Re: [ARSCLIST] The ELP Laser Turntable for 78 transfer?

[James L Wolf <jwol@xxxxxxx>]

    I must respectfully, but strongly, disagree with George. I've used a
relatively recent model ELP turntable with a variety of discs in a
variety of conditions. At it's best, the ELP sounds worse than the
cheapest cartridge on the cheapest turntable. It is very noisy, lacks
any dynamic range to speak of, and has trouble tracking loud attacks. It
does NOT track cracked discs very well at all. It only works if the
crack edges are perfectly lined up. Any gap, and it won't track. And
yes, I've played with every variation of every feature on the thing. If
ELP has made drastic improvements in the last two years, then maybe my
info is outdated, but otherwise I would never use the ELP for transfer
work.
   The ELP is much better suited to auditioning or playback-on-demand
situations, where sound quality does not matter as much as protecting
the disc from wear.
   This is my personal opinion, does not reflect official Library
policy, and so on.

James


>>> pattac@xxxxxxxx 1/22/2004 11:35:24 AM >>>
From: Patent Tactics, George Brock-Nannestad

> I'm curious about the ELP Laser Turntable, wondering how well it
works
> for transferring 78s

>
> (If there are other companies making a similar product, I'm curious
> about those as well.)

----- there are no others like it. It is patented, and the patents are
in
force. But even if the patents were void, I doubt that anyone would be
able
to afford building up the know-how required.

>
> I surmise that for some 78s, it probably works very well, and
produces
> a transfer quality as good as can be obtained using a cartridge and
> correct-size stylus. But for other 78s it won't work so well. Is
this
> a correct assessment?

----- the record material must be black and not transparent. So shellac
78s
works fine. Some records are so degraded that the reflection from the
groove
is not sufficient. The result from both shellac and vinyl 78s is
astounding
and crisper than anything you will get from a stylus. No wear.
Adjustable
height in the groove. Variable speed, and repeatability of a groove for
fine-
tuning the speed to e.g. a pitch meter reading. Repeatability also for
fine-
tuning the equalisation. The output is electronically made to be like
the
output from a cartridge. You only need a very good preamp to take
advantage
of the clean signal. For instance a click is the briefest you will ever
get.
You can even play a dirty record - something you would never do to
your
stylus, I hope. You can even play a broken record without fixing the
bits
with more than masking tape on the reverse.

>
> Is there anyone here who has actual experience using the ELP for 78
> transfers? If so, what are your experiences, and would you ever use
it
> for your primary 78 transfer hardware?

----- I have done so and would again.

>
> Thanks.

You are very welcome.

Kind regards,


George