What would happen if we had convenient turntables

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...

Truth is that I never left a record spinning in the run out track for very long.
My audio group is well represented with vimyl devotees with it's chief proponent being Llyod Walker of Walker Audio Proscenium TTs. His favorite cartridge was at one time something called a Magic Diamond. They were on a couple of our groups Walker owners. These guys are/were very careful, not a klutz like myself. As good as they are/were they had "ripped" out the moon rock impregnated einsteinium boron alloy stylus which is repaired only one way. You buy another . At $5,000 a pop.
My humble little rig is actually backed up with Technics sansui etc.a Few Linear tracking tables even the SP 10. They never sound as goodas my Table. I never invested a few hundred into a cartridge for a $50 pawn shop garage sale TT.

Now that you have given me permission to let the stylus hit the paper. Can anyone really think about why a few extra bits would cost so much in the quality of playback. The differences between this entry level VPI and an 80s Mid Fi table are not subtle.
Truth be told the fancier they get the more honest they are. Lloyds personal rig is not the analytical detail retriever he has at shows. His has been modded to the point of sheer musicality.
Even though being a member will give you the table for less than a long pair of Synergistics or Stealth Indra ICs.The table is free but you have to buy a cartridge cable stands anti resonance pucks contact enhancer Valid points (a very good deal really beiung valid is honestly a trip.) All of which adds up to the MRSP.
Seriously you think a used Dual will sound as good as the scout. I will sell off my carefully selected collection of reserve of extra tables just for that.
I still can't quite figure out when buying a turntable meant a platter that spins with the entire remaining necessary parts like the arm as separates. Well I 'll look or trade down for an in.
Thanks.

Mechans, "I sit nervously until the last track then I stand up to catch the arm."

What is the fear? It sits in the runout groove until you lift the arm.

Wendell

BTW Thorens used to sell an arm lift device for less than $20 that mounts easily to most any table. I use it on my Linn Axis and it has worked for almost 30 years now without fail. You can see it in the picture of the Linn Axis in my system if you look carefully.

Does anyone still sell this gadget or anything like it? If so, it is the answer to the woes of those who are bothered by the stylus remaining engaged at the end of a record which I agree is annoying at best.