REWIRE YOURSELF
The most misunderstood and abused component in a stereo system is the turntable that plays the records. The majority of people out to buy a new stereo concentrate on the quality (and cost). of the amplifier and speakers. They sigh with relief when the hi-fi salesman throws in a Garrard 630S turntable with a Pickering V15 cartridge for an extra $55.
REWIRE YOURSELF
Turntable Trauma
Richard Robinson
The most misunderstood and abused component in a stereo system is the turntable that plays the records. The majority of people out to buy a new stereo concentrate on the quality (and cost). of the amplifier and speakers. They sigh with relief when the hi-fi salesman throws in a Garrard 630S turntable with a Pickering V15 cartridge for an extra $55. Unfortunately, bargain,turntables are likely to drastically affect the overall performance of any stereo. Even serious audiophiles in search of the absolute sound with their $500 to $900 turntables have begun to worry that their turntables are wreaking acoustic havoc with their stereo systems.
In the old days, turntables were called record changers and the buyer’s biggest concern was how many records could be stacked on the changer’s spindle. Today changers are called turntables and very, very few of them play more than one record. The extra mechanism required to drop a half dozen albums onto the platter have been abandoned in an all-out effort to play just one record properly. This effort has yet to be 100% successful.