I may be a bit late to this observation, but reading through my recent SP10 3 versus SME 30/12 thread and others here on WBF, I am becoming increasingly aware of people's recommendations for refurbished and modified vintage turntables. DaveyF mentions the latest version of the LP12, Spiritofmusic and Ked talk about old idlers, ddk is remanufacturing the American Sound and has a collection of vintage tables. There are examples at a range of prices.
What is fueling this interest? Is it nostalgia, cost, fun, superior sonics, or a bit of all of that? Do the current designers just not have the research budgets to create newer and better alternatives at anything less that stratospheric prices? The new tables which seem to get a lot of attention are the Kronos Pro, the TechDAS AF1, the Grand Prix Audio Monaco, and perhaps the VPI Direct. I may be forgetting a few. These are all quite expensive. At a given price, are vintage tables (and arms) actually better than current designs and if so why? If not, why is there still so much interest? There is much discussion about the motor quality of the old designs. But there have been advances in controllers, material sciences, isolation. And there are so many alternative sounds. Is it just the nature of the hobby and why is there not more consensus for what is the right sound from a turntable?
What is fueling this interest? Is it nostalgia, cost, fun, superior sonics, or a bit of all of that? Do the current designers just not have the research budgets to create newer and better alternatives at anything less that stratospheric prices? The new tables which seem to get a lot of attention are the Kronos Pro, the TechDAS AF1, the Grand Prix Audio Monaco, and perhaps the VPI Direct. I may be forgetting a few. These are all quite expensive. At a given price, are vintage tables (and arms) actually better than current designs and if so why? If not, why is there still so much interest? There is much discussion about the motor quality of the old designs. But there have been advances in controllers, material sciences, isolation. And there are so many alternative sounds. Is it just the nature of the hobby and why is there not more consensus for what is the right sound from a turntable?