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Grand Prix Audio Monaco Turntable

FYI, Hi Fi Plus (an excellent UK audio magazine) just did a very thorough review of the Monaco turntable. I have had the turntable for a year and think it is incredibly transparent and very involving - you really get pulled into the music. I could never explain why I found the turntable so engaging, but I think Roy Gregory has done a very good job of explaining why. I have had the VPI HRX and am very familiar with a number of the high end tables (e.g., the SME 30 and top of the line Brinkman)and thought those tables were very good, but I never had the same connection with the music as I do with the Monaco
cohnaudio
drajreynolds
3 posts
 
All of this platter speed stability (most important in my opinion) and accuracy counts for what when playing an LP that is less than perfectly centred? I would imagine that an LP which is off-centre by even a fraction of a millimetre (which would be many of them) would result in greater pitch instability than any belt driven or direct drive turntable methodology, no matter how well engineered and implemented. Among modern turntables we have engineering solutions that provide some very good answers but sometimes I wonder if we are really asking the right questions. Food for thought.

Aaron
lewm
13,111 posts
 
Aaron, I think a math calculation would show you are absolutely correct. But since we all are listening to these imperfect bits of software, the demonstrable (to most of us) differences in sound among turntables shows that we have the ability to discern the more minor (perhaps) distortions related to speed variation even overlaid on the more major distortion created by an off-center LP. Perhaps the difference is that speed distortion created by an off-center LP is "regular", whereas speed variations due to stylus drag or cogging or whatever are irregular distortions, which we find more noticeable.
mtkhl567
157 posts
 
Aaron, I agree with what you state ... off centre LPs are for sure not a positive impact on perfect vinyl playback. But if you compound that imperfection with other imperfect engineering solutions, there's simply even more distortion upon distortion. So all solutions have to start with the best engineering choices we have available. The extend of their implementation success is also impacted by other things. But it would certainly help if LPs were all truly cut perfectly as it would help if records were recorded better (better equipment, better recording engineers, better music).
downunder
1,329 posts
 
Aaron

Time to hunt down one of the Nakamichi Dragon CT turntables which self centres of centre LP's.
mtkhl567
157 posts
 
Downunder, nice historical titbit there ... the Dragon cassette player was a classic also!
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