How1.50May 1980 to Buy a Turntable - Intelligently: HIGH O 08398 FIDELITY..14 - Mew Record Care Accessories .,. 3Guns Mats - ; ,-, r- Fluids Weights ..-6..., ,,,,f,-,i .-....--....,..._ --,s,...... I _ __.. i. ism._ .,.. Feet Clamps , ii...;.;'),141.eltell ii.i.i ii.1 i hi i -_,,...., ,. )ur tests show how well .,-.'' , .. ... !.1.4.-- It)--LSA, . hey work- or don't i - V;g1,\ .e<441,..,.. ljJ view ilecord -Playing Equipment . r .0 '' .ab Reports on: f.. ' -; * I TopStraight "Line- f. sr* * Pri ,furntles ..... HIV r- ble EV !rprogra ec- impact ..7-" - let r&a-k- ar s first .44,..S I " 311 - ' _ `, .4 I... i , iai .`tc 350 changer a"' .4.- ' E.. jr. fi.-0 c'", to .7. :; JalE 80 ZX cassette deck :ro imp G1 4Dh go n I it: Rupert liWimesP ;ix Years to Overnight S1"" : f -ittr I . I A III tt ft 1131 changes in temperature. But even the new "Mass Concentrated" design im- best of them just seem to reduce drift proves crossmodulation distortion and instead of eliminate it. tracking accuracy. Soyou getmore The Pioneer PL -400, on the other sound clarity and better channel hand, has a Quartz PLL servo system separation. that keeps rotational speed at a con- All these features on a turntable the stant. And keeps the PL -400 unaffected price of the PL -400 is unheard of. But by temperature changes, voltage fluctu- Pioneer didn't stop there. ThePL -400 ations and other powerline anomalies. &sohas full automatic controls. Includ- These features work to keep the ing automatic lead-in, viscous damped PL -400 sounding like a much more ex- cueing, automatic return, and automatic pensive turntable. But without our spe- repeat. An easy to read one -stripe strobe cially designed Coaxial Suspension sys- that confirms platter speed accuracy. A tem, they wouldn't be nearly as effective. quick start mechanism that starts the This free floating suspension sys- platter revolving as soon as the tonearm tem isolates the platter and tonearm begins to move. And more. from the rest of the turntable. So even if So if you want to buy a $200 turn- the base vibrates, the platter and tone- table and are just interested in great arm don't. specs, there are any number you can This means you can shake, rattle buy. But if you're interested in a $200 and roll a lot morewith alot less worry turntable that will give you great sound, that your turntable is doing the same there'sonly one. thing. The Pioneer PL -400. Even the tonearm of the PL -400 is .sorw.Akan. designed to give you better sound. Its 010 PIONEER We bring it back alive. CI Y74 I S Pioneer E1,0 ones Corp., 850)6;3,1 Drive, Moonachie N I J7074 Manufacturers 5.4gesteel retail pnces Actual prices WI I be set by ndiy dual ]eaters. - atf k Today, most turntables in the same INTRODUCING THE price range look practically the same on NEW PIONEER PL -400. paper. But they don't sound at all alike in your home. Because equal specs don'tneces- Thrust bearing- - Spindle Center of gravity & pivot sarily mean equalsound. Infact, specs Magnet Bearing metal are just a measure of the distortion Rotor housing Platter caused by your turntable itself. They tell FG magnet nothing about how your machine pre- FG detection PCB vents distortion caused by your Coils environment. Automatic mechanism Motorshalt Pioneer's new PL -400 turntable was PIONEER'S NEW STABLE HANGING ROTOR. BY RAISING THE CENTER OF GRAVITY, WE LOWERED designed to also keep externalinterfer- THE RATE OF DISTORTION. ence from coming between you and External cabinet great sound. Die-cast aluminum Tonearm assembly platter Center spindle Tone arm Much of the success of our new Rubber mat base PL -400 turntable revolves around our all new "Stable HangingRotorThe Insulator world's thinnest direct drive motor. Bottom plate Super -thin automatic mechanism Unlike more massive conventional Super -thin Stable Hanging Rotor DC motor motors, the motor in the PL -400 is so PIONEER'S COAXIAL SUSPENSION SYSTEM. IT VIRTUALLY ELIMINATES VIBRATION AND RUMBLE. thin, it allows the center of gravity to be at the pivot point of the rotating mecha- nism. So instead of the platter wobbling like a top, the platter on the PL -400 acts like a gyroscope to stabilize itself. Although this technology is very dif- ficult to understand, the result of it is very easily appreciated. You no longer THE PIONEER QUARTZ PHASE LOCK LOOP SYSTEM. are bothered by distortion caused by sty- BY AUTOMATIC MONITORING, ROTATIONAL SPEED IS KEPT CONSTANT TO REDUCE WOW AND FLUTTER. lus mistracking or speed deviations. So you get just what's on your record. Nothing added to it. And nothing taken away. But this super thin motor does more than eliminate distortion. It also elimi- nates any space wasting elements used in conventional motors. And because it's THE PIONEER COMPUTER -DESIGNED HOWL -PROOF ENCASEMENT. BY SLIMMING DOWN THE SIZE, WE SLIMMED DOWN so much thinner than any other motor, ACOUSTIC RESONANCE. the cabinet around thePL -400is also a lot thinner. This 20% reduction in cabinet size means the PL -400 is 20% less likely to suffer from acoustic distortion. Many turntables in this price range are direct drive. Some of them offer DC motors. Some of them have servo mo- tors aimed at eliminating drift caused by PIONEER'S BEST -SOUNDING REASON OF ALl: THE PRICE. JNDER 5200. Cl rcle 35 on Page 79 IF ALL $200 TURNTABLES HAVE THE SAME SPECS, HOW COME THE PL -400 SOUNDS BETTER? 0116..- 91, t r -- Y c.1 r-.1111.41 eti''',011"rik;'_:...4%, ' ra,torvie..c.1-4 - s Le,TVG It =========m1Alan"- i-C o ; BIAS WHICH BIAS TAPE STANDS UP TO AGENRAD REAL-TIME ANALYZER? The GenRad 1'395 Real -Time Analyzer is among today's state-of-the-art devicesfor - ,accurately measuring and displaying audio signals. That's why we used it to show that MEMOREX HIGH BIAS is today's state-of- LienRad 97the-art high bias cassette tape. irlsplav When tested a- standard recording levels against other nigh bias tapes, none had e S SPL I,IneFLAT *KT es. ..01 lee. ODSeSD e.IDY. STOP 4110 ilan1.0D a flatter frequency response than MEMOREX HIGH BIAS. .130 "TT 120 And, the signa /noise ratio of MEMOREX - 0B I 1I111II 11I11111111111iI '0000 Ir HIGH BIAS proved to be unsurpassed at be 1111Il 111 II the critical high end. le, 11 I 11 IIIII Proof you can'- buy a high bias cassette le RAND 20 that gives you truer reproduction. And isn't ° 4:18.111 that what you buy a .. ,A . high bias tape for? - . " .$3( Ancomm.r. wrt. Is it live. or is i- . ' MEMOREX 1- rilliNakamichi 582 Mace Head Cassette 0 r . MEMOREX 90 ...Ex HIITTBIAS90 mommillb. en.** 0040 wee.. !II Phones HIGH BIAS on The GenRad 1995 Integrating Real -Time Memor' Analyzer measured signals from a ----------- Nakamichi 582 cassette deck. Input - signal source was "pink noise" at OdB (200 nanowebers-standard record level). If you'd like a copy of the test results. please send a sell -addressed, stamped business -size envelope to the address below Ask for the GenRad Test. _ Ic `-- _,---- \ __- 'e. t\ ------ -... '- - ''01- For unbeatable performance in a normal bias tape, look for Memorex c 1980 Memorax Corporation with MRX3 Oxide, in the black package. Memorex Audio Development Center, PO Box 988. Santa Clara.CA95052. U S 9 MAY 1980 VOLUME 30 NUMBER 5 L HIGH FIDELITY J Leonard Marcus Abram Chipman Editor John Culshaw Audio/Video R. D. Darrell Backbeat Shirley Fleming Harris Goldsmith 7 Editor, Musical America David Hamilton High Fidelity News 93 Rupert Holmes: Dale Harris Surveying the audio marketplace A Lesson in Resilience James R. Oestreich Paul Henry Lang Classical Music Editor by Stephen Holden Irving Lowens 14 Robert C. Marsh CrossTalk Susan Elliott Fred Miller 96 Pop-Pourri Editor, Backbeat Andrew Porter 23 Equipment Reports "Record" business: End of an era Susan Thiemann Sommer Aiwa LP -3000U turntable Robert Long Contributing Editors by Sam Sutherland Audio -Video Editor Technics SL -10 turntable Edward Greenfield Phase Linear 8000 Series Two 98 Peter Dobbin European Editor L.A. Discovers No Doz Associate turntable by Steven X. Rea Audio -Video Editor Robert S. Clark Garrard GT-350 record changer/ Editorial Director turntable 98 Records Sarina Bromberg Nakamichi 680ZX cassette deck Art Director Wayne Armentrout The Searchers Production Director Crown SA -2 amplifier Ella and Basie Rebecca Abbott Elvis Costello William Tynan Associate Editor 46 Phonographic Prescriptions Director of Special Projects Do those new accessories work? 102 SpinOffs: Jazz Lynda Carlotta David Lee Isabel Parker by Don Heckman and Circulation Director 51 Cynthia Pease How to Buy a Turntable John S. Wilson Assistant Editors Susan Allyn Setting the record straight Circulation Manager by Michael Riggs Diane Albano 104 In Search of Authentic Jean M. Whitehead William P. Johnson Comedy Recordings Editorial Assistants Circulation Service Manager by Sam Sutherland Edward J. Foster Music/Musicians Leonard Levine 106 Consulting Audio Editor Publisher SpinOffs: R&B 44 Culshaw at Large by Christopher Petkanas Video software: Up a down HIGH FIDELITY is published monthly at The escalator 108 Music in Print Publishing House, Great Barrington, Mass. 01230 by John Culshaw The Muppets by ABC Leisure Magazines, Inc., a subsidiary of American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. Copy- Kenny Rogers right1980 by ABC Leisure Magazines, Inc. The 56 A Party for Zubin Mehta Grateful Dead design and contents are fully protected by copy- by Elise Bretton right and must not be reproduced in any manner.