Turntable Reviews

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SME Model 30/2 turntable

Michael Fremer Mar 16, 2003 First Published: Mar 16, 2003 0 comments

Dense, compact, and built to run O-rings around the competition, SME's flagship turntable makes every other design I've encountered—with the possible exception of Rockport's">http://www.stereophile.com//analogsourcereviews/258/">Rockport's System III Sirius—look almost homemade. I don't mean to insult the many fine, well-engineered designs out there, but I've seen nothing else to compare with SME's tank-like approach to spinning a record. Comparing the Model 30/2 to a tank isn't exactly fair: the machining is done to higher than mil-spec tolerances. I don't think anyone else building turntables today is capable of this level of construction quality, never mind design ingenuity and fit'n'finish.

Turntable Reviews Tonearm Reviews

VPI Aries Scout turntable & JMW-9 tonearm

Art Dudley Feb 16, 2003 First Published: Feb 16, 2003 0 comments

Oh, I talk a good game when it comes to the whole music-lover-vs-audiophile thing. But I admit that when it comes to record players, I'm just another hardware junkie. I love turntables and tonearms for more than the musical enjoyment they give me. Turntables and tonearms are my favorite toys.

Turntable Reviews Tonearm Reviews

VPI TNT V-HR turntable & JMW 12.5 tonearm

Brian Damkroger Dec 20, 2001 First Published: Dec 20, 2001 0 comments

I'm a tinkerer. From homemade audio isolation and room-treatment products to a local area network (LAN) connecting my Macintosh laptops, I'm always building or modifying something. One of my latest projects is a combination of parts swaps and custom-machined bits to better adapt the ergonomics of my exotic Italian Bimota motorcycle to my distinctly un-Italian 6'3" frame. But regardless of what I'm into, I can't resist the urge to tinker.

Turntable Reviews Tonearm Reviews

Rockport Technologies System III Sirius turntable and tonearm

Michael Fremer Aug 20, 2000 First Published: Aug 20, 2000 0 comments

Andy Payor hurls a briefcase full of engineering and scientific mumbo-jumbo at in an attempt to justify the $73,750 price of the latest and greatest edition of his Rockport Technologies turntable, but really—isn't this all-air-driven design a case of analog overkill? After all, defining a turntable's job seems rather easy: rotate the record at an exact and constant speed, and, for a linear tracker, put the stylus in play across the record surface so that it maintains precise tangency to a radius described across the groove surface. By definition, a pivoted arm can't do that, so the goal there is to minimize the deviation. That's basically it. Right?

Turntable Reviews

SME 10 turntable

Michael Fremer Apr 15, 2000 First Published: Apr 15, 2000 0 comments

What do you want from a 21st-century record-playing device? I hear you: you want one that's compact, well-made, easy to set up, holds its setup, sounds great, and doesn't cost a lot.

Turntable Reviews

Basis Debut Mk.V turntable

Michael Fremer Jul 30, 2006 First Published: Jan 30, 2000 0 comments

As it did for so many other designers and manufacturers of specialty audio gear, the current occupation of Basis owner/designer A.J. Conti began as a hobby and personal quest. A longtime audiophile and home-based dealer of brands like Krell and Quicksilver, Conti decided to build his own "killer" turntable using a fluid-damped suspension.

Turntable Reviews

Well Tempered Reference turntable

Brian Damkroger Apr 08, 2007 First Published: Aug 08, 1999 0 comments

"I've got the world on a string, sitting on the rainbow
Got the string around my finger, what a life, Mama, I'm in love.
Life's a beautiful thing, as long as I hold the string
I'd be a silly so-and-so if I should ever let you go."—Ted Koehler

Turntable Reviews

Rega Planar 25 turntable

Michael Fremer Mar 28, 1999 First Published: Mar 28, 1999 0 comments

I literally dropped everything when Rega's new Planar 25 turntable arrived a few weeks ago. I'd heard the 'table compared with the Planar 3 at designer Roy Gandy's house when I visited Rega last fall—see "Analog Corner" in the January '99 Stereophile—and was anxious to audition it in my own system and tell you what I heard.

Tonearm Reviews Turntable Reviews

Wilson Benesch Full Circle turntable, ACT 0.5 tonearm, & Ply MC cartridge

Michael Fremer Aug 06, 2006 First Published: Nov 06, 1998 0 comments

"Hello, I'd like to apply for a Federal Grant? For what? Oh, to design and build a new, high-tech, very expensive turntable. What's that? It plays records. Yes, that kind of turntable. Of course they still make records. Why? How much time do you have? Oh, I forgot—you're a federal employee, you have all day! Well, I didn't mean to insult you. It was a joke....No, I'm serious about the turntable. You do? What kind of music? When are they from? RCA Record Club? Classical Music? 1950s and '60s? Yes. I'll give you $5 each. I know it's generous, but... How much money do I want for the grant? Coupla hundred thousand dollars. No, our turntables will never be used to play Marilyn Manson records—Marilyn doesn't do vinyl. It's in the mail? Thank you. I'll come get the LPs tonight."

Turntable Reviews Tonearm Reviews

Spotheim La Luce turntable and SpJ tonearm

Jonathan Scull Aug 06, 2006 First Published: Oct 06, 1998 0 comments

The La Luce turntable's elegant form usually stops audiophiles dead in their tracks. Then comes a long, low "Wow." I'm hardly immune myself. And that's not even considering the sound, which has always been wonderful, as it was in the Joseph Audio/Cardas room at CES '98.