ELP Laser Turntable (info video & review)

[kfbkfb]

https://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/viewpoint/0404/aachapter55.htm
I noticed that a CBS gold label SQ record appeared early in this video, but no comments about quad records played with an ELP turntable, IIRC, an ELP turntable was used by a QQ member for CD-4, mentioned in the "Working CD-4..." thread.

The fake surround from this YT stereo audio (DPL 2 music) was good.

It would be interesting to try some CD-4 discs known to cause playback problems, to see if the sandpaper noise is eliminated by laser playback.

edit: (found the thread - yes - ELP can play CD-4, don't know about problem CD-4s though)
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/threads/elp-turntable-ask-me-anything.28175/

Kirk Bayne

 

[DuncanS]

I'd quite like one and its only $16000 for the basic model , more for the LT-Master model.

 

[kfbkfb]

edit:
If I had an ELP laser turntable I could do "laserdrop" (to coin a new word) copies of my direct cut LPs, my other audiophile LPs (and maybe a few of my old 45s).

I wonder how some of the old RCA DynaGroove LPs (predistorted for conical stylus) sound on the ELP laser turntable?


Kirk Bayne

 

[gene_stl]

These things have been promoted for several decades and I won't fib. I started lusting after one the first time I heard of/saw them. Of course I would never pop for one and the early ones were supposed to be somewhat problematic. I am not positive that all of them are the same one or company but they seem to originate in japan. I believe it is a device that will benefit from continually improving technologies , such as smaller more reliable shorter wavelength lasers, voice coil focusing mounts such as already seen in optical disc players and smartphone camera sensors as well as AI for error correction and pop and click and other noise removal. All we need is for someone to start building them for a reasonable affordable price.

 

[barfle]

I recall seeing this sort of thing shortly after commercial lasers became available, and like @gene_stl , I lusted, coveted, and might have even stolen one if I had ever seen it in the flesh. TBH, the control electronics don’t seem all that complicated any more, and when I see glowing reviews for $100,000 record playing setups, I wonder why nobody seems to be taking this approach.

 

[kfbkfb]

What's old is new again (sort of)...

https://ez.analog.com/ez-blogs/b/engineering-mind/posts/music-on-a-beam-of-light
https://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=32734
I found out about this Philco system a year or 2 ago, in one discussion forum post, it was stated that FR went all the way to 4kHz.


Kirk Bayne

 

[kap'n krunch]

.

 

[gene_stl]

I doubt they are entirely free from surface noice. Dust and dirt scatter light. Clean record disks are just as important with this playback system as with a needle/stylus. A given amount of dust may cause less surface noise but the lasers detect it.

 

[jimfisheye]

This sounds really interesting in theory. I've heard cons that say that it's just not possible to do well because of the lack of reflectivity of the vinyl that would be needed to really dial it in. But then I never took a deep dive. Does an impossibly expensive version of this actually give results? It also seems like we should be well enough into imaging tech nowadays with enough resolution to churn audio out of it with our computers and to actually complete fidelity of the signal. Or am I missing some hurdle to that?

So that's the other thing. I've never even seen anyone sharing a needle drop (laser drop?) from one of these contraptions! You'd think there would be someone touting that and an example would speak for itself. Or am I just not paying enough attention again?

Can anyone point to anything for an example that really raises the eyebrows? (PM me if needed please and thanks!)

 

[atrocity]

I doubt they are entirely free from surface noice. Dust and dirt scatter light. Clean record disks are just as important with this playback system as with a needle/stylus. A given amount of dust may cause less surface noise but the lasers detect it.

I've seen claims that scratches don't cause problems but that dust and dirt actually create more noise than they do with a stylus-based system.

Not that I've ever had the kind of money that would allow me to test that myself!

 

[jimfisheye]

Dust and dirt are already deafeningly loud vs the program with a full fidelity cartridge. Some dirt and damage can cause transients that just blasticate your system and even risk damage to speakers! All the high end and dynamic range is truncated in DJ rigs and you never even hear half of it.

So if this system was dead nuts on, we should expect any dirt or damage to just be the most brutal transient mayhem possible! But there are also ways to identify that and filter it.

This certainly seems more like a special case restoration tool than an every day playback device.

 

[kfbkfb]

(the YT video includes playback of a vinyl record and, IIRC, recommends that the records to be played on the ELP be ultrasonically cleaned)


Kirk Bayne

 

[kap'n krunch]

I ust say I am very impressed with the laser TT, NO SURFACE NOISE WHATSOEVER!,

 

[gene_stl]

The main advantage of which is that the dust won't further damage the groove surfaces. But dust that is there and marks made by previous styli will still be seen and contribute to the noise.

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

Surely in 2023/24 it should be possible to create a detailed 3D scan of any vinyl disk, dump the (500 metres or so of) groove data into a memory chip and perform to clever jiggery-pokery to reveal the music. The disk wouldn't even need to spin

 

[François]

I think records scanners already exists : they’re used to salvage recordings from broken records (when the disc is shattered into pieces)

 

[Electric Moo]

I wonder what Emerson, Lake & Palmer thought of this contraption?

Wasn't LaserDisc audio analog? Seems to me that'd be a better medium

 

[SeeMoreDigital]

Wasn't LaserDisc audio analog? Seems to me that'd be a better medium

Yep... The audio was analogue, so was the video. Digital audio did make it to the format though alng with SPDIF outputs

 

[François]

I think records scanners already exists : they’re used to salvage recordings from broken records (when the disc is shattered into pieces)

Dug into my bookmarks, from 20 (twenty!) years ago: the DIY version!

 

[barfle]

Of course, colored vinyl and picture discs would present their own set of problems.