Acoustic Sounds

Features: Turntables

April 8th, 2023

Oracle Audio Delphi Mk VII Turntable— A Piece Of Art Or A Record Player?

the latest update to the Legend of Delphi, the MK VII offers reference-quality sonics.

By: Dave McNair

Yes. The Oracle Audio Delphi Reference Mk VII turntable is both a work of art and a record player. With an MSRP of $14,000, I wouldn’t think it strange for a non-audiophile who is an art and music lover to purchase an Oracle simply for its beauty and to play records. The Delphi Mk VII, however, is much more than a pretty face. As gorgeous as the Delphi (of any version) looks, its primary raison d’etre is to extract information. It's a precision instrument helping... Read More

January 6th, 2023

Technics SL-100C Is a Grand Bargain

a "Premium Class" 1200 variant for $1000

By: Michael Fremer

Technics couldn’t have better timed its 2015 re-entry into the audio enthusiast turntable market. Interest in vinyl took off that year, growing 30% from around 9 million sold in 2014 to 12 million in 2015. Skeptics and naysayers credited Adele and Taylor Swift for that year’s boost but each year since, and without a “big” record, sales continued growing until in 2021, unit sales, not just dollar sales surpassed those of CDs. Vinyl was victorious. Sales grew 22% in the... Read More

December 9th, 2022

McIntosh "Green Lights" MT2 Turntable

low profile, high performance

By: Michael Fremer

Since its founding in 1949 by Frank McIntosh the company that bears his name has flirted with non-electronic analog gear, but only rarely did it produce any, though of course for decades records and to a lesser degree pre-recorded tapes were the primary sources of music. McIntosh produced its first AM-FM tuner, the MR55 in 1957 and later became well known for its MR67, MR71, MR77 and MR78 tuners, the latter two designed by Richard Modafferi, who was a Senior Engineer... Read More

October 3rd, 2022

U-Turn’s Orbit “Theory” Turntable Executes Well In Practice

A substantial upgrade for this decade old company

By: Michael Fremer

U-Turn’s most ambitious and sophisticated turntable yet offers an impressive package of performance-enhancing features starting with a new one piece molded tapered magnesium 220 millimeter effective length, gimbal-bearing tonearm fitted with a pre-installed and aligned nude elliptical stylus Ortofon 2M Blue MM cartridge. The Theory adds electronic speed control that at the turn of a knob lets you change from 33 1/3 to 45rpm . More important than the convenience of it,... Read More

September 21st, 2022

Pro-Ject's Evolution X8 Turntable Throws A Monkeywrench Into the Marketplace

So much turntable for such an agreeable price (video review on TA YouTube channel)

By: Michael Fremer

A rough definition of “economies of scale” is the cost advantages produced by increased production. The more you produce, the lower the cost per unit, measured by the amount of output per unit of time. Usually this results in either the same product costing less, or a better product for the same cost as a not as good previous one.It's not clear how long it takes to assemble, box and package Pro-Ject’s new X8 Evolution turntable, or how economies of scale work at... Read More