A turntable is an obsolete machine used in the old days to listen to recorded music in vinyl. However, technology fast advanced and soon many other types of music players popped up in the market. There are the CD players, DVD players, MP3 players, computers, iPod and many other devices. Even mobile phones now are used to listen to music.



However, some people still prefer to listen to music with their trusty turntables at home. There are still a few companies today that offer repair services to turntable owners.

To understand better how a turntable works, you must first know the parts that make up this machine.. Basically, turntables are composed of a platter, a tone arm, and a head shell. The platter is the part where the record sits on. It separates the tone arm from vibration, and controls speed. To have a good quality turntable, look for tables with heavy platters.

Tone arm is where you find the needle. It is the most complicated part of turntables. It must be as low as possible to avoid unwanted wear on the grooves of the record.

The head shell is the part that seen at the end of the tone arm. It is where the cartridge is attached. It is recommended that your head shell is removable to make it easier to replace the cartridge. There is an option to upgrade existing head shells.

When buying turntables consider an adjustable counterweight. It can pick almost any type of cartridge and is effective in balancing the tone arm to its proper specifications. But don't rely on this alone because some high quality turntables don't have counterweight. Instead, there's a P-mount type cartridge where the tracking weight is already set at the factory.

The motor spins the platter. There are two kinds of motors that you can find in belt drives turntables. The AC motor governs the electricity supplied on the socket of the wall without using transformer or any other voltage regulation. With a little cleaning and greasing, it will function effectively no matter how old it is. The DC is the other type of motor very common in home electronics because they are small and simple to make.

Turntables are obsolete, and replacement parts of are very difficult to find nowadays. Here are some companies that still offer turntable replacement parts and services.

Vintage Electronics has been running in repair services of most brands of classic stereo equipment for nearly four decades. They also provide the do-it-yourself projects in turntable belts and cartridges and many more parts and accessories for your turntables. The company is located in Florissant, Colorado.

Turntable Basic has a complete service for your repairs and adjustment. It can vitally keep your turntable in excellent performance. They aim to serve the record collectors with necessary accessories and parts that will maintain their vinyl record sounding at their best always.

Origin Live is a well established manufacturer of Hi-Fi equipment. They are expert in manufacturing quality turntables, tone arms, power supplies and different accessories. They also recommend and supply various products of other turntables manufacturers. They modify and upgrade turntables and tone arms as well.

If you can't figure out what is wrong with your turntable, don't hesitate to ask the experts and let them do the work for you.