[LesterSleepsIn]

My wife wants a fully automatic turntable because she wants to stack records! (The horror, the horror.) I never owned one when they were in vogue; I know nought about them. Any suggestions for a good dependable table?

MTIA,
Lester

[FullRangeMan]

No suggestion, say her these tables are too expensive and your are prudent w/money these days

[JerryM]

Keep an eye on this and see if you can 'steal it' right at the end of the bid session. I'm not associated with the gear or seller in any way.

eBay - Dual 1245

 

[dB Cooper]

No suggestion, say her these tables are too expensive and your are prudent w/money these days

A 'prudent audiophile', that won't be an easy sell 

[JerryM]

..., say her these tables are too expensive and your are prudent w/money these days

Never ever do that; ever. NOT EVER. Never.

Ever.

 

[charmerci]

Never ever do that; ever. NOT EVER. Never.

Ever.

 

 

[GentleBender]

No suggestion, say her these tables are too expensive and your are prudent w/money these days

That will come back to haunt you on your next purchase.  You may have to buy her a set of records to protect your favorites, maybe even hide yours too. An MP3 player is a great alternative for those who are unable to get up to change a record.  A great idea is to make a device that looks like a record player, but actually plays digital files. The tonearm just doesn't come in contact with the record and files play off of USB or SD card.

[JLM]

Just be thankful that you have a wife that's interested in listening to music at home.   

[dB Cooper]

Serious suggestion? Two TT's; one for 'her' records, one for yours. Explain they cost more, are less reliable (and since nobody makes them anymore, virtually any you find will be vintage, with hard-to-find parts etc), don't sound nearly as good, and aren't good for your records. GentleBender's suggestion is actually the best if she wants long periods of uninterrupted music: a DAP or a streamer of some sort.

[Letitroll98]

I would push for a fully automatic table without the changer.  That way she can push a button and play records without the damage inflicted by a changer.

[smargo]

My wife wants a fully automatic turntable because she wants to stack records! (The horror, the horror.) I never owned one when they were in vogue; I know nought about them. Any suggestions for a good dependable table?

MTIA,
Lester

If you want to spend about $600 plus shipping and paypal - i have a pioneer turntable  (plx -1000) that is a semi-automatic turntable for sale - that is new and sounds wonderful - i know new the table retails for $800 (https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-4)

[Scott F.]

Keep an eye on this and see if you can 'steal it' right at the end of the bid session. I'm not associated with the gear or seller in any way.

eBay - Dual 1245

 

I'm with Jerry on the Dual but I'd go with the 1229. This thing is built like a tank and the best part....it's an idler drive. There is something about the idler drive sound that makes the music more engaging. Now, don't turn the thing upside down and look at the guts, it will scare the crap out of you. All of the gearing, levers and switches is a bit overwhelming, but it all works, is fully automatic...and she can stack albums.

As an audiophile offering...well, not so much. Just stick an Ortofon 2M Red on there, get it sort of aligned and balanced, then forget about, spin vinyl and enjoy.
Want some serious enjoyment from this table? Mate it to an old HH Scott 299 or a Fisher 400/500 and you'll be cooking with Crisco! Classic tube sound and an old Dual idler drive just kills!
If you go this route, drop an extra couple hundred on a pair of Large Advents...you won't regret it....and be sure to use zip cord for speaker wires and the crappiest interconnects you can find, seriously.


....just keep your good vinyl away from this thing 

[Elizabeth]

Changers are very hard on records. They can scratch every stacked record, they can damage the spindle hole by enlarging it (Some 'grab' the second record there to keep that one from also falling. others use a push from the side to slip the bottom off the tiny ledge at the center hole which is keeping them up)
When I was a teen I had a Garrard Lab80 changer
Also, changer mechanisms inside the box are some of the most complicated Rube Goldberg devices known to mankind. If they are good, then great. When they fail to work right....
The common problem of two dropping, or none..

I would say you Wife has a fantasy that this will work out well. Nope.

[CSI]

What most wifely music lovers want is a TT that will lift at the end of the record without attendance. The Pioneer won't do that (she will still need to use the lift lever) but I highly recommend it anyway. Buy the used one on offer and be prepared to be shocked at how good it sounds, even with your fussy low output MC's. And be prepared to hand it down to your children and their children for many generations. It is designed to survive DJ work which means it's built like a John Deere tractor. Then convince her you need a "high end" table for your own use - if you are still sure you need one. I bought mine as a result of good pro reviews and eventually sold both my belt drive, carbon-fiber armed, tweak tables. Teach her how to use the lift lever and/or to use the mute button on the preamp remote until she gets over there. Run out grooves won't hurt your stylus unless she leaves it there all day.

[FullRangeMan]

That will come back to haunt you on your next purchase.  You may have to buy her a set of records to protect your favorites, maybe even hide yours too. An MP3 player is a great alternative for those who are unable to get up to change a record.  A great idea is to make a device that looks like a record player, but actually plays digital files. The tonearm just doesn't come in contact with the record and files play off of USB or SD card.

Good idea Bender, also I would suggest a inexpensive and romantic victrola usually woman love it:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01L5WKVYQ/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B01L5WKVYQ&pd_rd_wg=98m3a&pd_rd_r=F2NM99BHCGXJZVB4BX49&pd_rd_w=2WsnF
It also offer additional AM-FM Radio, Cassete deck, MP3 player and the next version will print bills.

[Norman Tracy]

I am unaware of any changers currently in production. Very few single disk automatics, if any. Therefore I will second the vote for Duals and add Garrards to the list of units to look out for on the used market.

A few years ago I helped my best audiophile friend Leo keep his elderly father-in-laws record collection accessible for the old gentleman. After the Garrard in his console became un-serviceable Leo found a Garrard Zero 100. Perhaps with my mind more open (or positively biased?) knowing the insane prices the Garrard 301 and 401 transcription decks fetch I listened to the Zero 100 before installing it for the old boy. Not bad at all. I recall at the time the audiophile damned with faint praise the Zero 100 thanks to the stench of 'changer'. It was also the time of the cult of Linn and the idea was popular that every mechanical joint in the arm was a horror and abomination. I find it ironic that in 2018 the exact parallelogram design has been revived in the Thales Simplicity II tonearm for only $9k.



Zero 100



Zero 100 tonearm pivot



Thales Simplicity II

The poster above was not kidding about the complexity of the mechanism in an old school mechanical changer.



Two upsides to that. With a little cleaning and grease the lifespan of that all steel and brass contraption is measured in decades. And again knowing the cult of the Garrard 301 and 401 just look at that big fat torque'y motor.

Finally recall the reason LPs feature raised edges and label areas is so when used in changers the groves do not touch as they are stacked. No I would not put my Sheffield DDs or Sgt. Peppers UHQD on a changer but do we always have to let audionerd OCD find yet another reason to chase our family and friends away from the stereo?

Another option if you are into unicorn hunting and share my growing fetish for Golden Age Japanese HiFi is the Technics SL-1350.

[charmerci]

But what's your system? Why does she want to listen to your records? Why not a another input to a NAS or Pandora or... ?

Because if she's that much into the sound, she'd understand not going this route.

[Folsom]

Funny. That exact Garrard was in a local record store I went into. The guy was trying to get it to work. We looked at it for awhile. IMO it's a piece of junk, like every other one I've seen. Eventually something doesn't work and then it's a nightmare. Before that it just doesn't sound very good.

GOOD LUCK with this endevour... Plus it isn't good for records to only play one side. If you do it a lot then the sides will start to sound different. And it's weird to only hear one side.

I can understand the gesture but... ya. have fun.

[LesterSleepsIn]

Serious suggestion? Two TT's; one for 'her' records, one for yours. Explain they cost more, are less reliable (and since nobody makes them anymore, virtually any you find will be vintage, with hard-to-find parts etc), don't sound nearly as good, and aren't good for your records. GentleBender's suggestion is actually the best if she wants long periods of uninterrupted music: a DAP or a streamer of some sort.

I have several tables including, my personal favorite, the Denon DL80, as well as a Denon DL 60.
We have a large collection of classical vinyl including a large collection of opera box sets. Some are high quality (and certainly not records you would stack), the others are less so and more utilitarian but in excellent condition. It’s the ‘utilitarian’ collection she wants to stack.

We have a large collection of digital that we stream.

But it’s the ignored misfit toys in the vinyl that she’s also interested in, in part just to see what’s there.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

If your wife can get by without the stacking feature, pick up a Denon DP-300 fully auto.  B&H photo has it on sale for $199, normally goes for about $300.  Slap on a Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge   (a much better cartridge than the 2M Red IMHO, warmer, smoother and more forgiving of poor vinyl) for about $115 and add a Emotiva XPS-1 or Schitt Mani phono preamp and you will have some pretty good sound.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=details&O=&Q=&ap=y&c3api=1876%2C%7Bcreative%7D%2C%7Bkeyword%7D&gclid=Cj0KCQiAkNfSBRCSARIsAL-u3X8TN8kmgcv7niNIjxsSKlJ5gC87m2aR3FDnCu0aufnnbXYzU-RCig4aAhkTEALw_wcB&is=REG&m=Y&sku=744625