Top Ten List; Number 2 (belatedly). The Thorens TD 124

by Nick Seiflow

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 124, complete with original armboard and Formula IV Unipivot tonearm. Forty Pounds Sterling (without arm) in the early '60s......

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……

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A Plea for Sanity….

by Nick Seiflow

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

Vinyl: Or How We Rediscovered Our Love For The Record

by Branden Haynes

For any music lover out there who enjoys vinyl. Have you noticed the increased number of people crowding into the shops on “Record Store Day”? If you said yes, it’s not just your imagination. The fact is we are currently in the midst of a full blown vinyl resurgence. In 2013, record sales increased 32% to about 6.5 million worldwide. That is a 12 year high for the industry, and it seems to be showing no sign of slowing down.

What is causing this renewed interest in vinyl?

Vinyl on Vinyl - Eagles Greatest Hits Vol. 2

Vinyl on Vinyl – Eagles Greatest Hits Vol. 2

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Roy Orbison – Mystery Girl

by Branden Haynes

Roy Orbison’s “swan song” and posthumous “Mystery Girl” finds this Travelling Wilbury at the peak of his powers. For such a modest man, he could sing with such brilliance that angels in heaven would take notice. His operatic voice was truly unique and earned him enormous admiration from fans and colleagues alike.

Mystery Girl - Roy Orbison

Mystery Girl – Roy Orbison

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Transcriptors Skeleton Turntable Review – Perhaps the Most Beautiful?

by Nick Seiflow

Transcriptors Skeleton Turntable with Vestigial Tonearm

Transcriptors Skeleton Turntable with Vestigial Tonearm

Perhaps the most beautiful turntable ever designed, the Transcriptors Skeleton, circa 1973, still arouses the same astonishment today that it did some forty years ago. Designed by the late genius, David Gammon (and apparently initially sketched on the back of a cigarette packet) the Skeleton  is a true beauty.

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Turntable Anti-skating: Are you protecting your vinyl?

What is anti-skating?

by Nick Seiflow

Most of our beloved ‘tables have an pivoting arm on the top right side; this holds the cartridge, and in the cartridge is the needle or stylus.

When a record is spinning and the needle drops into the groove the needle actually would prefer to hurtle right into the centre of the record and stay there. Obviously the groove helps to keep things in place, but that little needle is somewhat determined…..

Why Vinyl?

by Nick Seiflow

Elac Miracord 50H Turntable with Shure Cartridge

A Vintage Vinyl Player – The Elac Miracord 50H Turntable

Why Vinyl? It’s the question every listener asks. It’s the question that we three at The Turntable Shop discussed endlessly – and our answers ended up with us opening our store. We felt that we should share the joy with everyone.

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