Elac Miracord 40H

     The Chrysler Imperial of turntables.  Slapping a record on here is like gassing up on a summer morning knowing theres a 440 under the hood. There are many things this turntable does really well. Low-end torque makes for very solid bass. Every other turntable I've ever owned  needs a separate ground wire to eliminate hum; not true here!
 Imaging is great! Vocals at center stage and the stereo image extends beyond the outside edges of the speakers on many recordings; a very good sign. I almost dismissed this turntable, thinking it an outdated relic; albeit a handsome devil despite the clunky headshell.
   Ten Years After "A Space in Time" is a delight with this table- Alvin Lee's vocal is centered and just a little bit recessed, but still in front of the drums- enforcing the impression that his voice is not coming "from" the speakers but is floating between them. The guitar resides just below his voice in the sound-field except for the electric guitar which has a disembodied life of it's own- easy to imagine Alvin running from one side of the stage to the other whilst soloing.  Jeff Beck's "Star Cycle"(I haven't listened to this cut for many years) SLAMS on this table! Tony Hymas staccato basslines are cleanly articulated and Simon Phillips drum kit has a real presence; tom fills skittering across the stereo field.
  This turntable is a sleeper.  If a tired state trooper were to see you floating along at 120 mph in grandpa's '64 Chrysler Imperial, he'd write it off as an hallucination- which is exactly how you want him to see it if you're the driver.  I'm pretty happy to get this kind of performance from ANY turntable. To get it for far less than the price of a Thorens and completely under the radar is just beautiful.

 Equipment used:    Elac Miracord 40H with Shure M55E cartridge.   Marantz 1120 Integrated Amplifier.   ADS L-910 Loudspeakers on factory stands (R2D2 looking bastards).