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Turntable for 16" records

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  • Turntable for 16" records

    I got an email from our friends at Tracer Audio announcing they were now selling a turntable with tonearm length/mounting to handle 16" diameter transcription discs. It's based on the Technics 1200 series and made by Esoteric Sound which is manufacturing under the venerable Rek-o-Kut lable. Here's a link to Tracer's website which has more info:

    http://srv.ezinedirector.net/?n=2457627&s=56464081

    I posted this here because I know of one of these turntables that is available for a couple of hundred less than Tracer is selling theirs for ( which is still a very good deal at about $100 less than list - and I don't know of anyone who is selling it at other than list). The unit is, for all practical purposes new - opened and set-up for a restoration job that didn't come through (any of you had that experience :-). The unit doesn't come with a cartridge but has all the other pieces including a dust cover.

    I bought one of his two units but have no interest in what happens to the other one. If you are interested, send me a private message and I'll get the two of you together.

    I'd been looking at this model for a couple of years but didn't feel the features were worth the $700 price Esoteric was asking. (For example, it has infinitely variable speeds from 16rpm - 90 some and a switch to conveniently rewire the cartridge to go between lateral and vertical cut records -- both of which I can do for free within DC software.) At Tracer's price it could be a different story with some of the other features - and at less than $400 it definitely was for me.

    Brian

    PS: I am aware of only one other currently manufactured turntable that can handle 16" records - the KAB Transcription II at www.kabusa.com
    Last edited by Craig Maier; 01-03-2020, 01:45 PM.

  • #2
    Brian,

    " - - - and a switch to conveniently rewire the cartridge to go between lateral and vertical cut records".

    -----------------

    That was the way that it was done in the old days, but wiring the windings of a phono cartridge in series (or parallel for that matter) is a bad way to go for the following reasons:

    1. The loading (resistive and capacitive) becomes incorrect for the cartridge. Each coil usually like to see a 47 kOhm loading Resistance, and that does not occur with the windings in series (or parallel). Also, the inductive reactance of one coil will interact with the other reducing the effective bandwidth of the system.

    2. It assumes that both channels produce equal output amplitudes - - - a bad assumption.

    So - - - (and I know that you know this, but it is a general comment for those unaware about this topic) always perform a conventional stereo transfer using a properly terminated magnetic phono preamplifier. Then, use the File Conversion Feature to convert to mono (whether it be L+R for Laterals or L-R for Verticals). And, you can use the gain controls in the file converters to tune for optimal sound quality.

    Craig

    keywords: re-wiring a phono cartridge for mono, wiring a cartridge for mono, mono phono cartridge wiring
    Last edited by Craig Maier; 10-03-2008, 01:03 PM.
    "Who put orange juice in my orange juice?" - - - William Claude Dukenfield

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    • #3
      Thanks for the reminder Craig. I had planned on doing it in DC7.

      When I first started looking into the 16" capability, I asked Esoteric about exactly how they did the switching. They said with a "switching network", so maybe the "network" part means they're doing something that might avoid the problem -- or that they just have a fancy advertising copywriter! If I get time I may try an A/B comparison of the two techniques just for fun.
      Brian

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      • #4
        Quoting Brian,

        " - - - they said with a "switching network", so maybe the "network" part means they're doing something that might avoid the problem ---"

        ----------------------------------------------

        Unless the turntable includes a preamplifier, a matrix circuit can not do the job without degradation of the performance of the system. Keep in mind that the turntable still must connect up to a phono preamplifier that has 47 kOhm resistors shunting their inputs. Any passive switching network (or matrix) will reduce the gain of the cartridge system with respect to the 47 kOhm terminating resistance contained within your phono preamplifier.

        So, the only accurate way to do it is either via an active circuit using op amps, transistors or tubes or via software via a conventional phono preamplifier.

        Craig
        Last edited by Craig Maier; 10-03-2008, 02:39 PM.
        "Who put orange juice in my orange juice?" - - - William Claude Dukenfield

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        • #5
          Thanks for the info -- then it sounds like it must have been the "fancy advertising copywriter"!

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          • #6
            Quoting Brian:

            "--- then it sounds like it must have been the "fancy advertising copywriter!"


            --------------------

            Yeah, I have heard that some companies have those, and these folks sometimes do not check with their engineering departments before releasing their claims to the public.
            "Who put orange juice in my orange juice?" - - - William Claude Dukenfield

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Brian
              It's based on the Technics 1200 series ...
              Oops, didn't want to mislead anyone. I just learned that it is based on the 1200 but is actully a modified Audio Technica PL 120 (the 1200's little brother).

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              • #8
                The latest incarnation of the Diamond Cut DCArt10.6 has the decoding system built right into the Virtual Phono Preamplifier (VPP) for user convenience. You can select mono or stereo and/or vertical or lateral or stereo.
                "Who put orange juice in my orange juice?" - - - William Claude Dukenfield

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