http://show.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/shm.pl?anlgtabl&1253321040&item&Ch1
WTF? It's only $98,000.
Now isn't this all getting a bit stupid?
Den
For that price, I'd at least want some eye candy.
Jezz, my AR-XA looks nearly as good as that one.
Bob
From the description:
"re-programmable, "soft" algorithm, logic drive controller with 16 million times per rotation (320000 x 4096) resolution adjusted for speed ripple < 0,08 "
It uses digital technology. I can't be any good.
:D
My votes for very expensive TTs, Rockport Sirius III and Walker PROSCENIUM BLACK DIAMOND TURNTABLE AND ARM See links below. These are what I would replace my Maplenoll Ariadne TT with if I won the lottery.
http://image.inkfrog.com/pix/mikel/DSC_00380038.jpg
http://www.walkeraudio.com/proscenium_turntable.htm
Scotty
At least those look like engineering marvels for all that money.
I would include that Basis statement table too.
D
Isn't there a laser TT?
If memory serves, it's like a quarter of the price of this one.....not that I could afford a $25K TT, but, if you're going to have a digital TT, then why not try a 25K unit instead of a 98K unit?
Of course I'm speaking out of my ass, since it'll be a cold day in Hell before I hear either one, much less consider buying either one.
I just like to poke fun at stupidly rich people. Or, more accurately, rich people who are stupid. :-P :twisted:
Bob
yes bob, there is a laser turntable.
your records have to be very clean, and my impression was that the table homogenized sounds somwhat, dulling transients and squishing macrodynamics.
the mystere seems to be a direct drive tt in a new bottle- with an air bearing to isolate the platter from the motor. To me, mag lev for this app, ala tdP or Clearaudio, makes more sense.
my vote for dream tt goes to the basic SpJ LaLuce with arm. Nothing else looks that good, and compared to the other supertables, the SpJ is a bargain at under $20k.
Mine wish is a lot more modest and I bet it sounds better; The Well Tempered
So, how much noise does the air compressor make? Does that needs its own room outside the listening room? I guess if you have 98,k to spend on a tt, you've got the $ for the requirements.. but wow.
-C
Geeze, there is no friggin clamp either.
It should have a clamp I tell ya.
The description of that table sounds like "vapor ware".
D
Bob,
I am not sure if you are thinking of the same unit, but there was (nad still is) a laser turntable produced by a Japanese firm called ELP Corp. It was at one time marketed here in the States by a company called SMART, but from what I can see on there web site I think they are now handling US distribution on their own. The units sell for $11 to 15,000 bepending on the options chosen as to disc size and sppedFor more info go to : www.laserturntable.com
Quote from: tmazz on November 11, 2009, 05:16:06 PM
www.laserturntable.com
Man, that's cool! It's a cd player that plays records! Neat!
According to the technical description on the web site it is not a digital device. Although it uses a laser to read the disc like a CD player does, this device operates completely in the analog domain. While analog lasers may sound strange to those of us in the audio world they were quite common in the world of professional video where a company called Grass Valley Group produced analog fiber optic equipment that was at one time the standard for in-house video distribution at the major TV networks. This TT was developed in the late 80s, during the heyday of analog fiber. Believe it or not the unit has been in retail production since 1991. How many high end audio products can boast an 18 year production run (and still counting?
That ELP got some bad reviews. Sounded dead, iirc.
Rich,
I recently found a demo CD for the ELP at a thrift shop which is where I got the information that I provided.
After reading your last post I went down to my cave and listened to the demo tracks. The tracks were CD recordings of LP track played on the ELP. As it turns out a number of them were from direct-to-disc LPs that I owned both as the original vinyl and and later CD releases. I have to say that I was very underwhelmed. I expected the vinyl to stop all over the CD copy , but the manufactured CDs stomped all over the CD recordings of the ELP playing the original D2Ds. I guess it is an interesting toy for a rich guy with a mid-fi system, but is certainly cannot hold its own with the big boys. I am sure that would sound better with more modern electronics, but considering that they have only sold 1300 units over the last 18 years, I don't foresee anyone running up to commit the R&D $s required to do that.
Novelty sells. Was that demo CD produced by the ELP company as a sales tool? Cool idea.
Quote from: tmazz on November 11, 2009, 05:16:06 PM
Bob,
I am not sure if you are thinking of the same unit, but...
Yip, that's the one.
I guess I'm glad I didn't spend 10K++ for that unit. Seems the reviews aren't that positive.
Bob
p.s. Wait a minute....Ten grand.....?..... :shock:
Yeah, the CD was supposed to show you how great the TT worked with the caveat that of course this demonstration is limited by the fact that it is on a CD which by its very nature cannot sound as god as an analog source. Well like I said before, they picked a number of well know audiophile LPs to play and I thought they sounded significantly worse than the commercial CDs of those same recordings. Now this may have been a function of their CD recording rig, but what I found even more disturbing were the cuts that they used to show how the laser TT could produce "perfect sound" even from damaged records. they recorded worn & scratched records from a standard TT and then their laser on. While the laser TT did not produce the same clicks an pops that we are used to hearing , it did produce very distinct although more rounded sounds in there place. I for on could not see spending $10K on a TT that simply repaced one set of annoying sounds with a different set of annoying sounds.
But yes it was an interesting marketing strategy to try and find a way to get people to hear what the product did without actually hearing the product itself. Since these TTs are being produced in very limited numbers (only 1300 since 1991) I can see why they don't want to commit too much of there production run to dealer demos. Too bad they didn't have anything really worth listening to in the first place. It is an item for people who have money to burn and are more interested in having a toy than in good sound.