What is best turntable for listening to Rock from the sixties like Led Zeppelin?

Ralph's (Atmasphere) contention that components being music-sensitive is a myth is not one I can agree with. One example of that argument being mistaken is in the obvious case of the original Quad loudspeaker. I have and love the speaker, and listen to Bach through them, but would not dare play AC/DC at 110dB on them!

Quads do very well with AC/DC and Bach; in both cases they won't be playing at 110db! Quads also do well with all types of electronic music as well as jazz and blues- so long as you play the speaker within its dynamic range.

By this measure, the best speaker for anything ever is the one that can play that loudest. So maybe my Classic Audio Loudspeakers are the best for Bach, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and solo flute. I've measured them in my room at 110 db (although I had to wear earplugs to do it).

Obviously that argument is flawed! To put this in perspective, we have a question about how are particular bit of the system can favor a certain rock band, which is nearly the same question as what speaker is best for a certain period of 80's pop music (that question is actually a thread somewhere on this site). At some point, you have to get that the equipment simply does as well as it does, and that won't favor a certain band or genre of music in any way at all.

Stereo equipment can't express taste! It can only deal with the media and signals put through it. Some say that a certain speaker plays bass in a certain way that is better, but if you look at the genre its supposed to favor, the recordings in that genre are all over the place in terms of how bass is presented in the recording. In fact that speaker playing bass in a certain way will favor all types of music that might have the bass recorded in a certain way. Its ***not*** favoring a genre!!

For some reason this myth continues to persist. The fact of the matter is that once you understand that it is indeed a myth and nothing more, the sooner you can start to build a better sounding system as you will avoid trying to introduce colorations into your system (and that will save you flushing dollars down the loo).

The flaw in the Music Specific Gear argument is simply not understanding music reproduction's basic facts, among these the "low level detail" content myths…if you think Zep and AC/DC recordings lack anything sonically relative to classical oboe concertos or harpsicords, you may not be paying attention. Also, if your hifi rig can do one, it can certainly do the other. (Harpsicords are somewhat monodynamic in output, like a bad Rock and Roll recording), but a case can be made (easily) that electric guitar tone details, acoustic drum and cymbal sounds, and vocal tone are all as rich in tonal content as the Philly, just different music. All speakers have their output limits and pretty much any home drivers (not including my Italian driver Guido who is outside polishing the Bentley as we speak) will pop instantly if given a micro second of concert level uncompressed sound, unlike pro speakers which can take the hit (generally). I use the same gear for live shows with the Baltimore Consort and electric version Julian Lage (with drums and bass), and it all works perfectly with either genre (and the mains weirdly also have Italian drivers). You can own a reticent little system in your home that can't handle harpsichords, and I can imagine that it doesn't handle Bon Scott either.

I might re-word the OP's question as follows:  "Which turntable/front end has weaknesses which are best masked when listening to music like that of Led Zeppelin?"

This is still flawed thinking IMHO, but it at least creates an awareness of the problem. 

I'm a firm believer that your hi-fi system should surprise you - especially by introducing you to musical genres you thought you'd never appreciate and in this sense, optimizing around a musical genre points you 180 degrees away from the target. 

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier Design

In rock, and on some rock records, too much definition can be a distraction.

It is possible to 'tune' (or voice) a turntable to compliment one genre of music or another.  With sixties and seventies rock it might be advisable to select a cartridge and stylus profile that would not be too terribly revealing of guitar amp fuzz and distortion.(the intentional stuff).  Perhaps conical or, at most, an elliptical stylus profile would omit some of the definition of the distortion. We don't want to highlight guitar amp fuzz. Better to extract less of it while still reporting the overall content within the groove.  A cartridge/arm pairing known for producing gobs of bass energy and a muscular midrange.....and a little bit rolled off in the highs could be nice.  Try to imagine a certain 'warmth' within the higher frequencies.  That might help screaming, screaching guitar solos sound more stellar...and cleaner.  To some ears anyway.

Arm and cartridge are certainly key players.  For that matter the signal chain going into the phono stage.  If LOMC, then step up trannies play a role in determining part of the sonic character of the cartridge in use.  Tune for punchy and clean. A DL-103R sounds more aggressive with a 30:1 turns ratio than it does at 10:1..  We want aggressive for rock...and just about everything else for that cartridge. 

The motor unit itself.  (turntable less tonearm).  many possibilities.  But we want a TT that will not at all be affected by stylus drag as the highly modulated passages are read.  I'm thinking idler territory but also direct drive.  Belt drive...?  some belt drive turntables rock out better than others. Those least affected by stylus drag are the ones that will produce the visceral wollop, muscular drive and the drums that leap out of the speakers in front of you.

This is why I keep more than one turntable ready for work.  One in particular for rock.  It is more of a blunt instrument. A sledge hammer that over time has been voiced (by me) for groups like Led Zeppelin.  But the other turntable is more revealing, far more capable of extracting detail, micro and macro and retrieving the gentle nuances as well as the astounding feel it in yer guts wollop of the bass drum in Stravinsky's Firebird so much so that it resounds througout the listening room and is felt in the listener's bones.  The full range of what the symphonic orchestra can produce.  that is a player tuned to a sharper degree. We want that for classical. 

In rock,  and on some rock records in particular, too much definition can be a distraction..

m2c, ymmv, etc.
-Steve