The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I posted this once, but it was quite some time ago and probably on the ProBoards forum... thought it would be fun to bring up again.

http://www.elpj.com/

The ELP Laser Turntable - play records without a needle.

The Laser Turntable allows you to...
- Play your Vinyl Records without damaging them.
- Discover great new analog sound in your Vinyl Records.
- Play damaged Records with better results than a needle.
- Have the convenience, control, and safety of playing Vinyl Records just like a modern CD player (the record is contained inside the machine, and with a remote control you can click to play any track while the LT tells you the elapsed & remaining times).

Plays Warped and Rippled Records (up to 5mm deviation)
In some cases, the LT plays even broken records when all the pieces are placed on a tray without tape or glue.

The laser beams must reflect from an opaque surface in order to be read. Clear or colored records are transparent, or translucent, and will not reflect light to the sensors. Other types of records that may have difficulty include:
1) Vertical cut records like the early Edison "Diamond Cut" series. The modulation is up and down rather than lateral. The code pbad is displayed in the message window.
2) Rounded groove shoulder. The code rbad is displayed in the message window.
3) A groove with a rounded bottom produces distortion.

Wow, that is one spendy little item!

Yes, I'd like to get one, right after my next Ferrari.

But honestly, this is really cool technology. Just a bit pricey, and probably won't get much cheaper, because the market isn't very big I guess.

Thanks for sharing.
Andreas

I have been following the development of the laser turntable since more than 10 years and the main drawback (beside the prohibitive price) persisted: the record surface has to be immaculately clean otherwise the background noise is much too high. The ELP may be o.k. for untouched discs, but is totally unusable for 100 year old records.

I like their disclaimer:

"Because of personal preferences and the many cartridge/stylus/tonearm combinations being used, it is difficult to say if the LT will sound better for you, individually, than the turntable you currently own."

Even on sale, for $9000.00 I'd like more assurance this'd be worth it.
However, it may mean they're honest in their assessment.

Ditto regarding that the laser picks up too much spurious groove elements on shellac, such as groove wall wear and damage.

Bob

barnettrp21122 wrote:Ditto regarding that the laser picks up too much spurious groove elements on shellac, such as groove wall wear and damage.

Actually, from what I understand, that's an area where the ELP can excel. Because the laser can be trained/focused by the user to track at a specific selected part of the groove wall, completely bypassing any damage inflicted by needles. If a record has the usual wear on the upper part of the groove, simply aim the laser to track below it and viola, a (supposedly) minty sounding record. It can also play cracked or even completely broken records that have been pieced together.But this is all after you've scrupulously cleaned the dirt and debris from it. All reports are that records have to be clean or the noise from dirt and debris can be very loud and unbearable.

It's something that could stand to be develloped more, sure, but if I was rich, I'd have an ELP sitting right along side a conventional turntable setup, and use it when advantageous, for making transfers and things. I'd like to know what something like an old Paramount record could be made to sound like on the ELP. Or a typically noisy HMV...

<<But honestly, this is really cool technology. Just a bit pricey, and probably won't get much cheaper, because the market isn't very big I guess. >>

Yeah considering how dirt cheap cd and dvd players are now, seems ludicrous to consider it 'on sale' at 10 grand. It's just a cd player built to hold really big discs and some fancy software. I mean what does a cheap cd player cost to manufacture now, a buck and a half? I would think enough rich old record collectors out there would be buying them to bring these prices down from the stratosphere.
Are the absolutely most expensive turntables that still use a regular pickup anywhere close to this pricey?

Wolfe wrote:Actually, from what I understand, that's an area where the ELP can excel. Because the laser can be trained/focused by the user to track at a specific selected part of the groove wall, completely bypassing any damage inflicted by needles. If a record has the usual wear on the upper part of the groove, simply aim the laser to track below it and viola, a (supposedly) minty sounding record.

Isn't that something that can also be done somewhat with regular turntables, by selecting different shaped and sized stylus tips? If so, yeah it is more of a pain to do than with this laser player, but I remember a super-sophisticated pickup/stylus website that went into detail about selecting different stylus tip shapes depending on varying factors.
I also wonder if, the more you 'dial in' where this laser player is reading from on the grooves, it might have more hickups during playback. But perhaps it stores in memory while playing, like CD players that can handle being banged around because they stack up the successful playback in memory before outputting it.

frenchmarky wrote:

Isn't that something that can also be done somewhat with regular turntables, by selecting different shaped and sized stylus tips? If so, yeah it is more of a pain to do than with this laser player, but I remember a super-sophisticated pickup/stylus website that went into detail about selecting different stylus tip shapes depending on varying factors.

I don't have hands on experience with the ELP, so I don't know for sure, but I think it possible that a laser could be focused on the absolute optimal part of the groove moreso than a stylus. Even with a bank of styluses on hand, it's usually going to be something of a compromise, in trying to approximate the size and depth of the original cutter tip and what not.

frenchmarky wrote:I also wonder if, the more you 'dial in' where this laser player is reading from on the grooves, it might have more hickups during playback. But perhaps it stores in memory while playing, like CD players that can handle being banged around because they stack up the successful playback in memory before outputting it.

Thinking back to what I've read, I think it does have a memory, not saying definitely. If I wanted to search online I might be able to find out, but I don't.

frenchmarky wrote:Are the absolutely most expensive turntables that still use a regular pickup anywhere close to this pricey?

'Conventional' turntable setups with super premium catridges, and with or without a high end phono preamp can run into the six figures easily. Amongst your well heeled, deep pocket audiophiles, nine or ten thousand dollars on a turntable, laser or not, is up there in price, though not at all stratospheric or considered highly unusual/unheard of.

It's interesting that you should inquire about the availability of hi-bux analog turntables today. If there was any doubt that golden ears have become any more rational in the last coupla decades, we can rest assured that they are still as delusional as ever. Check out these eBay offerings:


This one takes the prize for the most preposterously over-the-top waste of time, money, and resources:

eBay Item #300475975562

Words really fail to convey the utter silliness of this thing. Metal-osity run totally amok. And a soberingly outrageous price. This would be for those Wall Street criminals who just can't figger out HOW the hell they're gonna spend all that filthy lucre that they just stole from their hedge fund investor peons. "Did I get yer attention? Huh, huh? Is it flashy enough? Wait'll ya see my new Bugatti. It's carved from a solid block of titanium - even the tires!" But, hey, at least you get a FREE set of audio cables with it! WATTA deal!


This one is pretty mundane by comparison. But it still achieves the prime directive of extracting a large chunk of cash from the clueless buyer's behind:

eBay Item #300475973384


And now for a little of the home-brew variety:

eBay Item #150273127372

This guy obviously has a lathe and a milling machine in his basement. Not to mention a Bosch industrial components catalog on his desk. He musta been in machinist nirvana with all those metal shavings flying around while carving this outta several billets of brass and aluminum. But the Lure of the Bosch overcame the need to turn table legs on his lathe - probly it doesn't have a long enough bed. Extruded aluminum Bosch Erector Set parts from the catalog to the rescue! Oh, and I really like the (noisy?) piston air pump that can (must?) be located 100 feet from the listening room - nice touch.