Reason for buying old/classic turntables

>>I can think that if " price/money is no object " then my choice will be for today TT's.<<

Agree with Raul.

Much like classic cars, they are cool to look at; some but very few are high performers. However, today's tables thanks to the use of computers, superior materials, better manufacturing equipment, and modern engineering outperform most tables of yesteryear.

I recently added a near pristine Lenco 75 to my system. It is in it's stock form sans the arm. I removed the springs and bottom board from the stock plinth and put brass cones under it. I removed the rubber grommets from under the top plate. I have mounted one of Len's 9" wooden arms, as sold here. To this is mounted a SS DL-103. This setup bested my other tt with a SME III arm and Grado Sonata, lo version. Playing the latest Hi-Fi News Test LP, this setup almost played the #9 bias track.... Had a slight bit of right chsnnel distortion. Speed is dead on, and stable.........

So, some vintage tables are worth looking at.......

I'll add pics to my system page.

Chris, there is some serious "audiojewellery" out there - that Thorens would look quite nice in my rig and I bet it doesn't sound too shabby either! Great audio pieces are like great time pieces for me - aesthetics, performance, engineering and functionality all count. Of course it is always a matter of personal taste. One of the reasons that tipped my decision to unload my ARC Ref 3 was performance ..... good (but not the best), looks ...... ugly. Now beauty is in the eye of the beholder but I might have kept that piece if it looked gorgeous and I don't apologize for that because at the end of the day not only do I listen to my music, but I do have to look at the stuff as well - which could lead us into a different discussion altogether about whether we listen with our eyes when we make purchasing decisions on the big gear!

Steve

The classic car/classic turntable comparison doesn't really work. Statement products and R&D breakthroughs are always subsidized by the sales of mass market product or government funding. Automobiles have continued, until very recently, to benefit from high volume sales of mass market product. Turntables haven't enjoyed that, or any, subsidy since early in the 1980s.

Automobile manufacturers are multi-billion dollar businesses, while a company like Teres is almost hobby in nature. Chris has a full time job and remarkably has brought Teres into existence in his spare time. Look at the comparison of resources demonstrated by this example and then bring in an industry giant like VPI. Both companies have accomplished a great deal in the way of innovation but neither one brings in enough money per annum to pay the utility bill for one month at any Ford plant.

There just isn't any comparison at all. If the turntable biz was as well funded as the auto biz, I'm sure the turntables of today would completely eclipse the vintage products we all love but the resources and incentives have not been sufficient to stimulate that kind of progress. For that reason, the oldies still hold their own nicely despite comments to the contrary by those who benefit from trafficking in new product and reviewing it.

Don't forget the Luxmans.

The PD 121, PD-444, PD-441 are excellent DD tables. They offer up the pace and rythmn of the DD Goldmunds and Rockports. But, you must be careful to properly platform them. I've found that a maple butcher block sitting on sorbothane helps with floating the image. The PD-555 is in a class of its own. It's a belt drive with a vacuum platter.

A properly set up PD-121 can run circles around many modern belt drives. Plus the fit and finish is Lexus like.

Peter