What would happen if we had convenient turntables

Dear Mechans: You can always buy/install an arm lift out there.

A repeat button it is more a " desired " tonearm charateristic than a TT one. Probably this characteristic in a tonearm could compromise its quality performance but I can't say for sure.

No more than 20 minutes by recording: well this is not a TT issue but a recording industry subject. I have some old recordings with a time exceding 30 minutes, so it can happen if the recording industry want to do it.

I'm with you, I don't like either those " little stones on the road " but unfortunately ( maybe with no serious reason. ) is the way things are.

Regards and enjoy the music.
raul.

I may check out one of those Duals when the time comes to replace what I have.

My almost 30 year old Dual 1264 fully automatic sounds better than ever these days running on an equally old Yamaha cr-640 receiver into Triangle Titus speaks and M&K sub. A very fulfilling mix of old and new. YEs, it even has an interchangeable stacking spindle, which is why I bought it in the first place, but that part has not been working of late.

I agree with Creativepart - what on earth are you worried about in regards to the lead-out groove?

I have been running fiddly high-end tables for decades and recently purchased a Technics SL-1200MK2, replaced the arm with a Jelco SA-750D fluid damped arm via a SoundHiFi armboard and have one of the most enjoyable tables I have EVER owned - and that includes the Rega's, Linn's, JA Michells, SOTA's, et. al that have graced my rack of the years.

I'm sitting here spinning an absolutely devine mono pressing of Hank Mobley's "Soul Station" and grinnin' like a Cheshire cat!

I am with ya. I am a lazy guy who does not want to run to pick up the arm when the side is over. I also want a removal headshell so I can rotate cartridge's without the use of a screwdriver.

My main table is a Technics 1700 with auto lift off. I replaced the standard Technics headshell with a Sumiko HS12 for a Denon DL-160 MC cartridge.

I have willingly given up fine tuning adjustments for ease of use and for me it was a fair trade.

I love automatic TTs. I wish some of them sounded better. I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but some of the great Japanese TTs of the 1970s and 1980s had substantial automation - even among the greats. And Raul points out that it's easy to install an aftermarket armlift (and there are a lot of VTA-on-the-fly jigs out there too). The table I am using most of the time recently sounds great, has (manual) VTA on the fly, and auto-lift/auto-return. I have to cue the record myself but I have resigned myself to that... :^)

With all the re-plinthing of Garrard 301s/401s, Thorens 124s, and Lencos going on, I am surprised I have not seen someone build a phono pre and MC stage into a big plinth (and if one really tried, one could put an ADC in there too with a USB jack output). Talk about one-touch convenience...

If one wanted super-duper-easy, one could try a Denon DN-308F-T. The arm is not automated (but autolift could be added), but you can cue/drop when the record is stopped, and then one button for the on-switch, and one twist of the Attenuator-Start dial and you get the play button and the volume in one twist. Autolift can be added. It already has a mono/stereo switch, MC headamp, phono stage, and line amp built in. And there's plenty of place in the chassis for some chip amps (if one could build them with XLR inputs) and then all one would have to do is connect speaker cables out the back. Hmmm...