Vintage Turntable Thread

[slinch]

I currently use a RB300 and no matter how hard I try, I cannot find a valid reason to replace it. 

[allenh]

The RB300 is a superb arm for the money, the only reason I sold mine was it was the only fit I had for the turntable I was selling at the time, I didn't worry too much as they are so common here that I thought I would pick up another if I needed.

I found it superb with low to medium spec carts and really got the best out of them but struggled to get the best out of the higher end MC carts.

That said a rewire with Cardas wire helps no end on that score and is an easy cheap upgrade if you are at all handy.

[slinch]

Mine is actually a Clearaudio OEM model, wired with their Sixstream cable. So this means that pretty much the biggest drawback of the RB300 is eliminated. I'm by no means saying that there aren't better arms out there for reasonable amounts of cash, but there are many parts of my system I'd have to upgrade before the RB300.

[allenh]

I've not heard one with that cable in and going on the clearaudio products I have heard I would expect it to be upto their usual standard.

Yes there are better arms but it's difficult to better at the price.

I know what you mean about not needing to upgrade from it because once you have one at the price it's what all the competition is measured against.

I've only managed to better the RB300 I had because I have picked up better at a very good price or have bought things that are paid for out of the profit made out of something else making them cheaper.

[allenh]

Picked up a Pioneer PL-550 today and I think it's a keeper.

 

Anyone else have or had one? I'm a bit of a sucker for Pioneer kit of this vintage which comes from a love of the component in car stuff from the late 70's to the late 80's.

 

Mine's in timewarp condition and I'm listening to it now, I have to say it does look the dogs nadgers as well as sound very nice. It has an Ortofon VMS20E Mkii in it that seems in good condition, I'm going to run it for a bit and then fit a nice MC in it to see how it copes.

 

I'll post a picture tomorrow in the daylight.

[heypeterman]

I had a PL-530 that I loved but was always looking for something with quartz lock and VTA adjustment. I wanted to stay with Pioneer but I found a Sony PS-X60 that I couldn't pass up. The PL-530/550/570 are sweet looking turntables! 

[allenh]

The 550 has quartz lock and VTA adjustment, yes I agree without at least the VTA adjustement I think I would be shifting it on pretty quickly. The 550 has a totaly different arm to the 530 and the quartz lock on this one is as stable as a rock so I'm suitably pleased with it.

[David Loyd]

EPIC.. this thing has an 8 track player and everything works. $17 is worth picking this up for a working 8 track player alone dont you think?

 

[ajxd]

No.

[ajxd]

That's the equivalent of a Crosley.

[bearchuck]

Alright.  I'm back in.  At least for the moment.

 

I've always been a cheerleader of sorts for vintage gear: most of it is affordable, fun and a great introduction to the hobby if you're willing to put in the time and research.  And if you're a tweaker or interested in how things tick, vintage equipment offers a relatively low-risk platform to experiment and discover what type of principles go into making a quality turntable.

 

Additionally, there's a welcoming community of vintage lovers out there who are more than willing to offer wisdom and guidance when it comes to restoration and repair.

 

Having said that, I'm starting to come around to modern gear, and these days I get less and less excited about someone scoring a sweet rummage sale deal on a vintage Pioneer or Technics. Nothing against it; I'm just tired of hearing about some solid-but-not-spectacular daily driver ... unless of course you've hot-rodded that daily driver the fuck out.

 

Obviously there are exceptions to the rule, and there are still a few vintage decks that I'd love to own or at least test drive for a week or two.

 

With that in mind, I think that my advice to newbies has shifted somewhat.  If you've got $300 - $400 in your pocket and you're weighing your options, I think that vintage is still quite viable.  I mean, I know that the Carbons are great for what they are, but they're also kinda boring, and you can get a lot of bang for your buck in the vintage world ... providing you know what you're looking for.  If you appreciate the thrill of the hunt, the aesthetics and the challenge of bringing a 60's or 70's era turntable up to spec, then I would seriously consider going the vintage route.  If you're not into the hassle, then by all means, grab yourself an entry level Rega or Pro-Ject.

 

On a personal note, in the future if I have a big chunk of change to spend on a turntable, it's going to be new / modern.  I might consider a highly-modded Thorens with a sweet tonearm or maybe a Garrard 301, but with a few thousand dollars burning a hole in my pocket, I'm headed for a VPI or Well Tempered.  I've owned and heard my fair share of vintage decks, and while most of them had plenty to offer, I can't really see myself going down that road again.

[David Loyd]

That's the equivalent of a Crosley.

Haha I wouldn't play records on it. Just a conversation piece. Maybe pick up some 8 tracks just for the hell of it.

[jtcohenour]

EPIC.. this thing has an 8 track player and everything works. $17 is worth picking this up for a working 8 track player alone dont you think?

 

 

I have a similar unit made by Zenith that my grandpa gave me.  I use it in the garage.  I picked up a few cassettes that I play in it but I don't use the TT.

[allenh]

I've got a recordable Akai four channel 8 track up in the loft, toyed with the idea of using that a while back but never have, it will probably end up on ebay next clear out.

 

Over here we get plenty of the B&O music centre's, they look the part but are definately an example of form over function, cost someone an absolute fortune back in the 70's which is why people hang onto them but a real pain to work on. You don't see many of the ilk of that Seville beastie though now, not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.

 

I used a B&O to get a turntable allowed into the lounge by the ex wife one Christmas many years ago, it passed the wife test but that's about all, that said I still have the B&O and wife the 2nd is a bit more accomodating when it comes to my vinyl obsession.

[allenh]

Here are a couple of pictures of the Pioneer PL-550 I got yesterday. I got it in a deal with a friend who has a 2md hand shop doing records and hifi, stuff went both ways so i'm not sure what it owes me yet.

 

I'm in two minds whether to dive in and do things like rewire the tone arm with decent wire and look at the electronics as it's in such nice original condition. I have an Optonica that I bought back from the US and I did rewire the arm and rebuild the electronics and am very happy with the results but then that had the odd leaky capacitor in it so really needed to be done.

 

Bearchuck I agree with you on most of that but some of the vintage stuff now has a price tag way above it's ability. The problem is hype takes hold and some things get a reverence from people who really wanted to own an item when it was new but have never actually owned one and this drives the price up. There are quite a few bits of hifi I've owned that I couldn't sell quick enough purely because the hype behind them meant it was worth a lot more to me in money value than listening value. I'm not saying a lot of this kit isnt a legend for a reason but the drive to own it drives the price more than it's actual ability.

 

 

 

 

[jtcohenour]

I really love the look of this TT.

[pamfletty]

Very nice looking table!

[bearchuck]

Here are a couple of pictures of the Pioneer PL-550 I got yesterday. I got it in a deal with a friend who has a 2md hand shop doing records and hifi, stuff went both ways so i'm not sure what it owes me yet.

 

I'm in two minds whether to dive in and do things like rewire the tone arm with decent wire and look at the electronics as it's in such nice original condition. I have an Optonica that I bought back from the US and I did rewire the arm and rebuild the electronics and am very happy with the results but then that had the odd leaky capacitor in it so really needed to be done.

 

Bearchuck I agree with you on most of that but some of the vintage stuff now has a price tag way above it's ability. The problem is hype takes hold and some things get a reverence from people who really wanted to own an item when it was new but have never actually owned one and this drives the price up. There are quite a few bits of hifi I've owned that I couldn't sell quick enough purely because the hype behind them meant it was worth a lot more to me in money value than listening value. I'm not saying a lot of this kit isnt a legend for a reason but the drive to own it drives the price more than it's actual ability.

 

 

 

 

That is a pretty looking machine, no doubt.  The fact of the matter is that if I had more time / money / space, I'd probably be much more prone to picking up more vintage decks on a whim.  Like I said, they're fun to play around with, there's a lot of variety to chose from and each offers something different to explore.

 

It's true that the price seems to be inflated on some of these Pioneers and Technics, but I'm okay with that.  If you really want a PL-550, and you can afford it, I say that you should make yourself happy.  Just understand and accept that you might be paying more than what it's worth from a performance standpoint.

 

On the other side of the coin, there are still plenty of vintage tables that punch well above their weight class.  As with all things in this hobby, people just need to do their research ... and of course there's no substitution for actually being able to listen to a variety of turntables.

[allenh]

That is a pretty looking machine, no doubt.  The fact of the matter is that if I had more time / money / space, I'd probably be much more prone to picking up more vintage decks on a whim.  Like I said, they're fun to play around with, there's a lot of variety to chose from and each offers something different to explore.

 

It's true that the price seems to be inflated on some of these Pioneers and Technics, but I'm okay with that.  If you really want a PL-550, and you can afford it, I say that you should make yourself happy.  Just understand and accept that you might be paying more than what it's worth from a performance standpoint.

 

On the other side of the coin, there are still plenty of vintage tables that punch well above their weight class.  As with all things in this hobby, people just need to do their research ... and of course there's no substitution for actually being able to listen to a variety of turntables.

 

Yes I agree entirely and was trying to make a similar point but in my case was talking about the more European stuff, the point stands though no matter where the market is just because hype takes hold of a particular item, Hong Kong and China have an enormous thirst for all things British, simple supply and demand I know but in that example things like the Garrard 301's and 401's and LS3/5a speakers go for very high amounts and value like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The Garrard's are superb turntables but can you spend less and get a better sounding turntable, I think so but that's only my opinion and I'm sure someone who spends a fortune on one would disagree, that said the things that make up it's price are visual as well as sonic so if it looks better to you than the cheaper but nicer sounding alternative that may sway your decision, I've had a few of both and have sold them all, I like them but not enough to keep them. I don't think they are anywhere near the worst though in the price against ability question.

 

Sadly things like that Pioneer don't seem to have as much of a following over here and the vast majority of the far eastern produced stuff of the period can be a bit sneered on by the hifi cognoscenti in Europe.

Although I have a mountain of hifi I have an allergy to spending a lot of money on it (the Yorkshire war cry kicks in "OW BLOODY MUCH?") so I tend to buy and sell my way up to things.

As an example with that Pioneer the guy wanted £100 as a cash value but let me have it for £90 as a trade value, he's a friend and it was part of a deal where equipment was moving in both directions so I reckon it probably owes me £30 and £30 on a whim I'm happy with. I see them sell for between £150 and £200 here but vary rarely so don't know how accurate that is and to be honest it's monetary value isn't it's value to me, I like it so will keep and use it.

 

The great thing about the vintage stuff for me is you can luck into a gem, or not and those lessons need to be learnt from, but it is all a learning process which for me is part of the interest and there is so much out there to learn from.

 

You are absolutely right research with this stuff is the key and listening to it is the best research there is, so if you buy a bit of vintage kit for X and don't like it you sell it, sometimes you sell it for X minus a bit and that to me is where in a roundabout way you are paying for that research but you are forming an opinion of what you like and don't like along the way. And as you get better at it you then tend to sell it for X plus a bit so the research pays off.

[jtcohenour]

I'm almost finished restoring my 1963 RCA console stereo w/ turntable.  Here is a pic of the nearly finished product.

 

[TaxiDriver]

I caught the bug for vinyl again after about a 2 year hiatus and wanted to get a better turntable than I had before. I had an old Magnavox all-in-one stereo with a turntable equivalent to a Crosley. I finally found this Technics SL-D2 for a decent price locally. It's vintage right? 

I put a Shure M97xe on it. Cleaned it up and spent three hours buffing and polishing the dust cover with Turtle Wax rubbing compound (for the big scratches) and then finished it off with Meguiars Plastx. I think it turned out great!

[jtcohenour]

Finished my vintage console stereo restoration today.  Here is a pic.

 

[jtcohenour]

I caught the bug for vinyl again after about a 2 year hiatus and wanted to get a better turntable than I had before. I had an old Magnavox all-in-one stereo with a turntable equivalent to a Crosley. I finally found this Technics SL-D2 for a decent price locally. It's vintage right? 

I put a Shure M97xe on it. Cleaned it up and spent three hours buffing and polishing the dust cover with Turtle Wax rubbing compound (for the big scratches) and then finished it off with Meguiars Plastx. I think it turned out great!

 

Nice

[mcguirk]

Polished the shit out of my Thorens TD166 MKII's outer platter.

As a reference, the sides were almost as dull and oxidized as the top!

I used the venerable Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish with a beefy microfiber cloth -- rough on one side, smooth on the other. Then I threw a new buffing wheel on my Dremel and had at it. I finished off with a thin layer of furniture wax because I didn't have proper sealant wax handy. I'll have to re-polish and wax in a month or two, but it will be a lot easier.

[allenh]

Finished my vintage console stereo restoration today.  Here is a pic.

 

Nice

 

My dad has a Tube Zenith that is like new.

 

 

I caught the bug for vinyl again after about a 2 year hiatus and wanted to get a better turntable than I had before. I had an old Magnavox all-in-one stereo with a turntable equivalent to a Crosley. I finally found this Technics SL-D2 for a decent price locally. It's vintage right? 

I put a Shure M97xe on it. Cleaned it up and spent three hours buffing and polishing the dust cover with Turtle Wax rubbing compound (for the big scratches) and then finished it off with Meguiars Plastx. I think it turned out great!

 

That will definitely do a better job than your old one, and nice job on the polishing, I have quite a few here you can do if you fancy it.

 

Polished the shit out of my Thorens TD166 MKII's outer platter.

As a reference, the sides were almost as dull and oxidized as the top!

I used the venerable Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish with a beefy microfiber cloth -- rough on one side, smooth on the other. Then I threw a new buffing wheel on my Dremel and had at it. I finished off with a thin layer of furniture wax because I didn't have proper sealant wax handy. I'll have to re-polish and wax in a month or two, but it will be a lot easier.

 

Looks pretty but there is a downside, you have to keep doing it now and don't touch it with your fingers you can watch the prints 33 revs a minute when you play an LP