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Top rated Japanese turntable from 70’s ideas please

Amber Audio

Amber Audio

This is the Day
Hi

I’m after building a classic system from when I was a kid and could only window shop and paw through the glossy brochures from Sony, Pioneer et al, starting with the TT

Budget is flexible but for a starting point say circa £1K ex Cart

I like the idea of a DD, S shaped arm, what would be a good place to start looking?

Not Technics.

Thanks

Gus
 
Trouble is, beyond Technic's SP10, they're largely not available. I was lucky and got a NOS Sony TTS8000, looks fantastic and still smells of 70's hi-fi shop, different to an SP-10, jury's out if its better.

If you want an integrated deck, Sony 6750's do crop up. I'd recommend that for faff free tunes. Carbon fibre, S shaped wand :D
 
Easy, Pioneer PL-570...

mifyhkdmx5ahmmbmy36b.jpg
 
I like my Yamaha YP-D9.. it’s actually a Micro Seiki arm with (I think) a JVC DD motor setup, but hey.
 
My two favorites are Micro Seiki and Connoisseur..........I know, the last one is not Japanese but it looks similar though ! :D
 
Amber Audio said:
That looks a serious contender, has the type of looks I’m after, thanks
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There are, of course, many choices out there, however, your post reminded me of my lusting after the PL-570 when it first came out. When I finally got a full-time job saving for uni, I eventually lowered my sights and bought the entry model PL-112D belt-drive. I did max that out with a Shure M95ED with 0.2 x 0.7mil tip on what is essentially the same tonearm, though. I recall the Shure retailing for $75. which was a lot to spend on a cartridge back then. Happy days!
 
Craig B said:
There are, of course, many choices out there, however, your post reminded me of my lusting after the PL-570 when it first came out. When I finally got a full-time job saving for uni, I eventually lowered my sights and bought the entry model PL-112D belt-drive. I did max that out with a Shure M95ED with 0.2 x 0.7mil tip on what is essentially the same tonearm, though. I recall the Shure retailing for $75. which was a lot to spend on a cartridge back then. Happy days!
Click to expand...
School Pal had one of those 112Ds, I ended up with an Ariston RD80 when I was 18, I’d bought into the Brit Fi propaganda at the time, it was a nice deck though.

I helped my financial advisor get his old 70’s system up and running recently, PL-12D/Rotel/Kef - thinking about it that’s probably what sparked this thread off.
 
I have a Sony ps-2250, it's a great performer and I love the piano key controls. The bearing is reputed to be awesome.
1994921-sony-ps2250-w-sme-3009-s2-improved-fixed-headshell.jpg

I also have a Marantz 6300 which is a bit more bling. The auto stop function is optical and only lifts the arm, so there's no mechanism attached while it is playing.
1271574-marantz-6300-turntable.jpg

The denon decks have their own unique style, I've never owned one.
denon1.jpg

I also used to own the pioneer above. They are all nice but I like the Sony most. I built a new plinth for it and fitted a 12" arm with denon 110. It has a neutral detailed sound.
 
Some lovely DD decks about but, as with any electrical item of this age, it’s important to make sure that everything is working as it should. When I was looking for one a few years ago it seemed that Denon decks fared a little bit worse than most due to issues with the speed control. Sony, Marantz, Denon and Sony have been mentioned, also check out the rare but very nice Sansui 838 and 929 and some models by JVC.
 
cubastreet said:
I have a Sony ps-2250, it's a great performer and I love the piano key controls. The bearing is reputed to be awesome.
1994921-sony-ps2250-w-sme-3009-s2-improved-fixed-headshell.jpg
Click to expand...

The Sony is lovely, but who the hell rebuilt that poor 3009 S2 Imp? Check out the direction of the bias rod! The yoke is on the wrong way round! Amazingly it is not the first time I’ve seen someone do this either! It would obviously turn ‘anti-skate’ into ‘more-skate’...
 
Amber Audio said:
School Pal had one of those 112Ds, I ended up with an Ariston RD80 when I was 18, I’d bought into the Brit Fi propaganda at the time, it was a nice deck though.

I helped my financial advisor get his old 70’s system up and running recently, PL-12D/Rotel/Kef - thinking about it that’s probably what sparked this thread off.
Click to expand...

Most of the decks mentioned here would comfortably see-off a 112D. The 570 was rather better than a Rega Planar 3 though no match for a Systemdek 111/Nima. The great thing with it is that with a Denon 160 it can really boogie with a big, bold sound.
 
Sony PS-8750
Yamaha GT-1000 (No, it's not a 2000 but you'll be extraordinarily lucky to get one of those for £1k!)
Micro Seiki DQX-1000
Pioneer PL-50LII
 
Which fully automatic DD TTs are held in high esteem amongst PFM'ers? I scored a Pioneer PL-550 for free when I collected the SX-1250 I bought on eBay about 15 years ago, but I was never brave enough to put a decent cart on it as I'm heavy handed and the 550 isn't fully automatic like the 45F. I have an AT440ML on the Denon and an AT95 on the Pioneer. As such I've never been able to pit the two tables head-to-head in a fair comparison to see which one is better. The Denon spanks the Pioneer IMO but I don't know how much this is due to the table and how much is due to the cart. A used AT440MLb came up for sale recently at a decent price that I duly bought, meaning I'll finally be able to do said comparison, but I'm still keen to hear others' views.

701d2f2a032cb00347ec46749b441a06.jpg


Pioneer-PL-550.jpg
 
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divedeepdog said:
If you want an integrated deck, Sony 6750's do crop up. I'd recommend that for faff free tunes. Carbon fibre, S shaped wand :D
Click to expand...

+1. The 8750 is, apparently, even better but rarely seen. Similar path to yours I've put together a retro system over the past year with the Sony PS6750 plus TA5650 V-Fet integrated and ST3950 tuner. To complete the look I'd love to get my hands on a Sony dedicated rack SU1700 but not holding out too much hope on that ever happening.
 
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