Turntable from Hell confession...

[GuyNoir]

I feel like such a dolt, I have to get this off of my chest. I was doing the eBay rounds the other day, when I stumbled across an LXI linear tracking turntable. LXI - meaning Sanyo-Fisher.

It was $3.50, no reserve, about 18 hours to go. Normally, I would just snicker at a piece like this and move on. But something made me rationalize, "Hey...Sanyo made a few quality items in the day...maybe I'll get lucky." So before I realized what was happening, I bid. DOH!!! Too late! What had I done? I pooled all of my search engine skills and finally determinied that it's a Sanyo P33 Linear tracking. Found the specs...they weren't too bad really! -78db rumble, .04 wow & flutter, tracking error less than .2 degrees. It appears the cartridge cannot be removed. The cart is an Audio Technica AT51. I can get a replacement stylus, and if I am reading the literature at Garage-a-Records correctly, an AT440ML stylus should plug right in there. I won't waste the money...from what I could gather on Usenet, it sounds like an absolutely horrid TT. It apparently suffers from that most common of cheap linear tracking TT maladys, that of the "crabbing" of the tonearm across the record.
I've made a solomn vow to only bid on PL-800s or PL-1000s from now on.

I got the ugly thing for $3.50 and $12.00 shipping...nobody else was fool enough to bid. I guess it could have been worse, but I still can't imagine what possessed me to pull the trigger on that deal.

Incidentally, I'm taking back some of the hateful things I've said about vinyl in my "bad pressing" thread. I've been cleaning up some new vinyl I had stashed away for years, and now that I have the cartridge dialed in correctly, and the speed of the SL-23 stablized, I am flabbergasted at what I'm hearing. Sure...there's the noise and pops, but with a modest amount of filtering, I can get rid of 99% of it without signal degradation. A Mingus album that I dubbed to .flac yesterday is just blowing away every lossless and .mp3 CD dub of Mingus in my collection.

[RichPA]

Well, Guy, if your worst ebay mistake only costs you about $15, you're doing better than I am. Could have been at least an interesting toy.

[GuyNoir]

Well, Guy, if your worst ebay mistake only costs you about $15, you're doing better than I am. Could have been at least an interesting toy.


I had actually planned to e-mail the seller and offer him $20.00 to keep it...until I learned shipping woud make receiving the TT even cheaper. :D

You're right...it could be fun to play around with for a day or two.

[Stargazer]

A $25.00 Micro Seki. It was in the trash bin five minutes after arrival. Yours?

[GuyNoir]

A $25.00 Micro Seki. It was in the trash bin five minutes after arrival. Yours?

Uhhhmmmm....did it have a woodgrain plinth?

[rulerboyz]

Look on the bright side. Now you have something that might be worthy of this type of thread:

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=46229&highlight=turntable

It might be a good idea to have a turntable you don't care about damaging for playing records that are in bad condition.

[GuyNoir]

Look on the bright side. Now you have something that might be worthy of this type of thread:

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=46229&highlight=turntable

It might be a good idea to have a turntable you don't care about damaging for playing records that are in bad condition.

I remember that thread now...looks like I'm in good company.


Just one more comment and I'll shut up and watch for awhile...

There may have been two turntables worse than the one I'm about to receive....many years ago, a co-worker gave me a wood grained Micro-Seiki. It really was terrible...it sped up, slowed down...all over the place. I sold it on eBay and was honest about it's shortcomings, but it still commanded a decent price. I just hope it wasn't StarGazer... :scratch2:

Then there was the BSR of my youth....it was more of a psuedo turntable - had a 7" HARD PLASTIC platter.

[Holst]

....and then it arrives, and you find out you LOVE the thing. Could happen, -78db rumble at a AT440 stylus...it could be big audio fun.

[rulerboyz]

There was an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm in which comedian Richard Lewis insisted that iti was he who first coined the expression "The "blank" from hell" in one of his stand up routines and figures he should have copyrighted it.

[Audiowhat?]

I remember those BSR tables. They used to literally bolt them on top of an amp. I saw one for sale for the princely sum of one dollar, the condition of sale being "you have to know how to remove from the amp" leaving you with a baseless piece of rubbish

[melofelo]

at440L...why risk damaging a fine cartridge ? :scratch2:

[GuyNoir]

at440L...why risk damaging a fine cartridge ? :scratch2:


I think I might have been wrong about that.


"Styli in this grouping are interchangable..."

It's hard to tell where the "groupings" begin and end.

http://www.garage-a-records.com/./atsty.html

[melofelo]

just thought your pain might increase if the arm isn't funtioning properly and ruins a stylus that costs several times what you paid for the turntable :scratch2:

[GuyNoir]

just thought your pain might increase if the arm isn't funtioning properly and ruins a stylus that costs several times what you paid for the turntable :scratch2:


I absolutely agree. It should provide a few hours of curiosity before it goes into circular file 13.

[Paul C]

Well I don't feel bad about the Onkyo turntable I got on epay for $18.00 CP-1400a with a noname cartridge. And belt drive, but the belt seems good and I just bought some spares. The top is lightly dulled, but a little polishing will fix that.

I swore I'd never buy a belt drive, but this one look nice. Best part, the guy packed it really well, nothing damaged in transit, and it works.

At least it isn't linear tracking... hahahaha!!!

[GuyNoir]

I swore I'd never buy a belt drive, but this one look nice. Best part, the guy packed it really well, nothing damaged in transit, and it works.

Seems to me I made a similar blood oath, but they tell me belt drive is where it's at. So far, two second hand belt drives, both with squirrelly speed control.
While my Technics now keeps very steady time, I still have to give it the once over to make sure it's not minutely slow or fast before a listening session. I never had to do that with my old PL-7. I have to admit though, it's a great sounding deck.

At least it isn't linear tracking... hahahaha!!!

The next time I post about a turntable acquisition, it' gonna be a PL-L1000, baby. Then we'll see who's laughin' :p:


PS:

Love the sig! :)

[Paul C]

Seems to me I made a similar blood oath, but they tell me belt drive is where it's at. So far, two second hand belt drives, both with squirrelly speed control.
While my Technics now keeps very steady time, I still have to give it the once over to make sure it's not minutely slow or fast before a listening session. I never had to do that with my old PL-7. I have to admit though, it's a great sounding deck.



The next time I post about a turntable acquisition, it' gonna be a PL-L1000, baby. Then we'll see who's laughin' :p:


PS:

Love the sig! :)

Hah... you know I'm just kiddin' you about the linear tracking.

I had the sig line "Did someone mention bass horns?" about the bass sax avatar. So, I had to have something about the soprano sax avatar... and that's the first thing I thought of. I'll try to change it every few months.

At a jazz clinic I was doing at a university, a student asked me, "Did you start playing soprano sax because of the popularity of Kenny G?"

"Uh, no," I answered (referring to the soprano sax I had at that time) , "I bought this soprano sax before Kenny was even born."

Another student asked, "Where did you get those beautiful vintage saxes?"

I answered, "I bought them new."

We all like to kid Kenny G, "Jazz lite" and all that, but really, any cat that can make a Christmas album, and more than that... an INSTRUMENTAL Christmas album, and even more, an instrumental Christmas album on a rather obscure axe, and have it go number one... well, he dang well has MY respect!

[Mark W.]

Use it as the basis for a RCM

[rulerboyz]

More about the audio technica styli. Have a look at the following site under audiotechnica replacement styli. It appears as though there are quite a few that are interchangeable in that particular grouping.

http://www.garage-a-records.com/index.php

[GuyNoir]

Hah... you know I'm just kiddin' you about the linear tracking.


Of course...I was just razzin' ya back! :D

Though it sounds like L.T's dodgy reputation is well deserved. It seems like you have to go absolutely TOTL in the asian stuff to get half decent performance...even then, who knows if you can keep the stuff maintained or in spec. I'm going to try it.

Another student asked, "Where did you get those beautiful vintage saxes?"

I answered, "I bought them new."

Wouldn't that make you vintage by default? Fresh kids these days...no respect.

[GuyNoir]

More about the audio technica styli. Have a look at the following site under audiotechnica replacement styli. It appears as though there are quite a few that are interchangeable in that particular grouping.

http://www.garage-a-records.com/index.php

The stylus for the Sanyo Uber Table is the black ATN51, about half way down the page.

Is it your impression that this one is lumped in with the large "grouping," or does the dotted line between columns negate "grouping" status? I wouldnt mind spending twenty bucks on a stylus to put the table through the paces...at least give it a fair audition.

[Paul C]

Wouldn't that make you vintage by default? Fresh kids these days...no respect.


I think the kid was really trying to be complimentary of my instruments which ARE well taken care of, and good, desirable pro horns to begin with. But he wasn't prepared for that answer. And I surprised myself. I'm not usually of such quick witt. I usually think of the perfect comeback about two days too late. (Remember when you said xyz, well...) Anyway, we all had a good laugh with it.

I guess this does make me "vintage".

[Holst]

Sanyo Uber Table


:rockon:

[rulerboyz]

The stylus for the Sanyo Uber Table is the black ATN51, about half way down the page.

Is it your impression that this one is lumped in with the large "grouping," or does the dotted line between columns negate "grouping" status? I wouldnt mind spending twenty bucks on a stylus to put the table through the paces...at least give it a fair audition.


From what I can tell, from ATN70 and on down are all interchangeable. Yet for $22.95 for the ATN51 doesn't seem all that bad a price. Best thing would be to shoot them a question first. I'm sure they'd be glad to help find a suitable match for you.

[GuyNoir]

I received the turntable today...kind of a pleasant surprise. There's nothing outwardly cheap about it...build quality is about on par with your average asian table of 1980 vintage, and it's in great shape. It has a P-mount cartridge that can be upgraded to anything I like. The automatic controls (return, lifting, setting down, etc are very smooth and gentle. The stylus is broken, so didn't have the opportunity to audition. I thought it was DD, but it's belt driven.

I have a line on a PL-L1000 right now (which I can't really afford at the moment). If I score the Pioneer, this one will go into hiding. If not, it might be fun to put an Ortofon OM10 P mount on this and experiment. :thmbsp: