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Post by Boomzilla on Mar 26, 2015 5:21:10 GMT -5
A friend has one that he wants $50 for. Is it worth it? My gut feeling is that even if the linear-tracking arm doesn't work, the heavy-duty ( HEAVY DUTY) direct drive platter could be used with a standard arm after making a new motor-board. OTOH, the electronics may be too tightly integrated with the tone arm controls to bother with and it could end up being a 15#, $50 paperweight. I'm lukewarm about vinyl anyway... But $50 is chump change, and if it has a working arm & cartridge, it might be worth playing with. Recommendations?  |
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Post by Canuck_fr on Mar 26, 2015 6:45:25 GMT -5
Honestly, I don't see where you would be able to install the new arm, there doesn't seem to be any geography for doing it.
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Post by vcautokid on Mar 26, 2015 7:09:31 GMT -5
If it is in great working order. Sure. If not, pass on it. Save up for a Rega, Music Hall, Project, Turntable of your choice, color it good. Those New are great bargains, plus support is way better too.
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Post by autiger on Mar 26, 2015 7:17:29 GMT -5
Google reviews- If I remember correctly (and that's a stretch) on this model the linear tracking was not smooth it "ying/yanged" kind of rubber band effect. But like I sad this could be poor memory. Loving the vinyl, though.
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Post by Canuck_fr on Mar 26, 2015 7:39:21 GMT -5
Autiger, I think you are correct. I vaguely remember it being compared to the Harmon Kardon linear TT and being a poor review.
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Post by Boomzilla on Mar 28, 2015 15:35:02 GMT -5
It works. It looks cool. If it has tracking issues, I didn't hear them. The Audio-Technica moving-magnet cartridge seems to be in good condition (I'm assuming a clean stylus because it didn't sound rolled-off in the treble). It came with a phono preamp so it could be plugged into line-level inputs. All for $50. If I end up not wanting to keep it (the hoped-for outcome), I'll roll it at the local vinyl shop's bulletin board for a profit. Darn - Now I need RECORDS!  |
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Post by brubacca on Mar 28, 2015 15:47:29 GMT -5
Darn - Now I need RECORDS! The biggest problem with the whole vinyl thing. Albums, especially new ones are a fortune. |
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KeithL
Administrator 
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Post by KeithL on Mar 28, 2015 15:49:07 GMT -5
I seem to remember them as having a pretty good rep in the old days. HOWEVER, for anyone thinking of buying a linear tracking turntable, remember that it's CRITICAL that it be in NEAR PERFECT working order. In a normal arm, the bearing is a simple passive device, which tends to work unless you really mess it up. A less than perfect bearing might have a little excessive friction, and cleaning it out and replacing the oil might be in order, but there's not that much to go wrong with it - and it's sort of obvious. (If the bearing is sloppy, or sticks, it's pretty easy to tell. Remember the old Dual "dollar bill test" for bearing friction?) Linear tracking arms are the exact opposite; the arm is being DRIVEN across the record, and any imperfection in that drive system will not only cause it to sound bad, but risk damaging your cartridge and your records. SOme of them are also very complicated, with lots of moving and spinning parts, most of them critical to proper operation. For example, on the ones that use a rotating cylinder to drive the arm through rubber discs, the slightest touch of rust, or even finger grease, on the cylinder can cause it to malfunction... and, if the cylinder is damaged, or even badly tarnished, or if the drive discs get hard, or sticky, or develop flat spots, or even get worn too smooth, you probably aren't going to be able to repair them properly. For turntables with linear tracking arms, I would suggest either spending very little money and crossing your fingers, or spending a lot of money and getting one that is properly restored and guaranteed. (I would NOT count on being able to "restore" one that's "just a little off" or "looks OK but doesn't work right".) It works. It looks cool. If it has tracking issues, I didn't hear them. The Audio-Technica moving-magnet cartridge seems to be in good condition (I'm assuming a clean stylus because it didn't sound rolled-off in the treble). It came with a phono preamp so it could be plugged into line-level inputs. All for $50. If I end up not wanting to keep it (the hoped-for outcome), I'll roll it at the local vinyl shop's bulletin board for a profit. Darn - Now I need RECORDS! |
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Post by villock on Mar 28, 2015 15:52:42 GMT -5
Darn - Now I need RECORDS! The biggest problem with the whole vinyl thing. Albums, especially new ones are a fortune. True but some are worth it. Also if you can find a good shop, like I have in my home town, you can get some excellent used vinyl for very little money. Most of the LPs I buy are under $10. |
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Post by vneal on Mar 28, 2015 16:35:00 GMT -5
Apply the $50 to a bottom line R3ga or Pro-Ject table. ($400 w/ cartridge)You would be ahead of the game.
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Post by Boomzilla on Mar 28, 2015 19:16:30 GMT -5
I'm not sure how the SL-7 turntable moves its arm linearly. I had expected a magnetic drive thing without physical-contact parts. If it's a mechanical kludge, then it's not for me.
Rather than bother, I think it's off to the local vinyl store where I can post on the board for free & where some more optimistic child than I can treasure it. As I said, I didn't hear anything wrong, but I listened to only part of one record...
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novisnick
EmoPhile
CEO Secret Monoblock Society
Posts: 27,230 
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Post by novisnick on Mar 28, 2015 19:36:09 GMT -5
I'm not sure how the SL-7 turntable moves its arm linearly. I had expected a magnetic drive thing without physical-contact parts. If it's a mechanical kludge, then it's not for me. Rather than bother, I think it's off to the local vinyl store where I can post on the board for free & where some more optimistic child than I can treasure it. As I said, I didn't hear anything wrong, but I listened to only part of one record... So, your saying that by not listening to a single whole LP, your not sure of the quality of the full range of the mechanism. the complete line of travel in other words. One side of one LP is not too much to ask when your going to sell it and then you can make a better claim of its abilities. Besides, how can you not listen to one whole side?? Must have been a very horrible LP!!,,,,,,,  ,,,,,he,,,,,he,,,,,, |
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KeithL
Administrator
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Post by KeithL on Mar 28, 2015 21:00:57 GMT -5
There are lots of ways of making a linear tracking arm.
If you Google "technics sl-7 mechanism" you can find lots of pictures of the mechanism in that one, which appears to have the arm mounted to a little "platform", which rides on a greased rod, pulled along by a drive chain or cable.
On others, the arm platform rides on magnetic bearings, or even an air cushion, and I've seen designs where, instead of the base of the arm moving along next to the record, a heavy arm extends over the record itself, and a tiny sub-arm rides on that.
One of the more successful designs in the old days had a rod that rotated, with the arm attached to a pair of rotating rubber discs that rest on top of the rod. As the end of the arm moves, the angle at which it crosses the rod shifts slightly, and the slight angle between the discs and the rod creates a force that moves the back of the arm to "catch up" and return the arm angle to exactly right angles.
The one thing that all of these designs share is a complex mechanism that relies on mechanical parts riding very smoothly - and in which the slightest imperfection, or even thickening of the grease involves, can cause a serious malfunction.
On the plus side, many of them were reported to work very well when in good operating condition.
keith
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Post by Boomzilla on Mar 29, 2015 6:52:34 GMT -5
The reliability of the mechanism is my primary concern. Conventional turntables are bad enough, with their belts. Direct drive was (to me) a major improvement. Tone arm bearings (despite the stylus "dragging the arm with it over the record," were always a further concern - if the anti-skate setting wasn't just so, you could SEE the stylus-cantilever bending at an angle to the cartridge body! The miracle wasn't that phono cartridges and tone arms didn't work well - it was that they worked at all.
My last tonearm, an Infinity Black Widow, was (if I remember right) a "unipivot" arm where the arm itself was suspended from a single point. That meant that the entire mechanism (tone arm and cartridge, together) could rotate from side to side as the stylus plowed (deliberate choice of verb) the record.
Bah - Humbug. Allowing the internal arm of a HDD to pick up magnetic data from a disc without touching it is sufficient mechanical variability for me, thanks. When solid-state memory becomes durable enough (and inexpensive enough), then it sounds even better.
I'm just NOT an analog aficionado.
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,,,,,he,,,,,he,,,,,,