What is the best all around Vintage Turntable?

[JohnMac]

I love threads like this. Offers a good cross section of opinions.

Love my XA. Just picked up another. Gonna' ditch my Thorens 160. The Pioneer PL-570 is a daily workhorse. The BIC 960 in another system never fails. Another fave is my Dual 1009 and I'm working on a 1019. I like Duals for there fixability and function. Don't own any Technics right now but they are all very reliable from the 1200 on down.

So many more tts that I'd like to experience. It would be hard to be a judge until you've tried 'em all.

 

[Skylab]

I can't say they are THE best of course, but the big heavy 80's direct drive Denons - the DP-59L, 60L, 62L, and 72L, are all absolutely outstanding vintage decks. Very competitive with modern decks in the $1-2K range.

 

[xmas111]

I have to go with the AR XA too. Love mine!

John

 

[Dr Tinear]

I'll add another vote for the AR XA. It wasn't the first turntable with a suspended subchassis, but it was arguably the best-engineered turntable of its kind, delivering more bang for the buck than anything before or since. The Linn LP12 that's garnered several votes in this thread is just a demonstration of what a cost-no-object build philosophy and an aggressive marketing campaign can do for (or to) the XA's basic design. The Linn is a fine turntable, but I don't see it as the landmark that the AR XA was.

 

[goldwax]

I love threads like this. Offers a good cross section of opinions.

Love my XA. Just picked up another. Gonna' ditch my Thorens 160. The Pioneer PL-570 is a daily workhorse. The BIC 960 in another system never fails. Another fave is my Dual 1009 and I'm working on a 1019. I like Duals for there fixability and function. Don't own any Technics right now but they are all very reliable from the 1200 on down.

Just curious--what is it about your TD 160 that makes you want to get rid of it?

 

[JohnMac]

Finicky suspension and doesn't seem to track as well as some of my others. The XA will track the most roller coaster record that I can throw at it.

 

[danj]

You got a thread on doing that? I need to do the same with my 1019. Works pretty well now, but sometimes doesn't shut off. Need to re-do the headshell leads, and the mute switch...

That was several years ago and I didn't document anything. You can download a service manual from www.vinylengine.com that should be a big help.

 

[melofelo]

I think the humble Pioneer PL 12D deserves a special mention.
And love them or hate them..you have to credit the minimalist Rega Planar 2 & 3 just for surviving the 'Perfect Sound Forever' digital onslaught in the 80's without ever having to resort to advertising...

 

[trhee]

There are only really two vintage turntables that I lust after. All other turntables that are on my "wish list" are newer designs.

Those two vintage turntables would be:

- AR ETL-1 or ES-1 modified by Sound of the Wood
- Lenco L75 modified by Jean Nantais

 

[JohnMac]

How much modification can be done to still qualify as "best vintage turntable"? I'm thinking original out-of the-box. Although I did disable the damping feature on my AR-XA.

 

[Billfort]

Not sure what 'vintage' means exactly but the best tables I heard or owned that where made > 25 years ago where the VPI HW-19, Sota Sapphire & Linn LP-12.

I liked all three but my preference was for the Sota which I used for many years.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

For me, all around best vintage table must be able to function as my only table. So, it must do these things, be idler or direct drive, must meet or exceed all NAB requirements for broadcast use (I do production and archivist duties at home), must be able to accommodate multiple tonearms and have plinth choices. So, overall the Technics SP lineup for me is that one table which does everything I need which is handle discs of all speeds, save for 16 2/3 RPM and all disc sizes up to 16". And it can be workaday when I need it, audiophile when I want it. And be consistently dependable in high hours duty. Garrard 301 and 401 also superb choices, and easier to find than the right EMT.

 

[trhee]

I have no idea whether it would still qualify as a "best vintage turntable" if you took a vintage table and modified it to the extreme. However, the reasons why the AR's and Lenco are used as a basis for these modifications is that the fundamental foundation for great sound exists within these turntables.

How much modification can be done to still qualify as "best vintage turntable"? I'm thinking original out-of the-box. Although I did disable the damping feature on my AR-XA.

 

[JohnMac]

Good point.

 

[trhee]

Actually I was thinking of these tables as well but thought about it some more and decided not to include them because of questions of time period, but more importantly these tables more or less are still in production to this very day although they have evolved and have been refined over the years.

Not sure what 'vintage' means exactly but the best tables I heard or owned that where made > 25 years ago where the VPI HW-19, Sota Sapphire & Linn LP-12.

I liked all three but my preference was for the Sota which I used for many years.

 

[glenwcar]

Best? You mean best up until now? Hard to say. Currently running in the house- Luxman PD-264, Dual 1219 (johnmac restore), Thorens 125MKII, Ariston Q-Deck. I listen to them all most days. Switching carts, different genres. Soooo hard.Pretty sure that I will have a couple of dozen more before I stop. I guess the one that will really count, will be the one I am listening to when I leave this world. 2 cents.

 

[marcmorin]

How much modification can be done to still qualify as "best vintage turntable"? I'm thinking original out-of the-box. Although I did disable the damping feature on my AR-XA.

change the grommets to perches.......square the springs, add a thrust bearing to both wells atop the delrin ones. Polish the spindle and ballend to original condition. Replace the delrin arm pivots with sapphire v cups. And solidify the coupling of the brass barrel to the steel collar.:yes:

None of these can be seen.......the table looks stock.....kicks butt and takes names

 

[avole]

What do you define as 'best all round'?

Should we take into account build quality, robustness, the ability to swap headshells, ease of configuration, ease of queueing etc?

If you do, then the answer is the Technics SL1200. It may not be the best sounding, but it's the best all-rounder if you include the criteria listed above.

 

[Billfort]

Good point.

My list was strictly based on listening.

 

[LordOfChaos]

I like my Oracle Delphi MK II