Comments on: The Most Influential Turntables of All Time: 15 Record Players That Changed Hi-Fi

By: Steven

Steven — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 15:41:36 +0000

In reply to Ogi Raykoff. It's worth noting that the low torque, "cog-free" motor in the Dual 701 inspired Brinkmann Audio to follow the same approach with their direct-drive models.

By: Ogi Raykoff

Ogi Raykoff — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 09:25:03 +0000

Thanks for the rich and useful info about the Turntables Pls. add in this list * DUAL model 701 > A very well one !

By: Steven

Steven — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 04:04:10 +0000

You’ve been assigned a difficult task. One that requires a separation of marketing from engineering.
From an engineering perspective, two turntables–one vintage, one an enduring classic–come to mind:
• EMT 927
• Kuzma Stabi Reference (currently Ref2).
Where the EMT 927 incorporated a 3-phase motor idler drive, the Kuzma is a precision dual motor belt drive.
Both, however were engineered for imperturbable performance and long term reliability.
Granted, there have been many well engineered tables from SME, Brinkmann, Pluto, A.J. Conti’s Basis Audio, others. . .
From a marketing perspective, however, the list gets longer.
Like TikTok, maybe marketing (as it is too often practiced) should be banned.

By: ORT

ORT — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 16:21:41 +0000

In reply to Ian White.

Ian,

Thank you for the “reminder”. It took me just over an hour to swap the Pro-Ject X2 in Walnut for my Dual 1246. I am as weak as a regular guy now. Probably weaker, LOL! Once I recover and buy an affordable phono preamp I will swap my Sony BlooToof ‘table for my The Beatles Singles ‘table. Still awaiting delivery of my Peanuts 75th from Pro-Ject. Holdin’ on!

ORT

By: Ian White

Ian White — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 00:34:21 +0000

In reply to Angry Scottish Guy.

Did the Orange man put you up to this?

The Transcriptors was a brilliant piece of engineering and industrial design and the company is making them again along with amplifiers and phono stages.

The Linn may have borrowed some ideas from the aforementioned tables (and don’t forget about the Systemdek…I owned one), but it was the most successful. Linn has been making them for almost 5 decades. The biggest issue with the Linn in 2026 is the price which seems totally out of whack when you can have a Kuzma, VPI, or DD Thorens for less.

By: Angry Scottish Guy

Angry Scottish Guy — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 23:41:23 +0000

The Transcriptors table is a thing of beauty but mechanical POS.

Just like the copycat Linn.

By: Ian White

Ian White — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 23:55:10 +0000

In reply to Adina Hirschmann.

Adina,

Reach out to Dave Archambault at Vinyl Nirvana. He used to do AR restorations before moving on to Thorens exclusively.

By: Adina Hirschmann

Adina Hirschmann — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 19:51:39 +0000

So glad my turntable made the list! I found and bought my AR XA turntable at a garage (estate?) sale during the 1990s for $15.00. Since then, I upgraded the cartridge to a Stanton 500 MKIII and bought a new felt mat for the platter. However, I was trying to stabilize the shelf it sat on and straighten the records under it for the proper Zoom background, which sent my precious bargain tumbling down the stairs. I since reconstructed and upgraded the shelf to a more stable design. However, the tonearm keeps skating over the grooves toward the center post, no matter what the tracking force. Anyone know how to fix this? I have my own tools.

By: Mr John Murphy

Mr John Murphy — Wed, 28 May 2025 17:10:00 +0000

Ian

Thanks for making me feel even more ancient !!!!

The Ocean that sounds lovely ( also a great track by Richard Hawley )

Good talking to you, keep up the good work.

John

By: Ian White

Ian White — Wed, 28 May 2025 13:41:54 +0000

In reply to Mr John Murphy.

John,

I was 10. Toronto is awful. Hours to cross the 401. And that’s at 11 pm. I wake up now in either FL or NJ and can see the ocean at the end of my street.