What are some good turntable brands?

[Sami Bodey]

Hi,

I'm a eleventh grade Design Technology student who is trying to make a mod for a turntable. I am trying to find some brands to email about my idea but don't know where to start. I am looking for brands that are small enough that they will be able to put my through to a designer/the design department so please don't give me answers like Crosley or Denon.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[jamesrfisher]

I would try

Rega

Michell

SME

All UK

 

[Al ears]

Depends on what you are trying to design as most will be done in house and already exist in some form.
There's also Origin Live and quite a number of new manufacturers.

 

[camcroft]

Maybe he's just passing through.. as they do.

 

[good_enough]

Linn

 

[daytona600]

Linn owners are mad
New plinth & top plate Yes that will be 9grand Sir
New 2025 Bedrok Plinth for Linn LP12
£8,750

The Bedrok plinth, first introduced with the 50th anniversary LP12-50 turntable, is now available for all LP12 models. While the new Bedrok plinth has some aesthetic differences from its original 50th anniversary counterpart, it provides the same outstanding upgrade to LP12 performance.

*Please note: The Bedrok plinth can only be purchased as a standalone product with the matching higher tolerance top plate or as part of an LP12 mechanics set (which also includes the top plate). The prices listed do not include a complete turntable , tonearm or cartridge.

 

[Al ears]

Linn owners are mad
New plinth & top plate Yes that will be 9grand Sir
New 2025 Bedrok Plinth for Linn LP12
£8,750

The Bedrok plinth, first introduced with the 50th anniversary LP12-50 turntable, is now available for all LP12 models. While the new Bedrok plinth has some aesthetic differences from its original 50th anniversary counterpart, it provides the same outstanding upgrade to LP12 performance.

*Please note: The Bedrok plinth can only be purchased as a standalone product with the matching higher tolerance top plate or as part of an LP12 mechanics set (which also includes the top plate). The prices listed do not include a complete turntable , tonearm or cartridge.

View attachment 8437

Bonkers prices from Linn as usual!

 

[twinkletoes]

Hi,

I'm a eleventh grade Design Technology student who is trying to make a mod for a turntable. I am trying to find some brands to email about my idea but don't know where to start. I am looking for brands that are small enough that they will be able to put my through to a designer/the design department so please don't give me answers like Crosley or Denon.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

As an industrial designer myself, do not I repeat do no! approach any of these brands without patent in place. And any correspondence you have started stop until your idea is protected. this will also give you the chance to see if anything has been put proposed like it before. Expect to be disappointed.

Also you'll never get through the design department that just wont happen in your wildest day dreams. It will be someone quite low in the company to begin with probably a buyer/scout. Unless you write a well worded email to the CEO of said company but it would have to be rather special.

You'd actually be better off going to trade shows and organising meet ups with the executives there it what I have to do it the first instance talking toy brands. They have to feel like there inviting you in.

 

[good_enough]

Linn owners are mad
New plinth & top plate Yes that will be 9grand Sir
New 2025 Bedrok Plinth for Linn LP12
£8,750

The Bedrok plinth, first introduced with the 50th anniversary LP12-50 turntable, is now available for all LP12 models. While the new Bedrok plinth has some aesthetic differences from its original 50th anniversary counterpart, it provides the same outstanding upgrade to LP12 performance.

*Please note: The Bedrok plinth can only be purchased as a standalone product with the matching higher tolerance top plate or as part of an LP12 mechanics set (which also includes the top plate). The prices listed do not include a complete turntable , tonearm or cartridge.

View attachment 8437

So you're saying if someone has an idea for a turntable improvement, Linn might take it up and sell it for top dollar?

Good - glad you agree.

But @twinkletoes makes a good point - don't go out a'courting without protection. I had assumed the OP might know that but better that the point is made.

 

[Al ears]

So you're saying if someone has an idea for a turntable improvement, Linn might take it up and sell it for top dollar?

Good - glad you agree.

But @twinkletoes makes a good point - don't go out a'courting without protection. I had assumed the OP might know that but better that the point is made.

Unless he has designed something along the lines of Thiele's Zero Tracking Error tonearm, which I would love to own but am not going to re-mortgage the house, I would think the majority of " upgrades " have already been done to death.....

 

[good_enough]

Unless he has designed something along the lines of Thiele's Zero Tracking Error tonearm, which I would love to own but am not going to re-mortgage the house, I would think the majority of " upgrades " have already been done to death.....

Oh I think Linn will come up with something sooner or later... don't be such a pessimist.

 

[daytona600]

Thiele's Zero Tracking Error tonearm - very cool design
do love the laser guided Reed 5a

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ComdEnoR9vM

 

[Jasonovich]

Hi,

I'm a eleventh grade Design Technology student who is trying to make a mod for a turntable. I am trying to find some brands to email about my idea but don't know where to start. I am looking for brands that are small enough that they will be able to put my through to a designer/the design department so please don't give me answers like Crosley or Denon.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

There are many variables that make a good turntable design and many manufacturers have their own design philosophies.

I'm probably not the best placed person to comment on turntable designs because I no longer have one in my possession but for what it's worth, in my opinion, the best turntables are the ones that isolate the vibrations from the plinth, that has clean power supply. A 24 pole motor with good isolation.

Back in the 80s, I did own, the now defunct Logic DM101 . It had a belt-driven, sprung chassis turntable with AC synchronous motor.

The platter is two-part form with precision machined item in - see photo below. The design allowed the main platter high inertia value.

I quote from manufacturers specification
The main bearing has a die-cast aluminium housing supporting two PTFE bushes together with a carbide thrust pad.
Thrust is taken by a steel ball concentrically located in the end of the ground and diamond lapped spindle.
The DM101 chassis/platter combination is suspended from the plinth by a unique system known as Logic Mass Centre System.

It had 6 springs in a "V" formation holding the sub-chassis, when the disk spun it was almost as if the disk was floating on air.

I think it was greatly underrated because the Linn Sondek at the time was very much the golden boy of the HiFi main stream publications.

I don't know if there's anything like it today

 

[twinkletoes]

But @twinkletoes makes a good point - don't go out a'courting without protection. I had assumed the OP might know that but better that the point is made.

You’d be surprised how many don’t even think of this and it’s littered throughout history inventor/designers being screwed by the big boys. Intermittent windscreen wipers for example.

 

[daytona600]

Most famous Hamish Robertson of Ariston could not make enough RD11s & approached Linn to scale up production
They ripped of the design & still selling them 50years later

 

[Clarkey_71]

Linn owners are mad
New plinth & top plate Yes that will be 9grand Sir
New 2025 Bedrok Plinth for Linn LP12
£8,750

The Bedrok plinth, first introduced with the 50th anniversary LP12-50 turntable, is now available for all LP12 models. While the new Bedrok plinth has some aesthetic differences from its original 50th anniversary counterpart, it provides the same outstanding upgrade to LP12 performance.

*Please note: The Bedrok plinth can only be purchased as a standalone product with the matching higher tolerance top plate or as part of an LP12 mechanics set (which also includes the top plate). The prices listed do not include a complete turntable , tonearm or cartridge.

View attachment 8437

Bargain.......


😙

 

[Al ears]

Bargain.......


😙

One way to get a £10k deck to sound just like a £2k one.....

 

[Clarkey_71]

One way to get a £10k deck to sound just like a £2k one.....