ELP Laser Turntable vs. top class mechanical Versions

[tiefbassuebertr]

ELP Laser Turntable: Plays Vinyl Records without a Needle
ELP Laser Turntable: Price Information
Laser Turntable: ELP News

vs. e. g.

enVogue Quasar or
Audiomeca Homepage - Analogue turntables and arms
or similar

What is better if I asumme, that the records very clean without any remaining dust?

about the thread
Laser vs needle turntable
this is not apparent.

Independent of this subject - is there a Service Manual for the ELP?

[jlsem]

All I can tell you is that they sound really, really bad. If you've ever wondered what somebody meant when they described a system as sounding "dry", listen to the ELP and then you will know.

John

[Steerpike]

This ELP (formerly Finial) turntable is getting quite old - being first demonstated in 1986. The concept of a laser playback has been theoretically rather superceded by software that can reconstruct audio from a "photograph" of the disc. The software can compensate for any data loss due to dirt or scratches more effectively than the laser system. And there is no rotating turntable to introduce vibration or timing issues.

But it's not cheap (neither is the ELP) and it doesn't playback in real time.

This is what the US Library of Congress is doing with records and cylinders deemned too fragile to play. It can also "reassemble" records that are physically broken into several pieces.
http://ismir2009.ismir.net/proceedings/PS4-9.pdf

[makaiyumtony]

I don't have a chance listen to a ELP, so I can't say anything about it's sound quality, but I do listen to a lot of top TT systems price more over than ELP not inculd phono amp, still so many small thing can change the sound quality, for example different driving motor for belt drive TT, and diffrent material of the belt (I like elastic thread), also tone arm cable's quality (solid silver can have a big jump) . in my system I use a direct drive TT as driving moter using a elastic thread for belt, ever weight balance in both platters also can make the sound change . vinyl.s conditions, cart.s quality etc etc. but I believe main point is the phono pre-amp. I don.t know what kind of RIAA pre-amp inside the ELP, I do guess it made of transistor,
regard Tony Ma