I bought this for $5 at a flea market, just to play with. They said that the turntable would not turn and that's why they were selling it for $5. Really, it wasn't worth $5 when new. The reason the platter wouldn't turn is because the tonearm has to be pulled back to the right in order to activate the motor that drives a belt driven all plastic turntable. The turntable has an auto stop mechanism at the end of the record. It plays 33, 45, and 78 rpm; but, a special 3 mil stylus is needed for 78 rpm. There is no headphone jack for private listening; but, you really don't need one because the amplifier does not have enough power to bother anyone in the next room. The amp has a little tiny output IC that probably delivers 100 mw/channel. Oh yes, this thing is stereo; but, the tiny speakers are so close together that one can't tell much stereo seperation. And, either the motor is on it's way out or it was a poor running motor to begin with. The motor is noisy, I can detect some wow and flutter in the audio, and I can even feel the motor vibrations when I touch the tonearm lift. And, there's a lot of hot glue in this thing. And, you guessed it, it's made in China. It also runs off a 12 volt wall wart; which, is something else to lose in transit. Since this is a portable, you'd think they would have used a self contained power supply with a non-detachable power cord.
For these things to be so cheaply made, they sure cost enough when new. I think a '50's "one tube wonder" would be a better unit.
12-30-2010, 07:52 PM
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