Old Radio Shack catalogs - turntables

Check this out. I looked one of these turntables up on eBay and they sell for less than $100. Wonder if they are any good. Lots of cool stuff in these old catalogs!

http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/html/1989/hr019.html

Turntable design was in the toilet by the time 1989 rolled around (even moreso coming from cheap companies like Radio Shack), if you can find one of these for $10 bucks then give it a shot, but I'd save my money and buy from respected manufacturers.  Hell, I had a late 80s Kenwood turntable that was so shoddy in construction it was practically a children's toy, it came with the rack system I bought and I quickly dumped it in favor of an old Technics turntable. And Kenwood was a respected stereo manufacturer.

I had a 1991 Technics SLBD20 tt that is a great starter table that I gave to my daughter. It has p-mount cartridge with no adjustable VTF, AS or speed, but that, to me, is what makes it a great for people that are just starting out. You can mess with all that other stuff later and it is still a good sounding table that will not chew up your records, like a Crosley(or whatever old reputable company name they are ruining now) or the Monkey Wards all in one junker I had in the mid 80s.

In fact, that is the cart I have on it. A nice AT cart that you can get better styli for. I never did I have Grados, a really old Pickering(for playing 78s) and Shures for my others.


From what I have read, in the 70's(and even the 80's) reputable companies re-badged their stuff with the RS label. I definitely would not pay more than $25 for one of those now. Check your local Goodwill.

I don't need a Turntable but was just looking at this in the "latest technology" from Realistic. I have an AT-LP120 and am happy with it. Was amused at this advertisement of a late 80's TT.

The last turntable I owned was by "Soundesign" (a cheap-o stereo equipment company whose wares were sold at KMart)... it was a hunk of junk but I loved it.