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Who here owns their ultimate/dream/"grail" turntable and what is it?

I love my Thorens TD124 and doubt if I'll ever stray to something else. 20160909_181044.jpg

Even so, my eye still wanders. I've always lusted after a Nakamichi Dragon Turntable and would love to have one - with the foreknowledge that its reported finicky nature would probably send me back to the rock-solid Thorens in short order.
 
As with others, mine is nothing special - certainly not top of the line, but I don't think I'll ever get rid of it unless there is a catastrophe of some sort. It is an older rega planar 3 with the rb300 tonearm. It is the third table I have owned. first was a late 80's Aiwa from an all in one component system ( long gone) then the Optonica that is in my sig, which was a gift from a co-worker who's husband was getting out of vinyl and wanted a good home for it.
The rega has lived the majority of it's life dead stock with 0 upgrades. Only in the last 2 years have I done anything to it. It has a new metal pulley, sits on a big 'ol sandbox I made, and most recently, I completely decoupled the motor from the plinth. When I first got it set up and played it I could not believe what I was hearing. Albums that I'd owned for decades, and thought I knew so well, sounded completely different. I was hearing things I'd never heard before. The detail retrieval was phenomenal! The pleasure it gives me has not receded in the time that I have owned it and with the minor mods I have made it has only increased. There are numerous other modifications I could make, but I have no plans to do so - it just satisfies me as it is now.
I know there are better tables and better tonearms out there, but I do not desire any better than this and have not for many years.
I recently picked up an AR-XA for my bedroom system and really like that one too, again no mods on it, but when I want to get lost in my albums it's the rega that takes me away.
 
I am very satisfied with the ClearAudio in my avatar, But would love to have a Kenwood L07D, or a Yamaha GT-2000 in the stable.
Regards,
Jim
 
Fairchild 412.

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These tables got on my radar about 20 years ago while reading old electronics magazines from the 1950s.

The simple design appealled to me and they received good reviews BITD.

Powered by a Papst motor and uses two belts to turn the 7-pound aluminum platter.

The build quality is fantastic and they are a breeze to work on.

I currently have a Micro-Seiki MA-505 arm mounted, which would also fall into the grail category.
 
My ultimate has changed over the years, I have surpassed my original choices, but I know what my holy grail would be, and honestly I doubt I will ever be able to obtain it, and that is what constitutes a "Holy Grail".
 
4-2-7 said:
Thorens Reference;)
Click to expand...

Yup! It would probably be in my best interest to liquidate all my gear with the exception of my favorite speakers, and just keep searching for one of them tables, and get a pair of killer tube amps, and I think I would be set. As it is 90 percent of the gear I own are stashed in spare rooms in two different houses and have not been used in years. I do rotate a few turntables once in a while and use my old Fisher tube amp which is connected to my Blue Ray player and a pair of Altecs for movie duty.
 
I have dreamed for many years of owning an idler drive broadcast turntable. I own one now, a gifted one, and recently got gifted a tonearm for it. So, in a few days, I will go to the other house, take it home, install the tonearm, set it up properly, and it will play records. The machine is a McMartin/QRK TT 12-C, with Shure M 232 tonearm, and it will have a Shure M 44-7 installed, and also soon have a generic N 44-3 stylus for coarse grooved er 78 RPM duty. "The Only Stick Shift Kent Can Drive" I installed and have maintained my fair share of them on the air, Gates, QRK, and Russco. And their tonearms, cartridges, and styli. Not to mention Technics broadcast models.
 
Not really sure of your "Grail" perspective as your criteria is so open-ended.

If you mean rugged, and withstands daily use without any sort of maintenance, or can be measured in some way it is clearly doing better than other upper enders, this might what you are alluding to? Or maybe an astronomic price attached to the TT?

Only one of the variables could be applied to a Sony PS-X600 which I think is one model below yours that I have. There's been little or no problems with it, and this is after two major moves enduring decades of heavy use. However, I did notice the other day it was just starting to have a mind of its own, and wouldn't return from that loop track in the middle of the record. I suspect dried lube to be causing this and intend to check it out in the near future.

A "Grail"...hmmm, one of a kind?


Q
 
Lenco L75 , sand loaded , laminated plinth, Jeremy’s Super bearing, jelco 750d, koetsu rosewood into altec peerless 4722 transformers.
The best I have ever owned or heard.
I know there is always something better but at this level I don’t care.
 
billyz said:
Lenco L75 , sand loaded , laminated plinth, Jeremy’s Super bearing, jelco 750d, koetsu rosewood into altec peerless 4722 transformers.
The best I have ever owned or heard.
I know there is always something better but at this level I don’t care.
Click to expand...


Hey, one y'all can take to the beach!

Like yer attitude!:thumbsup:


Q
 
Ken Boyd said:
Yup! It would probably be in my best interest to liquidate all my gear with the exception of my favorite speakers, and just keep searching for one of them tables, and get a pair of killer tube amps, and I think I would be set. As it is 90 percent of the gear I own are stashed in spare rooms in two different houses and have not been used in years. I do rotate a few turntables once in a while and use my old Fisher tube amp which is connected to my Blue Ray player and a pair of Altecs for movie duty.
Click to expand...
The biggest optical on that table is actually finding one that's for sale.
 
4-2-7 said:
The biggest optical on that table is actually finding one that's for sale.
Click to expand...

Yup they don't come up for sale, and if/when one comes up really expensive. My wife is very tolerant as she likes to see me happy, and she wouldn't mind the fact that I would clear up so much stuff, but the price that I would spend on one turntable might catch her off guard. A record player that cost more than a new car is a bit hard to fathom.
 
The gent with the SP-10 MK II, Aren't you even tempted by the SP10R a little bit? How about a SME 20 or 30 TT. Or the big Bergmann with a floating on air TT with vacuum lp hold down and a air bearing linear tone arm.
 
I don't own my 'dream' turntable although I don't really know if I have one dream turntable...

I'm a big fan of Japanese Direct Drive machines and would love to own one of the 80s juggernauts i.e. Yamaha GT-2000X, Kenwood L-07D, Sony PS-X9, Pioneer Exclusive P3 etc. Although given Technics has now resurrected their juggernaut, I suppose my dream table now would be an SL-1000R or SP-10R with nice tonearm & plinth :)
 
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