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Laser turntables and such...Sun Dec 7 12:47:04 PST 1997



Somebody asked about laser turntables. Here is some info from Analog 
Addicts.

If anyone buys one of these, please let us all know how it sounds!
-mg

----------
From: 	Mthielke@aol.com[SMTP:Mthielke@aol.com]
Sent: 	Saturday, August 26, 1995 8:02 AM
To: 	analogue-addicts@maths.exeter.ac.uk
Subject: 	ELP Laser Turntable

Hi,

There a WWW page on the legendary/mythical/infamous
Laser Turntable, now known as the:
ELP Laser Turntable.

http://useattle.uspan.com/elp

One look at the picture and I could see this was the
"Son of Finial" and indeed it is.  ELP (formerly
BSR of Japan)  is apparently now manufacturing/
marketing this laser-based totally contact-less
record playback system.  I see the price has
dropped from a vague $25,000-ish  to only
$19,800. You pay half up front ($9,900) and it is
manufactured (largely by hand) and delivered to your
home within one month (they say), along with two
ELP technicians to help you install it!  I wonder
if they fly the Techicians from Japan, or use some
U.S. trained people. There's a lot of your $19,800
right there!  I also find it (err.. interesting) that
BSR took an interest in the Finial, the BSR
turntables I'm familiar with were usually embedded
in those integrated record player, receiver, 8-track tape
player units.. but maybe they also made better
tables.

In its original incarnation, I recall reading in the audio
press the somewhat mysterious beginnings of the
Finial. Demonstrated in hotel rooms, away from
the main show.  Only using their own records, etc..
I recall, a reviewer saying it definitely sounded
"analog" and "like a $2000 Turntable". Then I
read that Finial decided it would be too expensive
to manufacture and market so it wouldn't make any.
Later I heard that 100 were made, etc...  Some
said it only worked with really clean, flat records,
or didn't work with all records, etc.. some said
it had too much surface noise with less than
perfect records.

Their  WWW page says they've sold 120 tables in four
years, I wonder how these sales figures compare to
other $20,000 super-decks?  ELP says they've
expended an engineering effort to reduce manufacturing
time and cost and increase performance/reliability.

Anyone out there in AA land with any personal experience
with the Finial/ELP laser turntable. Is the platter
belt-driven, what kind of motor?  The only thing that
bothers me about the pictures of the ELP is that
the whole platter slides out on a drawer (like a Laser
Disk player, only thicker. Seems like it might be
a little thin, to offer really good speed stabilty etc..
freedom from vibrations, etc.. Even though it is
read by a laser, it still has to deal with some of
the usual TT concerns, but the absense of cartridge,
tonearm interactions may make it easier.

Gee, if it did work, and someone could get the price down
to the several thousand dollar price range, then maybe
a lot of "fun" would go out of analog.  No more arguing
over cartidges and tone-arms.  I guess a lot of basics
remain the same though, we would still argue over
pressings. And new arguments, which vinyl worked
better with the laser light?  My blue vinyl, Beatles
Blue album sounds way better than the black vinyl.
My Pink vinyl Tori Amos won't play :-(

-Matthew Thielke






  




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