When Records Ruled : Turntables

When Records Ruled : Turntables

George Corneliussen

Turntable: ( the round, revolving platform of a phonograph upon which records are placed )

Record : ( a disk or cylinder used on a phonograph. A record plays the sounds copied on its very small grooves. )

In 1982, Sony introduced the first commercially available compact disc player, the CDP 101. This unit sold for $900. Since then, an entire generation has grown up listening to recorded music being played on compact discs.

For the better part of one hundred years prior to the invention of the compact disc, the state-of-the-art form of recorded music available commercially was the phonograph record. The device used to play a phonograph record was commonly referred to as a "turntable".

In recent years, a growing number of music listeners have been refocusing their attention on phonograph records as an alternative to the compact discs as the preferred choice when it comes to listening to recorded music. The reasons for this vary, the most common one being that "records" offer a more pleasing listening experience.

While new turntables are available for purchase, because they represent a small percentage of the market, new turntables are not mass produced and therefore are often quite expensive ( $300 to $600 range). For those interested, used turntables are available from a variety of sources from music stores to thrift stores. Many of these turntables are excellent, but there are also those to be avoided. Prices on used turntables vary, depending of the source.

My personal turntable collection consists of five high-quality turntables. My total investment in all five is under $80. The total retail value of these five turntables, if they were bought new on today's market, would run in the $1600 range.

Needless to say, buying a turntable used makes the idea of " playing records" affordable to almost anyone. But how do you tell if a used turntable is a gem or a lemon ? Good question.

Most people remember 1977 as the beginning of the end of Disco music. Few people remember that 1977 was also the apex of the development of the turntable as a state-of-the-art form of reproducing recorded music.

The November 1977 editon of "High Fidelity" magazine featured eleven ads for top-of-the-line turntables by various manufactures. Any one of these turntables ( in working order) could be purchased used today in the $10 to $50 range. ( cartridges and needles for turntables are available for sale at all major music stores, thanks to the popularity of Hip-Hop music. Prices start as low as $40.)

Below are the turntables featured in the 1977 "High Fidelity" magazine along with a brief description of each.

Lenco (Swiss made)( models numbers: L-133,L-236,L-830DD,L-833DD )

Sony ( model number PS-X7 ) ( direct drive )

Technics ( model numbers SL-1600,SL-1700,SL-1800 ) (all direct drive )

Dual ( model 781 ) electronic direct drive

Phillips ( model numbers : GA 437,GA 406,GA 312,GA 222 )

Empire ( model 698 )

JVC ( model  JL-F50 )

Fisher ( model MT 6225 ) ( platter removed )

BIC ( model number not given )

BSR (model Quanta 550 )

ADC Accutrac+6 ( this turntable's claim-to-fame was the fact that it could play up to 6 records and drop each record "safely" with the use of a "computer-assisted" screw-like device. The dropping mechanism was worthless, but the turntable itself was pretty good.)

* These turntables sold for between $150 to $300 in 1977 dollars. You should be able to buy any one of them used for next to nothing.

* My personal favorites are the Technics turntables.