toomanyrecords Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I had a store check out my lady's PS-X60 automatic turntable todayBACKSTORY: Got a turntable on craigs, said it was working perfectly. Take it home, it sounds good but pops and clicks on the needle so I replaced it with one that my friend who knows this stuff recommended. After doing that, her records started having all sorts of weird vibrato on the vocals so I tried to reseat the needle, did nothing. Tried to adjust the counterweight, couldn't get the arm to float for some reason on the finicky automatic table. Went to the store, and guy took a look at it. Older gentleman, super friendly, not a record tech but used to DJ and works in a record store so he knows a thing or two. He balanced the tonearm effortlessly, and then tried to play it. WEIRD STUFF HAPPENED. The 45 he played, played perfectly. He put on a 33, though, and it played with a warped wobbly sound. The fuck?He assumed it was either-The motor-Some connection between the 45/33 setting not being clean Any ideas? He also said the record cleaning shops in the area are all really pricey and it'd probably cost 100-150 to fix it, if it's the motor. She totally doesn't have that money. We spent 80 on this guy, and now we don't know what to do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billya Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 If it sounds warped it could be a problem with the belt. The fact that it worked fine for 45s makes me think that may not be the case, though. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajhall04 Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I had a similar table that would play 45's perfectly, then would struggle to even move any 12" record. Replaced the belt, but turned out to be the motor. I hope for a cheaper and better result for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Put the original cart back on. Pops and clicks aren't the cartridges fault. That's static and dirt on the record. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 As ajxd said above put the original cart back in After that if you are not capable of working on it yourself you need to find someone who will work on it for you for less money. It was a well made table in it's day so worth spending a bit of time on and taking it to a proper repair shop It's a direct drive table so there is no belt to wear and it's probably no more than dirty speed adjustor’s or that they need setting. If I’m right it's a simple problem and none of it is that difficult if you have the know how but it's quite a complex beast and the speed adjustment is not a simple circuit so you need to have the know how before you attempt anything on it. The owners and service manuals are available on Vinyl Engine so if you don't have a login there set one up as they are free to download and give them to whoever you get to work on it and good luck. Requiescat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toomanyrecords Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 I'm the least handy person ever so I'd be too worried to open it up and try to fix it myself And I didn't change the cartridge, I just changed the little snap on piece with the needle (is that the stylus? I always get confused with that terminology) ... the same record had no pops and cracks on the new needle that it did with the original one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the6nightmares Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 If the player works as it should on one speed setting, but not on the other- as this is a direct drive unit, leads me to believe it is something with the motor. This may be a minor concern and easily cleaned, or a motor that is going bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toomanyrecords Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 Is there a way to clean it for an inept hardware noob like myself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Requiescat Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Kess, I've done my fair share of restoration work on old receivers, tables, and whatnot. Sounds to me like you have an issue with the motor or the speed control, but it's hard to say without seeing it first hand. A motor can be replaced cheaply if you can do it yourself assuming that's actually the issue. You could also have some bad components (eg caps) that might be causing issue since it's an automatic table which is why I say it might be a speed control issue. Again, hard to say without looking at it myself. My best suggestion is if you only paid $80 for it is attempt to find an experienced tech to fix it. Your friend is right though that service will cost at least $100 and potentially more (a replacement motor will likely be $30-50 by itself if you can find a source for a new one). Most people charge around $50 just for a "bench fee" to diagnose it and then would roll that cost into any repair if you wanted that done at the same time. You're probably easily looking at more than you paid for the table for service and because that's what I consider a "low end" table with little real value your best bet might be just re-selling it on eBay and using the money to put towards a new or used table in working order. If it were me, I'd likely just sell it for parts on eBay. Sometimes on cheap tables like this you need to just cut your losses. I know that's not the solution you were looking for but might be your best cost effective option. Hope that helps at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toomanyrecords Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 It helps a lot! Unfortunately that was the solution we thought of. Selling it and starting over. Wonder how much I can get for it despite (potential broken motor) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heypeterman Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 If it's the original SH-165 headshell, they sell for around the same price as you paid for the turntable. The turntable is definitely worth the repair though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Difficult one this. As others have said it's impossible to diagnose a problem without the thing in front of you but from experience I doubt there is much wrong. For the motor to die it meeds to be very poor quality or to have been badly abused and Sony for all their faults won't have fitted a low quality motor. Electrolytic capacitors as has been suggested by rspkt in the speed control and power supply sections on the other hand are a likely culprit, I still feel it's probably the two speed control pots as one of the two speeds is ok, looking at the service manual they are not used to set the speed but to adjust the reference frequency and you need an oscilloscope to set it up correctly.All that said it's still a guess on my part and it is a twin wound motor so potentially it could be any of the above. The major issue though is that you don't have the knowledge to attack it yourself so are reliant on others and without the basic knowledge yourself to know if the person looking at it has an idea of what they are doing you are a bit stuck. Yes you can just sell it on as spares or repair as there is always someone who thinks they can fix it but I also think it's worth spending some time and money on if you can fine someone locally who is competent and cheap enough to look at it for you. It's definitely worth downloading the manuals from Vinyl Engine as they are free and it will help the person who works on it no end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toomanyrecords Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 Cool. I will see if maybe there's someone on craigslist who can diagnose the problem for free and fix it for cheap if there is one, otherwise... selling it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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