*UPDATE:* I found another patent from Mr. Dennis that *exactly* matches the 1988 mechanism I showed in the video, including the unusually rapid auto-return feature: freepatentsonline.com/4788676.pdf

I find it fascinating that the same man who invented budget record changers invented budget CD changers 20 years later!

Tremendous knowledge, dry humor, zero b.s. Vwestlife, you are a treasure.

Some detective work went into this one.

I had a suitcase Crosley and you know it was never a GREAT player, but it also didn't mess up my records and what it lacked in quality it allowed me the space to dip my feet into the world of vinyl collecting to know if I wanted to make a more worthy investment. These days I have a much more advanced (though still fairly "mid range") setup and I wouldn't have spent that money without exploring the scene with the Crosley first, and I think that's worth it.

Here in the UK almost every turntable I encountered during the 70s was a BSR. My very first record player was a Fidelity stereo with a BSR deck just like this. I loved it. It played my records fine and was within the financial reach of my parents. Thank you BSR.

I’m here after watching Techmoans video 👍

I know the factories(s) where the units are made. I was there a few times in the last years. They are all in Guangdong province in South China. I live there. The outer metal ring has a fuction. Normally it goes a little bit stronger around the plastic platter. The metal ring keeps the plastic platter in shape to reduce the altitude stroke (hopefully I use the right word, I am a native German...). This is working very well. If you want to know more you can ask me. The man who produces the cheap needles became very rich. He lives in a big villa. The smaller record players (suit case and so on, with the smaller platter) uses lower voltage. I made the suggestion years ago that run with a 5V USB power supply. In before the smaller units uses 9V. It seems they are all run with 5V now.

I have vivid memories of playing my parents records on their all-in-one Amstrad stereo back in the late 80s/early 90s that had a plastic turntable/orange cartridge just like these. If its cheap/affordable and works, that's enough for most people.

So the main reason why record players with this kind of mechanism usually sound so bad is the impedance mismatch, since they don't have a pre-amp designed for a ceramic cartridge.

The only thing these cheap turntables ruined was the idea that vinyl sounded better. But it sparked my desire to get a proper setup for a much better sound experience. I say they're a decent intro turntable with the right expectations.

“So they made the whole DAMN PLATTER the strobe marks” A sudden burst of passion! Excellent and entertaining video sir! Awesome 😎

Have to admit, these videos are way more useful for people getting into records than the videos of audiophiles claiming you need to spend $1000 on a cartridge made by nude virgins, and $3000 on a turntable and stereo or you'll never enjoy your records (which is utter rubbish.) The truth is the majority of people would be happy listening with a cheaper turntable and stylus, like the ones shown in this video. And if 6 grams of tracking force bugs you, I'd be willing to bet money that most of the used albums on the market today were generally played on turntables with higher tracking force back in the day, and sound perfectly fine today. A lot of tube records players and old changers tracked at 6+ grams. Vinyl is a lot tougher of a format than some people on the internet think. The blemishes in records are what make them attractive. It's not a format for people wanting crystal clear reproduction that sounds the same every time, digital formats are much better suited at that.

. Thank you again for the subtitles. You have already a very good speech, easy to understand and a pleasing voice. But the subtitles helps me to get those words I'm still not able to understand by just hearing it 👍👍👍👍😀

This is the best video you've ever made,those 1980's players bring back memories of Sears and K-Mart stereos.

This is the second time I've seen that Michael Fremer clip and it doesn't get any less melodramatic

I want to get a Crosley Cruiser and play Dark Side of the Moon five times in a row to spite Michael Fremer

Great find! And amazing to see the connection between a single man and millions of cheap record players.

Every time I see that clip of Michael Fremer, I die a little inside lol. Love the video as always, didn't know these mechanisms went back that far. You learn something new every day.

The Tetrad cartridge sounded the best. Those Chuo-Denshi (and clones) cartridges have always had a hollow tone with that scratchy trebly high end like we heard in the video, especially with the all-plastic stylus. I once had a mid-80's Fisher combo that had an all-black variation on the 1984 mechanism but with the Chuo-Denshi cart rather than the Tetrad. I've had several other players over the years from the early 90's through 2010's that use that same cart, and they all sound exactly the same.

I've said it once and I'll say it again. In a weird way your videos are like therapy. ESPECIALLY in these messed up times of 2020.

Loved seeing what looks like a Tandy 1000 TX in the background. Had one of those for years, was my first "PC Compatible." Great box.

Interesting and informative with nice close up camera shots showing everything in detail - Well Done Sir !!

I've been binging your turntable videos for the whole day and I just ran out, so this video couldn't have appeared at a better time!

I'm no fan of basic tuntables, not one bit. That said, I appreciate that you don't speak ill of anyone who does, unlike so many other channels I've seen out there. Great work as usual!

My first ever "HiFi" system was an Amstrad branded all in one designed to look like a separates system I got for Christmas in around 1983/1984, it even came built into a cabinet with a glass door and record storage underneath. It had almost exactly the same mechanism as the BSR one but was branded Amstrad rather than BSR. I still have albums I played on that system back then and they still sound fine today on decent turntables because I have always looked after my records.

more power Vwestlife! we need your very informative audio reviews. i enjoy watching your videos its really very informative. keep it up.

I know next to nothing about turntables and thoroughly enjoyed the video. Great work.

I used to work for BSR (Birmingham Sound Reproducers) making turntables at their factory in East Kilbride, Scotland in the 1970's.

My parents had that same Panasonic model. It got a lot of use.

Incredible knowledge and great presentation yet again. All of your videos are very interesting and so well presented. I've been a follower of your channel for a number of years now. You have one of the most interesting channels on the whole of KZfaq. Great work again.

Fantastic and informative, as always. Thank you, vwestlife!

This is absolutely fascinating. Great video! 😁

Your videos are great... always learn something new.

Your knowledge base is so enviable. Thanks for sharing what you know!

Wow, didn’t expect them to have such a long history! thanks for the video!

'they realized people were complaining about the bad visibility of the strobe marks.. *so they made the whole damned platter the strobe marks*' one of my favorite quotes of all time

Fascinating! Informative! Educational! This made me take another look with a different perspective at all these cheaply made turntables with a ceramic cartridge. Though I do still think the genuine Chuo Denshi cartridge made in Japan sounds better than the clone from China, the sound quality you were able to get from each of these iterations was very pleasing!

Fascinating stuff! Very well researched and demonstrated.

Doing what you do best Kevin, I love your TT videos!

New video, awesome content about record players that is a subject that I love+subtitles, I can't ask for more cuz I love it ^^

This has been boh fascinating and informative. Thaknks, and Happy Holidays to you.

I love your turntable/record player videos. Wishing you a very Happy New Year.

Hey man, I have been watching your videos for a long time now and I have noticed a big jump in quality. You have always had interesting videos, but it so nice to see how far you've come. Keep it up!

This was so helpful! I was able to find the speed adjustment “screws” on my Soundesign turntable b/c it was playing the records too slow and it would play 45’s but I cleaned the contacts on the switch and does now! By the way, your advice on turning a meh sapphire into a wow diamond was also super helpful!

It's worth mentioning that your videos are of professional quality with regards to editing, in my opinion!

I like your chosen variety of music during this discussion. Makes for a much better video on modern record players! Super entertaining my friend!

What a nice little stroll through time. Thank you.

It all adds up now. It also explains the later Stack-O-Matic record changers of the mid-2000s. In addition to low-cost stereo systems under their own brand. Capetronic was also an OEM for other companies, including the famous Brother Domino II stereo (as well as my Brother Impact 33 which I sold a while ago). It makes sense that they would acquire BSR's patents for their record changers and record players. Before that acquisition, they tended to use BSR record changers (and when Glenburn was around, they used Glenburn). They also made the chassis for low-cost tabletop and freestanding console stereos. Makes me wonder if they changed their name during the 2000s, since I can't find much info on Capetronic nowadays.

If you want to verify the history of this mechanism, a great place to look is the Radio Shack catalogs. They seem to have been using BSR mechanisms on their budget turntables all along, and you can see when they switch from the older style BSR mechanism (the 70s style record changers with the start/stop lever in the corner, usually with a silver bulls-eye pattern on top) to the newer cost reduced version you had from 1984. There was also an in-between version for awhile. The 1982 catalog exclusively has the older 70s style BSR design for budget models, and more bespoke designs up the range. No hint of the newer mech yet. The 1983 catalog is slightly more interesting. The cheaper all-in-one tables (Clarinete 104, Clarinete 90, etc) still use the 70s BSR mech, same for the very cheapest standalone LAB-59, but the slightly more expensive LAB-75 and LAB-77 use a changer that looks like it's an in-between of the older design and the 1984 design. It borrows some elements, like the flusher style off/play switch from the older BSR, but has a minimalist footprint more similar to the newer model. It uses more fake chrome than the 1984 design but less than the older units. I think this might be a missing link in crappy turntable evolution. 1984 soldiers on with the same lineup on the lower end, so nothing of note here. 1985 replaces the LAB-75 and 77 with the LAB-79 and 85 changers. These look exactly like your 1984 style BSR, but configured to be a changer. They also included a platter mat. I did read somewhere that this was a BSR table rebadged as a Realistic product, so it seems that the 1984 BSR variant was also available as a changer. The 70s style BSR table was finally bumped off of the standalone LAB tables, making the new BSR the new bottom end, but it remained on some of the all-in-one Clarinete tables. Notably, the very cheapest Clarinete, the 116, has your non-changer 1984 BSR turntable mech at last. Given that they probably started manufacturing these a little before release, this date lines up, and these machines most likely first hit the market in '85. 1986 was mostly the same. By this point only one model was left with the 70s style BSR mech, the Clarinete-115. Some of the others like the 114 had more cut back designs reminiscent of the older model but without a changer. The slimmer profile, cheaper Clarinetes had the newer '84 non-changer variant. 1987: Realistic still marketed the changer style of the '84 variant, consolidated to just one table, the LAB-89, and somehow the 70s style BSR limped on in the highest end Clarinete. (I had no idea changers were still around this far into the 80s.) 1988: The LAB-89 changer is till there. The 70s style BSR is finally killed off in the Clarinete series, and it looks like they actually regressed to an even cheaper looking table for a bit. Notably, this time it recognizably has a red Chuo Denchi cartridge. 1989: That plucky LAB-89 changer is still holding on, and I must know if it survived into the 90s. The Clarinete series is reduced to one lonely model, the 122, which has the "even cheaper than BSR" mechanism with Chuo Denchi cart. 1990: The LAB-89 makes it one more year! Changers officially made it to the 90s, though I wonder how many actually sold. Maybe they had so much stock left over that they kept them in the catalog until they finally sold out, who knows. The Clarinete holds on with one last model, the 124, which has a mech that looks much closer to the 1988 style you have, but still slightly different; the table and tonearm are separated. Finally, in 1991 Radio Shack stops marketing changers for good. Only a handful of sad looking black plastic turntables remain. By 1993 there's only two left and they're getting shoved farther back in the catalog with tinier pics. It's down to a single lonely table in 1997 until the Realistic line was finally killed off, but they kept marketing budget tables even after this under the RCA badge. But at this point we're well into the age of Crosley tables.

I am so greatful for all knowledge you share thank you.😍❤

Nice work Columbo! Very informative! Excellent video.

A turn table design that is both used and scorned around the world that was designed by a guy in OKC? Very interesting indeed!

So after watching a many videos on the subject of cheap turntables, I concluded the following: 1. They don’t ruin you records (the tracking force is well within the normal spec’s.) and 2. If the table is spinning at the correct speed, and the impedance is correctly matched, the TT can be made to sound better with a good set of powered speakers. 3. That you can get into records for a lot less money. Just make sure the above is true, and you are going to have a decent listening experience. Of course you have to go down the rabbit hole of expensive gear if you want to hear all the lovely warm sound the better gear can provide. Great video I learned a lot!

Thanks for shedding light on this. More audio dogma shattered 👍

This video made my day. Thank you.

I didn't know you were still making vinyl videos anymore! What an incredible early new years present!

BSR is a very unfavorable name here in Berlin. It stands for "Berliner Stadtreinigung". The garbage collection service. I guess it's just a coincidence.

Awesome video, thanks so much for doing the research!!!

Very interesting video, thank you! Lot of interesting history 😊

Got an Ion turntable with that mechanism and adding a banpa cartridge (per your video) really classes up the sound. I also do the old-school trick of glueing a few coins off the back to lower the tracking force. The only thing I can't solve is needle talk. Some of my cheapies are so noisy I can listen to an album in a quiet room without the amp plugged in.

Wow! Great history lesson, man! Crazy to think this record player mechanism has been around for over 30 years.

I saw the Picture on Twitter :). I have a Victroa cruiser but now have a Sharp RP-113 from a Salvation Army thrift store.

I've come across a few cheap, all-in-one stereos from the 90s that feature these turntable mechanisms. I'm surprised I didn't notice their resemblance to cheap contemporary units until you pointed them out!

Very interesting video. I've got here in the UK a Philips midi system from 1988 with this type of turntable. I was really easy to track down a replacement diamond stylus for it, and it sounds great.

Loved this video. Good research. I learned a lot. Frank

Thank you for this informative video, and the history of cheap plastic turntables.

The 1984 mechanism is trying so hard to look high end.

Great research! Gives the 'crosleys' a progeny.

Luckily i've got an LP60X for christmas 😅

Awesome video as always.

My grandparents Phillips stereo system, which they bought brand new in 1988 uses the second design, and they played their records nearly every day until they died about 2 years ago. Can confirm it doesn't destroy the records.

The 1984 sounds the best. I was fascinated by this as I had a BSR based record player in my Hitachi all in one as young music buff from the mid to late 70's

Getting all up in the history. You're like the New Jersey Techmoan. 🤣 Michael Fremer has some decent album recommendations, but since his turntable costs more than my car (and the pre-amp); and the amps and speakers more than my house... suffice to say he's a bit out of touch with affordable gear. I prefer the music first audiophile concept. If I can enjoy my music on a piece of equipment, I don't care if it's 'cheap'. Cheap can sound good with the proper pairings and knowing the limitations of your equipment.

Amazing history information.

My brother got a new turntable for Christmas and he gave me his old one (both with this mechanism). The one I have is a suitcase style with the odd design of stereo speakers firing out the left side and Philco branded. It needed the volume control cleaned, but works.

Great video :-) That was a fascinating dive into the history of these cheaper turntables... I was quite surprised to see that they originated with BSR though! Nice one! :-)

looked over at the used crosley I bought a while back, and yup, it has that exact mechanism.

Hello to Westlife this is by far an excellent video I've already seen it 3 times including now love history on things like this , I can see how these cheap plastic TT's came to be. ,I can see how easy it will be to remember his name mine being James also it's a shame cause of the changing audio format during the 80's they had to cheapen the record player , I will say this was the best video on the history of these kinds of record players thank you for this Looking forward to your next video ,have. Happy and safe New Year JRo and I almost forgot the last song you play as you end the video is a song from my child hood it originally was from a Spanish group it was a very popular song and a dance song a meringue if I remember my father had the album it was a Dominiquen group , that song brought me back home to when my father played these songs especially during the Holidays THANK YOU !!!! JRo

It's like with the recent cassette mechanisms that are all the same today.

The thing about these turntable mechanisms is that they have an authentic “vinyl sound”. From the cheapest Crosley or Victrola unit to turntables from quality brands like TEAC, you are going to hear a crisp and crackly reproduction of your records. This is normal and very common, especially in affordable turntables. Some people love the crackles and pops that vinyl offers because it seems more retro, while hardcore audiophiles like Vinyl Eyezzz recommend you buy a $450 Fluance turntable with several $100 amplifiers. Not all of us can afford that. Turntables like a Fluance, Denon, and the most expensive Audio Technica, all come with an even sturdier, higher quality needle than the red plastic ones found on the affordable turntables. People who compare vinyl to digitally remastered music, have remastered the music themselves (For The Record has explained this about his audio setup in a video of his) on their high end pre amps. I love my records and want them to sound good, but I don’t need them to sound THAT good. I currently am happy with my $290 TEAC turntable.

Just played a record I got Xmas 1975 and it still sounds great. So much for all the hammer it took on the BSR decks back in the day 🤣 Didn't know Pioneer used a carousel cd player, thought they stuck to their load upside down cartridge mech. Excellent video cheers 🍻🎄

Excellent research thank you!

Capetronic AFAIK was at least at one point a division of BSR. I know they made more than turntables and did contract manufacturing for lots of companies.

While these cheap turntables won't destroy records, they do cause severe damage after 100 playbacks. It all comes down to physics. A sharp needle vs soft vinyl. More tracking force and less than optimal shape of the tip = more damage over time. Check out the great video by jimboblivesforever. He actually tried it. So no, the "audiophiles" are not wrong, but they often exaggerate the problem.

BSR was a British company, formed as Birmingham Sound Reproducers in 1908. It was responsible from the 1950s onwards for the decks in the iconic British Dansette brand of record players, so BSR decks brought rock and roll to the receptive ears of British teenagers - along with the other main brand Garrard. Inevitably production disappeared to the far east in the 1980s, the remnants eventually being taken over by Emerson. Source - Wikipedia.

Interesting video and well researched. Thank you 👍

That TEAC system you showed had many variants. It was very popular in the UK under names BUSH and goodmans, sold through Argos catalogue shop. My family had three.

Who would have thought that cheap turntables and entry level cassette decks would have such interesting histories. It should come as no surprise that my first stereo (Soundesign) had pretty much the same mechanism. My first record player was a Fisher Price, I wonder how it compared...

I have a very interesting variant of of this mechanism up in my attic right now. It is most similar to the 1984 version but marked Capetronic on the bottom. It actually has a magnetic cartridge on it and a built in pre-amp. Dates to around 1988-1989 and is basically new in box. When I tried it had a lot of wow and flutter so probably needs a new belt. Anyhow what makes it interesting is it’s a full changer. Has a bizarre looking spindle. It’s a Realistic Lab 89 if you want to look it up. Anyhow I was just going to throw it out at some point, but if you’re interested and would pay the shipping cost I’d give it to you. If not no big deal. Just thought I would mention it.

Excellent video!😊

Another great video!

Very interesting! I think that the 1984 one gave the most pleasing audio quality. Piezo Pick-Up Cartridges don't really lend themselves to being used with Solid State Amplifiers and some cheaper Midi Systems have been sold with poor matching and sound tinny as a result when playing Records. Improving these is not difficult however as all you need to do is to add a Resistor of about a couple of Megohms in series with the Cartridge output and add a One Transistor Amplifier Stage after that to make up for the loss of amplitude across the Matching Resistor and there you are. You will have to do it twice for stereo equipment of course but the improvement is worth the time,effort and money.

Very interesting to see the ceramic cartridge as such having this manufactor initiated comeback. It have these "build-in features" of first delivering an almost line level output and secondly attenuating the output as the frequency goes up, eliminating the need for a RIAA preamp. The end result might not correspond perfectly with RIAA and may very well be several dB off, but then again it's good enough for non-critical everyday listening purposes.

thanks for the great video !

thanks for this great informational vid. James had a nice one storey house in the suburbs. I had a GE turntable of this variation..

So the Crosley Cruiser is indeed the modern equivalent of a cheapo BSR changer. Even has its DNA!

The turntable looks like the hull of the Enterprise

Fantastic video.

Great history!!