cerebral palsy and turntable use

[ihv2p]

I am looking to sere if any members have cerebral palsy, and use a turntable, and if so which brand and model. My daughter has Spastic Diplegia, and has moderate use of her upper body, although spasms occasionally, and she has been a music lover since day one. We have gotten her her own nice little system, consisting of a Teac integrated amp, and a Sherwood tuner, with Energy ESM4 speakers and some Esoteric cables and interconnects. She listens to music through her computer or the tuner, but has fallen in love with coming into my listening area and listening to albums. I have purchased many albums for her over the past year or so, but she is nervous to touch my turntable....my point is, I think she could be ok with a direct drive, PUSH button operation, and a dust cover with hinges....something durable, and doesn't need to be audiophile...we can put a decent cartridge on it...there a quite a few duals around, but lifting the cover ofwill be something of a challenge...if any members have been down this road, or have worn these shoes, please throw your two cents my way if you could.
thanx

 

[PAGS]

I don't do vinyl anymore (too much of a hassle and I'm too lazy), but how about something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-PL-990-Automatic-Stereo-Turntable/dp/B00005NDMR

 

[Nightwisher]

I'd recommend a Pioneer PL-7 or similar. Well-built (for the 80's) and fully automatic. Can be had for about the price of a new entry level model.

 

[Will S.]

Back in the early 80s, I had a Technics linear tracking turntable that had "close and play" operation. A quick look at ebay shows many examples available.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

I am looking to sere if any members have cerebral palsy, and use a turntable, and if so which brand and model. My daughter has Spastic Diplegia, and has moderate use of her upper body, although spasms occasionally, and she has been a music lover since day one. We have gotten her her own nice little system, consisting of a Teac integrated amp, and a Sherwood tuner, with Energy ESM4 speakers and some Esoteric cables and interconnects. She listens to music through her computer or the tuner, but has fallen in love with coming into my listening area and listening to albums. I have purchased many albums for her over the past year or so, but she is nervous to touch my turntable....my point is, I think she could be ok with a direct drive, PUSH button operation, and a dust cover with hinges....something durable, and doesn't need to be audiophile...we can put a decent cartridge on it...there a quite a few duals around, but lifting the cover ofwill be something of a challenge...if any members have been down this road, or have worn these shoes, please throw your two cents my way if you could.

thanx

I live with spastic diplegia, and with spina bifida and lots of spasticity. I can pass on my know how from 53 years of life, and over 44 years as an avid audiophile, and broadcast engineer. I agree with your choice of turntable. I'd also highly recommend getting a rugged broadcasting oriented cartridge which is moderately rugged but performs very well. A Shure M 44-7 would be very good or the Ortofon DJ choices as those handle spastic me very well. A Technics like a SL D2 or SL-Q2 perform very well, and I'd think the Technics SL-1600 would be ideal as it's automatic, direct drive, and easy to use, and on the heavy chassis and has 3 point suspension which will help with footfall resistance. Something in the 2-3 gram tracking force range would be good for her.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

The PL 990 and PL 7 won't suit her needs on isolation from her gait, and the Technics linear won't work well either. Neither are massive enough to be isolated well from CP feet scissoring and crouching about, even physically active, stretches twice daily me can barely walk around when the Pioneer PL 530 or PL 12-D are in use with Shure M75 EJ cartridges tracking at 2 grams. My Technics SP-25/ Audio-Technica ATP 16-T/Shure M 75 EJ over 95% of the time has no issues with my footfalls, my soon to be finished McMartin/QRK 12-C in it's plinth with Pioneer tonearm is always footfall resistant, I never can made that skip under any circumstances, it's heavy and massive. My old Technics SL-1200 Mk II and SL-1600 never skipped on me ever.

 

[BigElCat]

So, this is the one eh ?

He moves the tone arm, it's not just an awful listening session.

 

[ihv2p]

thanx for the input, it is greatly appreciated and really give me an awesome starting point

 

[ihv2p]

The PL 990 and PL 7 won't suit her needs on isolation from her gait, and the Technics linear won't work well either. Neither are massive enough to be isolated well from CP feet scissoring and crouching about, even physically active, stretches twice daily me can barely walk around when the Pioneer PL 530 or PL 12-D are in use with Shure M75 EJ cartridges tracking at 2 grams. My Technics SP-25/ Audio-Technica ATP 16-T/Shure M 75 EJ over 95% of the time has no issues with my footfalls, my soon to be finished McMartin/QRK 12-C in it's plinth with Pioneer tonearm is always footfall resistant, I never can made that skip under any circumstances, it's heavy and massive. My old Technics SL-1200 Mk II and SL-1600 never skipped on me ever.

Kent, this insight will be invaluable for us, as this is info I wouldn't have thought about and woulda had to learn the hard way. You have probably saved us some great frustration.

 

[peerson]

You might consider a Marantz 6200. Pretty "bullet-proof", fully automatic. Mine has a Shure m91ed cartridge. Pretty table, too. And, not as "desirable" as the 6100 or the 6300 (neither are full auto), so maybe a little less expensive.

 

[WaynerN]

I have a Technics SL-Q2. They are pretty much bullet proof despite their age. Fully automatic (if required), and at least semi-automatic in other, selectable modes of operation.

'ner

 

[KentTeffeteller]

The Kenwood KD series with the resin plinths are superb for your daughter. I just repaired one for a client of mine. That series is very well isolated from footfalls even at 1.5 grams tracking force. No skips for me at all, and works superb for me. I have had my eye on one, and knowing how it performs for me, I hope to get rid of my Pioneer PL 530 soon and upgrade to one.

 

[ihv2p]

I showed my daughter your responses and she says to thank everyone, and is pleased with all the insight. She has notes of all the models, and is going to do some research...she is a journalism grad from Ryerson, so she knows how to dig lol, and is about to find out everything there is about the models mentioned and start hunting...she is honestly as excited about this as I am....funny how your kids grow, and expand their wings, you feel kinda left behind and not have anything in common, but something as simple as sitting and listening to music becomes a form of glue.

 

[mike d]

Wishing you and your Daughter good listening and the best of luck!!

 

[peerson]

For some reason, I can't wait to see what she gets! Please let us know

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Likewise, and I wish your daughter a successful college experience, a great career, a fine turntable system suited for her needs, and many years of fine musical enjoyment to come.

 

[onemug]

funny how your kids grow

and how lucky one is to have a father like you!

Best of luck in your search. Add to this thread when you can, I'm sure many of us would like to hear your progress.

 

[electra100]

The Realistic LAB series (400 I think) are fully automatic and can be had quite cheap. Good luck!