Victrola VPRO-3100 Pro USB turntable review & test
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- This video is not sponsored by Victrola / Innovative Technology. I paid for the turntable with my own money.
Additional notes:
* The same design is being sold outside the USA as the JVC AL-F58S, Audizio RP310, ProCaster LP-101, and JB Hi-Fi Flea Market 2 (FMTT2). So if you're interested in this turntable but it's not available in your country, see if those other models are.
* The software on the included CD is Audacity for Windows (Vista and newer) and Mac OS (10.6 and newer). You can download it from www.audacityte... if your computer doesn't have an optical drive.
* To my ears, the USB and analog line-level outputs sounded the same.
* I also pointed out to Victrola two mistakes in the instruction manual: they show using a screwdriver to remove the stylus (not necessary and may cause damage; as I show in the video, it can be easily removed by hand), and claim the stylus should last for 50 hours of playing time in normal use (according to Audio-Technica it's actually good for 400 hours).
* The motor is mounted on three rubber grommets instead of only two in the AT-LP60-style turntables, which should help to reduce wow & flutter (less chance for the motor to wobble on its mounts).
#vinyl #turntable #RetroTech
It's always nice to see turntables like this being released. For a while the only two options were "complete junk" and "ultra mega high end".
wilkes85 it's another iteration of the hanpin design of the 90's with a different arm design, but for its value it is fairly correct
wilkes85 You, sir, get it. I've already seen a ton of hate directed at this - all based on the fact that it's not some fiddly, ultra-snooty high end turntable. For the price, I think it's very nicely featured.
Aimede, this turntable does not appear to share any parts with the Hanpin (AT-LP60-style) turntables. But there is an almost identical JVC turntable being sold outside of the U.S.: www.mistergooddeal.com/nav/achat/hifi_video/elements_separes/platine_disque/jvc_al-f58s.html
VWestlife oh, a chance I didn't bet it was 😁. The controls and the general design and the inners was hinting me it was a Hanpin declination.
xaenon no hate for this, my parents had a little Aiwa on that design that still works (might need a new belt though) and have not crunched yet their records. 😁
You are awesome! Great job identifying the design flaws and contacting the manufacturer. I was impressed with their reply as well.
A simply marvellous review, thank you for making it!
I find your reviews very beginner friendly and educational whilst still covering the important aspects for advanced enthusiasts.
You have an approachable manner and an attention to detail that mark you as a high quality reviewer. It's a surprise you don't have more people subscribed!
I’ve got this turntable pleased to say that the issue with the lid closed is fixed now.
In the latest audio/video magazine I cannot, for the life of me fathom paying the outlandish prices those companies are charging for their "hi-fi" equipment! I cancelled my subscription because it was making me an anti hi-fi enthusiast. And besides I WASN'T LEARNING ANYTHING from that magazine that I couldn't learn from people like you on the internet! Thank you.
Thank you for providing reviews for midrange and entry level products. It's good to have people who won't dismiss these products immediately and tell you that you need to spend hundreds of dollars to enjoy vinyl records.
Wow customer service is usually dead now days good they replied , good video 👍👍
And you can tell it's a real person and not just some auto-reply thing.
I have to admit, I bought one from Amazon after this review, and have already gone to Goodwill twice to scrounge for classical baroque and early music records - so far I'm loving it! Upgraded LP GEAR stylus coming this week on recommendation too!
How did you end up liking the new stylus?
Every time there's audio samples on your videos I feel an urge to listen to some of the tracks in full right after. I must praise your taste in music.
I have purchased quite a few of the albums I’ve heard on this channel.
Was looking for a gift to get my friend for her birthday next month. She’s just getting into vinyl (courtesy of me) and currently only has a Crosley Cruiser, because that’s all she could afford. I promised her that I’d buy her a new turntable for her birthday, and now I think I just found the perfect one. Although, the whole tonearm thing is kind of a bother, it seems like a very nice starter turntable. Gonna see if I can find myself one and give it to her. Thanks for making this video, VW! You made gift shopping a lot easier, lmao.
Great no BS review as usual. This would definitely be a great beginner turntable or secondary bedroom turntable. I’m glad they took your critiques seriously as well.
Great video! I'll probably be recommending this table to anyone who's looking for an affordable way to get into records without buying a Crosley. I also have to mention that your video where you mentioned that you replaced the anti-skate spring on your LP-120 inspired me to order a replacement spring which I'll be replacing within the next week.
atoxique, watch the end of the video where I explain why a turntable like this is actually better for a beginner than one with a tonearm that needs to be balanced and adjusted.
I was going to spend a few more bucks on Audio Technica's LP60 because I wanted good quality and not just a toy like the "case portable player". This video came at last moment and I'm very happy to save a few bucks but maintaining quality. *Thanks a lot for including audio samples straight from the player!!!! That was huge help* Great review, mate.
I bought by accident the JAM SpunOut turntable too, any advice on which one should I keep? @VWestlife
Your email to Victrola must have worked! I got one a month ago , before it arrived this video is the one that popped up on RUclips . I watched it to see what I was getting. My one when it arrived was like you said was a pain in the arse to get the lid on. What I'm on about your email to Victrola must have worked as , I was put off closing the lid while playing a record. I'm happy to say the tone arm doesn't lift as high as your one. Victrola must have took note of your email or watched your video!
Thanks for doing this review! I hope IT will fix the various defects and design flaws; however, even if they do fix those things, I feel that the AT LP60 is still a better overall value than the VPRO-3100, for a few reasons: 1) Antiskating. Even though the difference might not be overtly audible while listening to records, a turntable without antiskating will produce uneven wear on the diamond and the records, and if you can avoid uneven wear, why wouldn't you? (It's also worth noting that even though the original U-Turn Orbit didn't have antiskating, they designed it so that the tension of the tonearm wires produced a moderate antiskating force.) 2) When AT says their turntable is fully automatic, they're not lying, and full automation is a very useful feature for those of us who drink too much coffee (shaky hands) or people who are a bit clumsy. 3) Metal platter. Thin plastic platters can potentially warp over time. I've experienced this with entry-level turntables from Crosley and Aiwa. The metal platter of the LP60 won't warp. 4) On-off switch for the built-in preamp. This isn't a big deal for most people, but it's nice to have the option.
I do like your no nonsense approach to reviewing and explaining gear on your channel.
Even as an audiophile, I love seeing new budget options pop up. Like any product, the more competitive and featured these lower-end options get, the better for the consumer. At some point, even some of the mid-range and high-end brands will need to bring their prices down, or come up with other features to make them stand out from the budget options in order to compete. Honestly, even if you're a huge snob, buy a few of these cheaper models and throw them on Ebay. Get the sales numbers of these budget options up to continue driving the competition.
Dark - I actually do somewhat agree with you. Vinyl isn't the best medium for music. The issue is that the "Loudness War" has destroyed modern CDs and digital releases. You can't press a vinyl anywhere near as hot as some modern masters, so usually there will be much more dynamic range on the vinyl option. Trust me, if I could get some of my favorite albums in hi-res WITHOUT awful compression, I totally would. Vinyl for me is a fall-back.
I am happy that the budget turntable market is growing, that will definitely help to get newbies into the hobby.
Dark, I’m not sure what you mean by audiophiles being walking jokes. Is it because we claim that we can “hear the difference”?
I’ll tell you it’s because we can. Go to your local HiFi shop and give some of their gear a listen, and then go home and play the same songs on yours. Guarantee you’ll hear the difference.
Lassi, I can hear the difference between a cheap and expensive TT. Just saying.
I’m not trying to start an argument, and I’m not going to argue if someone wants me to, the above information is strictly FWIW.
Many things about vinyl generally come down to personal preference. Vinyl is usually mastered with a warmer, more dynamic sound that a lot of people prefer over the loud, aggressive sounding digital versions. Pressing a -6dB digital master to a vinyl record would be a disaster. And the people who say they can hear a difference CAN, because every turntable is going to sound slightly different because of the parts, the stylus, the DAC, amplifier, receiver. It's the nature of analog; There are so many variables to turntables that sometimes you can even take two of the exact same model and get slightly different results. Usually within a dB or two, but sometimes that's enough to sway people.
I never refuted that they "would" do a loudness war with vinyl, they clearly would if it were possible to press vinyl that hot. So I don't know why you tried to make that point. And no, it's not just "crappy pop music" getting mastered loud. Soundtracks, scores, classical, jazz (though I'm not sure what "handsup" is, even tried to Google it). It's almost a rarity now days to find a release with more than a DR7, regardless of it's genre.
PUT ON THAT REGA CARBON STYLUS AAAAAAYOOOOOOOOO AUDIOPHILE APPROVED MY DUDE
Is this the same Rega Carbon Stylus in the video? (Rega Replacement Stylus for Carbon Cartridge - RP1) www.amazon.com/Rega-Replacement-Stylus-Carbon-Cartridge/dp/B00EO5X74S/
Yes.
The rega carbon stylus is identical to the Audio Technica stylus..its badge engineered at...the LPGear elliptical replacement however will give a possibly a clearer sound...
pls do a cd or dvd player tweaks.
Well I just bought one of these from Walmart yesterday and I can assure you that they have NOT fixed either of the two issues you pointed out in this video.... I only bought one because I was almost certain Victrola would have fixed these issues by now, but they haven't... I will be returning this unit to Walmart .
As a side note I always love seeing the records you play on these reviews, I'm surprised more artists didn't release their albums on coloured/patterned vinyl as opposed to plain black, unless the production costs were prohibitive.
Because it's black...more classic and cooooll
I absolutely love your channel and it has really helped me decide that this is the turntable I wish to go for. it's also currently $58 on amazon. Thank you!!!
If the cartridge is not easily upgradable then that may be why the lack of the adjustable balance. They would not have to worry about you putting something with a different weight on the end of the tone arm. Likely the choice of not featuring an adjustable balance drove the other decision. The adjustable balance would cost more than the changes to the mount.
Nice review! Certainly a good alternative to the AT LP60. Its nice to see another budget but decent product. Mechanism looks like an updated version of Ion Profile Pro, just with start/stop button and removable cartridge.
Pretty good overall package for the price. The brand doesn't really affect me since I'm aware of the actual history and I don't care, but the actual turntable itself looks worth the living room, but the scratching on the cover is something they should fix in the future before I buy one. This will probably be hopefully the case for future batches.
Thanks for the heads up for the Columbus Day discount! I bought one based on your excellent review. Looking forward to just playing and enjoying records without all the audiophile anxiety.
Good on you sir. Just enjoy the music!
Does it pass the Daft Punk test, though?
Almost. It did not skip on "Da Funk", but did skip on "Around The World", whereas the AT-LP60 skips on both. So it's better, but still not perfect. But like I said before, that Homework album was really only meant to be played by DJs with professional equipment. It was released in 1997 when they did not expect average consumers to be playing it on sub-$100 turntables.
That's still not bad at all, really. If that turntable proves to be reliable, it really should be considered as defacto for the $100 beginner's turntable. I'm also curious to know if even with the limited headshell if you can replace the cartridge at all. With a fixed counterweight you'd have to find one with the same weight as the 3600 and roughly the same screw placement, but there may be a handful that could fit. I'm not sure if you'd want to follow this up, but it was worth mentioning since you've got one in hand.
Nice work as always, man.
If stylus skips a groove, it's due to bad setup or cartridge and tonearm mismatch.
I want to say there's a rerelease of homework that doesn't skip@@vwestlife
@@vwestlife That's odd, Da Funk never skipped on mine, but Around The World did. But surprisingly it took Rollin and Scratchin great. As well as RAM
Wow Victrola is finally moving up from rebadged Crosley Cruisers and all in ones. That's nice to see. Great video by the way!
Everything is rebadged at this level. They're all made in one of two Chinese factories. Crosley, Victrola, GPO, Akai, Zennox, Xenta, Steepletone, Ion, even Audio Technica etc. etc. None of these names make a single thing. All badge engineering.
I think this looks and sounds fine. This is the sort of equipment we need to see that will (hopefully) encourage people to take up vinyl. Like you said 'it's not perfect'....but then, what is? Thank you for the fantastic review.
I like it when you say "The factory will need to re-design this post to be not as tall..."that's a proper recommendation
In spite of the little annoyances with this turntable, it would be a significant upgrade from my current TT - an ION "Compact LP" unit - nonetheless. Excellent job, Kevin!!!
PS: Now I really want one for Christmas!!!
Victrola should replace the lid for you as well.
Or just take it off and buff it out. It's a light scratch.
Like Techmoan says rub some Brasso on it!
How can a Victorla NOT have 78 RPM? 🤔
Victrola*
1931 a Victrola had 33 rpm, so...
Ok, for the usual Audio Technica cartridge there is no 65 micrometer stylus available.
I love your turntable reviews / tests! Keep up the good work!
While it's great that someone replied to your message, they shouldn't be leaving the factory with such flaws.
All these years I've been watching your content, and I never knew your name was Kevin until this video. LOL.
Thanks for the review. I just ordered this turntable and it's nice to see it's good quality for the price and will be great for my needs.
Awesome video again Vwestlife. Wow this is actually a really amazing tt for the price, when the flaws are fixed it surely is the best tt for it's price range. Looking at amazon the black version costs only 88 dollars.
Arriving at a vwestlife video with under 200 views? That's a rarity!
It had not yet been up for even one hour when you commented
8k views at the moment
1.2K
Why does it even matter???
As usual a great video, and proper attention to detail, and not silly nick picking, but helpful information 😊
A very balanced and complete review. Excellently edited and presented.
G'day, VWestlife! Thumbs up! Fabulous job! Enjoyed seeing new budget options, and reviewing Victrola VPRO-3100 "It's the best new turntable under $100!!" Thank you!
Cheers! 😊💿❤️✌🏼
I ordered one from the victrola site. $85 shipped with the new user discount. Will report how it compares to the AT LP60 that I used to have.
It was not good out of box.
I definetly like the aesthetic of this turntable
Is the only thing u should like
@@mikedestazador5116 I mean, it is a good beginners turntable.
So do I, it isn't trying to be modern which is a big plus for me. It looks like something you'd have paid a decent amount of money for in the 80s/90s.
Well, I just pulled the trigger and bought this on Amazon for $37 with free shipping, I am thinking the seller is closing it out and just getting rid of it for the cost of shipping basically.
Coupon code is still good. Got mine 3 days ago. Bought the black model (VERY high gloss black) with a few scuffs from manufacturing (no biggie). Works as advertised. Tracks at 3.25 grams
with the AT3600L supplied. You're absolutely right...the buttons seem to be ass backward..but I'm sure you'll get use to the strange layout. Checked it with a strobe disk and it seems to be right
on the money. The dust cover is just too shallow (thanks for the tip about scratching the cover). I'm old school and I don't use a dust cover when playing records (my first two turntables didn't
have hinged dust covers....you just took them off when using the turntable. This turntable is truly a BASS KICKER! It must be the built in pre-amp. If you like DISCO or HOUSE music you will
probably like this a lot! It's a Party Turntable! For $85.00 bucks it does the job pretty well. Cheers and thanks for the review.
when i hear those MP3 quality AKA no static clips from records i remember why i subscribed, just like those DVD quality VHS clips. showing us what analog sounds and looks like when you open the throttle!
I will definitely cop this. Thank you for this review!
I can’t even believe they are going to fix it. That’s amazing.
Nice video! Loved watching these vids before my uni lectures. Keep up the good work!
I've seen some bad design in my time, but the lid is ridiculous! The saying "you get what you pay for" certainly applies to turntables.
Fantastic reviews by the way, keep up the good work!
Great video, a friend of mine is looking for a new turntable, and this looks like a perfect one for her, sad thing is that I can't find any retailers in europe. We might have to import it. Thanks for bringing the turntable to my attention, I love these vids about cheap turntables, even if i would never use one.
Solid video. I like the look of this thing well enough, it seems like the cheapy-chips turntables are trying a lot harder lately.
April 4th, 2063, Oobie Doobie is still played on vinyl... :P
I know this is an old video, but I just watched it. That Victrola looks and sounds great. You should do a shoot-out with the Audio Technica LP-60....
On anti skating--
VPI has that loop of tone arm wires sticking up at the end of their tone arms which does provide a small amount of antiskating force. In addition, VPI and U turn have tone arms that are a lot longer, which makes anti skating somewhat less necessary.
great review dude, we need more reviewers like you
3:40 The absence of (typically tinny) built-in speakers (and obviously the toyish amplifying stage to power them) on this kind of dubiously branded gear gives some hope that this won't be absolute trash.
At least it acts like a turntable you could plug into a stereo and be set.
In Finland they sell this turntable too, but it's a different brand called: Procaster. They even have another version of this turntable. Procaster-LP10, LP-101. Those are the model names.
Nice work Kevin.
Awesome stuff, I'll have to keep this in mind when I have some extra money to further my record collection, as I was given a few crates of records after my sister got divorced she no longer wanted, and I've been on the hunt for a cheap, but decent quality turntable. 👍🙂
It's possible to upgrade the cartridge, just the distance between the mounting screws and the stylus has to be the same, which is 9,5mm in the case of the AT91/AT3600 cartridges. This is usually the same on many carts, like the Ortofon 2M and OM range, the Audio Technica AT95E, and so on... (or even the Audio Technica AT-F7 MC cart, but that's an overkill for this turntable)
EDIT: now I got to the point in the video, where I see that the counterweight isn't adjustable. In that case upgrade of the cartridge is not recommended, it's just a waste of time as it's impossible to set the right tracking force with a different cart.
Seen this exact turntable sold under the brand name “Lp&No.1”.
Wow, the tonearm hitting the cover was a terribly bad design issue someone completely missed at Victrola. Thanks for letting us know.
Very thoughtful and thorough review of the turntable
Good god im in love with your channel. Quality stuff!
Overall sound is pretty good considering its price, but that heavy inward pull of the tone arm to the center will definitely cause some inner groove distortion with long held single notes, and it will surely cause excessive wear on the walls of the inner groove walls over time as well as the stylus
Jawbreaker in a VWestlife video... sweet!
That you for posting! This product will get more folks discovering the joy of vinyl records!
Wow this isn't to bad of a turntable little better then the lp60 but i still think that has better build quality but for a 99 dollar turntable i don't expect the best. The turntable I want is either a custom U turn orbit or the Fluance rt81. I thought about the ATLP3 but idk if it has the traditional anti skate problem i have concerns with that if anyone has a ATLP3 let me know if it has a anti skate issue.
AT-LP5 works but is fiddly to get spot on.
I don't have the AT-LP3 but even my lowly AT-LP120's anti-skate works fine.
You are always really fair with your reviews I think
They just put one similar to this on inventory at the Walmart that I work at. Currently tagged at $59.00.
Thanks for the insightful information! Friends are always asking me what is a good starter table and I usually tell them to find a decent vintage one. But as those get harder to come by cheap, it's nice to know there is a new option that won't hurt the wallet. Long time fan of your channel, by the way! Please feel free to check out our band. We have two albums out (including on vinyl). Would love to have you listen! Thanks. -Jared (The Lunar Laugh)
I will wait the improvement thanks for the video. Look a nice little turntable
nice record player. I visited my grandma the other day, hadn’t used her record player in years, dust all over the stylus, nowhere near the correct speed and everything sounded horribly distorted lol
Why is it that here in the Philippines turntables costs around twice as much compared over there in the U.S.? It's ironic that money is tight here but we have to pay more.
The mat and platter look like the ones in the Ion Profile LP.
I like your laser disc anti-skate test. That lid problem can be solved with a higher lid assembly.
Vitrola was so important than that was the name turntables were called in Buenos Aires, long time ago.
In Russia, all the Radio+turntable combos were called "Radiola"
You can still get the 15% off coupon, after watching your video I went to the Victrola website and they offer it.
They're also offering a 20% discount today (Sunday) and tomorrow (Monday October 8th) using the coupon code COLUMBUS.
So you have to get speakers in order for you to listen music on it?
$99 equates to about £65-70, it’s amazing that you can buy a new working turntable for that kind of money... I know you can get a Crossley or similar for less but those are junk, this actually looks okay. Not upgradable but at the price, who cares? It’ll get you started.
Edit, I hadn’t watched to the bit where the arm scraped the inside of the lid, that’s a bit of a fail.
PS, I’m very much an audiophile but I’m also realistic, the first turntable I bought with my own money cost me £40 new, I had to start somewhere. I’m always keen to see what can be done on a shoestring budget. I actually dropped lucky and got a Rega RP1 brand new sealed for £90 and a new sealed Rega Elys cartridge for £50 which I fitted in place of the carbon, I put it in my dining room setup and it sounds great, I doubt I could repeat that deal though.
I noticed every record player looks about the same when its the suitcase type. My craig one I should replace that wall wart power supply . Because like your previous video of a tape player it has a minor buzz in audio. If you seen my video of it let me know. Its a switching power supply like most record players such as this one. This turntable looks similar to one you have and uxwbill have
I have a DAC that came with a very noisy power supply. Made a heck of a hum when using my turntable (noise came through the powerlines I assume). Found another wallwart in one of my drawers, tested voltage and polarity, swapped it out. Night and day difference.
You could buy a couple of ferrite chokes and place them at either end of the power cable and see if that will help eliminate that noise. You can find them for a few bucks online.
Thank you for suggestions. Also what I like about this turntable he reviewed it has a dampened lowering of the stylus. My Craig doesn't have this feature. However considering buying a Victoria in same style as my Craig suitcase turntable. However has different features. The Victola has dampened lowering. And ability to turn off auto stop. Even though it's same as my craig. And will be $60. I'm going to use points at a ta or petro truckstop and hope get a different color vs having what I have a black one. So u can tell difference plus have a spare.
"you couldn't hear the difference" you'd be very surprised. I notice speed immediately. Drives me nuts if it's not perfect. Especially with the kind of music I listen to.
Cool track from Reptar, never heard from them before. Very useful review.
the build quality looks about the same as the cheap bsr turntables from the 70's, but all of those had ceramic cartridges. $99 with a magnetic cartridge and preamp is a good deal.
Thoroughly enjoy your reviews!!
I am not an audiophilie at all, but I do have a couple of records that I would like to digitize and I bought a ION record player and was not happy with the way it sounded. I was really thinking about the AT-LP120BK-USB but having to balance the arm kind of intimidated me a bit. This looks like it might be a better choice even though it is belt driven. If it were direct drive I might have been a bit happier, but I guess that is left for the better players.
Don't be put off by the AT-LP120. Setting it up is easier than it looks and there is always help available if you get stuck.
Holly shit!! Private Music, Carlos Alomar, I thought I was the only person in the world that knew of his existence!!!!
If it only returns, it can't be a "fully automatic turntable. It is by definition a semi-automatic.
Thanks for identifying the flaws on this product
For the scrape problem when the lid is closed, I don't think a newly designed post is needed... trimming/sanding down the existing post a bit might enough to limit the lift height of the tonearm so it no longer touches/scrapes the lid when auto return is used.
This machine heavily reminds me of Auna Fullmatic, which, I believe, sells only in Europe. Same base, same platter, couple of differences - the Auna machine bears spring mounted tonarm, but with the same AT3600L cartridge, buttons are slightly rearranged and yes, Auna has full autostart and autoreturn. Also Auna doesn't scratch the lid! XD
excellent video as allways! Nice to see a not so crapophone in current production
For a audiotechnica pickup have a very low-noise reduction and really a clean sound. I didn't tought that before to know audiotechnica.
Emanuele Cardia Audio Technica’s low end cartridges have sounded great and had the best sound for the money since at least the late 1980s. I’ve been using them to bring new life to vintage turntables since then.
Yeaaah! A new video about audio equipment.
Excellent review as always. To be a fly on the wall at the fist fight between the dust cover height and the tone arm return departments... Nice touch, btw, you also verified it plays all the vinyl colors equally well. (joke)
i wonder if this would make an nice addition to the HTPC or A/V receiver for mom and dad to enjoy their records, seems like it would.
I remember when you reviewed the Innovative Technology ITCDS-5000 stereo system, which you were mostly "meh" on. I went over to their Web and found the model with the record player, the ITCDS-6000 for $159, but I wouldn't get that one either, as it's a ceramic cartridge record player, not magnetic like this one. I'd like them to pair this turntable with a decent, modern looking receiver with a remote control. The only receiver and speaker set they sell is the ITCDS-5000 in your choice of metal, black or "mahogany" finishes. No thanks. I am also heartened to hear their response to your issue with the tonearm, but that makes it a deal breaker for me, as I like fully automatic, with the dust cover closed. They mot fix it by the next production run, whenever that is.
Mightn't the steady-on red LED just be there to reflect off the grooves around the platen into a hidden optical sensor? Like the light on the bottom of an optical mouse? I can't think of any other reason for the LED to be hidden down there.
Either that or it is a factory calibration item, simply there for adjusting the speed to within factory tolerance as they come pre-assembled... I'm a bit stumped too
RedBearAK I was thinking something similar - part of a servo speed control to minimize variations in platter speed? It'd be really cool if that was the case, but for $100 I seriously doubt it is. More likely it's just for show.
@@xaenon I don't know, but for a long time now you could get an optical mouse for less than $5. I doubt the necessary components would cost more than $1 these days.
RedBearAK True enough, though I think it would be closer to $2 to $3 if you included the servo electronics. But, bear in mind that when dealing with a $100 product, the actual manufacturing costs are probably only about $30-40 - $50 at most (the rest would be warehousing, distribution, shipping, and of course the markups at both the manufacturer and retail level). That $1-3 part would add to the manufacturing expense, and would likely be considered 'superfluous' - sort of like they considered a proper anti-skate 'superfluous' in this model, either as a correct factory preset, or as a user adjustment.
Not saying it isn't possible. Just saying that on a budget model like this, it seems unlikely. Maybe on something closer to the higher-end, but with servo-controlled direct drive models starting about about $200...
There is a way to find out, and now I'm curious. Perhaps Vwestlife could do an experiment. If it's a servo, a simple piece of paper to block the light from reaching the strobe marks would cause the turntable to misbehave. I'll post a query to him and see if he can do that.
RedBearAK The steady on red LED is just for show. It’s meant to mimic the speed strobe of the more expensive turntables. It’s like putting SS badging on a six cylinder equipped Chevelle (for those car nuts out there)
Best turntable I ever owned was a pioneer PL518. What is the recent it was so good it was a direct drive.
Fully automatic? I thought we were talking about record players her, not guns.😅