Turntable Reviews

...that Onkyo couldn't have charged just a bit more and fitted a somewhat higher grade of cartridge instead? For another $50 they could get the AT-100E, with an elliptical stylus, aluminum cantilever, more advanced magnetic/generator system and ~1.5g tracking force. This product is unlikely to be sold at the local stereo store where one could select the turntable and cartridge à la carte, so why fit a bottom rung cartridge? Sure you could upgrade the original cartridge, but anyone buying this turntable isn't looking for the absolute lowest cost unit on the market, so why not include a cartridge that will make their LPs sound that much better right from the start?

Looks good and performs well enough for what it costs. After all, we are not talking 'Ferrari' prices are we?

I like it that Michael looks at 'reasonably priced' equipment quite often. Far too many reviewers/sites/magazines seem to consider it 'beneath them'.

Speed (obviously purely a personal view)

I don't care whether a turntable has a belt drive or direct drive. But it MUST have long-term stability. I used to have a Technics SL150, direct drive BUT NOT CRYSTAL CONTROLLED. It was a nightmare. I would not use it for a few days, turn it on, and the speed would be wildly different from the last time I used it. Each time you had to fiddle with the adjustment knobs.

Thus these days I will only use a turntable with a synchronous ac motor, running directly from the mains power, or with a crystal oscillator.

And PREFERABLY with no speed adjustment. If the manufacturer fits adjustment it indicates to me that he has little confidence in his speed control mechanism.

Ortofan
problem with "charging a bit more" is there is no end to it. You can make this better, that better, the other better, and end up with a $2000 setup very easily. So they START with a price point. It's the same with most things, cars, motorcycles, lawnmowers, even electric drills. - "It is going to cost $599. What can we do with that?" Even the $599 rather than $600 is an important price point.

And then theie is the 'Vinyl Revival". I wonder who is doing it? There is the long term Hi-Fi enthusiast - probably NOT a big part of it EXCEPT, like me, having always had a turntable, read a lot about a revival, observe that more records hare available than there has been for a long time, BUY A NEW MID PRICE TURNTABLE (a Linn in my case) and buy a lot more records than I ever used to, having found a certain 'relentless mechanical churning out of music' feeling about top quality computer audio.

(Have other people noticed that about computer audio?)

Then there is the Vinyl 'beginners'. Putting their toe in the water. Afford thousandsof Dollars or not, they ARE going to have a fixed 'starting budget' and it is likely to be low because they are only 'testing the water'.

I feel like elaborating so I will :)

I've got a computer audio setup. It's top quality, I have a lot of 'high res' music (far more music than I've EVER had before on any media whatsoever), a good DAC, AMP, Speakers.

IN FACT IT WAS THE BASIC OUTSTANDINGLY GOOD QUALITY OF COMPUTER AUDIO that revived my interest in music, caused me to greatly expand my collection, and caused me to upgrade everything else. This started about 6 years ago.

BUT IT NEVER STOPS. It's like Chinese water torture! It sits there, motionless. You don't even have to put a new CD in. Or it's not like the radio (we still have excellent FM in the UK), with an inane DJ who nevertheless gives you a short break. Or the 'coughing interval' (not that concert promoters call it that) on a live classical performance on BBC Radio Three.

Computer audio, high res at least, churns out 'perfect' sound, and it never stops. Set up a 'playlist (only a matter of seconds to do and sometimes you don't have to do even that) and that's it, it will churn it out for days. So you listen FAR MORE than you ever did before to what I can best describe as a 'relentless organ-grinder churning it out by turning the handle.

There is a certain 'ritual' in listening to music and I suspect it is part of the pleasure. Putting on a record or CD. Tuning the radio to a different station when the piece you like has ended. Bothering to pay for, and drive to, a live concert. This riitual is MISSING in CA and really does reduce it all to a mindless machine. It's driving me up the wall!

Surprisingly, Mike, the thing that jumped out at me here is that you own a rebuilt Adcom Crosscoil. I have an old Adcom Microridge II that has worked well in my Denon for several decades, despite once bending the sh*t out of the cantilever and then carefully straightening it out (!) I wasn't aware that these guys can be rebuilt and that's certainly something I'd consider, given how much I love the idea of a good-sounding moving-coil with a _very_ oblong stylus that produces a line-level signal (post-phono preamp but w/no head amp) greater in amplitude than that of my disc player. You're satisfied with the rebuild you mention?

DJL

Mike...I always loved the look of the Denon but all the reviews I read were pretty negative. I remember seeing new units being blown out at something like half msrp. Was it really that bad a TT?

I have recent experience with an excellent sounding Onkyo CD player that started skipping after eighteen months moderate use. On opening the player, the CD drive was found to be a flimsy thing (compared with my older NAD and Denon players that skip due to old age, 10+years).
I called the Onkyo service center and they would not offer to repair or replace. If the failure was a fluke why not offer help?
Since that time I have seen pictures of the same drive used in far more expensive Onkyo CD players.
The 'play' in this turntable's arm bearings is a clue to the quality. I would definitely look under the hood at construction quality before buying.
P.S. I checked the drive part number and replacement drives did not show up on the internet, so this CD player is trash.

...and adjust them for inflation, how do they compare to the price of the Onkyo unit? If they're not in the same ballpark, then it's not a fair comparison. The inflation corrected prices of various Sony ES and Pioneer Elite players I've owned are in the range of $1.5-4.5K. If I'm expecting to get similar performance/longevity from a unit available today, I'd plan on having to spend a similar amount. Or, you can pay a lot less with the realization that the product might become a throw-away after several years of use.

This Onkyo is what the neo vinyl buff needs. Fairly priced, competent performance, and decently made without being finicky. A good choice for the price point.

I just bought this turntable in June. I'd been really in dire financial straits (no heat last winter) for a few years 'til I got some money from the sale of my mother's house. So I bought this Onkyo with Monitor Silver 6 speakers & Rega Brio-R amp. I find it to be sturdy and reliable. Comparing a side of "Axis" & the CD playing inaudible at the same time, the side ended on a dime with the CD. I wonder about the low end with some recordings: Comparing the Sundazed "Bo Diddley" LP to Hip-O's "Complete Recordings" series on cd, Willie Dixon's bass seems more distant on the LP (otherwise the sound is warm & punchy). This is a particularly noticeable case, but generally the low end is weakest part of the picture. On the other hand played "To Bonnie From Delaney" on solid 1970 Atco slab-o-wax and was seduced by the detail and presence of the whole picture...Maybe the cartridge change would make a difference?

Now the price is under $400.

How do you build that arm with no adjustments? The Numark TT250USB looks as good with a clear plastic cover, very accurate speed control, and the arm has at least height adjustment (necessary for different carts), and all of this for $300. Stanton T.92 has maybe a better TT with the controls, but you only receive a cloth cover for $300. The 1050 is like a duck out of water or maybe a duck which can't fly.

So the speed stability is awesome, but the arm blows chunks.

Now that it's selling for <$400, maybe you could make a killer combo if you replaced the stock arm with a nice Jelco SA-750D (or others)?

Did some experimenting lowering the tracking to 2.5g and sound did improve imho. Next is anti skate to go from 3 to 2 and have a listen.

When it came out I bought the Onkyo for €395 with a Music Hall 1.2 pre for €145.

It is for the money a nice entry level deck though lack of adjustments (VTA) rule out major upgrades.

Cheers Michel

Todays' Onkyo is not what the brand used to be in the older days. This player is, while being quite different as for its looks, just another Hanpin (they produce for Denon, Audio-Technica, Pioneer just to name a few) turntable made for Onkyo. Nothing wrong with that but do not expect it to be something special. It is not bad but when it breaks it is a write off. Costs for labour and the lack of spares will condemn this product to the scrap heap. So I would say this product is for the ones who do not spin records on a dayly basis.