Modern Materials In Turntables. Really An Advancement?

Posted by Mister Pig (A) on April 18, 2018 at 21:14:10

I remember when I saw my first Well Tempered Record Player. Such an innovative design, and really cool materials to boot. Sure the arm was neat, and that garnered a lot of attention. But so did the acrylic platter. Then VPI came out with a lead and acrylic platter, as did Maplenoll, and we were off to the races. Other platters have been made of PVC, or been weighted with lead shot. With tone arms we saw the use of a magnesium alloy, carbon fiber, and to a small extent wood.

About 5 or 6 years ago I got my first TD 124 to experiment with, and then later a Garrrd 401. These tables sounded great with iron or steel platters, and cast bodies. The 401 was refurbished by Loricraft, and I did the 124 myself. Both tables sounded excellent, but I was using modern tone arms on them.

Last couple of years I let my idlers go, and decided to explore some of the Japanese direct drives. I have two SP 10 MK II, and a Denon DP 75. During this time I decided to experiment with classic Japanese tonearms a bit too. I found the Acos 801 and the SAEC 407 to be excellent sounding, and these use stainless steel or aluminum arm wands, have detachable head shells, and somewhat conventional bearings. Yet they get a lot of sound quality out of either an Ortofon A90 or Cadenza Blue. I still have a 12" wood unipivot on my other SP 10.

I notice these days that companies like VI, Transrotor, and Acoustic Signature use stainless steel platters. There are a few arms that are pretty traditional in materials like the Schick, Ortofon, Aibis, and Jelco.

So are the materials side of analog playback a bit of a red herring? Is it a minimal contribution at best? Be curious to hear your thoughts on the topic.

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Topic - Modern Materials In Turntables. Really An Advancement? - Mister Pig 21:14:10 04/18/18 (19)

Really An Advancement? - bare 12:13:38 04/20/18 (0)

RE: Modern Materials In Turntables. Really An Advancement? - Crazy Dave 07:25:49 04/20/18 (0)

RE: Modern Materials In Turntables. Really An Advancement? - bill_stevenson@bellsouth.net 20:00:27 04/19/18 (0)

rubber bells, rubber bells, it's christmas time in the city - beach cruiser 00:48:24 04/19/18 (15)

RE: rubber bells, rubber bells, it's christmas time in the city - PAR 01:19:37 04/19/18 (14)

RE: rubber bells, rubber bells, it's christmas time in the city - hahax@verizon.net 20:37:53 04/19/18 (0)

RE: rubber bells, rubber bells, it's christmas time in the city - beach cruiser 02:08:03 04/19/18 (12)

RE: rubber bells, rubber bells, it's christmas time in the city - Alex M 05:54:05 04/19/18 (1)

thanks for the input from another old guy. - beach cruiser 12:18:37 04/19/18 (0)

RE: rubber bells, rubber bells, it's christmas time in the city - Mister Pig 05:13:03 04/19/18 (1)

RE: rubber bells, rubber bells, it's christmas time in the city - fstein 07:56:08 04/19/18 (0)

Celestion used aerolam for speaker cabinets in the acclaimed SL line - Opus 33 1/3 04:51:52 04/19/18 (6)

RE: Celestion used aerolam for speaker cabinets in the acclaimed SL line - hahax@verizon.net 15:16:31 04/20/18 (0)

RE: Celestion used aerolam for speaker cabinets in the acclaimed SL line - volunteer 07:15:12 04/19/18 (4)

They were above my pay grade. Heard them, though. - Opus 33 1/3 09:06:33 04/19/18 (3)

RE: They were above my pay grade. Heard them, though. - volunteer 09:28:39 04/19/18 (2)

Never thought of the AE-1s as bright. They were revealing of bright recordings. - Opus 33 1/3 12:17:59 04/19/18 (1)

RE: Never thought of the AE-1s as bright. They were revealing of bright recordings. - volunteer 14:59:13 04/19/18 (0)

RE: rubber bells, rubber bells, it's christmas time in the city - PAR 02:47:07 04/19/18 (0)

Modern Materials In Turntables. Really An Advancement?

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