Laser turntable plays records like CDs...

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SugarMedia

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... or so they claim. But it would definitely be interesting to audition one.

The ELP laser turntable reads LPs with lasers -- the manufacturer claims that the lasers can read "virgin" parts of the grooves that haven't been touched by needles and produce a better sound, and that the five laser read-head lets you skip forward and back across or within tracks as you would with a CD.
Two Tracking Laser beams are directed to the left and to the right shoulders of the groove of the record. Only the part of the beams that reach the groove are reflected to two PSD (Position Sensitive Detector) optical semiconductors. The part of the beams that fall on the land area of the record are deflected and not picked up by the PSD devices. The signals are sent to a microprocessor via analog to digital converters, then to servos to maintain the reader head position directly above the groove.
Two additional laser beams are directed at the left groove wall and the right groove wall just below the tracking beams. Modulation on the individual grooves is reflected to scanner mirrors and onto left and right photo optical sensors. The variations of the modulated light cause the audio sensors to develop an electrical representation of the mechanical modulation of the grooves. The entire sound reproduction chain is analog.

http://www.audioturntable.com/
 

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gulp !! 15k it had better sound flawless !! now I know you can spend even more on a conventional table, arm and cartridge set-up , I can think of better ways to spend those $$. I wonder if Sam Tellig has auditioned that piece ?? !!
 
It's been reviewed by Michael Fremer in Stereophile and also by the Absolute Sound. Fremer liked it much more than TAS did. I think one can infer that neither review thought it was the equal of much less expensive conventional lp spinners. BTW - it's been around for years in several different incarnations. Current production is by a Japanese firm which bought the patents.
 
Digital signal converted to analog...............can't be that good, or can it?

I've read the mixed reviews, I would plug it into my system if Santa left it under my tree though. :D
 
I believe it is pretty good from a review I read. Only problem is that the LPs have to be stunningly clean as every bit of dust is read with startling clarity rather than simply being pushed out of the way by the stylus.
 
It amazes me how some technologies come and go, and some just keep coming back for more. Its like how many time can you reinvent the wheel?
 
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