An Embarrassment of Riches at Vinyl Nirvana

I stopped by the Vinyl Nirvana website today and was surprised at how many worthy vintage turntables David Archimbault had for sale. As you probably already know, David is one of the leading restoration specialists in the US, and he always has a handful of AR, Thorens and Merrill TTs on sale. But this ridiculous...I could easily own any one of these and be deliriously happy.

First up is this rare red AR The Turntable, which David has dubbed "The Spitfire," with an SME arm and an M-H speed control. This is just $1895 plus shipping.

Next he has a Merrill Heirloom turntable with a Linn Akito arm for just $1495 plus shipping. This is one of the early Merrills, which were based on heavily-modified AR designs. George Merrill went on to make more ambitious designs, many of which are considered the finest turntables ever made.

This one really caught my eye--it's a customized Thorens TD-150 with a tiger maple plinth and an armboard that's made from tiger's maple but stained red. It's stunningly beautiful, especially those dovetail joints. It's just $995 plus shipping and comes with the legendary Rega RB-300 arm.

Finally we have a gorgeous Thorens TD-160 with a perfect African mahogany plinth crafted by David's own plinth-maker. This is about as mint as a TD-160 gets. It comes with a Rega RB-251 tonearm and is just $1295 plus shipping.

David has a few others available such as a beautifully restored AR-XA for $325 plus arm, a Thorens TD-150 with another beautiful custom base and a nearly mint AR ES-1 with a walnut base. You can see them all here. Amazing gear, David, as usual!