The dream of a turntable that could play individual tracks like a CD and leave no wear on your records has long been a standing dream ever since Edison dropped his first track. The time has come for this realization; albeit not perfect, it’s the best thing we have right now.

Using five lasers beams, two for tracking, two for reading audio, and one for height control, the Laser Turntable (LT) can accurately playback vinyl records in most any condition. Having no contact with the record and a optical surface area ¼ the size of a regular needle, the LT is capable of reproducing sound that is close to the original.

The ELP Corporation spent over US$20 million developing technology that would aid in the preservation of vinyl recorded material for the enjoyment of future generations. Celebrating over 1000 Laser Turntables sold; ELP has announced the release of its new improved model, featuring full remote control and sonic improvements. Prices for the new models range from US$10,500 - $14,300. Sound expensive? This is nearly half the price of the original model!!

Enough said, it quite likely that most of us will never own one of these turntables, being priced equal to that of a small car. But if you ever find yourself in Ottawa, The National Library of Canada installed one into its Music Division in 1991.

Having a laser turntable makes it possible to play LPs as one would a CD. When a record is first loaded, The Laser Turntable scans the disc for gaps between recordings. The LT uses these gaps to generate tracks; which can be accessed with push button accuracy, much the same as is found with CDs. Likewise, this accessibility allows users of the LT to access cue points, set random playback, program track groupings, and take advantage of the repeat functions. The LT also offers users the convenience of an on-screen LED display; which, can be used to display elapsed, remaining, or total time. Unlike a CD player, the LT offers adjustable rpm controls (30 – 50rpm for LP & EP setting and 60 – 90rpm for 78’s) in 0.1rpm and 0.2rpm increments, respectively.
The dual optical pickups adjust to compensate for conditions found on damaged, scratched, worn, and broken records. Never before has a broken record been able to be played. The LT glides seamlessly over breaks with no more than a slight pop, much like the sound produced from a minor scratch with a standard needle. Records skips are relatively invisible to the LT, which plays unhindered through such damage. The audio lasers have the ability to read below surface abrasions on the groove wall and return clear sound.

In many cases the outside wall of a records groove will wear more than the inside, due to the constant friction against the needle as it is being pushed towards center. The LT’s dual independent audio lasers read each side of the groove and report this audio information to the left and right stereo channels. This offers true stereo balancing, without the possibility of producing channel balance errors or stereo crosstalk, commonly found within stylus pickups. When dealing with monaural recordings, it is then possible to isolate the less damaged signal from the inside of the groove wall to increase your overall playback clarity.

It important to note the LT’s reduction in sound errors and feedback that are commonly found in vibration-based audio pickup systems. Acoustic feedback, cartridge hum, and tonearm vibrations are eliminated by the use of lasers, which have no contact with the playing surface. Tracking angles, leveling adjustments, and anti-skating measure are dynamically calculated and adjusted to match even warped records. On top of all this, the LT comes equipped with a Noise Blanker feature, which can help in the overall reduction of unwanted playback noises.

Additional Specifications:
The Laser Turntable connects to your pre-amp from outputs located under the FUNCTION switch, "MONO," "LEFT," "RIGHT." (Input impedance 47k ohm)

Another factor to consider is that laser diodes do not last forever. ELP rates theirs at 10,000 hours which is a reasonably long time. The replacement cost is a tidy $1500.