assembly to the new base. Then, drill the appropriate holes in the turntable base to accomodate the new tonearm in the desired location. When I design the base I will be emulating the shape and size of my Technics table, so I can use the geometry from it to correctly place the tonearm for similar alignment and playback performance, (hopefully). The speeds available on my home-made turntable will be 16, 33, 45, 78rpm, which makes this table quite flexible. I have needles mounted on headshells for special records that I will be able to play on the home built table. I have a 78 Cartridge, a Mono Cartridge and a couple spherical ones for playing crappy records. I will be able to change to any of them I want to use for the record I wish to play. This is one of my favorite parts of havinig a turntable is having multiple needles, see my post on multiple needles and the benefits.
I think I will be building the custom turntable as it offers the most fun for me, it also offers the most flexibility for playback. I think the challenge of making all this work properly will be quite fun and enlightening. As for the cost, it will probably cost me a couple hundred dollars to get the right piece of wood for the plinth and have it shaped to fit the turntable base I intend to use and hold the tonearm in the correct location with a nice finish. A dozen hours on the base, another few hours drilling and placing everything where it should go. 100 hours of playing records to test it, tweaks here and there until i get good sound or better, fun, fun, fun! The final table should be something fun to watch and listen to, while it will probably not be audiophile grade, the grade it will get for fun should be an A+!
The needles I use are:
Pickering V-15 - PD07-C spherical stylus - tracks crappy records
Shure V15 RS - original stylus w/stabilizer brush - only used with new or perfect records
Shure M91ED - aftermarket stylus
Shure M95ED - aftermarket stylus
Shure M97Xe - original stylus - with stabilizer brush - tracks warped records
Grado Prestige Black - original stylus
Grado Prestige Blue - origina stylus - reference - perfectly aligned and very honest
Grado Mono - original mono stylus - only for playing mono microgroove recordings
Audio Technica - Model unknown, came with turntable
Shure M91ED - Original stylus
Shure M97Xe - original stylus - with stabilizer brush - tracks warped records
Pickering XV-15/625e w/d700 aftermarket conical stylus w/brushmatic - tracks crappy records
What would you do? Which table should I replace?
Do some listening today!
Jeff
Each of my turntables have it's strengths and weaknesses. Both have interchangeabe headshells, albeit both are different styles of headshell. The JVC sounds brighter than the Technics, which has a nice and rich sound. I have each one of them for a reason based upon preferences and performance. The question is, what do I replace and with what?
I have been looking around the Internet and have been toying with the idea of purchasing a used turntable of a higher-grade than what I am currently using. I have also been looking at some of the new turntables available. What are the considerations I must think about as I start the pursuit of a different turntable?
On the surface purchasing or replacing a turntable seems pretty easy, right? Do you know which direction you would take with each of the listed choices below? Which would be your primary consideration?
- Belt-drive, Direct-drive?
- Interchangeable head shells or one pre-mounted or permanent?
- 33, 45, 78 or 33,45?
- Automatic, Manual or Auto-return only?
- New or used?
- Build a custom-made turntable from parts?
- Price
I have found several good, used turntables. Dual 1219 and 1229 would be nice turntables to have, although not necessarily an audiophile pick. I was looking at a couple Garrard's from the 1970's and they look pretty good. These models have the fixed head shell so I cannot interchange needles on them. As much as I would like either of them I will probably steer clear until I have one perfect needle that I wish to live with on one perfect turntable. (as-if...). The cost of these can range from less than $100 to more than $300. I thought about Technics, but in order to get a better turntable, I would have to buy a 1200. Shipping is another problem, over the years I have had about a 50% success rate with having turntables shipped to me. Half have arrived either broken, smashed or not working as intended. I hesitate to have anything shipped to me except in original packaging, with shipping insurance or a guarantee.
I have looked at some new turntables, like the Rega and the Project turntables. I like the way they look, they get great reviews, however there is no way to swap the headshells on the affordable ones, (if you consider $369 - $700 afordable). I found a Thorens which is in current production that has the removable headshell, 3-speeds and auto return, very nice, but over $1200. I tend to avoid the Stanton, Numark, Crosley and the remainder of the budget, entry-level or USB turntables.
What about a custom-built turntable from parts? I have an old Garrard with a very heavy platter that spins forever, it has that funky, antique astatic needle with vibration pickup arm. It is not audiophlile by any stretch of imagination, (YET!). I have acquired a couple tonearms from broken turntables that I have had in the past and online and I plan to use one. The arms that I have all use the interchangeable head shell setup for which I have about a dozen needles ready to go. To make this a reality, I need to have a base, or plinth designed which will house the motor assembly and the electronics, and needs to be heavy enough to deal with the vibration that it will encounter and big enough to house everything under the covers. I will remove the old tonearm from the turntable, move the motor, base and platter assembly to the new base. Then, drill the appropriate holes in the turntable base to accomodate the new tonearm in the desired location. When I design the base I will be emulating the shape and size of my Technics table, so I can use the geometry from it to correctly place the tonearm for similar alignment and playback performance, (hopefully). The speeds available on my home-made turntable will be 16, 33, 45, 78rpm, which makes this table quite flexible. I have needles mounted on headshells for special records that I will be able to play on the home built table. I have a 78 Cartridge, a Mono Cartridge and a couple spherical ones for playing crappy records. I will be able to change to any of them I want to use for the record I wish to play. This is one of my favorite parts of havinig a turntable is having multiple needles, see my post on multiple needles and the benefits.
I think I will be building the custom turntable as it offers the most fun for me, it also offers the most flexibility for playback. I think the challenge of making all this work properly will be quite fun and enlightening. As for the cost, it will probably cost me a couple hundred dollars to get the right piece of wood for the plinth and have it shaped to fit the turntable base I intend to use and hold the tonearm in the correct location with a nice finish. A dozen hours on the base, another few hours drilling and placing everything where it should go. 100 hours of playing records to test it, tweaks here and there until i get good sound or better, fun, fun, fun! The final table should be something fun to watch and listen to, while it will probably not be audiophile grade, the grade it will get for fun should be an A+!
The needles I use are:
Technics SL-B3, SME interchangeable stylus system
Pickering V-15 - PD07-C spherical stylus - tracks crappy records
Shure V15 RS - original stylus w/stabilizer brush - only used with new or perfect records
Shure M91ED - aftermarket stylus
Shure M95ED - aftermarket stylus
Shure M97Xe - original stylus - with stabilizer brush - tracks warped records
Grado Prestige Black - original stylus
Grado Prestige Blue - origina stylus - reference - perfectly aligned and very honest
Grado Mono - original mono stylus - only for playing mono microgroove recordings
JVC L-F210, straight-arm standard interchangable stylus system
Audio Technica - Model unknown, came with turntable
Shure M91ED - Original stylus
Shure M97Xe - original stylus - with stabilizer brush - tracks warped records
Pickering XV-15/625e w/d700 aftermarket conical stylus w/brushmatic - tracks crappy records
What would you do? Which table should I replace?
Do some listening today!
Jeff
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