Looking for a USB turntable without autoreturn arm

[jassnaround]

I am trying to records some old 78 rpm records and have learned that because of the inprecision of the manufacturing of 78 rpm records, they sometimes will not play all the way to the end of the record if your turntable has an autoreturn feature. I wonder is anyone knows of any usb turntables that do not have autoreturn? I have about 3 78's that will not play to the end because of this and I would buy a new usb turntable if I could find one. Thanks.

[Paul LS]

Welcome... this thread dicusses archiving 78rpm records... also mentions a turntable:
viewtopic.php?f=27&t=3075

[Chuck Engels]

There should be a set screw you can adjust to change where the arm reaches before it returns.

[jassnaround]

The USB turntable that I just bought, the LP Saver, does not have a setscrew to adjust the autoreturn of the tonearm. Chuck Engels, is there a brand of USB turntable that does have this that you can recommend? And does this setscrew overcome the 78 problem, to your knowledge?

Also I looked at the thread viewtopic.php?f=27&t=3075 and did not see any USB turntable without autoreturn mentioned. Did I overlook it, Paul LS?

Any other suggestions?

[Chuck Engels]

I use a standard turntable (Harmon Kardon) http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/frr.p ... 7&read&3&4
It does not play 78rpm records but does, like most turntables do, have a way to adjust the position of the arm at auto return.

I have never seen a turntable that doesn't have a way to set the arm position at auto return, have you contacted the manufacturer?
Maybe you can even turn the feature off completely, that would be better than what you have now.

[jassnaround]

Yeah, I called their support team and they said there is no way to adjust or turn off autoreturn. Maybe I will look into the turntable you use. I can change the speed using software if needed.

The turntable I have is a USB one, made to copy records to the computer. So in some ways it is not like one of the original turntables made years ago. I don't have a working non-USB turntable to use, although that maybe is an option for me to look into. I do have a pre-amp now, so I could hook it up to my computer. Oh well, if wishes were fishes....

[Chuck Engels]

The turntable I have does not play 78rpm, only 33 1/3 and 45 so it won't help you.
You should be able to find a used turntable that will play 78s for pretty cheap, then you just need the RCA to 1/8" adapter to connect to your sound card along with the pre-amp that you already have. Might be worth it to look around.

[Dave McElderry]

Here's what I use for this exact purpose. It will do 33, 45, and 78 rpms. I've used it for over a year and it's worth the money.

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT-PL120-Professional-Direct-Drive-Turntable/dp/B00012EYNG

EDIT: I know you said you were looking for a USB turntable. This turntable gives you the choice of phono level output, or it has its own built-in phono preamp, so you can plug it into a line level sound card input if desired. I wouldn't discount it based on the fact that it's not USB.

[jassnaround]

Here is a reply to an email I got from Chris at the NeedleDoctor. Thought I would pass it along for anyone else who might want to know.
Perhaps try the Stanton T90. It plays 78s, and it’s easily one of the better USB tables on the market:
http://www.needledoctor.com/Stanton-T-90-USB-Turntable
You’d also need this 78 stylus:
http://www.needledoctor.com/Stanton-D5127-Stylus
The table is fully manual in operation. None of the automatic tables in this price range can play 78s.

[Bill Hunt]

That is a good find. Stanton has been in the audio business for decades, mostly mid-end cartridges. Good to see that the 78 stylus was mentioned too, as most mid thru high-end cartridge stylii have problems tracking 78's.

Looking back, it's been 40 years, since I had a turntable with auto-return - all tone arms have been fully manual. Unfortunately, I do not think that any of my turntables, in the last 20 years, have had 78 RPM. I know that neither my Denon, or my Thorens do.

Hunt