By the time Compact Disc was introduced in 1983, the UK had an abundance of excellent belt drive turntables on the market. There were versions to suit every budget, from the Rega Planar 3 and Ariston RD80 to the Strathclyde 305, Dunlop Systemdek, and Linn Sondek LP12. CJ Walker, a tiny British corporation situated in […]
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Moving magnet cartridges with excellent compliance were all the rage in the vinyl world in the 1970s. The M75ED, which was debuted in 1974, ruled the roost. The manufacturer claimed it could track securely down to 0.75g thanks to its ultra-light design and great compliance. The VMS20E from Ortofon was another famous design that pushed
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Reloop has been producing professional audio equipment since 1996, and a dedicated hi-fi section was established two years ago. The £650 Turn5 is the company’s top-of-the-line turntable, and it’s essentially an SL-1200 clone with the exception of the variable speed control and a distinct paint job… It’s not quite as good as the Technics, but
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The Revolver turntable, designed by Sundown Electronic Engineering, Ltd. (also known as The SEE Corporation) in Warrington, England, was aimed at a very specialized segment in the budget audiophile turntable market in the 1980s. It was distributed through a network of small, independent specialty hi-fi stores. When you took into account the expense of an
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The 1970s were known as the “Golden Age of Vinyl,” and Sony played a key role in establishing it. Although belt-driven British superdecks like Linn’s Sondek and Dunlop’s Systemdek dominated the specialist audiophile market, the larger turntable world was dominated by quartz-locked, direct drives from Japan with high levels of automation. Sony, like every other
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Technics was founded in 1965 as Panasonic Corporation’s high-end hi-fi brand. The term first appeared on loudspeakers, but it was an obvious fit for Shuichi Obata’s innovative transcription turntable. The ‘Technics by Panasonic’ SP-10 was the world’s first direct drive deck of the contemporary era, debuting in 1970. It made its way into broadcast studios
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The Technics SL-1200 was never just a disco fashion statement. To people who had only only seen Regas and Linns, the Technics would appear to be a flimsy ornament, but once you see one in person, you’ll realize why it was always remarkable. It has a sophisticated diecast aluminium upper portion, as well as a
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In 1883, Herman Thorens founded the company in St Croix, Switzerland. It began as a maker of musical boxes and related equipment, then manufactured its first Edison type phonograph in 1903, before concentrating on horn gramophones for the new shellac records. The company made cigarette lighters until 1964, and only stopped selling harmonicas in 1952
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The vintage Ultimo 10X, a high output moving coil built and manufactured by Dynavector of Japan, will be remembered by any analogue enthusiast worth his record collection. It was one of the most musical cheap pickups available in the late 1970s, with the added benefit of not requiring a pricey step up transformer. The problem
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As one might anticipate, the cartridge market in the late 1970s was thriving. This was the pinnacle of the vinyl craze, when the format was all-powerful and the only method to listen to high-quality stereo recordings. As you might expect, the market was broad, with cheap Goldring G850 moving magnets retailing for around £10 and
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