Arrruggh. Yes, Tim, you did!
I should have heeded your advice then, they've been steadily climbing over the past two months! But like an idiot, I sold my Audio Research preamp to finance the Thorens, and then my wife absconded with the profits! Baby needs a new pair of shoes!
A Garrard 301 is my alternative table. Supposedly sounds better than the Thorens with a less complex design (less prone to breakdown). I've heard that the QC on the 301s was better than with the 401s. Saw a 301 in a shop the other day. A thing of beauty and that MASSIVE machined platter is unbelieveable. What a hunk of iron! To think that these things sold new at $35! Incredible! I kinda hate the styling of the 401, but the 301 gives me a pop tent these days. Another good vintage I've heard are the Empire tables.
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| Usually I would say that those tables were overpriced to begin with. Fact of the matter is,I think these are the rpices they should be selling for. Much of the vintage gear is selling for far too cheap with exception of the old McIntosh,Marantz and some of the Sansui stuff. It was rediculous to see old Dynaco amps going for $175.00 and the Yamaha tables selling for $50-100 when they cost $750 new and are built to last two lifetimes. I think we are just seeing an "adjustment" in prices and this is where they will likely stay for a while. |
Ebay has just really screwed with the collectables market. I'm a long time movie poster collector and it has just
destroyed the poster market. All of a sudden posters are coming out of the woodwork from every direction trashing prices. Before, you'd have to deal with a poster dealer, now they're coming out of people's closets and going for nothing. My collection is worth about 1/10th of what is once was.
I bet the same thing happened with audiogear. Thousands of people had old Dynaco amps gathering dust in the basement and they sold them for nothing. Maybe you're right, and the market is starting to readjust itself. But I don't think the market will ever quite be the same, as dealers could always set and hold the prices and value of equipment, but now the cat's out of the bag and they don't have control anymore.
But.... every Thorens collector I've talked with (and now I've met quite a few) seem to put a TD-124 at around $500 bucks in value. They all think the current prices are a bit mad. One guy I talk with who just sold a TD-124 for $700 bucks said to me, "I don't know what that guy was thinking, no way it's worth that much". I think the whole vinyl revival fad is probably seeing these tables take in a bit more than they're really worth (I'm certain it's become a bit of a fad because some of the girls in my office are starting to say "I want a vintage record player!". Grrr. Now its chic and trendy and destroying prices for music lovers!) Hopefully in another year they'll head back down again. We'll see, I guess. Frankly, my latest vinyl venture has my cd player looking pretty good again. Steely Dan never sounded so bad.
