Most representative TTs of all time

prabie

Member
Hello,

I have been working for a couple of years in creating a 70-80 hifi gear museum and I would like to ask you to tell me which are the most representative TTs of all time.

For example, the Technics SL-1200 was the symbol of an era, the BSR that was ubiquitous in all the 3-1 of the 80´s is also a symbol. Of course they won't qualify as the best of their time but definitively they are símbols.

I can also remember the Technics sp-10, Sansui 838 and so on.

Let me ask you to be historians and not fans of a particular brand and share with me your thoughts.


Regards

Pedro from Santiago, Chile
Tim->Time
 
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A few Thorens models could qualify. TD-124 idler drive and TD-160 belt drive. They're pretty well-known and iconic.

A table like the Dual 701 could qualify because of its unique direct drive system.
 
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I have a TD-160, a B&O 2400, and a Dual 1216. I'd like looking at them even if they didn't produce music.
 
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I'll second the TD-125 even though mine has the lowly Grace 707 tonearm. :)
I'll second the Dual 1019
I'll nominate the AR XA or XB considering the legacy of clones that outclass and outperform the originals and are still available it has to be the #1 iconic table of all time.
Maybe the Phillips 212 very cool and ground breaking in it's day.
 
I have been working for a couple of years in creating a 70-80 hifi gear museum and I would like to ask you to tell me which are the most representative TTs of all time.

Well I'm seeing you and others now picking the top shelf, if you looking for that, that's cool but it really didn't represent what most people actually owned in a large scale during that time. It was the gear you drooled over because you and no body you knew could afford it.

I had two friends that their parents had Marantz 6300 and a Pioneer PL 50, that was pretty cool for me at the time as most parents had consoles.

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So we have
Marantz 6300
Pioneer PL50
Stromberg-Carlson PR499 & Pr500
Thorens TD-125
RCA victor
Yamaha GT. series

But .... Why?
I know these are fine TTs, but when people visit a museum in 200 years more, I need to have an explanation of why they were relevant
 
It's a bit before the 70s (early 60s), but I think the Zenith Micro-touch was a landmark record player. They made a big deal that it tracked below three grams and used a diamond stylus. I understand this was pretty low tracking force for a muliplay changer, and it was a pretty snazzy machine. I'd certainly consider it for any hi fi museum.
 
It's a bit before the 70s (early 60s), but I think the Zenith Micro-touch was a landmark record player. They made a big deal that it tracked below three grams and used a diamond stylus. I understand this was pretty low tracking force for a muliplay changer, and it was a pretty snazzy machine. I'd certainly consider it for any hi fi museum.
Two grams, to be exact... using a "scratchless" ceramic cartridge suspended on springs:

 
So we have
Marantz 6300
Pioneer PL50
Stromberg-Carlson PR499 & Pr500
Thorens TD-125
RCA victor
Yamaha GT. series

But .... Why?
I know these are fine TTs, but when people visit a museum in 200 years more, I need to have an explanation of why they were relevant
You omitted the AR XA/XB. I told you why. These were $78 turntables that got the fundamentals 100% correct. So much so that modified units go for thousands. 10's of thousands were bought by servicemen in the PX's during the nam era. Linn, Ariston, the Pro-next Classic and if I recall correctly System Deck are big ticket clones of this 1966 icon.
 
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