Humans. Over 6000 languages, but I’ll wager that only German has the *mot juste* to describe the-performance-of-an-action-with-brute-force-whilst-using-the-utmost-delicacy.
Actually it’s not necessary. The Thorens TD 124 is better than any word.
Looking down on a rebuilt TD 124, complete with original armboard and Formula IV Unipivot tonearm. Forty Pounds Sterling (without arm) in the early ’60s……
Season’s Greetings!
To all our customers and new friends that have helped to make our first nine months a success and joy, may we wish you and yours the happiest and safest of Holidays. You have made our venture a joy and we thank you all for your support. Keep spinning the vinyl, and we’ll see you in 2015!
Best wishes from us all,
Nick, Evan, Mike and Pete
We will be open regular hours this holiday season except as follows: Closed Dec 25th, 26th – Open Dec 31st 11am-3pm – Closed Jan 1st, 2nd.
Thorens TD 126 Turntable
The TD126 that followed offered even more electronic sophistication, including (again with original Thorens arm) semi-automated arm and start-stop functions. Ultimately, in the Mark III iteration, even the venerable synchronous motor made way for a DC unit, with even more electronic complexity. Perhaps more to go wrong, but servicing and parts isn’t yet a problem, and probably will never be. Some of us won’t let that happen…. Continue reading
Here at Turntable Shop World we continue to be mightily impressed by some of the record decks of yesteryear – so much so in fact that I feel compelled to put finger to keyboard and blurt.
Here’s the first one (two) that comes to mind….and, be warned, there will be more…..
Thorens TD 125 Turntable
Yesterday I had the pleasure of listening to a very fine stereo system. It consisted of a good CD front-end, high quality cabling leading to tubed preamplifier and mono block tube power amps, finally into a pair of excellent custom speakers.
It was one of the first times for a long time that I’d listened to a digitally sourced system, and the experience was revealing. As expected, there was absolutely none of the noise one might expect from vinyl; no obvious compression on peak signals, and imaging and bass control was superb. Continue reading
A funny little industry, the Hi-Fi business. Perhaps uniquely, it manages to straddle two positions simultaneously, two positions that should never be confused with one another. In the words of the estimable A. Salvatore, a well-known writer and critic “Music is art; reproduction is science”.
A simple enough statement, and would that it were reality! Continue reading
Is there a legal limit to the amount of turntable pulchritude permissible in one room?
Here at The Turntable Shop we believe in challenging the Statutes; to boldly go where no sane vinyl spinner would – just another day at the TTS.
So, when a customer brought in a Michell Hydraulic Reference for servicing, the obvious thing to do was to scour the shelves and assemble an armada of our favourite objets de vinyl and gaze in awe at the result.
Transcriptors and J.A. Michell Day at The Turntable Shop
The Keith Monks ‘Archivist Duo’ – Broadcast-Archive Standard Precision Record Cleaner
We’re delighted to be able to offer our customers the finest record cleaning service available.
For all records, 33s, 45s and 78s (which require their own special treatment) the Keith Monks Omni Cleaner uses the tried-and-true washing and vacuuming process which has made the name Keith Monks the choice for museums and broadcasters across the world. Continue reading
The beautifully easy-to-operate Technics SL10 is anything but simple under the smooth lines of its aluminum skin.
What follows is not a manual for disassembly and maintenance, but more of a tribute to the Golden Age of turntable design.
Such a table as the SL-10 could never be made again. Sad, but based on the economies of scale whomsoever tried to build and market such a machine would quickly find themselves selling pencils on the street corner. To design this table from scratch alone would involve massive amounts of R&D. let alone actually making and marketing it.
Technics SL 10 Turntable – A view of the arm assembly before the work begins… The problem – broken thread, no arm movement, no music. The dust looks worse than it really is…. many screws to remove, and some wiggling to remove the record clamp, and work can begin!
Technics SL-10 Turntable
Here’s one for the Gipper; the Technics SL-10 linear-tracking direct drive turntable. It’s odd how some tables just get to you – and for me, this is one of those tables. Yes, it’s just a Technics (SP10 Mk III anyone?), but it’s extremely capable. Continue reading