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Pioneer PL-71 help

J

julesd68

pfm Member
I have just got my hands on a Pioneer PL-71 deck from the USA, which appears to be in very nice condition :D Breaking the news to the mrs, not so good :eek:

I am very excited about being able to play vinyl again - it has been over 10 years!! Wasn't so happy about getting clobbered for VAT and import duty - didn't know they existed for second-hand items ...

I have a few questions about the deck but am also thinking that doing the deck set-up is just a little beyond me and I could really do with some help. Is there anyone close to Highgate in North London who could help me set-up the tone-arm and cartridge?? I would be so grateful - to be honest I can't really afford to take it to a dealer and want to make sure I get it right. I don't know what tools are required to set-up the arm and cart, but I have downloaded a manual to help.

The cartridge is a Stanton 680EE - does anyone know if it's any good? I have a Nagaoka MP-10 cart with an MP-11 stylus that can take its place if not up to scratch. This would do until I can buy something more exotic.

I need to run a phono cable from the deck to my Cambridge Audio 640P and this needs to have a ground wire. Excuse my ignorance but I haven't come across this before - where should I find such a cable and what's it called?

The manual says that the line voltage can be changed to 240V by means of a selector inside the deck so that should be ok, but what do I do with the US mains plug? Can I simply put a UK plug on it?

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can give.
 
I visit London a lot. If you get no joy from someone local I could set it up for you. Use the Nagaoka cart. I can supply the earth wire to you as well.
 
Welcome to PL-71 ownership.

For 120V to 240v conversion as you say you just more one wire along the terminal board. I stored the full service manual with these details on the Vinyl Engine forum. Yes just cut the 2 pin plug off and put a uk plug on.
Alt you could use a Maplin 100W 120 - 240V converter £14.99. I used one for a few months and there was no change in sound to converting the deck and not using it.

The PL-71 arm is very versatile. From low compliance Denon 103's and Spu's to higher compliance - all seem to work well.

I would use as good a cart as you can afford.

Ground wire just earths the deck to reduce hum - you can extend that with any wire really - Green/yellow mains earth wire from Maplin or any old mains cable you cut up would be fine - crimped connectors or twist the stripped copper ends together and tape would also work as a bodge.

This is a good thread and I have put pics of the pot changes and caps changes I made (needed if you have fluctuating speed - or are a compulsive fiddler)
http://www.vinylengine.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=13206
 
Welcome to PL-71 ownership.

For 120V to 240v conversion as you say you just more one wire along the terminal board. I stored the full service manual with these details on the Vinyl Engine forum.
http://www.vinylengine.com/library/pioneer/pl-71.shtml
Yes just cut the 2 pin plug off and put a uk plug on.
Alt you could use a Maplin 100W 120 - 240V converter £14.99. I used one for a few months and there was no change in sound to converting the deck and not using it.

The PL-71 arm is very versatile. From low compliance Denon 103's and Spu's to higher compliance - all seem to work well.

I would use as good a cart as you can afford.

Ground wire just earths the deck to reduce hum - you can extend that with any wire really - Green/yellow mains earth wire from Maplin or any old mains cable you cut up would be fine - crimped connectors or twist the stripped copper ends together and tape would also work as a bodge.

This is a good thread and I have put pics of the pot changes and caps changes I made (needed if you have fluctuating speed - or are a compulsive fiddler)
http://www.vinylengine.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=13206
 
After much work (and a few wrong turns ;)) I got the deck going. Speed is spot on and it seems to run perfect; but.........

The headshell is bent so the VTA is totally wrong even with the arm raised as high as possible.

The 'Stilton' bodied MP10/11 is a bit weird. I have recommended an AT95e and a new headshell be bought before serious listening commences.
 
flatpopely said:
The 'Stilton' bodied MP10/11 is a bit weird.
Click to expand...

That's where you're going wrong Andrew. Surely everyone knows you can't make a serious vinyl reproduction system out of coagulated dairy products.:rolleyes:

I don't know, the standard of advice on this forum is shocking sometimes.:D
 
stevec67 said:
That's where you're going wrong Andrew. Surely everyone knows you can't make a serious vinyl reproduction system out of coagulated dairy products.:rolleyes:

I don't know, the standard of advice on this forum is shocking sometimes.:D
Click to expand...

Make it stop..............
 
flatpopely said:
After much work (and a few wrong turns ;)) I got the deck going. Speed is spot on and it seems to run perfect; but.........

The headshell is bent so the VTA is totally wrong even with the arm raised as high as possible.

The 'Stilton' bodied MP10/11 is a bit weird. I have recommended an AT95e and a new headshell be bought before serious listening commences.
Click to expand...

Massive thanks to Andrew (Flatpopely) for taking the time to help me with the deck! An absolute gentleman, it was a pleasure meeting him.

The deck is in really good condition inside and out, so I'm going to finish Andrew's hard work and persevere to make sure that I get it 100%. The Pioneer tonearm is beautifully made so I'm looking forward to getting a more exotic cart on it when funds allow - a Denon 110 would seem to be the first step up the ladder.

It's funny that even whilst the deck is not quite running to its full potential, we could hear that it was superior in some areas to my Consonance cdp which I do rate highly. It's going to be great fun rediscovering my record collection.
 
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