ELP laser turntable - any comments?

I have heard this table on several occasions and have always loved the immediacy of the sound. The first time I heard it was about 15 years ago. It was in prototype and sounded exceptionally good until it encountered some dust. Most of us ducked. It was difficult to keep it running for very long.

It then dropped off the radar, but resurfaced at CES, 2004 when Smart was distributing it. As others have said the associated equipment in the demo was not first rate, but I was very impressed. They are also the distributors for the Loricraft cleaner and had purchased several used record in Las Vegas. After a thorough cleaning with the Loricraft, they were playing these records. I don't think there was a pop and click filter in the circuit, but there clearly was no problem with noise. The Sheffield record was quite immediate and an old Peggy Lee was better than I had ever heard it.

I had heard of dependability problems and learned at this CES that the manufacturer was no good at warranty claims. He is now distributing the Loricraft/Garrard 501 turntable and has no kind words about the ELP company.

Well, I read the review, and am surprised to find that the device claims to be completely analog. I wonder if this includes the focusing servos.

I bet you could do a better technical job with a digital approach (certainly the noise problem could be solved) but of course the "analog" label is probably very important in marketing the thing.

Arthur Salvatore has a somewhat informative page about the ELP: http://www.high-endaudio.com/RC-ELP.html

I think this turntable may be a technological tour de force ruined by mismanagement by the company. This would be too bad, as I always thought it had great potential.

Eldartford, I think you are probably right about the benefits of the digital approach, but this idea predates digital.

A dynamic phono pickup, MM or MC, puts out a voltage that is proportional to the RATE of stylus movement. A piezioelectric phono pickup (and there were some that were not cheap junk) puts out a voltage that is proportional to the DISPLACEMENT (distance of movement) of the stylus. And yet, both can play the same LP groove, and sound more or less the same. This has always puzzled me.

Now, I wonder what kind of signal the laser pickup produces...rate or displacement, or something else. Clearly there is room for a distinctly different sound from the same groove.