in 2012 I bought it, together with 2 other friends.
we travelled to Japan to the ELP factory to listen to them with the view to buy a unit each if the sound is satisfactory.
we were welcomed by Mr Chiba to the sound demo room where he demonstrated 2 models - standard and hi-res model.
all 3 of us ordered 1 unit each upon return.
i ordered the hi-res version, while my 2 friends ordered the standard version.
all 3 units were delivered to me first, so that i can do a check of all their operations for my friends.
i tested the standard unit first for Richard, who owns a CD/vinyl store. he intended to use it to make non-destructive demos of vinyl.
the other friend, johnson, the lucky fellow, he got sent a hi-res model by mistake.
(chiba informed us by email, but he did not asked for the extra payment).
i next tested the hi-res unit that was designated to me.
it worked and sounded perfect. (sounded much better than the standard model)
i then tested the unit for johnson. about a week into the test, suddenly, while it was playing a record halfway, i heard a loud pop.
i took the record out to inspect whether was there any debris on the vinyl surface and couldn't really see any.
i put back the record and it wouldn't be played anymore.
in the end we had to send it back to Chiba to check it.
i gave my original unit to Johnson and waited for the other to be repaired and returned to me.
it had performed well ever since.
sometime around 2021 while shifting the unit to another room, i accidentally knocked it on the wooden audio rack.
it refused to play any disk afterwards.
in 2023 i sent the unit to Japan to get it repaired and upgraded to the LT-Master version.
That was when i was told Mr Chiba had "disappeared" in 2016.
His heir ( a nephew) now in charge of the company allowed me to trade in and get a brand new LT-Master unit.
It operated perfectly. Actually better - in the sense that when doing the disk calibration, the whole process is smoother.
the sound is better too.
i couldn't be happier.
just 2 months ago, after more than a year, while playing, i heard a loud "pop" sound.
when i tried to play the disk again, i found the sound somehow "different"
i tried to re-calibrate it but the "different" sound stayed the same.
over next few weeks i tried re-calibration each time after playing some disks, but it just doesn't sound like how I originally received it.
there seems to be some distortion creeping in progressively.
i think i might have to send it in again.
despite these problems, overall, i think i have no regrets having the 2 ELP turntables.
they have given great sound performances time and time again with a wide variety of music genres.
i have encountered some disks that cannot be read properly - like all 3 copies of the OST From Dusk Till Dawn (MOV pressing)
and coloured vinyl of course.
the later mofi 1step records starting from Simon/Garfunkle Sounds of Silence (semi translucent) cannot be read.
Mofi Santana Abraxas 1step is ok.
if you ask me now would i buy the ELP player again - my answer is YES.
