Gyro

This is basically what my turntable looks like:

Anyone who has heard it agrees it makes a decent sound, but some people hate the design.

Well, remember, it’s s spared down spider edition. But I agree it’s not like this, which is a more a piece of furniture:

But the function dictates the style:

The purpose of a turntable is to take a disc and rotate it at the correct speed (331/3 or 45 revolutions per minute).

The speed has to be accurate otherwise the music will be too fast or slow, too high or low in pitch. It has to be steady otherwise it will sound warbly. For some music this may not matter, but usually it does.

Music comes from a disc using physical grooves of wobbles. A stylus, usually with a diamond on the end, vibrates within the groove, making an electrical signal which goes to an amplifier and then to loudspeakers.

Sorry, simple explanations only here.

Understanding that, the motor is back left and separate from the rest of the turntable, to prevent vibrations.

There are three cylindrical tubes, two at the front and one at the back. These come off, and there are springs under that aid levelling of the device and the reduction of unwanted vibrations.

Heavy turntables are better. They resist vibrations. The platter, where the disc is placed, spins. The heavier it is, the greater its angular momentum has. This makes it spin at a steadier speed and resist variations in speed. On my turntable, the large brass weights under the platter push large amounts of mass to the outside. When the power is removed, it continues to spin for some time.

There are no speed changer switches. You simply move the rubber belt up or down on a spindle. No 78 rpm either – not hifi. In fact, there is just one button, on or off…

It all helps make good music…

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