Turntables are for me the most interesting bits of Hifi look look at, what does one consider the most Beautiful and the most ugliest turntable ever made.
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Turntables are for me the most interesting bits of Hifi look look at, what does one consider the most Beautiful and the most ugliest turntable ever made.
I still think the Michell Gyrodec is one of the best looking decks ever made.
As to the ugliest, it’s a long list!
Most beautiful:
Thorens TD124/II
https://theartofsound.net/images/bar...g?t=1277843066
http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Qz8AAO...XTt/s-l300.jpg
Luxman PD121 and PD131
http://www.vinylengine.com/images/mo...xman_pd444.jpg
and several B&O designs.
Ugly:
Empire 598 'Troubador'
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a1..._6699746_n.jpg
and
Bordereau Schlumberger TD222-2
http://www.stefanopasini.it/images/Schlumberger.jpg
B&O 4000 tt was one of the best looking I Suppose the transcriptor or whatever it was, in the movie a clockwork orange, was one of the most iconic
John Michell was certainly a cleaver chapie with the design of the Gyro his design has proven to be timeless and continues to sell in reasonably high numbers mostly I have been told due to its looks, the price is still reasonable for a Uk design and is certainly in line with inflation calculator.
Any one seen a spj la luce? seen as beautiful by many
My jbe is quite attractive too
For me my Sme 30/12 is not exactly beautiful erring on ugly with its o rings etc kind of industrial, of all the sme turntables I kind of like the model 15 as it has some shape but not can be described as beautiful. The kronos is certainly not pretty, I like the bergman turntables for there clean lines. The Kodo beat I have on loan is quite nice looking but not in white.
Micro Seiki turned out some turntables I thought were gorgeous.
This is the BL-111. Lovely looking thing.
http://i67.tinypic.com/1z8brl.jpg
The strange 'arch' in the front is a reflection I think.
I like the look of the Kuzma stabi xl I had the xl4 with four motors which looses its shape, the newer XL DC is good looking in my opinion.
I think that Clearaudio produce some very nice looking turntables. The higher end statement models I don’t care for much as they are just too big and look like some impractical drinks trolley. Some of the smaller ones with all that satin aluminium, Panzerholz and acyrilic are lovely in my eyes.
I'd agree about the B&O decks of that era, on grounds of simple, elegant design and beauty, if not ultimate sound quality! In today's market, the Technics SP-10R copies without shame its predecessors' looks and I think is about as far as anyone needs to go in terms of cost, looks and function.
http://www.soundhifi.com/images/SP-10R.jpg
There are plenty of ugly decks around, both old and new. Any old EMT deck, for me, fits naturally in the (f)ugly category and you'd have to be resolutely single or have a very understanding partner to have one in the house rather than in a broadcast studio. I'll disagree with Barry over the TD-124 - lovely sounding, functional and refreshingly compact thing, but beautiful? Maybe beautiful like a well looked after Morris Minor but not exactly B&O!
Any turntable that needs a fork lift truck to install is never goping to float my aesthetic boat, but the Acoustical Systems Apolyt adds sheer and perhaps inconvenient bulk to shocking ugliness, narrowly pipping the 'oil rig' range-topping Clearaudio decks for my 'raspberry' prize:
http://www.arche-headshell.de/s/cc_i...g?t=1526487561
Wot, like a baboon's backside?
This is unusual, Geoff, because you and I often have quite similar tastes, but although it'll undoubtedly be a great turntable and superbly built, it looks like puke! :spew:
Why? Because I HATE BLING!! Especially that shiny 'faux-rosewood' look, combined with a gold platter, which for some inexplicable reason, the Japs seem to love:doh:
It's hi-fi for hairy-chested medallion men... Anyway, do carry on:D
Marco.
P.S I like the arm!
Ah, now we're talking....
Stylish, clean, distinctive lines, and you can just about get away with the gold platter, as it sets off the silver nicely (plus, the satin finish nullifies the bling).... Sexy! :exactly:
The challenge would be finding the right plinth to set it off.... Solid ebony, with a block of aluminium, machined to the same finish as the rest of the turntable, sandwiched in between the wood, perhaps? Dunno...:hmm:
Marco.
Yes, but very 70s! Not a bad thing though, in the right setting... The top one's the nicest looking, IMO (perhaps because the record sets it off more):)
Marco.
My two all time favourites:
Dieter Rams' brilliantly understated Braun PCS5
(I had the tape deck in the photo ..)
http://www.audioclassic.org/uploads/...04643_orig.jpg
... and the gorgeous Rega Planet - a mate of mine had one back in the day and I was always trying to figure out ways to blag it off him :lol:
https://static1.squarespace.com/stat...1489180601962/
Video of the PCS5 in action:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JA_TrFrdpk
Ah, now you're talking, that's RIGHT up my street!! Love pretty much all the Braun stuff. That, for me, is just bang on: 'sober' and functional looking, but with a soupçon of chic. Look at the lovely PHAT headshell on that arm - I could almost EAT it!:D
Pop a nice DL-103 in there, and you'll be in 'radio broadcast-sound' heaven. In fact, I'd love to fit the whole arm onto my own turntable.
Sorry, the Rega does little for me, but I can see where you're coming from, design-wise...
Marco.
I would love to hear one I had a SP10 MK3 which in my opinion way ahead of the MK2 some years back and regret selling it for £3000 I did not like it that much but had some great qualities I found it had great bass and amazing stability I just found it a bit too precise and a bit clinical. I had it serviced and used a Fidelity Research FR66 and a Ikeda 407 which seemed a good match. I purchased a Vibraplane active air suspension unit for it that transformed the turntable no end but had a noisy compressor. I did look at having a Albert Porter Plinth which is meant to transform it but decided to give in.
Guess you can see the planet influenced JBE..
https://www.hifinews.co.uk/sites/13/...1_vin_jbe1.jpg
... And the ugliest??
- just about anything by Garrard - the 301 particularly reminding me of the Baby Belling cooker synonymous with student bedsits in the 60s :rofl: ....
But the top prize goes to this hideous monstrosity:
http://www.theanalogdept.com/images/...rard/TypeA.jpg
The Transrotor Rondino bust be high up there in the fugly stakes
https://www.vinylengine.com/turntabl...p?id=12488&t=1
Nope, sorry - I love that, although prefer it in the cream and grey finish!
Whereas that Braun PCS-5 is just mingin' to my eyes. I think the biggest issue is the headshell - I hate big, chunky headshells as a rule, unless they're on the end of equally big and chunky arms.
Sorry, but with regard to turntables Beauty is in the ear of the listener - or should be.
So, although my Linn LP12 simply looks like a turntable I consider it beautiful as it produces a reasonably accurate beautiful sound. While listening to the LP12/Ittok/Kiseki Blue Gold Spot 1 of my sons friends (age around 23) asked "Why did they bother inventing CDs when record players can sound so good?"
The rare and definitely vintage IMF Transcription Turntable is striking. Not sure I'd call it beautiful though.
http://i64.tinypic.com/2dre3rs.jpg
http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Qz8AAO...XTt/s-l300.jpg
I still think this is 'easy on the eye' with its beautifully curved edges. Maybe 'beautiful' is going too far, but to me it is a fine balance between the Bauhaus looks of Braun gear (which I admire), and the Scandinavian elegance and 'cool' looks of B&O. I think the Brinkman designs possess a similar fine balance.
Regarding the new Technics SP10, well I have always admired the previous aesthetics and this one thankfully maintains the look - but I have serious reservations about the gold platter. It's verging too close to being a bit 'bling' to my eyes.
But as they say in my local - "De gustibus non disputandem".
All of the regulars in my local have received a classical education (:lol:) and would agree that in matters of taste there is no dispute. After a few beers they might, after a discussion on Brexit, misquote Voltaire: “Je désapprouve ce que vous dites, mais je défendrai à la mort votre droit à le dire”.
Some more ugly TTs (pace Marco)
http://www.modestoradiomuseum.org/mi...8%20specs.html
And anything from the QRK Rusco (RekOKut) stable:
http://www.vinylengine.com/images/mo...ronics_12c.jpg
The simple elegance of my old Connoisseur BD1 :). (if that doesn't get Adam going, nothing will :lol:)
http://i64.tinypic.com/2nkmikk.jpg
Yes, it is suspended on rubber 'O' rings.
AWESOME, Barry...I'll be saving that link!:thumbsup:
Personally, I love how they look (and especially sound, with matching Gray Research arm). As you know, the BBC used that combo (mainly the CB-77) in their broadcasting studios for long enough;)
I'd absolutely DIE for one of these babies in mint condition:
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/1...924/pAumLN.png
The sort of sonic presentation I love from a turntable, and which I've strived to obtain from my own T/T, is the type of sound Radio 1 (especially during the Top 40 chart shows on Sunday nights) and Radio 2 used to produce, back in the early-to-mid 80s, when they broadcast music with vinyl records, using Gates, Technics SP10 and EMT (mostly 950) turntables, with their partnering high-mass arms and broadcast cartridges, tracking at 3g+.
It's a sound that's always stuck in my head: powerful, bold and weighty, with beguiling drive and 'heft', together with a beautifully lucid and expansive midrange, and crystal-clear, smooth top-end, such that the whole sound positively thundered through the speakers in my (then teenage) bedroom, when the likes of 'Two Tribes' came on, from Frankie Goes to Hollywood, or 'Blue Monday', by New Order.
It sounded *so* good, I used to sit utterly transfixed listening to it (through my then big JVC receiver and Mission speakers), and thought to myself: 'one day I'll build a vinyl system which will sound like that!'
And I have - only better!:D
Marco.
a shameless pic of mine:) pioneer plc-590
https://s26.postimg.cc/9uadcdqs9/IMG_E2432.jpg
I don't think anybody has mentioned Empire turntable yet. Here's a 698.
http://i67.tinypic.com/5ff6tg.png