This ain't no Turntable. It's a "Turn-Tonearm".

How many ways can you spell "GIMMICK" ???

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/493608538/love-the-worlds-first-intelligent-turntable

Hi Kentley...yes it is a gimmick and I could not even last to watch the entire video.
You actually got up early to post that garbage?
Time for you to spin some Frank!

You're right, Frank. Time for The Other Frank.
Let's make one of these gizmos that plays CDs. It will spin so fast that it will double as a stabilizing gyroscope. For those drunken summer nights.

Well, at least the dancing lady is easy on the eyes.

Yikes!!!

I'm not feeling the love for some reason.

It seems is gonna retail for over a grand. That is crazy.

I'll be (sotto) voice of dissent:  

It's kind of a gimmick but it's not intended for folks here, this thing is for millennials who listen to music on their built in iPhone speakers.  Think about it, barriers to vinyl are high if one does not own a pre amp with phono stage or even anything wired.  For many, it's a headphone or ear bud world.  Here you can plop down your cash and stream to your coffee mug sized blue tooth speakers and hear all the "cracks and pops" of vinyl without any headaches (or bass) (or most of mid range either)  No one will be rebuilding these things 40 years form now, but it is aimed at folks to whom electronics are disposable.  Also a huge plus that one is not required to put his or her phone down to use it!!

Did it really say $1k? I thought I saw $599??

More vinyl users = more vinyl production = more choices for you and me.

I referred to this as a "turnarm" on another audio forum. It does look to be a gimmick - and an expensive one. The idea of a turntable with a built-in phono stage, ADC, and bluetooth transmitter is a good one for those looking for maximum convenience -- but that could be done without the gimmick factor. I'm thinking something like the Audio Technica AT-LP60 or AT-LP120 (or Teac's TN-300, if you want it to look nice too), with the added bluetooth bits.

"Turnarm" is good, skriefal.
I do worry about the obvious engineering challenges here. Anti-skate takes on a whole new meaning. And maintaining a constant stylus pressure, etc.
All in all, it resembles one of those "funny cigarette moments" I've had too many of in my wilted salad days - an awesome idear with no real merit. Good luck with long-term service, or even short-term memory. I forgot where I was going....

If I buy one of these does it mean I will dance like the people in the video? Ok, maybe this is a gateway drug. I agree with vtshopdog on that one. The limitations on this device will quickly materialize. Gateway drug.

I want a version to play my 78's .... That'll be fun to watch

People in the "vinyl" world do have a lot of times on their hands. There are a lot and I mean a lot of turntable designs that look as gimmicky as this little thing. I have seen like a literally a three stories high turntable and if that is not a gimmick I don't know what it is.

pichacker wrote:I want a version to play my 78's .... That'll be fun to watch

I'm sure there's an optional turbocharger

vtshopdog wrote:

Did it really say $1k?  I thought I saw $599??

The retail price is $1,198.  If you make a Kickstarter donation you can get one for 50% off.

I see one major design flaw. Needs a coin slot at the end of the "turnarm" to add weight for warped or damaged LPs like the good old days.  

I want to bet it's not going to be easy to place this thing on the record without potentially damaging the stylus considering you cannot actually see the stylus from a normal vantage point. Additionally what if you want to play the second or third song on the record. How do you see where to place the stylus? How do you traverse the stylus to the starting point on the record?

This is just a gimmick to attract dumb millennials or hipsters that never were really a part of the original vinyl era.

I like the reference to toy truck record player. The one caveat is that even without anti-skating it won't fishtail like the Volkswagen soundwagon will when it's gets closer to the center of the record.

Dogstar wrote:I want to bet it's not going to be easy to place this thing on the record without potentially damaging the stylus considering you cannot actually see the stylus from a normal vantage point. Additionally what if you want to play the second or third song on the record. How do you see where to place the stylus? How do you traverse the stylus to the starting point on the record?

This is just a gimmick to attract dumb millennials or hipsters that never were really a part of the original vinyl era. I like the reference to toy truck record player.

If you watch the video the thingy does have a feature that allows you to select what track you want to play without having to remove it from the record.

pedrocols wrote:

Dogstar wrote:I want to bet it's not going to be easy to place this thing on the record without potentially damaging the stylus considering you cannot actually see the stylus from a normal vantage point. Additionally what if you want to play the second or third song on the record. How do you see where to place the stylus? How do you traverse the stylus to the starting point on the record?

This is just a gimmick to attract dumb millennials or hipsters that never were really a part of the original vinyl era. I like the reference to toy truck record player.

If you watch the video the thingy does have a feature that allows you to select what track you want to play without having to remove it from the record.

I couldn't watch the entire video...so ok...it has a search function for finding different tracks. But I still bet that placing it on the record is still pretty rough on stylii.

Noting comes close to Lirpa Labs Turbo Steam Turntable (TST) with the Lirpa Labs 103 platter !!!.
These good looking two decades old boxes with the Steam Torque Amalgamated Re-Turn Upload Phragmatics (STARTUP) and the Tonearm made of deneutronized steel with realigned molecules from recycled T34's balistic steel, make them hard to beat.

Here's another turntable in a similar 'lifestyle' vein. It's the "Wheel":

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dUJMlCi0MhI
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/865809794/wheel-by-miniot

This one feels a little less gimmicky than the "Love". But that doesn't mean that it is without issues! e.g. It uses a non-replaceable AT95E cartridge, and is priced at $850.

skriefal wrote:Here's another turntable in a similar 'lifestyle' vein.  It's the "Wheel":

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dUJMlCi0MhI
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/865809794/wheel-by-miniot

This one feels a little less gimmicky than the "Love".  But that doesn't mean that it is without issues!  e.g. It uses a non-replaceable AT95E cartridge, and is priced at $850.

The Wheel looks like a nice piece of well thought out engineering. I would not mind listening to one and judge its performance after a good listen.

bluemeanies wrote:Hi Kentley...yes it is a gimmick and I could not even last to watch the entire video.
You actually got up early to post that garbage?  
Time for you to spin some Frank!

Couldn't bare to watch the whole commercial either.

Maximum RQ (Ridiculosity quotient).

Beyond being as frivolous as a solution to a problem that doesn't exist, it is a problem to take the place of a solution that already exists.

skriefal wrote:Here's another turntable in a similar 'lifestyle' vein.  It's the "Wheel":

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dUJMlCi0MhI
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/865809794/wheel-by-miniot

This one feels a little less gimmicky than the "Love".  But that doesn't mean that it is without issues!  e.g. It uses a non-replaceable AT95E cartridge, and is priced at $850.

Back in my younger days when I was looking to buy my first sound system I believe it was Dual brand turntables that made claim that you could play records on their turntables when it was upside down. I never saw one actually do that but The Wheel seems to use that concept since it plays the bottom side of the record.

One problem I see is that when playing a badly warped record there is no way to stack pennies on the headshell.

Ahhh pennies on the headshell. The memories!