Transcriptors Turntable

Posted by: Scott Mckenzie on 04 May 2001

I am trying to convince my Dad that as he doesn't listen to his turntable anymore that I should have it as I am keen to get in on the vinyl scene. The thing is I am relatively inexperienced with them and need some advice. I understand Rega and Pro-ject make good budget turntables. However, I understand that the one I may inherit is rather good, is this true..it is a Transcriptors Saturn (I think) - for those who have seen it, it features in A Clockwork Orange. A pic can be found at http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/4133/saturn.jpg if the little trendy UBB code doesn't work.

Also what will i need to make it work with my Nait 3R??

Thanks in advance

Scott

Posted on: 04 May 2001 by Frank Abela

I haven't heard one of those things for AGES. It might be better than a Rega P3. Transcriptor is the precursor to Michell Engineering. John Michell was heavily involved in the design and one of the people who set up Transcriptors, if memory serves. After doing work with them, he moved on to better things before setting up on his own. It's certainly worth a clean up (possibly a service) to bring it back to proper condition. If it's not been serviced, the oil may have become caked up etc and this will make it sound worse than it really is.

I'm off on holiday for a week now! Yippeee...

Regards,
Frank.

Posted on: 06 May 2001 by Scott Mckenzie

Thanks for the help guys, I didn't know about transcriptors.co.uk and now having looked, it turns out that the turntable is actually their Hydraulic reference TT and some are being sold 2nd hand for £1000, I therefore assume that this is a pretty good unit and worth using. Therefore what do I need to make it work with my Nait 3R, can you get internal phono boards or are external units a better idea??

Scott

Posted on: 07 May 2001 by Jonathan Gorse

Contact John Michell at Michell Engineering - I think he can refurbish any turntable he has ever made. I was chatting with one of his engineers last time I was there and he said he loved bringing the old ones back to life!

You have a classic.

Let us know how she sounds - incidentally I think it's a Reference on the cover of the Morcheeba Album 'big calm'

Jonathan

Posted on: 07 May 2001 by Scott Mckenzie

Cheers for all the help guys, from what I have discovered from this forum and elsewhere, it definitely seems like a worthwhile convincing the father time. The TT actually works perfectly its just that it is rarely used. I think it may be the reference on the cover of the morcheeba album, although it may also be the Saturn as I was confused at the beginning...

One question I still need to resolve is what do I need to do/get for my Nait 3 to make it work, do I need a Stageline or can I convert the Phono lead output on the back to work for a TT or maybe even both!!

Scott

Posted on: 08 May 2001 by Simon Anthony

Thank you for reminding me that I actually owned one of these. I bought it as my first HiFi turntable. I had forgotten. I am sorry to say that I do not recall how it sounded, but I gave it to my sister and she continued to use it for a few years. I was always delighted by the way it looked - very cool indeed.

Mine came with a very unusual tonearm. The head shell pivoted on a hinge at the end of the arm, and a counterweight did the same at the other end. I think that they were connected with a length of string, so that as the head rode up and down over my warped records, so did the counterweight. As it did so, the tracking force increased to counter the acceleration that was flinging the head away from the record. No other arm designer appears to have appreciated the benefit of this approach! The transcriptors web site does not have the tone arms listed yet, but there may be a picture of one with one of the many turntables there.

I moved onto my LP 12, changed my amplification from a kit amp to a Naim, and never compared the two.

Let us know what you think of it.