Apexorca systems

[Apexorca]

Quite recurrent, I get ideas about getting a turntable again.
Since I again and again hear the intimate and captivating music from vinyl records I decided that it should not just be an idea this time.

THE HUNT FOR TURNTABLE!

Turntables sounds different and I know what sound I want from it. The hard part is to figure out what turntable that can produce that sound.
That will be my homework the near future. Meanwhile I bought a real classic turntable that really can play music in a way that makes your hole body to move to the music. They made over 3 miljon units from 1972-2010 and it is the most durable turntable out there.

Technics SL-1210 MKII was used but in mint condition. I investet in a new pickup from Denmark, Ortofone Quintet blue

Pics:



DM got the honor to play first.











The stroboscope feature is cool and practical.



The new year partydancing did not make the pickup jump due to these well damped feet.



I must say it's extra fun to listen to vinyl. Musically this record player is far better than I expected. It will be a great replacement and backup in the future.

[chops-tube]

Excellent choice!

I've gone through a few Japanese direct drive turntables in my day, including a big and heavy Denon DP-55K, Luxman PD277, and Yamaha YP-D71, as well as a belt drive Music Hall MMF-5.

On top of that, I've used both MM and MC cartridges including a Goldring 1012GX, an Adcom HC/VDH-II, a Pickering XV-15/625E, a Sumiko Blue Point, a Stanton 981 HZS, an Audio Technica 95E and 440MLa, a Shure M97XE, a Benz Micro ACE S and a couple others that I'm forgetting.

Out of all of the above, I have come full circle back to a mint, old Technics SL-1700 MK II and all original Signet TK7E cartridge, both of which my father purchased brand new back in 1979. This particular combination has turned out to be the top performer with all types of music, no matter what system I have had it in.

With any given cartridge used on any given turntable, all of those turntables sounded their best with the Signet TK7E mounted to them. And I have used just about all of those mentioned cartridges on the SL-1700 MK II, and likewise, it sounded best with the TK7E strapped onto it.

All of those other turntables and cartridges have come and gone, and I spent a LOT more money on them than my father did on the Technics and Signet back in 1979, even with today's prices factored in, but the Technics SL-1700 MK II and Signet TK7E have stood the test of time, literally. Out of all of that gear, this combo has managed to remain the best sounding, hence why it remains in my current system today.

As I said earlier, the TK7E is all original, still riding on the original stylus. Over the years, I imagine this cart still has under 1000 hours on it. The SL-1700 MK II is also all original. The only things done to it is replacing the belt for the "Auto" feature on the tonearm first with a rubber band that my father put on years ago, then about two years ago that I replaced with a nice rubber O-ring. It works flawlessly. The headshell leads have been replaced several times, currently running a set of Nerve Audio Litz headshell leads. Also, living in an apartment with bouncy floors, I found that the turntable works best with the suspension system locked down so it's non-functional and using rubber/cork pads under it instead.

And speaking of O-rings, I use a set of 5 of them strategically placed along the length of the tonearm to help "tune" the resonance of it. Of course, that requires adjusting all of the tonearm settings, even when moving the O-rings around.

Anyway, I didn't mean to run on as long as I did. My point being that a classic direct drive Technics turntable is hard to beat.

[Apexorca]

chops-tube!
Thank you for charing your experience.

[Apexorca]

I'v got some early contenders that can be interesting.

1- Spiral Groove
2- Brinkmann
3- Dr Feickert Firebird.
The first three are my top candidates so far, but it can change. They have always sounded good then I'v heard them.

4- Kuzma
5- Simon York
6- Avid
7- Acoustic Signature
8- Transrotor
9- TW-Acoustics
10- Clearaudio
11- SME
12- Hanss Acoustics
13- Bergmann
14- SOTA

Ideas?

[chops-tube]

For me, I'm a sucker for direct drive tables, so I would be looking at tables from VPI and Grand Prix Audio. But that's just me.

[Apexorca]

Originally Posted by chops-tube

For me, I'm a sucker for direct drive tables, so I would be looking at tables from VPI and Grand Prix Audio. But that's just me.

I will look in to that. Thanks.

[SOA]

Don't forget to check out Bart's suggestion. The Kronos turntables are world class.

[gerzom]

I recently listened to an EAT Forte with EAT E-Go arm and I was rather impressed with he sound. It's quite a large turn table, but maybe one to add to your list?

[Apexorca]

I'v just listen to some turnables. Brinkmann Bardo was one of them. I really liked the sound. Dynamic, fast and excellent natural presentation of the instruments.
This experience and some other demos during the years with Brinkmann makes this brand to be my favorite so far.

One of the best sounding demos with a turntable I can ramember is one from 2012 with Brinkmann Balance. I start to figure things out and what I want.

This is the most likely outcome at this moment.

1- Brinkmann
2- Spiral Groove

[Randy Myers]

I remember back in the day (a long time ago) I went through several turntables, both direct drive and belt. I had a Mitsubishi that I was fond of for a while. However, for me, and back then, there was nothing that performed close to a belt drive audiophile turntable. The more basic the better.

The last belt drive one I had was by far my favorite, with an SME III tonearm and the Grace F9 Ruby cartridge. But that was a long time ago.