Here's one to make audiophiles of a certain age go dewy-eyed. Many a budget system of the 1960s and 1970s 'hi-fi boom' had, at its heart, a Garrard SP25 of one generation or another.

The majority - among them, the Mk III seen here - drove their 10in. platter from a synchronous motor via an idler wheel. The final models was belt-driven, though.

In all cases speed change was effected via a metal 'finger' that shifted the idler (or belt) onto the appropriate motor pulley 'step'. So popular were these decks that they were common sights at car boot sales, complete with their original Goldring (or, as here, Shure) cartridges, well into the 1980s.


Fancy cutting your own discs? Here we see a vintage Connoisseur lathe, of the sort once used by backstreet 'tape-to-disc' firms advertising in the small ads of hi-fi mags, is somewhat smaller and more manageable than the better-known monsters made by Scully and Neumann.

Like the 'big boys', though, this Connoisseur - yours for two grand! - is equipped with a massive platter and parallel-tracking cutter head. It will however need offboard equipment...and servicing.


Jostling for floor-space with dusty cassette decks and integrated amps was this Technics SL7, an early '80s linear-tracker with quartz-locked direct-driven platter.

Easy to use, this turntable is little bigger than an LP and can be wall-mounted or used vertically. It may not sound quite as good as an expensive audiophile disc-spinner, but even today the SL7 can impress...the practicality and convenience factors can however sway even serious listeners in its favour.

The seller told me he didn't know if the deck was working or not, but suspected it needed - at the very least - a service. OK, this particular SL7 was fitted with an Ortofon OMP 5E MM cart rather than one of Technics' own revered designs - but I considered that, even with a couple of scuffs visible, it was well worth the £30 asking price...especially as nothing appeared to be missing.

As SL7s in good working order can fetch over £200 these days, I decided to take a punt...and guess what? After getting it home, I found it worked perfectly! It will indeed require a service at some point, though; grease tends to 'dry up' over time, impeding the tonearm's travel.