Laser Turntables; Opinions Please

I actually have no idea, nor do I know of anyone who does. I have read that the ELP is referred to as "infamous" but I don't really know what they mean when they say that.

I do recall one review in _Hi-Fi_News_and_Record_Review_ on an early laser turntable that wasn't that positive. The laser turntable was far noisier--the records needed to be cleaner than clean--and even when all was going well, the laser turntable sounded only as good as a regular turntable at a fraction of the price. (A pretty small fraction, too, if I recall right). I don't know about laser turnables since that time, though.

Then, one obvious disadvantage with laser turntables is that you can't play with different cartridges, power supplies, etc, etc, etc. (Maybe this isn't a disadvantage, after all....)

I haven't heard reference to one of these in almost twenty years. Finial(?)

The only one I remember was also about twenty years ago and cost $10,000 (in 1982 dollars). It was geared towards collectors, not audiophiles. It allowed a collector to play that valuable rare LP with no wear.

Stereo Times had a review:

http://www.stereotimes.com/turn030300.shtm

They said it was fantastic. However, they did say that pops and clicks are much more pronounced.

But check out: http://www.elpj.com/frameset.html

In their website, they say it is less noisy. They also have three models where they used to only have one.

According to the article, ELP will demo the tt in your home for a fee of $500.00. If you decide to buy, the fee is credited to the purchase price.

I encourage you to buy the ELP, and then tell me what you think!:)