Now I can’t imagine why - it was touted as “the finest turntable in the world” in their ads. I think they went for around $550 - which seemed an ungodly sum to a 15-year-old kid in 1973.
To this day I don’t know what I did with my old AR60. I don’t remember selling it but it seems to have gone walkies. It was the first thing that I bought when I knew nothing about hifi and set me down a path.
The Stathearn decks looked good but as I understand it were actually rubbish. I believe they were developed using government funding as some sort of regeneration project.
I’m really digging deep in the old memory banks, but wasn’t the full name of the company Strathearn Transcription Developments, or STD? Which, of course, is better known as the acronym for something equally undesirable.
My recollection is of seeing the adverts which made it seem wonderful - but no reviews or anything else. It seems their advert writers and visual designers had more skill and ability than their technical designers and engineering ability. It is always suspicious when audio equipment sports fashionable looks, while manufacturers’ words on their own are just that - and not only the province of government funded start-up companies!
The original Quad valve amps were designed by Peter Walker and were (allegedly) a more elegant version of the DTN Williamson ultralinear amplifier. Peter tried to patent it but found that Alan Blumlein had done got there before him albeit for non-audio purposes. I think that TdP added some spit-and-polish, probably optimising component values and gains as there doesn’t seem that much to optimise…
I think that was a different company, Strathclyde Turntable Developments. The various 305 models if memory serves. They looked quite nice too. I think Strathearn were based in Northern Ireland and were funded by UK ‘regeneration’ funds. Didn’t the turntable run backward every now and then?
I like the simple aesthetic of these and bought the kit pre-loved. The internal PS in the pre gave up and was repaired via an out-board PS and the Dr. Thomas didn’t like accepting thick-rimmed RCAs, as the rear terminals were so (too) close together.
The internals of the plug on the Dr. Thomas had also been modified, worryingly so IIRC.
I must admit I thought I had more old kit in the barn in various boxes, but its not there. I then realised that I had left various bits of kit behind with my ex’s, only reminded when a picture of my daughters house showed in the background a Technics system from the 80’s that looked rather familiar.
It’s probably only me but I find a bit ridiculous to name a component or even a pizza by Dr. It’s like saying I am a doctor, I am proud of it, and I will write it on my creation.
Dr Feikert, Dr Oeteker, ……
When Strathearn went bust the guy who bought up the stock sold them off from a shop in Lisburn. I bought one, rather cheap at the time.
Performance wise it was better than the average low end Japanese DD turntable of the time but bettered by a Dual 505. The chap I sold mine to (when I upgraded to a Rega 3) was delighted with the improvement over what he had.
Certainly didn’t cut the mustard at its original MRSP.