Audiophile turntables of the 60's and 70's

I recently sold my sota nova with sme-v arm. No real need to but just wanted to go simpler. And it doesn't get much simpler than the old, early 70s Philips ga-212. A very uncomplicated belt-drive with perfect speed control and good suspension. I use a micro-acoustics 2002e cartridge although the oem stylii are getting hard to come by!

Mikro Seiki. Definitely at or near the top of badass LP rigs. Especially if fitted with two tonearms.

Personally, my first "audiophile" turntable was a Micro Seiki Solid 5.
I thought the solid wood plinth was so sexy at the time.

dual 1019

During the early 1970s, I lived in New York city, and I used to haunt the well-known audio salons in the center of town. During those years I never saw a Garrard or Lenco turntable in use in one of these stores. As far as I can recall some used the AR turntable. Others used various Thorens turntables. The Thorens TD 125 was a big favorite, once it came out on the market, which I think was a bit later on. A popular combination was the Rabco straight line tonearm mounted on a Thorens, in a high end store. Don’t forget that in those years, while there certainly were people developing turntables, the importance of a turntable in the overall sound quality was not considered paramount . One could also occasionally see European made turntables, from Goldmund or from Lurne’, in these stores. That massive Goldmund turntable that came with its own stand and mounted a Goldmund T3F straight line tonearm, which was nothing but an expensive copy of the Rabco, was a top dog turntable that only the wealthy could I aspire to.