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What is the fascination?

I have to ask what is the fascination with these older turntables?  I recently listened to an older SP 10 MKII with a Jelco and Older SME arm with Koetsu and Stanton cartridges.  The sound was very good I will admit but I cannot say it was better than the 1200G or even a 1200GR for that matter.  Heck even the Rega RP 8 is really an amazing sounding turntable for the money and they are brand new.   These tables are coming up on 40 plus years old.  One forum contributor said a turntable should not have any sound at all.  I agree and the newer tables get closer to that "no sound" than many of these colored (smooth,  warm) sounding turntables   I recently purchased a Pickering ESV 3000 MM cartridge that arrived in the mail yesterday and I had to ask myself, "what am I doing?"  So with that being said, why the fascination?  If one want to change the sound of the table, start with the cartridge, they all do sound different.  Nowadays the tables and arms are so good and engineered based on the earlier designs and bettered.  Also, when you buy say an older used arm, how do you know its been cared for?  Arms bearings can be screwed up pretty bad when one tries to tighten cartridges with the headshell attached to the tonearm or the tonearm mounted on the table and many people do not even know they are destroying their arms bearings so I mean you really have to know who you are getting the arm from and check the bearings etc.  There is a lot of risk with turntables, much more than with any components because of so many moving parts that do get old and break.  Why the fascination? 
tzh21y
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
I have not listened to the Pickering yet.  It just sort of hit me in a way when I received it that you really are taking a serious risk with some of this stuff.

Remember Raul who own 100+ vintage cartridges and still fascinated about them. There is a very little risk, especially if you're buyin them from a fellow collectors, not from the professional sellers. 

I'll tell you that i've had more problems with brand new cartridges and electronics than with a vintage ones.  
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
@cleeds 

I was an active audiophile in the ’80s, and the ’70s, too. Now as then, I’m not really interested in experimenting with phono cartridges and pickup arms. 

Understood. For younger people like me it's the only way to try vintage gear produced in the golden era, i am totally happy with vintage stuff compared to some new stuff that i have too. 


I’m glad not everyone feels the same way, though. I sold my previous arm (Fidelity Research FR-64fx) to a buddy who still uses it. It sounds as great as ever.

Great tonearm, this is what i'm using now with my FR-7fz 

tzh21y OP
1,654 posts
 
Interesting comments.  I guess there is some satisfaction from working with something older and making it like new, an appreciation for some of the older technology that is not always worse technology, thats for sure. There were different materials more readily available years ago that arguably sound better.  The Marantz amps come to mind.  Hmmm.
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lloydc's avatar
lloydc
751 posts
 
@dweller, Cleeds wasn’t being rude, he just gave the unvarnished truth about those Garrards. They were great - but only in theory.  
    All too often people here won’t name names or tell it straight.  Blunt honesty like Cleeds’ should be encouraged, imho - I personally appreciate it.  He was doing you a favor.  As I recall, No one could get that Zero Garrard to work reliably.  A 301 or 401 is another matter.
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