@lohanimal
new decks - a lot of Emperors New Clothes IMHO. Harry Weisfeld of VPI once said in an interview to produce a Technics SP10 would require £30k - for tooling - the motor etc.
In TT design the pinnacle of high tech relative to market usage/penatration was the 70’s. Magnetic strips for speed control on platters can only be done by companies with real manufacturing economies of scale. Most belt drives are far more low tech than DD’s of the 70’s.
Kind of puts it into perspective doesn’t it?
The Technics SP10 is a standard for the ages.
It was an almost criminal dereliction of duty that the hi-fi rags that I grew up with somehow forgot to mention its existence amidst all those endless column inches devoted to the Dual CS505, Rega 3, Roksan Xerxes, and especially the notorious cult like worship of the Linn LP12 back in the day.
Even today, many so called reviewers seem to forget about outstanding turntables from yesteryear.
I guess it’s understandable when you’re solely pushing copy in advertising/PR.
As they say, buyer beware.
As I mentioned earlier I bought an AR XB deck mainly for the charm and it’s history.
Charm can be a big part of any buying decision, and as long as you are aware of that, there’s little wrong with that.
Recently I’ve taken a liking to the skeletal Rega 8/10 decks for a similar reason.
However, if I was buying for performance first I’d focus mainly on a Technics.
