The leaf spring style legs came later IIRC. They were also used on the Michell Prisma, which may well be one of the nicest looking variant of all.
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I’ve been fortunate enough to have two of these decks.
I went to see one of the first showings of A Clockwork Orange, just before it was banned in the early 70’s,and like a lot of people loved the deck.
I was a schoolboy at the time and vowed to get one, working weekends in a Petrol Station until I had enough to get one.
Fast forward some years and I had got married and a family. We wanted to move house, and one guy who came to view said he wanted the house and would give us the asking price on one condition, that I gave him the turntable , which I did!
Forward more years, and I was in a hi for shop in Banbury and saw another Transcriptors. Apparently it belonged to the owner of the pub next door and he was selling it on his behalf, it had been in his loft for over 30 years. So I bought it and cleaned it and serviced it, was in a second system for some years then eventually sold it on that well know auction site. They go for a lot more now!
I have a Gyrodec at the moment, but have always had a soft spot for my Transcriptors Hydraulic Reference.
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Great story, thanks. Loved the bit about the house sale!
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My house will be up for sale sometime soon. Guess I’d better pack the system away before the viewings start!
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Same here! I was a student at the time, and a vacation job in the summer working in an oil rig construction yard in the North of Scotland made me enough money to buy my first decent hi-fi system which included the Transcriptors Hydraulic Reference turntable.
The film also turned me on to the music of Bach and particularly the “Switched on Bach (1 & 2)” LPs released by (the then Walter and now) Wendy Carlos. I still love these LPs to this day.
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Thanks a lot - mine looked like the top one, but with brass weights… It seems there were lots of variations.
Absolutely gorgeous turntable and I must confess that sadly I have never heard one!
I did however pay a visit to Michell recently to write a feature on the history of Michell and in particular the GyroDec for Soundstageultra. There’s plenty of pics of various vintage Michell/Transcriptors decks on there too. I am sharing it here as it seems relevant.
I hope people enjoy it!
Jonathan
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Interesting. Thank you for posting… 
Quite surprised this didn’t generate any comment!
That’s probably why these decks tend to fly under the radar. Too many Japanese decks of the time used a glossy veneered chipboard box to dress up less than stellar engineering under the skin. But not on this one…
Yes, I gather they are (or were) popular in Germany and the USA. And there are pics on the net of them without the plinth.
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I’m not sure I could live with the looks of one without the plinth, but reportedly it sounds better that way.
Here’s a pic from the 'net;
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So that’s where Rega got it’s inspiration from.
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Friend of mine had a Transcriptors Hydraulic Reference back in the 1970s. He changed the standard arm for SME3009 MkII. His was the Prisma model. Don’t know what the difference was between that and the standard model. It went for a Rega Planar 3, which he said sounded better.
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No more vintage hi-fi in at the moment. But I did see these in the window at the weekend:
A pair of Hans Wegner Ox chairs.
Statement owners or Focal Grande Utopia owners, I look forward to seeing them in Systempics. And please remember me at Christmas 
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If you want a pair of QUAD ESL57s, they’re still made new in Germany. I have three pairs on the go in my music room.
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