"David Looser" wrote in
message
"Bob Latham" wrote

Perhaps they decided that all R&D improvements would
only be on next years model and people who purchased
this year's, would go without.

Have there been any improvements in turntable design over
the last 30 years? It seems to me that current models are
all firmly based on designs available in the 1970s. All
three of the currently available drive arrangements:
idler-wheel drive, belt drive and direct drive date from
the 1970s or before, electronic speed control was
introduced in the 1970s. Modern turntables work no better
than those of the 1970s, nor has the LP changed in that
time.

The Thorens TD125 had electronic speed control and was introduced in 1968. I
bought one in 1969 and it had been out for a while.

If memory serves there was even a turntable in the 1950s with a tubed
electronic speed control unit. The name Rek-o-Kut comes to mind, but I'm
fuzzy about the details. I know that Rek-O-Kut had turntables with
mechanical speed control.