Help me understand TT

[lakegville]

I will admit I am fairly week in the TT department but there are two things that I am curious about that will be easy to clear up.....

1....Why do all my vintage receivers have two phono inputs? Is this for dj purposes or is there some advantage to having two plugged in at home.

2...I sourced a pretty decent deck for a starter (Technics little brother of the Wheel of Steel). Thinking of maybe going to the next level up with something around here that is local....(Thorens, Linn, AR). Here is my 2nd question....why are most of these better decks non-automatic? Seems to me for the money these things bring they should be fully auto? I am sure there is some performance reason. I looked at some pics of a really nice restored AR and the only switch or button I saw on the entire thing was 33/45! Do you have to pick up tonearm with fingers and then place it back when finished? I know this thread will seem silly to many......baby steps. Thanks in advance.

 

[Poinzy]

Automatic features add convenience, but they generally come at the expense of other things, especially as parts begin to wear. I know from experience. The best-performing turntables are as simple, mechanically, as possible, which is why the higher-end turntables are almost always manual.

I don't like handling the tonearm either (benign hand tremor). The solution to the lifting-and-lowering problem on a manual turntable is to get a unit with a cuing lever.

 

[sqlsavior]

1. So you can run both an automatic turntable, and a manual turntable!
2. Most turntables have "cueing levers" to benefit the shaky-handed. So, you move the tonearm with your finger, but raise or lower it using the cueing device. Turntables with no cueing mechanism are indeed finger operations. Then there are the tonearms with no finger lift...

 

[rebellovw]

I will admit I am fairly week in the TT department but there are two things that I am curious about that will be easy to clear up.....

1....Why do all my vintage receivers have two phono inputs? Is this for dj purposes or is there some advantage to having two plugged in at home.

I have mostly Pioneer Receivers - and they always had one - so not sure. Perhaps you have MC and MM sections - anyhow - just not sure.

2...I sourced a pretty decent deck for a starter (Technics little brother of the Wheel of Steel). Thinking of maybe going to the next level up with something around here that is local....(Thorens, Linn, AR). Here is my 2nd question....why are most of these better decks non-automatic? Seems to me for the money these things bring they should be fully auto? I am sure there is some performance reason. I looked at some pics of a really nice restored AR and the only switch or button I saw on the entire thing was 33/45! Do you have to pick up tonearm with fingers and then place it back when finished? I know this thread will seem silly to many......baby steps. Thanks in advance.

Full Auto includes complexity - gears, pullys - things that kick off when the record completes - or things that can take control of the tonearm and move it around - such as placing it on the record. Take away these things - work on simplicity and make each simple part its best - you then have a manual table where the high quality arm, platter, motor and plinth are all optimized.

At least my take.

 

[Rockon1]

I will admit I am fairly week in the TT department but there are two things that I am curious about that will be easy to clear up.....

1....Why do all my vintage receivers have two phono inputs? Is this for dj purposes or is there some advantage to having two plugged in at home.

.

My Carvin C-1 pre amp has two phono inputs. One is for moving coil pick ups. Bob

 

[Son-of-Vere]

All the stuff inside full auto TT's can make noise as well. My Rec-O-Kut sits in a big hunk of MDF just keep noises at bay. Also those mechanisms are rather complicated, and mechanical stuff isn't in vogue right now.
Some guys have their TT's to do different things. One might be set up for 78's, and another for normal LP's. That's a good reason for 2 inputs, plus switching 2 TT's can be a pain outside of the preamp/amp/receiver.

 

[PackmanJim]

lakegville those are some very good questions. I too wondered the same thing when I got back into the hobby. In fact I have both automatic and manual turntables hooked up to my amps, hence the need to for two phono inputs. Yes I have multiple receivers but that is personal preference and a different story. My AR Turntable has a more expensive cartridge and is fully manual with a cueing lever. Yeah it is a pain in the ass to get up and race across the room to lift up the tonearm when the record is finished but it is worth it. I also have a vintage Hitachi automatic TT that I use when I have had a couple of drinks . I have damaged more than my share of cartridge needles on a Saturday night of imbibing in my favorite adult Beveridge. Truth of the matter is the auto turntable does not sound near as good as the manual. Happy listening to you!

 

[mkane]

no racing needed. She can stay in the run out groove for quite a while.

 

[stereofanboy]

1. Your vintage receivers are likely ones that were pretty high in the lineup. Most of the lower models didn't have two sets of phono inputs.

2. The simpler a table is, the cheaper and easier it is to produce.

 

[soundmig]

My table is as manual as it gets. I did ad a cue-up to it so that it doesn't go round and round with the needle on the record if I have an ADD moment. There is virtually no way to add automation (not easily anyway) to the Well Tempered tonearm, so it pretty much has to be manual. I think that many of the higher end tonearms are similar "engineering" items that kind of leave you with no real option to make them automatic without somehow compromising the integrity of the engineering (or costing a fortune). Plus, I think that many vinyl aficionados tend to enjoy giving their records and their TT's undivided attention thus making the need to touch it and "operate" it a non-issue.