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Space: The Vinyl Frontier
Ken Pohlmann is a hair less infallible when it comes to analog: In his September 2018 column on cassettes, he said that turntables “don’t work in outer space (the whole gravity thing).” Actually, they’d work quite well, as long as they had record clamps and dynamic-balance tonearms. Those arms don’t depend on gravity for tracking force—they’re neutrally balanced, with tracking force supplied by a spring. Fairchild had such an arm ca. 1960, which they demonstrated by playing a record upside down. More recently, Dual automatic turntables had dynamic balance. Doubtless there are others.
Ivan Berger
Via email
Ken Pohlmann responds: I think Ivan is on to something here! Should we also secure the turntable chassis to the spaceship so it does not counter-rotate against the platter (Newton’s third law)? Our turntable could go where no turntable has gone before. Does Elon Musk know about this!?!
The Bigger Picture
As a subscriber to for over 10 team. To say that your periodical has been influential in my life is an understatement. But the reason for my note is to raise an issue I’ve had for a while. I thoroughly enjoy equipment reviews, technology news, and other articles on all things A/V. But the one thing that doesn’t do is to put the whole enchilada together and showcase actual home theaters. There used to be examples of full-blown home theaters featured in the magazine, but I haven’t seen one example in years. It would be awesome to see various designs, architecture, and layouts of real home theater rooms. Perhaps you could even provide reviews of sound panels and theater chairs? One idea would be to profile a home theater build so we could see it come together over several issues. I’m sure John Sciacca, who does a great job giving advice on installing equipment, could provide you with the content. So, there you have it: input from a long-time subscriber. I have a home theater and am currently looking to rehab the whole room. I would love to see some examples and get inspiration from !
