Coming back down to earth a bit---at least compared to those high-end beauties---there's the Townshend Rock turntables. Like Well-Tempered and Nottingham, Townshend always struck me as adhering strictly to the notion of form following function.






The latest iteration of their beloved Rock deck has a number of cool features such as "seismic load cells" (read: springs) and---most notably---a front end damping system. That's the paddle you see sticking out in front of the cartridge. Taken from their website:

The front end damping trough contains viscous silicone fluid which works in combination with a small paddle that’s clamped between the headshell and cartridge. The paddle sits in the damping fluid as the cartridge traces the record. The fluid allows the cartridge and paddle to move without resistance ...

Pretty darn neat! Honestly, I think it's going to come down to either the Well Tempered, Townshend, or Nottingham for my next table. I plan on using it for about a year or so until I can sell it and move up to something like a Dr. Feickert Firebird, Amazon Referenz, or Spiral Grooves SG2.

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Came across another brand I'd never heard of: Acoustic Signature. They make some truly lovely compact turntables. They also seem to be obsessed with meteorology.




Above: the Thunder.
Below: the Storm.




Only thing is, the Storm's controls remind me a bit of a kitchen appliance.

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Going back to magnetic drive, the EAR Disk Master is a very interestingly designed table. What's up with the price increases on EAR products over the years though? They've all nearly doubled in price. The Disk Master was already very expensive, but now it's like $10k more than it was a few years ago.

More pr0n:

I've had something of a breakthrough recently, and consequently I feel I've a much better idea of what I'm looking for and why.

Firstly, I'm starting to hear what the fuss is about direct and idler drive. Specifically older broadcast decks from Technics and the highly regarded Lenco motor. When these are properly modified, I'm convinced they can stand up to most current-production belt-driven tables if not better them.

The next revelation has to do with plinth material. One common material used in turntables today is acrylic, but to my ears this can sometimes result in an unnatural sound. Granted there are so many variables involved, so I'm always reaffirming that it comes down to implementation. For instance I find the Basis Debut manages to avoid sounding this way despite its acrylic construction. However better materials to my mind are harder wood composites like "panzerholz" (a bulletproof wood used in Maybach limousines), compounds like ICI, crushed marble, and most of all slate. That last one is a new one for me, but it's seriously one of the best plinth materials I've ever encountered.

Oswald's Mill creates some amazing slate plinths. They partnered with Win Tannon to create the Saskia turntable, and now they make the Anatase and Tourmaline tables using the Lenco and Technics motors respectively. These employ seriously heavy duty plinths that weigh over 200 lbs.




Having a substantial platter is important for me, and I particularly like the approach where it's partially sunk into the plinth.

Jean Nantais also makes some amazing reference decks using Lenco parts, as well as Garrard, Sony, and Technics. As with the OMAs, they're highly modified with both old and new parts, so they really aren't all that similar to the originals beyond their bullet proof reliability (many of these decks were used professionally, after all).



Posted an idler drive creation from Artisan Fidelity earlier on in this thread, and that too was made using Lenco parts. They make a number of other idler and direct drive models loosely based on Lenco, Technics, Garrard, etc. Their construction utilizes multiple layers of materials including panzerholz. Here are some more examples of their work.




So yeah... direct or idler drive, broadcast table parts, utilizing the best of past technology with more recent ideas, and having a truly massive plinth (over 100 lbs. is ideal --- really the closer to 200 lbs. the better). The end result may use vintage principles, but the sound is anything but dated. Frankly this recipe can yield astonishing results for a fraction of the cost of other high-end tables

Also increasingly curious about magnetic drive as found on the EAR Disk Master, Transrotor Rondino, Brinkmann Oasis, and Kodo The Beat. All of these examples seem to utilize a somewhat different form of"magnetic drive."

I haven't given up on belt drive entirely, though. I'm specifically wondering if better results can be achieved using more than one motor and multiple spindles. The Dr. Feickert Firebird for instance has three motors and winds the belt around the platter in a triangular shape. Funk Firm does something similar with the Saffire-III, and they call it a hybrid betw een direct and belt drive. The most intriguing competitor for me though is the Kuzma Stabi XL4. It uses four motors and multiple synchronized drive belts. It also features a truly massive platter made from a composite of materials, a ruby ball bearing, and a very substantial base to support it. The smaller modular tower provides a stable platform for the tonearm rather than just sticking it to the side on an armboard; it also allows you to easily adjust the distance to accommodate a plethora of tonearms. It is, in short, a monster.




Normally I dislike the clustered modular look. The Kuzma Stabi XL and the Redpoint models are definite exceptions.

Still, I always find myself going back to more classic designs. Kuzma has a relatively new creation called the Stabi M. Talk about classic looking. This thing is enormous and completely no-nonsense. It's belt driven, but the belt is short and kept under the platter which is itself substantial in typical Kuzma fashion. This is one extremely solid table.



Speaking of which, SME still makes some fine record players which still look mostly unchanged despite gradual improvements over the decades. They also come is wider versions to accommodate 12" tonearms like the SME V-12. Longer tonearms have some advantages, but once again it comes to the three most important rules: implementation, implementation, and implementation. Personally I'd rather have a table where it's easy to adjust to fit different tonearms. The Dr. Feickert Firebird once again shows others how it's done. Anyway, the SME tables use a suspension system with four intricately designed pillars. Turntables that use four corner pillars connecting multiple layers like this have a very distinctive look to them. In leu of mass loading, a good suspension system seems like a good thing for lighter tables.



Going back a moment to minimalist designs like those from Simon Yorke, I have to say it seems like a case of moving the goalposts. The idea behind eliminating the plinth I believe is that there's less "stuff" in between vital components to potentially vibrate (a view that seems based more on the Linn Sondek LP-12 than more recent examples), and by just having a few minimal points of contact with the surface below, energy is able to dissipate more quickly. Even though the bearing is sunk into a fairly robust block of metal, I'm a little unsure about its stability. You have to have a high mass block somewhere; little wonder then that Simon Yoke also makes these massive stands for his record players. Without them, the individual pieces seem more susceptible to outside vibrations, as now there are multiple, weaker targets as opposed to a single, more fortified whole.




Getting one of these huge stands would be a must for me. His record players are regarded as stripped down, yet ironically enough they end up being ever more massive and bulkier Interestingly, these decks are often used by archives and libraries to transcribe their record collections to digital formats.

Lastly, I just felt the need to mention some examples of hig h-end turntables that seem "over-engineered" to me. As I said in a previous post, there's something appealing about elegant, straightforward designs. There's less to go wrong. Less to get in the way. First off are the Continuum Caliburn and Criterion. Admittedly, I really like the way the "less expensive" (read: still $60k USD) Criterion looks. A lot. It has a classical shape and a sunken platter, looking very solid and substantive. Even the little viewing window with the strobe lighting is kinda cool. I could easily live with having to look at it in my listening room every day. With all the electronic speed monitoring, feedback loops, vacuum suction of records onto the platter however, it just seems overwrought.



Moving on, we've got TechDAS' Air Force One (a stupid joke name they took from Forsell). It looks like an amoebic kitchen appliance from some dystopian future. Yuck, no thanks. It too uses vacuum hold-down, along with speed correction and air bearings.



They're releasing a less costly Air Force Two at some point, and it actually looks passible. Kinda reminds me of a VPI deck. Definitely prefer the Continuum Criterion however.

Wow!! nice turntable thread!!

I have a modified GL75 Lenco and an Oracle Delphi Mk2 (upgraded to Mk3).









Phono stages 1) Musical FIdelity M1vinl, 2) ASR Basis, 3) New Valve Order SPA ONE.

@ Chris: Those are some truly beautiful things!

Did you make the Lenco's plinth yourself? What material is it made from?
Also that's a nice linear tracker. Looks kinda like an Airtangent.

The Oracle Delphi is one of my all time favorite suspended designs. It has certainly undergone a lot of revisions over the years, but thankfully they haven't messed with its look much. They pretty much nailed that and created something truly compelling that has only gotten better with age.

Hi MuppetFace! Thank you very much! 

I am astounded by the nice pictures and the commentary in this thread, well done everyone!!

I love vinyl reproduction, because of the really natural way it sounds.

I have made the plinth and the modifications on the Lenco GL75 myself.  It consists of alternating layers of marine ply and mdf. The top plate was cut and sunk in the plinth. Arm-boards and adjustable legs are custom made from aluminium.

Tonearms in the pictures (on the Lenco) Advanced Analog Mg1 Air Bearing Linear Tracking Tonearm with 
ultra P wand, Linn Ekos Mk1, and (on the Oracle) Rega RB900, static balanced, Van Den Hul Silver rewire, and low center of gravity counterweight.