Two Tonearm Turntable: Need Suggestions

I gather the Platine is now available with all three speeds. Graham Tricker (www.gtaudio.com) makes a Battery PSU for the Platine. I gather this is now available as a three speed model.

I'd come at this from a different direction. If you want to play 78s you need a table with sufficient torque to overcome the stylus drag from a high mass arm/cart that tracks heavier. That would preclude most belt drives and especially the Plative Verdier with its puny silk thread drive and the Nottinghams which don't have sufficient torque to start the platter spinning.

I would support Raul's suggestion of the Technics SP10 and also add the Garrard 301/401 and the Lenco L75 idler drives. With all of these options you will need to build a larger solid plinth (ply/mdf layers is the most popular recipe) to give space for mounting two arms.

The Lencos offer infinitely variable speed control - moving the speed lever moves the position of the idler wheel along the tapered motor shaft. Other advantages are that the Lenco is affordable and it doesn't suffer the high frequency roll off that afflicts the Garrards.

If you're not up to building a plinth it yourself it's an easy project for any woodworker to do.

I built a new pinth for a Lenco 75 and am getting great results with an Expressimo RB250 arm and DL103 cart. The only table that I've heard sound better (amongst some very expensive gear) is the Galibier.

So if you want affordable now and don't care about status symbols and fashion statements go with Lenco or Technics. If you want audiophool cred and have $6k burning a hole in your pocket then hassle Thom Mackris to develop his 3 speed Galibier for you.

Hi all,

Every time I give this topic some thought, I come to the same conclusion as Flyingred has.

The heck with my 'tables for playing 78's. Sure I can do it. It's a simple matter of having two batteries in series so that I can nudge the voltage past its current top speed of about 65rpm (infinitely adjustable).

I view a 78 based system as a completely different animal - requiring so many different components, with a completely different RIAA curve (phono stage) being just one of them.

If I were doing a 78 based system, it would be with an old turntable, a proper phono stage with multiple RIAA curves for all of the equalizations they used, and ... it would be MONO !!

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier

I actually have an old Wolworth's suitcase table I use covered in isodamp and weighted with melted fishing weights I spun flat aganst the underside. About 2.5 kg. What do you think? How much would you spend on a 78 cartidge? I have one but it's one of those old LP mono/78 flipovers which I just kind of look at and think, "This thing looks scarry". The Grado's are nice, $120. for a good one, but I keep thinking if I ever buy a Rega 78, I'll wish I hadn't gone Grado - or do the 78 stylus' not hum with Rega's? Then again the Benz Ace comes with a 78 stylus if you order it that way, but it's $500. I keep thinking maybe I will just disassemble/remount the old Wolworth's table on a proper heavy board and add in a Rega or Robin tonearm. I've found quite a bit of cool Shellac recently actually - Dorseys (Pat, Tommy and of course Shemp), Lionel Hampton, old Sinatra singles, Inkspots... and I bought polycovers for them. What is happening to me... Anyone know how many different settings for the 78 phono stage there were? I opened the Wolworth's player and found some leaking oil capacitors, and an unusual tube compliment.
Looks easy enough to resolder and plays fine now, but I wonder how much better it could be. Thom? Anyone?

Turns out it's not an unusual tube compliment, but it is RIAA, not 78 equalized. Damn. The tubes are 50B5 (amp) and 35W4 (rectifier). Apparently a very generic consumer circuit cross applied to many things from th late 40's through early 60's Anyone know somewhere I could find specs for something similar that would be for 78 equalization since I've gotten the thing open and mapped out the circuit? Or maybe this thread has died?