Who here owns their ultimate/dream/"grail" turntable and what is it?

my dream combo is a pioneer plc-590 and pa-5000 tonearm.im very happy!

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My god is that a beautiful turntable. And the platter looks so clean. Congrats,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
 
I bought a Beogram 8002, new, along with an MMC-5 for everyday use and a hand picked MMC-1.
The dealer went through all of the MMC-1 cartridges in stock and chose the best one, which is perfect.
 
I own two of them: Garrard DD75 and Dual CS 1246.
 

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I always liked the Pioneer PL-570 and the PL-550 when I was in high school, and dreamed that someday I'd own one. I've owned both for about a decade. Are there nicer turntables? Sure. But these are pretty solid performers.
 
After thinking about I guess I do have one of my Holy Grail tables. I first saw the Linn LP-12 around 1976 at a small shop in St. Louis. The name was Continental Sound. The system was DQ-10's driven by Kenwood gear and the Linn with a Grace 704 and Sonus Blue cartridge. I was smitten. At that time I had a Pioneer SA-9900 JBL Century 100's and a Pioneer DD table. I brought my amp and table in and basically they got out played. The owner told me my amp was very nice but the table was the weak link. At his suggesting I bought a Phillips 212 from another dealer. It was a good move. I now have a LP-12 with an Audiomods arm and a Nagaoka 500. Getting closer. The other Holy Grails would be the Technics SP-10 with the Obsidian base and a Simon Yorke S-7. upload_2018-5-29_15-25-36.jpeg
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Where do you start and stop here. I have a grail linear. Grail idler. Grail import and domestic. Grail T4P etc. Some were TOTL and others were grail because of the incredibly found memories they provide. What's cool is everyone has a grail table here. To me the true grail table is as 4-2-7 alluded to. One you are chasing or one that stops you from chasing.

I know I'm the minority for having my "end-all" turntable as a T4P linear tracker, but I'm OK with that.

I still vividly remember the afternoon that I purchased my Technics SL-M3, nearly 10 years ago. I was at work, after closing for the day, so I pulled up eBay while waiting for my ride home. I had just received my annual bonus and had some money put aside for a new turntable, and had been looking at SL-1200 options from KAB. I pulled up eBay on my computer, and saw the brand-new make-a-bid-or-buy-it-now listing for the M3. The seller was a turntable repair shop (Turntable Factory in SC about a year after Joel passed away, so I dealt with John) so I was pretty sure that it would be in great operating condition and well packed (shipped in original box & styrofoam inside a second double-walled box), and it included the inducement of a Grado Silver T4P cartridge ($190 list at the time, IIRC) included if someone took the BIN option, I spent a feverish 15-20 minutes re-researching the model online (recent sale prices, specs, rarity), hoping no one would take the BIN or enter a bid until I was ready to pull the trigger on the purchase.

I can remember it like it was yesterday, as I sit here at the same spot today again waiting for my ride after work, and it surprised me when I posted yesterday, that it was as long ago as December 2008 that I bought my SL-M3. I've still got that memory to keep me satisfied, instead of looking for another thrill-of-the-hunt turntable purchase.
 
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Always wanted one of these (PL-530). At a neighborhood yard sale a few years ago I spotted a Pioneer Box with 'PL-530' on the side and a $50 price tag. I walked up to it fully expecting to find some cheap plastic crap CD player inside. But there it was in all it's original packaging. I had to track down my wife, as I didn't have enough cash on me. She insisted on 'negotiating' a better deal, while I'm insisting that she not piss-off the owner. But the owner was amused and sold it to us for $47 including the ADC G-U cartridge. I later found an Oracle Groove Isolator mat, which is an improvement over the Pioneer mat. The only things missing were the overhang gauge and the little sub-weight for the tone arm.
 
Mine are my PIONEER PL-7E and PL-6A. Very rare and beautiful 60’s Japanese idler drives. Ill never replace these.
 

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The gent with the SP-10 MK II, Aren't you even tempted by the SP10R a little bit? How about a SME 20 or 30 TT. Or the big Bergmann with a floating on air TT with vacuum lp hold down and a air bearing linear tone arm.
No not at all . I could buy a lot of records for 9k . And my other turntable spins @ 7200 rpm feeding a killer digital front end . I spend money where it yields the most SQ for the buck .
 
Glad you finally got what you wanted! So why these, specifically? Rarity/ aesthetics/ performance, a combination of these or other? I'm intrigued...
Performance, build quality, how they sound, looks, and how versatile they are. Meaning the arms can handle a nice variety of different cartridges. The motor’s on these tables are amazing.
 
Performance, build quality, how they sound, looks, and how versatile they are. Meaning the arms can handle a nice variety of different cartridges. The motor’s on these tables are amazing.

Whilst the Japanese are probably best known for giving the world direct drive, it seems like they sure knew how to do idler too :)

I salute you for having sought out such rare treasures :thumbsup:
 
Whilst the Japanese are probably best known for giving the world direct drive, it seems like they sure knew how to do idler too :)

I salute you for having sought out such rare treasures :thumbsup:
Their idler drive tables are incredible. I refurbed both of these myself so i know them inside out. Very fun tables to work on. The motor on the PL-7E is a beauty.
 

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Never owned or (knowingly) used an idler turntable. From what I understand, they take a bit more effort/maintenance but they have a lot of fans that swear by them.
 
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