watchnerd
Grand Contributor
An abomination in my opinion.
I sent my Thorens TD-160 and TD-145 to my Dad's house to play with. He's not a big fan of the floaty suspension decks either.
I've got the perfect one for Sal, a drawer loading, both sides play, twin linear tracking arms and fully random track programmable Sharp/Optonica RP-117. Opens like a CD player, has twin optical sensors that scan both sides to determine the track positions.
Like this (not my pic)
View attachment 18091
They are fun and games to repair, I picked up a number of them back in the day at garage sales and tip shops including the model below it with no programming. Two belts and a cracked gear are the common issues. Uses a special Audio Technica dual magnet stylus with a gap to allow the IR track reading bean to shine through and reflect back.
They can play hideously warped records that no other turntable in my collection can. Due to the overhead (and underhead) mounted, very short linear tonearms.
Wouldn't this require a custom cartridge?
I can't imagine the compliance of a modern cartridge being compatible.