Reason for buying old/classic turntables

I think it's funny how some people think that the engineers of (for instance) Garrard 301s, 401s, and Lencos were greater at engineering turntables than anyone, and that the quality of those machines can't be touched. If those engineers knew so damn much about turntable engineering, don't you think they would have figured out that they would have worked so much better in a properly designed plinth, for crying out loud? They simply got lucky.

I've always thought the mechanics of record playback is cool, and that may be what got me into this hobby as a young kid, but its been a while since I last considered turntables to be engineering marvels.

Spinning a platter at a constant rate for constant pitch and isolating from noise is just not that hard in comparison to many engineering challenges, IMHO.

I think part of the appeal of tables to audiophiles, in addition to the sound, is the fact that they are more straightforward to tweak and customize than digital players and are just flat out MORE FUN as a result!

That's a good thing, but let's be realistic regarding the magnitude of the engineering marvel a tt represents.

If it were that complicated, most of us (including myself) would not dare touch it.

Ketchup,
I don't think anyone is saying the 301's, 401's, TD124's or Lenco's are the end all and be all. They're not, but nothing is. Just saying that some old tables are every bit as good, if not better than some of the new ones out there.

04rdking,
That was not directed at you... I understand what you're saying.

I just acquired a Garrard 301 and have been reading everything I can about them as I look into its mechanics. People repeatedly put these things up on a pedestal and tout them as some fine piece of British engineering not to be touched today. Puh-lease. These things are crude at best. If it sounds great then, well, great. I'm going to use it. I just really believe that it was an accident that these tables work well with modern cartridges, arms, and plinths. HI-FI wasn't even around when these things were engineered, was it?

Well, first off, I didn't think it was directed at me. Secondly, I don't believe the 301's, 401's or the TD124's were an accident. After all, they were shipped w/o an arm and mostly without a plinth Now, did they know exactly what they had created? Maybe yes, maybe no. And yes, HI-FI was around. Some of the old Dynaco stuff still rocks.