Favourite turntable

premiumplus

premiumplus

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#21
That's a beauty...Back in the 80s I had a Kenwood KD-500 with the same arm, an SME 3009 Series 2 improved. I loved that tonearm/table combo. Wish I hadn't sold it...Now I use a Pioneer PL-71 that my son got for me a few years ago. The Pioneer was my first 'serious' table when I was starting out in audio in the 70s, and it's nice. Not in the same league as yours though.
 
derek92994

derek92994

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#22
premiumplus said:
That's a beauty...Back in the 80s I had a Kenwood KD-500 with the same arm, an SME 3009 Series 2 improved. I loved that tonearm/table combo. Wish I hadn't sold it...Now I use a Pioneer PL-71 that my son got for me a few years ago. The Pioneer was my first 'serious' table when I was starting out in audio in the 70s, and it's nice. Not in the same league as yours though.
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I just had to look that one up, and a beautiful table indeed. The SME arms are brilliant, I have never had an issue with that or the Thorens TD 160 Super. They are fetching insane prices these days both the arm and Thorens. I'm glad I never sell anything, just couldn't, especially the Thorens, that table will always be a part of me and my love for music.

 
orange

orange

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#27
Honestly?

My first turntable was my favorite, but I no longer have it. It was a Realistic LAB series I got on clearance in 1981 and I had it at least 20 years. It was direct drive, probably a Panasonic clone and super easy to back cue and record from. It had a Shure/Realistic R47EDT cartridge and I made countless recordings of LPs and newly purchased 45s with it over the years, most of which are still around.
 
Northwinds

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My favorite table is my PL-550. I have had that Kenwood KD-500 several times over the years with the concrete base. Still have one that someone put a Black Widow arm on that I am still scratching my head wondering what they were thinking. Steve mentioned the old Rat Shack LAB series. Though lightweights, I had a LAB-440 that I loved dearly. I bought it new, I think it was around $219 back in the early 80s. Over the years, I have had many Thorens TT's also and my fave of the bunch was a TD-360 mkII with an improved SME arm. Had many B&O Beograms also and I still think they SUCK regardless of cart on them but the slim profiles are a thing of beauty. Had a granite base Optonica also with an Empire cart that was not too shabby either. I think I have forgotten about a lot of TT's I have had over the years but to me, the PL-550 stands head and shoulders over most of them. Just had to update the RCA cables. I still need to get the strobe light fixed but I could actually care less about it because it only comes into play when you disengage the quartz lock. Going to need a re-veneer in the future but for now, it does what it was meant to do and still going strong. Only TT I regret letting go of was a McIntosh MT-10 with the big heavy platter that needed work. It played but had issues (mainly cosmetic) that I could not afford to take care of or really cared about. I paid $30 for it and sold it for well over a grand as it was
 
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marcok

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#30
Very interesting thread for me .
Now I'm understanding something about U.S. taste for turntables.
Thorens and SME arm II seem popular .
Ciao
Marco
 
laatsch55

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#31
My favorite was the Denon DP 1500 with an Infinity Black Widow tone arm running an ADC Astrion cart.
 
marcok

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Now , I have seen that you are from Australia and that you have Td 160 and Td 165 .
In Italy Td 160 and Td 125 with SME II arm were very popular in the 70s .
Ciao
Marco
 
derek92994

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The TD 160 Super has a more solid base, extra dampening and a clutch on the pulley assembly, where as the TD 165 does not, both are great tables though, given a good cartridge they perform well.
 
Nick Danger

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#39
Woodsong Audio




Look at this pile of junk:love2:! Chris Harben- built Garrand/ Thorens/ Linn are pretty sweet to say the least. His website has some excellent pics of his work.
 
derek92994

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Lovely Pieces there, its always good to see an SME arm, I'm very fond of them.
 
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