beatcomber
AK Member
The formerly gummed up 1019 that I bought for $10 is back from bohhey and all of the bugs have been worked out. Bill did a top notch job and everything is working as it should.
Having spent some time listening to it for the past week or so, I kind of have mixed feelings about the 1019. I thought it might be something that could be the main table in my mixed modern-vintage system, but being an over 45-year-old design, I'm learning that it does have its compromises. In 1965, those compromises probably weren't really considered issues.
The 1019 is well-known for its tremendous dynamics, especially with quick transients like snare drum hits and horn blasts - they really pop out at you. Bass is especially powerful and driving. This is a great table for highly percussive music. It has a very big, thick sound, and does a nice job of presenting the front-to-back soundstage. Certain records sound very three dimensional.
On the flipside, It takes about 30 minutes of use for the motor to fully warm up and get 100% on pitch. At start-up, it runs maybe one or two percent slow (as confirmed with a strobe). Bill assured me this is normal behavior. And there is a slight bit of rumble audible even with a "good" idler tire. It's not a huge amount and in no way does it interfere with the music, but if you're accustomed to the inky black backgrounds of modern tables, and your system is decently revealing, you will notice it.
For now, I'm going to keep a vintage Shure M44-7 on it and use it exclusively for mono and early stereo LPs, and for vintage 45s. The big, powerful sound of the 1019 will be a good match for those old platters and for that old Shure cart. I also have a Shure M78S mounted on a second headshell for spinning 78s, another task that the 1019 excels at.
So, all-in-all, it's a cool vintage table with a lot of character and a very distinctive and fun sonic signature, but for my needs it can't beat a quality modern design for finesse. But the 1019 really knows how to rock! A more dynamic table would be hard to find.
Having spent some time listening to it for the past week or so, I kind of have mixed feelings about the 1019. I thought it might be something that could be the main table in my mixed modern-vintage system, but being an over 45-year-old design, I'm learning that it does have its compromises. In 1965, those compromises probably weren't really considered issues.
The 1019 is well-known for its tremendous dynamics, especially with quick transients like snare drum hits and horn blasts - they really pop out at you. Bass is especially powerful and driving. This is a great table for highly percussive music. It has a very big, thick sound, and does a nice job of presenting the front-to-back soundstage. Certain records sound very three dimensional.
On the flipside, It takes about 30 minutes of use for the motor to fully warm up and get 100% on pitch. At start-up, it runs maybe one or two percent slow (as confirmed with a strobe). Bill assured me this is normal behavior. And there is a slight bit of rumble audible even with a "good" idler tire. It's not a huge amount and in no way does it interfere with the music, but if you're accustomed to the inky black backgrounds of modern tables, and your system is decently revealing, you will notice it.
For now, I'm going to keep a vintage Shure M44-7 on it and use it exclusively for mono and early stereo LPs, and for vintage 45s. The big, powerful sound of the 1019 will be a good match for those old platters and for that old Shure cart. I also have a Shure M78S mounted on a second headshell for spinning 78s, another task that the 1019 excels at.
So, all-in-all, it's a cool vintage table with a lot of character and a very distinctive and fun sonic signature, but for my needs it can't beat a quality modern design for finesse. But the 1019 really knows how to rock! A more dynamic table would be hard to find.
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