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When will we ever hear turntables demoed fairly?

To my amazement after 45years we still have no way of ascertaining the sound of turntable designs.Every stereo store has tables set up with different arms and different cartridges.How then is anyone to determine what is contributing to the sound when an apple is being compared to an orange and then to a pear.It's absurd and to make matters worse you are listening to different phono stages and amps and and speakers.If you can't isolate what is contributing to what what's the point.End of rant.

brucegel
inna
5,245 posts
 
This is not a rant but a very valid point. Few dealers would do it right. That's one of the reasons why it is so difficult to make the right choice.
dgarretson
2,394 posts
 
After 45 years you are obviously familiar with both vintage and modern TTs. Set up a good vintage DD or idler, add several arms and cartridges, and make your own comparisons. Little has changed for the better.
dekay's avatar
dekay
2,959 posts
 
You don’t seem to own a turntable and you do seem to like Coldplay.

Sorry, that’s all the energy/input I could muster... considering...
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
2,678 posts
 
brucegel,
Touché ! !
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
4,908 posts
 
It used to drive me crazy when some (usually British) reviewers would, in a review of a new table, use a different arm and/or cartridge on that table and a reference table, then purport to describe the differences in sound between the two. Duh! A really good dealer of turntables (Brooks Berdan was, and his son Brian still is, at Audio Elements in Pasadena, CA) will set up the same arm and cartridge on two tables. Yeah, it’s a pain, but that’s how they earn their 40 point margin!
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