What do YOU consider to be the best TT ever built??

[BASF_01]

BASF: Define best! I.e., best in which regard? Just performance? Comfort/ease of use? Extra features? Robustness? Placement insensitivity? Insensitivity to mechanical and/or acoustic feedback? DJ suitability? Repairability? Price-Performance? Low power consumption?

So there can be no single best turntable, just as there can be no single best car or whatever due to the individual mix of preferences and requirements.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini

Best as in, if you had say, £/$100,000+ what turntable would you personally buy.

greetings from the north east of england

 

[gusten]

Best as in, if you had say, £/$100,000+ what turntable would you personally buy.

greetings from the north east of england

Surely I wouldn´t waste them on a TT.

 

[grottyash]

As above. This a only a hobby, after all. Besides, be aware that most digital sources can easily outperform most turntables, irrespective of price

 

[Mister Pig]

Surely I wouldn´t waste them on a TT.

I know! That would pay for many vacations to Pig-Topia! This would be a far better way to spend that money.

Regards
Mister Pig

 

[gusten]

I know! That would pay for many vacations to Pig-Topia! This would be a far better way to spend that money.

Regards
Mister Pig

I agree, the enjoyments of pigs and girls are magnitudes more interesting.

 

[grottyash]

pigs and girls? Only one of those is correct ...

The other is not legal in most countries

 

[Jadran]

I know what planet is the best ever 'built' for life, but turntable ....???

 

[sKiZo]

Mostly, because that's the kind of table most of us got started on. Without those and their ilk, we would have never developed the love of vinyl that makes us go to the next step ...

Actually not a bad little table with a good cartridge. One of their most popular in the day, and still have a decent following with those looking for a good swift kick in the nostalgia bone ... <G>

PS ... Most of the LAB series tables were built by CEC Japan. "And their ilk" included Realistic, MCS, Marantz, Sanyo, Yamaha, Toshiba, Kenwood and JVC. Arguably the most popular tables ever made if you just go by the numbers.

Fun fact: CEC actually built some very upscale tables. The Chuo for instance had some very esoteric features and yet still sold at a comparatively reasonable price. The plinth is birch, but compressed under incredible pressure from an original stack 70 times it's height. You want dense? You got dense!

 

[4-2-7]

http://www.higherfi.com/spkrlist/speakerlist.php?category=turntables Maybe one of these is as good at the Technics SL-1200

Hey I like that link, thanks

 

[4-2-7]

We had the best turntable ever, but we launched it into space on the Voyager back in the 70s.*



* yes I know we actually only sent a record and the instructions on how to play it.

Well if we sent a digital file we would need to send firmware updates every year.

 

[dcmfan]

Best as in, if you had say, £/$100,000+ what turntable would you personally buy.

greetings from the north east of england

There aren't many at that price point - here's a sampling of reviews:

Tone Tool, $200,000 USD

Continuum Caliburn, $90,000

Rockport System III, $75,000

Clear audio Statement, $170,000

I have no clue which would be "best", but it's enlightening to see the design choices made at this price point - high mass, suspended, and composite materials, and some with vacuum hold down- and then consider where some of those same choices appear in more affordable turntables.

 

[reydelaplaya]

As above. This a only a hobby, after all. Besides, be aware that most digital sources can easily outperform most turntables, irrespective of price

I've got him cornered, folks!

Quick, bring the pitchforks and torches!

 

[MRL_Audio]

These questions just end up with lots of different and reasonable answers. What's the point? Best is personal. Best in specs may not be best in sound. Best in value? The list of bests go on and I laugh every time these posts come up... good fodder. The best is the one you have.

 

[Starquest]

These questions just end up with lots of different and reasonable answers. What's the point? Best is personal. Best in specs may not be best in sound. Best in value? The list of bests go on and I laugh every time these posts come up... good fodder. The best is the one you have.

Agreed with all this.

Although, these sorts of threads invariably have photos of cool tables I've never seen

 

[fiddlefye]

No idea what the answer to the question is. I could tell you which one of my own current tables I like best, but then I'd have to kill you....

 

[Balifly]

Ariston RD11s/SME 3009/Rek-O-Kut B12H/Fidelity Research FR-24.......

 

[twiiii]

Based on the value of the dollar, I would have to say Thorens, TD 125. It wasn't, or isn't the absolute best, but as a proven performer for the dollar spent, its a true winner. Empire owners may argue with me, and they might be right. But I would guess there are more Thorens TT operating today at a higher performance level than any other TT. The one reservation would be the Technics, SL-1200.

 

[Blue Shadow]

If I had that kind of money for a turntable, I would buy the one that looks the best to me. Might not use it as much as the tables I have now as I would be out on the charter boat, at the country club race track with one of my many rides or any number of other pursuits that I enjoy. At that level, 100k, there is plenty of money available to use to enjoy a wide variety of hobbies and that 900,000 pound/dollar stereo would be just one of many.

 

[fiddlefye]

Ariston RD11s/SME 3009/Rek-O-Kut B12H/Fidelity Research FR-24.......

Some good guesses there! Hah... yes. The R-O-K has a Nottingham Ace Space Arm on it now. Wonderful arm, one of my happiest finds in fact.

 

[tcdriver]

The Garrard RC88/4 is the best record player ever built. It has four speeds, comes in either mono or stereo versions, has fully automatic play and is reasonably affordable. It can't get better than that.