The all-analog ELP Laser Turntable plays records by using nothing more than a laser beam of light. The result is lightning fast transients, life-like harmonics, and a musical honesty that cannot be achieved with a diamond stylus. Play your favorite vinyl or old 78 RPM records as many times as you like, because you will never again worry about record wear. Perfect for record collectors, archivists, or vinyl enthusiasts.
About the Laser Turntable
It took over 14 years of research, innovation, and refinements, with a 20 million dollar investment to produce the Laser Turntable!
Our motto is: "No Needle, No Wear ™." The LT features an absolutely contact-free optical pickup system. Play a record thousands of times with no damage to the record. Get the same sparkling sound on the thousandth play as on the first play.
Major Features of the LT:
Easy to Program and Operate
Play and program your Laser Turntable like a CD player. Simply put the record in the front loading tray, sit back, and enjoy the performance. You can skip from track to track, fast-scan backward or forward, pause and hover, all by Remote Control. Front panel buttons for local control and remote control from your easy chair. Easily view the left front panel display as it shows you the record profile while the right display shows speed, programming, elapsed or remaining time, and other functions. Learn more about programming the LT.
Five Laser Beams
Two beams read the stereo sound, two track the left and right shoulders of the groove, and one beam maintains the height and focus of playback head on any thickness record, and allowing for some warpage. Rather amazing to think about, and more so to hear! Read more about how the Laser Turntable works!
Linear Tracking
The Laser Pickup head is linear tracking. The reader is always positioned orthogonal to the groove to replicate the exact tracking of the record cutter, eliminating inner-groove distortion, common with conventional tone arm tangency error.
This diagram illustrates how the tiny laser beams from the LT read the walls of the groove compared to a standard monaural stylus.
No Sound Coloration
The LT reads only what the cutter put on the record. Cantilever resonance, moving coils and magnets, inertia and mass, and tone arm resonance all produce their own sound colorations. The LT has no coloration added and reproduction is the closest possible to the master tape. Response is 20Hz to 25kHz. No needle velocity "rasp" or needle "scrape" sounds. Superb Fidelity
The LT reproduces hidden subtleties in the recording that other reproducers cannot read. This is because the laser beam is about one quarter the size of the smallest elliptical styli and is able to reach into minute sections of the groove wall that were made by a chisel shaped cutting stylus. A Shibata type needle is better at getting into small corners but causes damage to the record each time it is played. The laser beam has no problem reading everything on the groove with no physical contact.
The incident area of the laser beam on the groove is only a fourth the contact area of the best stereo needle and twenty-six times smaller than a mono needle.
True Analog Playback
The sound-reproducing components are analog and the mechanism control and programming logic is digital. The LT requires an external stereo preamplifier with an RIAA equalizer if you order the standard models. Output level similar to a MM (moving magnet) cartridge of 4.3mV 5cm/s 1 kHz Lateral. Use your present high quality preamp with the LT for the finest sound reproduction. High level outputs are an option for use in audiophile systems that do not contain a phono preamp. The RIAA correction is included in this version.
No Acoustic Feedback or Sound Alteration
Feedback is typically caused by sound from your speakers (or from elsewhere) reaching the turntable and mechanically picking up the vibrations, to be amplified again. No needle "singing." The LP is safely in a drawer and the laser reads only the undulations of the groove. No need for elaborate vibration isolation pads and "gizmos." The LT will not hear outside noises such as footsteps on the floor, door slamming, or other vibrations in the area. To demonstrate this, pound the table on which LT rests with your fist. Nothing but the music on the groove is heard on the playback system or transfer to CD.
Belt-Driven Turntable
Since there is no mechanical cartridge to pick up vibration from bearings and motor, any rumble you hear is likely from the cutter turntable that made the record. Only light beams read the modulations. Microprocessor controlled turntable for absolute speed accuracy.
The ELP LT is the perfect choice for:
Professional studios that transfer records to digital for commercial release.
Archivists who restore old and valuable recordings.
Institutions that do research on rare recordings and preserve the content to another medium.
National/State/Local/University/School Libraries. Record Repositories. Musical Societies.
Serious record collectors who want to have the best music reproduction and no wear to the record.
Hobbyists who transfer records to CD and who especially want every nuance and detail from the recording.
Record stores that sell rare records that wish to demonstrate the quality to a buyer.
Anyone who loves vinyl, 45's, and 78's. So much great recorded music will never appear on CD.
Variable Scanner Offset (VSO)
This allows you to move the laser beams that read the audio from the normal position (10 microns below the shoulder) to an area where a rounded needle may have damaged the record. Offset is adjustable, 5-10 mils from the default position using a button on the front panel.
Mechanically-Independent left and right lasers
These lasers can reproduce TRUE superior stereo separation, greater than the capability of the cutter at all frequencies.
Plays Warped and Rippled Records (up to 5mm deviation)
In some cases, plays even broken records when all the pieces are placed on a tray without tape or glue. There is no needle damage, because there is no needle. The LT also plays eccentric records (spindle hole off center).
Built-in Analog Noise Blanker
These circuits help reduce pops and clicks in real time, as you listen. This feature may be easily turned off with the front panel buttons by users that are restoring old recordings. Pops and clicks are then removed with editing software after the transfer to digital.
Continuous Turntable Speed Control
Control 0.1 RPM steps throughout the 30 to 50 RPM range for LP's and 45's on the LT-1LRC. The LT-11XRC and LT-1XRC models that play 78's also offer a 0.2 rpm step control over the 60 to 90 rpm range.
Plays virgin parts of the groove
Damaged needles will destroy a record on the first play. The LT beams can be set to play the top part of the groove that was not touched by the needle. Also the small laser beam never reads the bottom of the groove where most grime and hardened "crud" may have collected for years.
No Tedious Settings
Stylus pressure, alignment, overhang, VTA and arm tangency problems are common with conventional cartridge/tonearm/turntable systems.
There is only one Laser Turntable. There is nothing else like it in the world. Finally hear what is REALLY on the record!
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