turntable

A $47,000 turntable for Coneheads

Now this is the way to go. If you're going to get into this whole game of esoteric turntables, you might as well go all the way--and that's precisely what Montegiro Lusso has done with its latest offering.

The system is made of three cones consisting of aluminum and acrylic layers, giving it the zebra-stripe look. It also has a titanium cartridge, a synchronous motor, and a Da Vinci Nobile carbon-fiber arm, according to Gizmodo. (Speaking of Da Vinci, this may be the most unusual design since we saw the "AAS-Gabriel" museum-worthy turntable last year.)

Now … Read more

'Genie' turntable has a zen philosophy

As long as we're on the subject of vinyl, it's interesting to note how the designs of modern-day turntables seem to gravitate toward the extremes. At one end there's the impossibly complicated and, at the other, the absolute minimalist. On the latter front, the "Genie 2" from Henley Designs seems to take the spartan approach to an extreme.

It has many qualifications that audiophiles should appreciate, according to Tech Digest, such as a high-torque motor and a peripheral drive to improve stability. But it's hard to imagine where else anything other components are housed … Read more

Roksan's museum-quality turntable

It's not the "Transrotor Artus," the $150,000 quarter-ton turntable, but that's not a bad thing either. Instead, U.K.-based Roksan's "Radius 5" vinyl spinner still looks like a museum piece without breaking both your back and budget. Well, that last part might be iffy--it does cost nearly $2,000--but at least that hasn't gone up with this latest version.

The upgraded turntable has a new power supply for "less noise and improved matching of the torque," according to Tech Digest, to go with "a drive mechanism with … Read more

Sony PX-LX300USB lets you breathe new life into your old vinyl records

Got a stack of old records that you would like to get onto your iPod? Sony's PS-LX300USB may be just what you need. The turntable can be connected to any standard Windows PC via a USB cable, where your 33 1/3rpm albums or 45rpm singles can be captured and edited via the included Sound Forge Audio Studio software. Prefer to listen the old-fashioned way? The PS-LX300USB also works as a standard record player--just connect it to a receiver with a dedicated phono input (or, with the help of a phono preamp, any standard stereo input will do). How … Read more

My picnic DJ rig

Going wireless doesn't have to mean going digital. If you want to declare your analog loyalty to the great outdoors, then my product reviews this week are just the ticket. First off, we have the Ion iPTUSB portable turntable, which includes a built-in speaker, USB output, and a line-in recording jack.

If the iPTUSB's mono speaker speaker isn't enough to get your portable party started, then you may want to consider augmenting it with Yamaha's latest NX-B02 portable speaker tower. Together, you've got the classiest little retro-modern sound system in town.

Have any other picnic-worthy … Read more

Turntable goes for a spin back in time

The design of turntables long ago was elevated to an art form, an appropriate station for a piece of equipment that's often viewed as the domain of eccentrics as much as audiophiles. We continue to see variations upon variations, whether they be made with 24-karat gold, brushed steel, or even stone. And the more esoteric they are, the higher prices seem to go--as much as $150,000 in some cases.

So it was refreshing to see a model headed in the opposite direction, taking a minimalist approach. Cambridge Audio's zen-like TT50 has no MP3 technologies or USB connections--&… Read more

Stone turntable takes a cue from Bedrock

These turntables remind us of those stone wheels on the cars they drove in the Flintstones. Why? Take a closer look at the photo. The base is made of "non-resonating stone."

Combined with the super-thick synthetic platters on top of them, the stone plinths and supports are designed to reduce vibration and improve contact with the vinyl, according to Audio Junkies. Like the Flintmobile they're lovingly handmade, by Italy's Thesis Audio, in three models. (The full stone chassis pictured here is available only on the top-of-the-line Amalthea.) Foot brakes not included.

Ion brings old and new together

Everything these days comes with an iPod dock, its a fact of life. Keen to not be left out, Ion have grafted on an iPod dock to their USB turntable. The LP Dock allows transfer of vinyl to PC or Mac via USB as well as directly copying to an attached iPod. All the standard turntable features are present as well as a built in preamp for connection to any device with a line level input. The included software will remove any clicks and pops as well accessing Gracenote's database. Any incoming audio is analyzed and all the track … Read more

Intelligent Design vs Science, analog vs digital, CD vs LP--and the winner is?

Natural sound as we hear it in "real life" is pure analog, but recorded sound is, with few exceptions, chopped up into digital bits. So other than live music concerts pretty much every note you hear is digital. Whether you're listening to an iPod, the internet, TV, CDs, DVDs, or the radio, they're all digital in one way or another. We have as a species evolved over the eons to hear analog sound, and it's only over the past 25 years that digital has taken over. And it hasn't been very pretty. The only … Read more