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Underrated turntables....Share Your Knowledge !!!!!

The Gryphon

The Gryphon

New Member
There are many unsung heroes when it comes to turntables...I created this thread so that we can share some of them and maybe if people see them cheap they will know a bit more about them and be able to obtain a good table without spending a lot of that hard won cash.....

So lets leave the Thornes , the Technics and Duals behind and share some unknown gems

Here is mine ...its an Aristona Erres 7125 and its a nice well table with very good specifications ....not that widely avaliable but it can still be picked up for just a few Euros ...I have seen one for just 10€ !

2175 Aristona

2175 Aristona

  • Media owner The Gryphon
  • Date added
  • Comments 2
 
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I know that this is a real piece of junk, by most standards, but is quiet and there are no speed issues. For some strange reasons the stock arm works better sonicly than the Grace 707 that I had on my previous table. Don't all laugh at once, a Luxman PD 289. I found a Ariston Q Deck
a month ago, but haven't got a new belt for it. When I do I will let you know how it sounds.
 
Bang for buck? A working AR XA or XB is hard to beat. Most stock versions can be had for $200 or less.

Band for buck direct drive? Technics SL D2 or Q2 and similar D3, etc. I see these little gems for under $100 quite often and would not hesitate to pay $200 for one in perfect shape with a nice cartridge.

Under the radar? Sony direct drives and Connoisseur belt drives. Rotel had some nice tables too.
 
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Interesting that you would start this thread as I was about to post a similar one. Just yesterday I received a TT I had won on Ebay for $2.73...thats USD, a Magnavox FP7130SL01, made in Belgium by Philips. I unpacked it and immediately concluded that it was a piece of dookie. It is very cheaply built aside from the arm design. I talked myself into playing it and was very surprised by the sound quality. I expected a sound equal to the old Matttel "Close and Play" my younger brother had in the 1970s. Instead I was greeted by a very clear and lively reproduction of Earl Klugh's " Crazy For You" LP. The bass was crisp and tight and Earl's nylon string guitar was so real sounding that I could hear his the fingers on his right hand as they plucked the strings. It is still a cheap table that will never replace my Thorens TD-160 or my Technics SL1800, but sounds damn good to me...
 
The early 80s pioneer pl series with the carbon graphite tonearm are superb tables and are still reasonable prices
 
tubeampking said:
Interesting that you would start this thread as I was about to post a similar one. Just yesterday I received a TT I had won on Ebay for $2.73...thats USD, a Magnavox FP7130SL01, made in Belgium by Philips. I unpacked it and immediately concluded that it was a piece of dookie. It is very cheaply built aside from the arm design. I talked myself into playing it and was very surprised by the sound quality. I expected a sound equal to the old Matttel "Close and Play" my younger brother had in the 1970s. Instead I was greeted by a very clear and lively reproduction of Earl Klugh's " Crazy For You" LP. The bass was crisp and tight and Earl's nylon string guitar was so real sounding that I could hear his the fingers on his right hand as they plucked the strings. It is still a cheap table that will never replace my Thorens TD-160 or my Technics SL1800, but sounds damn good to me...
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They are some decent tables in that style, early 80s direct drives, straight arms, very light.

What cartridge is on it? I recall that Magnavox rebranded Phillips tables and Audio Technica cartridges.
 
I must say my Mega Tech tt2400 is a wonderful sounding tt. It looks to be a slightly redesigned Rotel 1010. ADC tonearm, semi-auto.
 
mackeb said:
The early 80s pioneer pl series with the carbon graphite tonearm are superb tables and are still reasonable prices
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I have one of those, a PL-5. I used it back in college when I didn't really know much at all about turntable quality and I've not gotten back to it since finding AK and really getting to learn more which brings me to my current table which may or may not fall into this category since its a rebadged technics: MCS 6700 (JC Penny house brand)

Coincidentally I getting ready to refurb my PL-5 and give it to my brother as his first turntable.
 
I had a Phillips 877 "Direct Control" belt drive table that I liked very much. It was kind of plasticky but it had a nice arm and a very good spring loaded platter / arm suspension. The electronic control did a great job of holding the speed and overall it was a very good turntable. It has an automatic shutoff at the end of a record too which is really nice. Only problem I ever had with it was the plastic base warping and touching the inner workings, but that was easily corrected with a hairdryer and a little pressure in the opposite direction. These can usually be found for very reasonable prices and they are worth taking a chance on IMO.

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The Gryphon said:
That is the Philips model that the Erres posted at the beginning of this thread and it is a mighty fine table ....mine too had the warp problem but I just put a few shims in the gap where the try meets the top section and used longer screws ...it looks as if the Philips even has the neat stylus balance in it too .
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Oh, I see that now - they are pretty much the same thing! BTW - I wouldn't trust the built in stylus pressure gauge if you're using a really decent cartridge, it's usually off by a good bit.
 
And another thread to help less expensive turntables gain value in advance of the next winter season. We do that a lot on ak, build the value of gear by mentioning it.

Many of those Philips tables are nice units. The 212 and 312 nice low mass arms, suspended platter/arm sound good. The AF-series is nice too. I agree they are plasticky but they work. Sold em new, liked most of them. Really liked the twist-lock to lock the suspension in position instead of reinstalling the screws lost when the tt was first put in service. I locked a bunch of them down before they left the store.
 
The lesser Sony direct drives ... like a PS-LX5 or PS-T22
The myriad of CEC-built 'house brand' turntables (e.g. Pro-Linear AT1600)
Technics linear trackers ... like a SL-DL1 or SL-QL1
Some Hitachi or Toshiba turntables.
 
The Gryphon said:
Enlighten us ......what is this table ?
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There are three models that show up with some regularity: 411 (the rarest), 412, and 440. There are some really rare earlier tables, but they're not as well suited to stereo operation.

MannyE said:
I've seen a few on craigslist, but the prices they were asking were anything but "undiscovered."
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My two 412-1s came from a garage sale and from Craigslist. I paid more for some random parts on eBay than I did for the two put together.
 
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