Turntables. Why so many?

[richardfinegold]

I agree with you, I bought my Linn Sondek which was already a few months old, second hand from a BBC colleague back in about 1976. I've had it overhauled a couple of times since then, and a stylus replacement to the Itok cartridge, and I've invested in an excellent moving coil amplifier to feed into my system. The performance is first rate after all these years.

I'm often baffled by the frequent complaints about clicks and plops and surface noise generally, but can only say that it really isn't a problem. I've always kept my LPs scrupulously clean and I strongly believe that the problems many people seem to face are caused by poor choice of high compliance moving magnet cartridges and low tracking weights.

I'm not a vinylista, but LP quality can be superb. I've just been listening to a disc of various baroque works by Boyce and others with the ECO and Emanuel Hurwitz on a Decca Ace of Diamonds LP. Superb sound and not a click or plop!

Interestingly none of the last two comments mention Rega decks, which are notoriously bad for speed stability. The Rega makes for some interesting sounds at the end of a disc. I remember hearing DFDs voice sound like he was having a Colonoscopy without anesthesia at the end of the first side of Winterrise.
The LMP objection to DD was debunked with measurements in the early 80s. Essentially that turned out to be a disinformation campaign by the founder of Linn in order to ward off competition from cheaper and more reliable Technics tables. The speed stability of the Technics SL 1200 has been long attested two by being the preferred playback media of DJs at parties, where rhythm is the main concern.
Well I sold my analog set up and gave away the lps. However I have always been fascinated by the physics of vinyl replay: the electromagnetism of the stylus riding in the groove, the amplification of the small signal generated, the necessity for RIAA curve, the issue of keeping the tone arm tangential to a spinning disc, and on it goes. The physics of digital in turn are much less interesting to me. However, I much prefer the end result of listening to digital, but remain interested in reading about analog