I wanted to thank you for making this video. I appreciate your sincerity and your apparent desire to simply be helpful. Great job, keep enjoying the hobby. Regards, Dave

Here in the EastEnd of London I have just enjoyed your review. Being an audio file for 60 years. I am a vinyl freak. I have been using a Linn Sondek LP12 for 40 years. Recently I have acquired a Pink Triangle turntable and a Thorens TD160. Thank goodness my grandson is now using vinyl.

80s kid here who listened to cassettes during the 80s then went to CDs about mid 90s. So, decided to get a turntable, JVC JL A21 from 1982. Vinyl sounds nice, I won't say it's better than CD, it isn't but yet it brings something different and I appreciate the sound of it.

"Those were dark times" - Love your dry sense of humor. I love my mid-70's family-owned, fully automatic Kenwood KD-5070 with quartz plinth. Oroton Bronze stylus and cartridge.

5 years ago, my brother sent me his Pro-ject spare turn table to help get me back into the 'hobby'. I'm very thankful to have a turntable back in my life again, but I do miss my old BIC from my youth. It was fully automatic, and you could even que up multiple records and it would drop them one at a time (when it worked). I'm re-discovering my old collection, and finding a few surprises along the way, like the wrong record stuffed into an album, and empty albums. I've even found a note from my brother written decades ago- "Stop stealing my records, you owe me this one". I didn't like the Kim Carnes very much, so I never found his note until now!

Another Pioneer man here. Use a PL 530 that I bought new. Hundreds of albums. Went CD but records and turntable remained with the rest of the systen nothing went to a attic or basement, records always stood up. Treated properly equipment can last a long time.

I just bought a Technics SL-1410 mk2 .....really enjoying it and it looks classic

I Hope this story makes you smile, I,m 60,when I was 4 ,I could not leave my parents stereo be, absolutely enthralled , we had a record playing night most Saturdays ,where we would play my parents records, artists such as Pet Clarke, Sounds Incorporated, Cyril Stapleton, Joe loss....As time went on,and despite me finding their records no matter how they hid them,they ended up giving me all their records and the stereo, around early 70,s...........The rest is history, at my peak[1990,s] I owed over 5000 lp,s and 45,s.

I liked the video and I have some of the same experiences. I have bought more than turntables over the past 5 to 6 years. The prices varied from about $10,- for a Dual 1009, to over about $700,- for a Kenwood 5021 (with idler wheel and belt). They all needed repair, and once repaired they will break down again. When I buy them now, I often go straight for the broken ones. At least the seller is more realistic or honest. All in all it is a great hobby and the repairing is part of it.

Having been born in 1965 I can relate to most things you said in your video! I got the bug back around 10 years ago. Me I’m a JVC man through and through. My dad had a tv and radio shop when I was a youngster and sold a lot of JVC so I find myself today collecting the high end stuff I could only drool over as a kid. Drives my partner wild 😂 Nothing can beat the electromechanical experience of playing a piece of vinyl. Great video👍

Yep, no shame in fully auto. My Dual 1219 works perfectly, every, single, time.

I bought a manual Technics Sl 1800 MK2 last year. Very similar to the famous 1200 mk2, but has suspension. Sounds very good.

I love this guy's condescending style! Seriously, it's a little off- putting at first but it grew on me and 5 min into it I get it...quite entertaining and full of good advice.

Love the Phase Linear 4 channel Preamp behind you...Well deserved...

You and I have much in common with regard to electronics, audio and a mutual enjoyment of music done well. I own DSM Labs and do a lot of work with tube receivers but also micro-controllers to keep my digital skills steady. Enjoy your channel. !

Speaking of idler. I have a Lenco L75 and L78. Modified with a carbon fibre wand 👌 and a centre platter bearing with a plinth, it's a great sounding turntable. Lenco only has a capacitor. The servicing of the vblocks and the idler wheel 🛞 is fairly straightforward.

I have a Thorens TD320 with a Denon DL103D, connected to a Yamaha C45 preamp :) Love it. Everything is vintage now, but so am I. I was an electronics service engineer, radio/tv repairman, for many years. And still likes fiddling with equipment from the "golden age" Greetings from Norway

Thanks, for the vid! My wife kept all her vinyl she acquired over the 80s and 90s and I kept most of mine (maybe >600 albums) so I bought a new ProJect Debut III about 15 years ago and we were disappointed with the result. It just couldn't match the sound quality from digital sources so we only played records occasionally for nostalgia reasons. About five years ago, I bought a near top of the range Music Hall MMF7 (second hand) to try to fix the problem. That wasn't any better. Finally, I accidentally bought a Technics SL1100 for next to nothing in a Yahoo auction (I put in a cheeky low bid and got it) mostly because I've always been curious about direct drive tables and I loved their look. It didn't come with a cartridge so I also bought an old AT13e cartridge on a Technics head shell. The deck was not in great condition so I didn't have high hopes but I backed myself to be able to fix or replace components. I'm glad I did. I replaced the electrolytic caps and the bulb and tested it out and things sounded promising (ie better than my other deck). So then I upgraded the cartridge to a near new AT150ea (nude elliptical stylus). Now, the sound quality is so good we've found some vinyl albums in our collection are better sounding than the digital versions (though a few are clearly worse) and we are back to playing and enjoying records easily as much as digital sources.

Still using my Philips 212... had it cleaned and refurbished several years ago and it is still going strong plugged into my same era Marantz 2226b receiver. Not one of their most powerful receivers but for a girl who saved her babysitting money in high school to get it, it was awesome. And it still does the job

I've had a Linn LP12 since 1991. But I keep looking at those fancy direct drive beasts. I stopped buying new LPs back in the early 2000's as they were mostly terrible, but there's some great pressings being released again, so I'm back to buying vinyl.

Love that you have Cracked Seed and 5 by Monk by 5 - great taste! My story is similar to yours but I’m a few years older. Love your channel!!

I think it's worth mentioning that although you need a turntable that is solidly made, holds steady, accurate speed and has a good tonearm, the thing that matters a lot more is the quality of the cart and stylus you use.

I love my Phillips 212 Electronic belt drive suspended sub chassis turntable. I removed the original tone-arm and designed one of my own. Straight tube ultra low mass. I used the "Cart -a- lign" protractor to mount the cartridge! 1.5 gram tracking force!

I enjoyed your video a lot Thank you I own a mint PL630 and i LOVE it Have it hooked to a McIntosh Pre-amp and amp I have about 700 albums and 900 45's from my younger years

Still listening to records on my early eighties Teac p9 turntable with a Nagaoka mp -110 cartridge sounds great...

Thank you, I have PL630 turntable along with other direct drive automatics, totally agree with all your points.

Linn Sansui Yamaha tts are worth mentioning too

Fully or semi manual turntables do have the advantage of being much more robust and durable, and often with less negative mechanical influence on sound. AFAIK, even big Audio companies like Technics & Denon don't build automatic and electromagnetic damping tonearms anymore. On one hand they 'lost' the ability to reinvent that technology and after all it would be too expensive to manufacture in todays commercial situation. After all, I am pretty sure there had been much discussion if it makes sense to restart "vinyl". And I am pretty sure this will be an exception in the audio industry. There will be no revival of MC, DAT, MD or even R2R, I am pretty sure.

Totally agree. Nothing is more annoying than having to walk over and lift the tonearm at the end of a side. I only want to think about the music nothing else. So much so that I'm upgrading from a semi auto Technics sl-1400 to a full auto Technics sl-1600 mk2

I agree with your assessment of new budget and vintage record players. Ive watched the record revival and the new turntables of this age are built the cheapest and easiest way to build a turntable. It's so obvious and I ve never wanted a new one for that reason. I like a fully automatic record player and the two I have are beautiful and play records beautifully. The cost of a budget manual turntable with a fixed headshell on the arm and a platter mounted to a piece of mdf particle board with a rubber band from platter to cheaper motor is just going to disappoint you when you have the chance to listen and operate a well engineered fully automatic direct drive workhorse. Keep up the good work

Liked and shared on Reddit. This video deserves lots of views.

I spent about 4 to 500 hundred in tbe last 5.months after I got a new stylus for a Toshiba SR- A200 Tt. 68 and I feel.like a teen ager again. Records ROCK!

Cleaning weed with a gatefold album, that really cracked me up. I have a Sonographe SG3 fully manual turntable made by Conrad Johnson in the early eighties. I like putting the tonearm down but wanting a turntable that picks up the tonearm at the end. So a semi-auto, but fully auto would be fine too, something around the 500 dollar mark, lots of looking to do.

Wow a Phase Linear intergrated. We used to use Phase Linear power amps for PA here in Oz. 400 rms and boy did they clip when driven hard . And long live records ❤

My vinyl story is similar. I was getting back into vinyl because it was cool and available, then I bought Bob Dylan's Tempest in 2012 180 gram vinyl with the CD. Upon comparing the two I found out that the vinyl was a muffled piece of crap compared to the CD and found out I'm a CD guy all the way.

Some advice on buying second hand turntables out of experience I do not recommend buying online unless it has the original packaging ! Too many turntables get damaged in transport better buy in person or a new one. At this point in time I would not recommend buying a turntable unless you already have a good record collection. A word on DUAL idler and belt drive turntables most motor bearings are by now worn out and replacements hard if not impossible to find so be aware when thinking of buying one. If listening to music is the most important buy CD´s a good CD transport and a good DAC you will be surpriced it might even sound better than LP records. Thanks for the video

I bought my first record in 1973 - it was a new copy of K-Tel's FANTASTIC. I listened to it on something not much better (or worse) than a modern Crosley. My parents had a Curtis-Mathes console TV with a stereo in it (from the early 1970's, IIRC) but we weren't allowed to touch it until it was already broken (makes sense to me...) but then my Dad discovered he lighted 8-Track tapes, and he got a Pioneer H-R100 deck, so my next bunch of records were 8-track purchases (less than 15, I'm sure). I found I hated 8-track because the songs were often broken up between programs - which sucks. I shifted to cassettes (no split-up track issues there). By this time I was in 7th or 8th grade, and some of my friends older siblings had stereos with record players and tape decks. We'd buy cassettes and copy the LPs, so even if they sounded crappy, we still had them. I'm not going to go down the rabbit hole of talking about taping the songs we wanted off a transistor radio with a condenser mic-equipped portable tape recorder held up to a 3" speaker, which is a story all it's own. By the time I was in 11th grade, my Dad decided to buy a family stereo, comprised of a Pioneer PL-400 turntable, Technics M8 cassette deck, Technics SA-404 receiver, and some store-brand speakers. It was fine and worked for years - I started buying records when I could afford them. By the time I went to college, I had my own system - a Mitsubishi X-10 Interplay system (with really cool vertical turntable) and Polk Audio Monitor 5's. Bought and listened to tons of records in college. CDs came along while I was in college, and a couple of guys in the house had Sony CD players. I was impressed with how they sounded, and I knew I'd get a player as a soon as I could afford one. I still had my records, but my purchases shifted mainly to CDs at this point (just like everyone else) - but I didn't get rid of all my records. In 1987, I bought a Carver DTL-50 CD player, and while it sounded good, I discovered that CDs COULD IN FACT PLAY POORLY - skips, catches, fast repeats, etc. and the DTL-50 was bad at this. Maybe I had a bad one, but I got a Sony CDP-C10 (with the 10-Disk cartridges) and found out that THEY could jam with mass-produced CDs. While this was in the shop getting warranty work done, I went back to records. I now have about 3000 LPs, 1500 CDs, 800 Cassettes, and 0 8-Tracks. I have shifted back to collecting CDs because of the relative used prices compared to that of used Record Albums. I like music - always have - but I'll try to accumulate music I like through the least expensive way I can. My two turntables that I use are: Technics SL-1350 (essentially an SL-1200 with fully automatic features and an optional stacking spindle - I don't stack records - just personal preference) and a JVC QL-A75 (manual start with auto lift-and-stop at the end) - purchased them both used - one in 1992 (The QL-A75) and in 2005 (The SL-1350) - both before LPs came back as "the trendy thing." I also have a few CD players, A bunch of spare turntables, amps, receivers, speakers, and tape decks. It's amazing what one can find at a thrift store. I just picked up a Pioneer PL-115D (broken dust cover and no head shell or cartridge and some of the vinyl veneer is peeling) with an "okay" belt for under $20.00. It works, but I had to clean it and supply my own cart and head shell. The cue is weak, but the auto return works fine. It's serviceable and I think a good deal for $20.00. Great Video.

Great Video ! You described my Hi-Fi Journey. 4 box of LPs in my basement. 1980s Revox and Luxman turntables, that have been boxed up for 30 plus years

Nice to see the Soft Boys Underwater Moonlight. One of my all time favorite pieces of vinyl.

I like records but recently picked up reel to reel and found it has many advantages over records. At 7.5 ips it sounds just as good or sometimrs better (some old pre-recorded Zeppelin and hendrix is mind blowing) than it's album counterpart. If it has autoreverse you can set it and forget it (no flipping sides need). Once you're used to it I don't find it takes any longer to thread a tape. You can record your audiophile 45 rpm at 7.5 IPS when new without pops, etc. and it sounds identical to playing back said records with no side flipping. With 10 inch reels you get much longer play time. Some R2Rs are really cool looking! It's actually like the ultimate vinyl accessory! I'm in love with mine. Really a shame they went away. I gave away my 500 classic rock record collection back in 90s like an idiot so now I only buy specially curated albums at way too much money, preserve them on tape and stream or cd everything else. We are truly in a golden age of music listening, but I really regret giving away my old vinyl collection cause most albums sound great from that era and special masterings, remasters, etc. are rarely as good as the OG's which are not cheap and mostly a waste of money unless near mint.By some miracle, I recently scored an original UK Physical Graffiti that's seems almost never played and quieter than any new album I could get in a store so I can die happy now if I never buy another album

Important lecture, and valuable demonstration video on your KZfaq channel; thumbs up, and I subscribed. And thank you for the added information about a Direct Drive turntable; even though a DD Turntable is not noted, and recognized in the category of Audiophile Standard, or Level. I have up to four "vintage turntables" as you call them, from the early 1980s. Back then in the 1970s, and the nineteen eighties, turntables were precise, and good quality; besides the music that is from my favourite eras. Those "eras" for me start from the very late 1950s, and 1960 rock, and pop music; and mostly my favourite music of the 1970s, and nineteen eighties. Soon I'll have up to three DIFFERENT turntables connected to my main hi fi audio system; now a used Cambridge Audio AXR100 Receiver, in very good condition. I've got a Harmon Kardon T25 semi-automatic belt drive connected to an Alva Duo Phono Preamplifier (new). A used Sony PS-LX3 Direct Drive T. is connected to a Rolls VP29 Phono Preamp via Blue Jeans Cables, made in the USA, for the most part. By the way, according to makers of manual turntables they explain that there is far less Resonance in a simpler design, and is also very sophisticated; such as a Rega Planar, or NAD, or Pro-Ject turntable. Such turntables mostly have primary essential parts, and components that are important mainly for the sound of music! And are specifically designed, and correctly engineered to play back a record with very low resonance as possible, or any such noise. I restored, repaired, and later upgraded Rega Planar 3 T. with a new Audio Technica AT95E MM Cartridge; it is connected to a used harman kardon 490i Receiver. Previous owner drilled a large tonearm post hole, so I had to hunt around, and I installed a Linn Basik Plus Tonearm. By "upgraded" I am referring to the new Rega 24V Motor Upgrade. All turntables that I have great sound, and effective function; for me the HK T25 belt drive with a Denon DL-80A MC, is has the best function. Later I'm going to mount an hyper-elliptical nude stylus on the original And the PS-LX3 Direct Drive turntable - that arrived terribly broken - has a slightly more preferable sound for most music. I mounted an Ortofon LM 15 replacement Black Diamond Nude Stylus on an Ortofon LM 15 MM cartridge. My next turntable is going to be connected directly to my Receiver; a LINEAR TRACKING turntable, a Sony PS-FL77 Biotracer Direct Drive. Furthermore, what I notice from vinyl is that there is a bit more detail, especially if played back from an Elliptical Stylus on a very good Cartridge! And the music tends to flow; mostly my right opinion, and yes it is mainly subjective, and a personal listening observation.🔉🎵🎶

My first time here and I stayed until the end. I couldn't agree more regarding manual versus automatic. Recently I restored a Pioneer PL-707 Fully Automatic Direct Drive (1985?) I got for next to nothing and I like it much better than my new $600 Pro-ject EVO manual I bought last year. The Pioneer looks and sounds so much better and now I see they sell for up $1000 on E bay. My Pro-Ject is for sale.😁

Great job.. I just washed my Jethro Tull album today..!

Interesting and informative

Love my PL560 Pioneer turntable. I have others, agree, I much prefer fully automatic. Hate my full manual Thorens.

Yep, I agree with you on the higher end Pioneer TT's. I love my Pioneer PL-518 and my Sansui FR-5080 (which is in a rack with with other Sansui equipment from the mid/late 80's.

I buy LPs because they're the cheapest way to collect the entire classical standard repertoire. Box sets of entire symphony cycles, the complete chamber music, or complete piano sonatas of the major composers are dirt cheap on the used market in Germany. Live 2km from the border and have a post box there, postage is ridiculously cheap too. Just got the entire organ works of Bach on 20 LPs for Eur. 11.95 including postage. CD remasters of the same recordings are actually quite more expensive (even though still affordable). And the reason for that is that the original owners of LPs are dying from old age in droves, and their heirs want to get rid of them quickly so they'll sell them for absolute bargain prices to record traders who then put them for sale on Discogs. My Technics SL-D3 is also automatic so that helps, and apparently it has a similar signal-to-noise ratio as the best of present-day high end turntables the price of a small car.

The Pioneer PL-530 you show is a lovely machine! I got lucky a few years back and found mine at a flea market for $35, complete with cart, stylus, 45 adapter and dust cover. I do my own work, so I was able to give it a clean, new cart and stylus and have enjoyed it many times over the years. I think it is worth mentioning that record changers are also worth a look. Models like DUAL, ELAC, PE and even from Technics featured an "umbrella" stacking spindle as well as a single play spindle, so you have a choice of how to play. These tables often take much better care of records than the plastic BSR type tables we may remember from the '70s. Also, the JCPenney brand called MCS had models of tables that were made by Panasonic/Technics, the one I have being a changer/single play type of table. These were built to a lower price point than the Technics counter part, but they are good and may be more approachable to someone new to the hobby.

The purpose of a cueing lever was left out. My manual TT has one and is used. Fun video.

I bought the Kenwood KD 650 back in 1978 still works perfectly and sounds amazing. Cartridges I use are the Stanton EEE 681 and the Grado Prestige silver. dbx 3bx DS instead of a phone amp.🎶

Thx for post; I have 2 newer turntables (pro-ject & Fluance) and one Vintage JVC automatic table. Like all 3 in my different setups

Thoroughly enjoyed this video.

I bought four Sony PSX55 turntables a few years ago. Three of them are working, one I bought for the cartridge that was on it. I put Audio Technical 14SA cartridges on the three working ones. All of these were high end but forty years old. I probably could have bought a Rega PL3 for what I put into these. I am a very happy person. These turntables sound great with a good cartridge.

I have a thing for vintage turntables, and switch them out every few years or so. These days I'm using an AR from ~'84, and I have Sota Star II (vacuum model) that I hope to make space for in the next several months. Over the years I've owned Dual (idler, DD and belt models), Denon (DD), and Technics (DD) tables. I guess if I were to buy a new model I might go for a Rega.

Would anyone know were I could get a turntable repaired in Pa. ? Thank you for your videos.

An entertaining commentary. Acid Jazz, Funk & Brass 🔈🔉🔊

I bought a vintage Yamaha YP-211 at estate sale for $15. It needed a belt. It plays damn good.

I have a small collection of vintage turntables each with their own issues but the one that has been the most reliable is my Acoustic Research AR XB which unlike the XA has a cueing lever. Also, my Marantz 6300 is still working but gets a little temperamental switching back and forth between 33 and 45 rpms.

Well,to be honest,i advice any young person who discovers that music means more to her/him personaly than to a average person to choose a physical medium. And the more the musical taste strays from the average the more records become a choice. Simply because especialy older music above and beyond the average taste is still more available on records than on cd for example. Although in past decades a lot was rereleased on cd. So cd is at this point in time at least the more economic decision.

Beside the Technics 1210 DJ Set I owned a Sansui SR ...can't remember the modelnumber I think it was 535 but I'm not sure 😁 and a Fisher MT 6225. I liked both. So Sansui SR series and Fisher MT 6200- 63** series are worth a look IMO. I like 'big' turntables and wouldn't buy a 'slim' one but thats preference. Got my 1210 in 1989. Used it at parties in the 90s/00s. Yes it does have some optical flaws but so do I and it runs just like back in the days 😁.

I'm a Hi-Fi enthusiast, and I live in Lancaster, England. 🇬🇧

Oops Phase Linear preamp I meant . Regarding belt drive and your automatic Pioneer ,the belt drive manual won’t have the same issues , maybe some but a lot less . Enjoyed your work bruv . 👍

You do make a great and convincing case for buying a brand new turntable though , the overwhelming complexities and long list of demands would deter most people who just want a record player to play records , as 99% of us did as kids when we would rush home to play our new album or single .

Hi, I enjoyed your video… thanks, I’m wondering what your take is on any of the vintage Marantz turntables? I recently purchased a Marantz 2235 Receiver and I would like to buy a Marantz turntable, so as to have a matching system. Your thoughts? Thank you, Chris

My world changed in 1962 when my dad purchased a Zenith hi-fi . My record was the Tom Hanks best for 2.01 33/13, but played Chubby Checkers twist every morning . I truly miss those times. Now I have a Sony Amp,4 tower speakers 🔊 that are broken in. I just purchase records again. My U-turn turntable is awesome 👌 & im really loving this music again. Let it be album is awesome new vinyl. Sounds much better now than in the 70s when I purchased the record of Let it be for 3.67 at k-mart, the one I have now cost 31 dollars before taxes- ha!! People are Strange by the DOORS! Goodnight Thx for sharing

I Love your content. Your story is similar to mine. BUT..... a bit different too. I am an audiophile (I kind of hate that word now because it has a bad connotation.) I am also trained in the music arts from a conservatory *I won't mention which one because I don't want to add to the snobbery some may be reading. I was born deaf. I grew up sickly and poor. But in the 60's when my hearing was restored, I was drawn to vibrations and music. I became a professional musician and eventually was a session musician in some major label studios. When my ears became restored, I was trained in aural skills in music school and eventually developed perfect relative pitch. From the late 60's to the early 90's I kept my record collection and enjoyed my Dual turntables. When the CD boom started, I also bought a CD player- I am on my 3rd. NAD and a Rotel. I still have my Dual tables set up- I still have my records and I still listen to my CD's. I believe there is nothing that sounds any better than a CD with the right gear. I love CD's. They are much superior to records in so many ways. But I prefer records and players. Why??? Hmmm, don't really know how to answer that. I guess because it means more to me than just "sound." I live the albums. I like the artwork. I like the stupid cartridges and changing the syli on the carts. I like the stupid little dust covers and watching the crappy black plastic spin around the foolish space that this huge piece of furniture takes up. But more than anything; last weekend I put on an old Yes album. It was "Going for the One." My first live Yes show. When I put it on side "B" and just sat in the sweet spot with the sound stage going way beyond my speakers, and that click click and pop pop, there was a moment when the music was just so magical, just so outside of any rhyme or reason and I was inside the zone with Jon Anderson's voice and Steve Howe playing his Portuguese guitar- and guess what? I wept. For real. No one was around (Thank God) my wife and daughter would have had me committed. But it was pure religion. No CD has ever done that. And truth be told, that was not the first time. Records are inferior to CD's...but I would take my way too much plastic and way too big medium of a machine to play them on over anything else in the audio world. Par none.

Liked your video, one make I would have mentioned was Micro Seiki, similar to CEC, they made their own and other companies turntables and are good quality and worth buying.

I had a capehart stereo. w tt on top. When I saw and heard a stereo Tt I hooked my capehart to the 240 stove circuit and fryed it. A Ruger rifle took out the spkrs! Then went to Tek hifi and bought a real stereo .

Keeping your Pioneer alive, I would replace the electrolytics and tantalum caps. Faulty caps can cause damage to other parts. I liked your record cleaning. I do mine when needed normally I clean used LP's, I always try to keep the label dry. Do you ever damage them from submersing them in liquid? I started out on a turntable very similar to the cheap one you have. Mine was red and had a 1 tube amp. I was in 2nd grade and spent a lot of time playing records. Great video!

update I fixed my onkyo integera cp-1055f II it was a broken gear that helped move tonearm and cueing plus a micro switch which told motor when to stop a broken piece of plastic on switch made contact on the cue part that was like a cam this was bought original in 1985 ,2015 it stopped working watching other vids on people fixing turntables and this vid last month got me to try anyway I forgot how well this TT worked direct drive 2 speed fully automatic even though it has a plastic base the bottom of TT is very thick also the rest of body is thick compared to today's newer turntables supposed to be as it said on my manual a composite material its a colored plastic the main workings where motor and tonearm is aluminium separated by spings so it floats in its base wow I played it and tested it and it works fantastically not bad for a 39 year old TT the other gears that still work I hope they do not crack thats the main problem with these computer driven TT's they were amazing but to make them cheaper they used plastics that crumble or break the turntables made in early 80's to late 80's they were well thought out when it came to doing more automatic functions its those little gears made of these funny plastic parts that after time they break from age the pressure or falling apart if your lucky to find the part its good to see the old TT working again JRo

I am a brit in his late 60's which means I purchased a whole heap of LPs during the late 60s and early 70s. I listen to music via Tuner, CDs, Streaming, LPs, MP3s and cassette. To me - "and that is the crucial part" it is my peculiarities that makes me enjoy vinyl - not any weird thinking that one format is better than another. Oddly I like music playing while I am doing something and Tuner, CD, MP3 or streaming fill that requirement. But to sit in a quiet dark room and just listen to and focus on the music I prefer the vinyl format "and recently Cassettes". Is it because it sounds better - well not really more that I engage better with an LP you invest more time and effort setting it all up from removing from the card outer sleeve and inner paper sleeve to clamping the record to the deck and assisting the initial turn as you start to spin up the deck, Then follows the cleaning with an anti-static fabric or soft bristle cleaner before queuing the tone arm and lowering. Then you realise you cannot easily skip tracks via a remote but hear the album as the artist put it together and wanted you to listen to it. I have one CD player, one Cassette player, one tuner and 5 Turntables which probably says more about my audio preferences than anything. One point to note - something that blew me away and that was I was listening to a 1987 CD "Cirrus - An Introductory Sampler" Toccata and Fugue in D Minor - John Gavin Scott, St Paul's Cathedral Organ. Which sounded pretty good with lots of deep bass but when I put on a similar aged cassette playing same piece but from Bon Cathedral - it blew me away I could feel the bass just as if I were there. It really did open my eyes to the fact that a well mastered and produced analogue piece of music can compete with 24 bit lossless whatever. and yes I played both on my 20 year old plus main system of NAD C370 integrated amp coupled with matching C270 power amp through my mix of four speakers (most from the 1980s) - it really has opened my mind (and my ears). Bottom line is if you like what you are hearing, whatever your choice of music from whatever medium through whatever system - then you are onto a winner and it need not cost a fortune or need constant tweaks and upgrades.

With albums you are stuck listening to every track. I was listening to the stones between the buttons. Some of those songs were painful to listen to. Groups were obligated to record companies for so many albums a year so there was often a lot of junk thrown in.

Hello there. I just snagged a 1966 Elac Miracord 50H. It was all the rage at the time at a whopping $149.95! Perfect working condition. Cycles as it should. There’s a cheap $25 Audio Technica cartridge on it and I’m replacing it with an Ortofon 2m Blue. I also have a Garrard Lab 80. It took a lot of donors to get it right, however there is too mass and friction in the arm so it’s just a museum piece. Otherwise the other equipment is modern. I’ve got a Rega Planar 8 coming and I’m having an Ortofon 2M Black on it.

Or a cabinet for your components? Hmm 🤔

Five min. into your video, I wanted to write something different. Now, after watching the entire thing, I changed my mind and will start on a different topic. I will explain to you and the fine audience why an automatic turntable is not exactly recommended. Back in the day, adding features to the masses, added the value of convenience, if we talk about automation; even turning the record by itself and even playing ten records in a row on one side, before having to approach it, was possible. The most prominent brand to do such was Dual. As time passed, cartridges got better and better, but in order to get the better sound, you had to give up features. The automatic mechanism of a unit which turns the record or feeds ten in a row, was made of all types of metal clutter which started rattling at deep keys, which then was picked-up by the better cartridges... The cartridges got so good that they would pick-up the vibrations of a spinning motor and that was when they detached the motor from the plinth and went with rubber belts. Next they detached the arm from the plinth. It all boils down to how much of sound you really want to extract from the vinyl. If you don't care about high end sound or being able to extract all what's there, you're good with a direct drive and a less performant cartridge. Take the classic DJ tables for an example (those are still made and sold - Technics, Pioneer) and install a Grado black, as your cheapest option and all you will hear will be crap. Switch to a low end ($20 White AT) and you will hear whatever you could hear back in the day, with all whistles and such. It got today to the point at which it's an elitist game, but only if you care about sound. Good, or great sound comes at a price... And so it starts; you become the slave of the gear, you become the victim of all schmucks who do "reviews" hoping to make a buck; they will tell you stories about how great the sound is improved from last year's $3k model to this year's for only a 10% increase in price and such. Fact is that usually people at a higher age can afford better gear, but another fact is that ears can't keep-up with sound... (LOL) I listen every day to at least one side of a record and I enjoy it totally. I'm the generation which copied vinyl on tape and made my own compilations, later on on cassettes, but I was fortunate to be able to have the good stuff (Nakamichi and Akai) and I still have a few. Now I play with comparing streaming services over a streamer, into my setup and compare it to my really high end vinyl and am STUNNED by the fact that they sound identical. In any case using my own gear (my 60 year old ears). I use Qobuz, because of the high quality and the library which has titles from my vinyl collection; artists like Todd Cochrane, or Secou Bunch and such, which most haven't even heard about... My final thought is that it's nice to keep a working turntable set-up (if it's worth the space it eats-up) and it's nice to stream your library for the convenience of having a remote control in your hand and not adding mileage to precious vinyl. I know I was boring, so please excuse that. Cheers!

@Lancaster Hi-Fi , My "Vintage Story" is this: I recently inherited my father's stereo system that he had bought from the son of one of his friends who was in the Navy stationed in Japan in the very early 70's; He didn't want it for whatever reasons and sold it to my dad. It's a Sansui 5000A Tuner with an ELAC Miracord 50H turntable. It had a simple pair of 8 Ohm 2-Way speakers the speakers were chewed up by rats that, in his beginning stages of dementia didn't realize what was going on w/them chewing up stuff, so the speakers were trash; not to mention they shredded all the records too. The whole system, that now includes a modern 80's type dual-head cassette tape deck, a 5-disk CD Changer and an 8-Track tape deck, hasn't been set up or turned on in more than 20 years. I need to find a technician to give it a "once-over" check up and suggest what make/model of speakers for it. As I live in the high desert of So California I need a local one. Q: Does anyone have any suggestions for a repair shop in the Greater Los Angeles Metro areas? Q: What do I need to keep in mind when buying speakers, other than the Ohm Rating (8Ω) and an output of 55 Watts? TIA

Personally i like my semi automatic Technics SL-1700 mk2 . I like to put the stylus down myself but don't want to get up every 20 mins to pick up the stylus. Its just my preference.

Settled on a 72 Toshiba, really nice bones, typical white plastic auto return rubbish. Tossed the return mechanism in the trash, rebuilt the motor and cleaned it up. Was using a 80s technics the Toshiba had much better sound and half the wow. I could never afford that kick ass table you are sporting there. Cart is a basic audio-technica with upgraded stylus. All in the stylus and new belt cost more than the table. Really ya don't a bundle to get a nice sounding table, if ya use care in the decisions.

I have 2 comments, today's automatic turntables like my Thorens TD-240-2 only come with belt drive and I wish they would bring back linear tracking turntables!!

Greetings, YUP I bought a great Tt back in 81 a Toshiba Dd SR-A200 ang got back to playin records. It is sonics to bop into thrift/ antique shops. I clean all records b4 playing them. Much better than any puter music. Mid 70s I had a capehart stereo w player ontop.when I saw and heard a real good set up, I took a Ruger rifle and blew that Capeart to bits then went to Tek Hifi and bought a real stereo. This is,a freaking GOOD hobby.

Sadly I went out and abought a new turntable. I don't have a problem with vintage gear, have some, dumped others. Some people don't what physical listening media is.

To my wife’s dismay I’ve gone back to collecting records restoring vintage record players and receivers and each time she says that’s not going in the house is it and it does but the good news is she seems to plays it more than me I don’t think the neighbors are enjoying it as much as we are good video I subscribed

Excuse me, but what's that vintage amp behind you mister? Early Bob Carver's?

I sold my AR turntable a couple of years ago and boy do I regret it, now I have a Glenburn that was thrown away after my neighbor died, it's basically a BSR idler wheel driven it has an adc cartridge but the stylus broke, I'm debating on whether to get a whole new cartridge or just the stylus, the stylus is around 25, I had an old audio technica but I can't find it, before the stylus broke the glenburn didn't sound too bad, I put a couple of drops of oil in the motor and cleaned the idler wheel with teac rubber cleaner I use for my teac reel to reel, the stuff stinks but it works good. My friend hoards vintage equipment and says he has a.turntable for me but it's buried under piles of junk in his garage, one turntable he bought came with a slab of marble that you're supposed to mount on the wall to prevent vibration and noise but he dropped the slab and it broke in half, most of the equipment he bought over the years is rotting away in his basement it's now moldy including the 10 or so reel to reel decks along with the couple hundred thousand records he has, every room in his rather large house is full of records CDs cassettes reel to reel precorded tapes, he has literally spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past 30 or so years and the sad part is that he has no room to set anything up, he doesn't even know if any of the stuff he has even works, I didn't mention the many pairs of speakers he has also.

I am a fan of Thorens turntables. I have a TD 160 and a TD 318 (semi-auto). Would really like a TD 125 if I can find one at a reasonable price.

I bought my first CD player not long before CDs were becoming secondary to streamed music , so I’ve been someone who likes to hold on to something that works and skeptical of the new thing. I admit CDs do sound great now that players have seemed to iron out the first little quality problems and probably own almost as many cds as LPs . I never have caught up with streaming or paying for music online that I cannot hold in my hands . Vinyl , has always seemed more than the sum of its parts and the process of buying a 12in LP with great cover photos or art and putting it on a beautiful , well designed deck can’t be bested . When my plastic cd covers have snapped and broken apart I know my LP sleeves will still be there even if occasionally mended with some paper glue . The incredible engineering of record decks still amazes me and I can feel this when I play my music .this engineering has advanced and even incorporates formula one hi tech materials in the bearings honing the pivot to as little as 1 micron ! Materials too have been advanced and the scope for more and even greater development is more than ever I think . As for belts, we like what we like and I agree motors have advanced massively in the isolation and quieting of the rumble that interfered into the stylus pickup of the sound grooves , I love the way that engineering and aesthetics can incorporate the old style belt to become almost a piece of engineering art . It’s nice to see the mechanical movement as if it’s a living thing .( I may be over doing it , being an artist for a living ) I’m pleased vinyl has regained some contemporary appreciation and its long held place in music , perhaps not as high as it once had but a steady place that new tech can circle around and help develop even more . It’s good to not discard things that work well and look good just because some new tech arrives . Some things have a soul and a part of ourselves in them , like a classic car , or motorbike , a piece of furniture .fashions come and go but classic design and engineering is always worth keeping and slowly improving upon in small ways . I grew up listening to the Pistols and Clash , etc now along with these still, I listen to everything from Jazz, old traditional British folk songs and Portishead and Nick Cave and Bad Seeds and more. What else can give us the range and direct connection of emotion and history than that of music through a medium like vinyl and record players ?

You need quite a high end modern belt TT to outperform a quarts locked direct drive from the past...

i have glasser steers 77 record changer i love them ..

I got a atlp60xbt. Fully automatic, so I won't drop the stylus, with my arthritis fingers. Only problem I do have with it, when someone walks heavy on the floor, the cartridge or stylus jumps. I think I must buy some damper feet. Other than that, I am satisfied with my atlp60xbt, I use it with edifier Active speaker's I had a stereo system in the 80s, in 2009 my mother suggested I get rid of it all, she said everything is on cd. Haha. Lost some money there, giving away all my records, I did however keep 3 records, but not the most valuable ones, I kept Zappa, Hendrix and Joplin. Back in 2022 I started over again. I still have my CD collection, but I only have a player in the car.

My newish turntable is a "made in China" Pioneer clone Audio Technica AT-LP 120-USB direct drive which has it's own pre amp built in. It's all manual even with no auto return but i prefer it that way "It also doesn't put extra strain on the motor". I play records very rarely but when i do it's more like an event and there's that little extra quality about it. I play it through a Sony Midi Hi Fi "Cassette/Radio" player and it sounds pretty good although i'd much prefer a valve/tube set up. I've noticed that modern equipment doesn't have the same quality components ie transisters, resisters etc and that will alter sound quality.

I clearly remember buying my first album at the local record pusher… The album Chinatown by Thin Lizzy, I ran Home and played it repeatedly on my parents HiFi until they couldn’t stand it any longer 🤣 It was 1980 and after hearing the record I vowed to save my wages from my paper round and Saturday job to buy my own turntable. Like most lads my age lusted after the Rega Planar 3 ( amongst other things)

Good video! I love my PL-518, but it has developed a problem I haven't been able to fix. The motor has an oscillation that results in a vibrato that is very noticeable on longer sustained notes, chords, etc. I only discovered it because I got frustrated with it 15+ years ago and retired it. The speed adjustment pot was having problems, but last year KZfaq came to the rescue with several videos about servicing the 518. Once I had the speed control pot issue fixed, and replaced the deteriorated feet, bought a new cartridge, and finally got to check it out, there it was. I disassembled it again and checked for obvious motor issues. I've replaced capacitors on the power supply board. Everything works, but that oscillation is still there. The way the motor control board is mounted to the bottom of the motor has me a bit spooked, even though I have caps and resistors to replace there, too. Have you ever come across this issue on a Pioneer direct drive turntable? Do you think my only option is to risk taking the motor control board off the motor and do the pars replacement? I have a good selection of 1970s albums that keep calling my name! Thanks!

Great vid. I also like fully auto. Why do I want to get down there and put the tone arm on the record. I am 54 and my eyes have gone to shit! 😂.

Do you mind if I ask what the turntable is that's behind you? It looks a lot like the one my dad had when I was growing up.

Also check.out skylab vintage stereo who says the same about those red cartridges.very cheap and will ruin ur good vinyl. When u get a good stereo Tt and have a good receiver w phono hook- up and very good spkrs like OHM H or Cerwin V. SL-12 or SL-15. And clean that album or record b4 u use it to get the best sound and make stylus last longer.

hi there is one big plus in records the quad ones only one's i have left the de coders and formats are a right pain same with quad reel to reel pre recorded note there i have not seen a quad 10'5 3 3/4 ips low as i can go is 7 1/2 on 10.5 reels i had to jazz up a tascam 32 deck and change heads and eq setting for him head were full track stereo my cat keep jump on the lid alot in the past to look out the window

I just bought a technics sl 1200 mk5 and although I could have bought 2 audio technicas for the same price, I just want to fulfill my childhood dream of record scratching! (on the real deal!)

I have probably twenty vintage TT's, including 4 or 5 Empire's, 2 Ariston's, 2 Dual's, a Linn Sondek, a Technics 1200, a Revox 790, a B&O 4003, a Denon DD ...

I never gave up on my records since the late seventies after the 80's it slowed down cause records were hard to find and started using the cd players to me records are better cause of the inner sleeve and lyrics would be included and the sound as an older person I tiredto get the albums I could not buy when I was a kid in cd form but a lot of them were not recorded well too much treble very little bass they seemed harsh no hiss or pops but it sounded cold to me and all of the records I bought since I was in high school are pristene condition there is nothing wrong with automatics if the automatic function stops working since most of them have a cycling gear usually the trip mechanism is frozen from age the grease dries up all you have to do is check it out re oil it and you are good to go a lot of my turntables are from the seventies 3 Duals 2 Garards 1 BSR 610 ,6 all in all automatic one is manual a pro-ject debut 3 I still have my 1985 onkyo cp1055f 2 automatic but tone arm stopped working cause of a broken gear that is driven by a seperate motor saw the broken fear but do not want to fix until I can find a replacement gear mostly I found the 70's to late 70's the tt's I have are using the cycle cam the oldest like my Dual 1009sk is all metal inside the younger duals like 1237 and 1246 have small plastic parts but still metal I bought these taught myself how to repair and believe me did I mess up a lot but they all work so far the older duals and garrards have not given me grief so far ,you sound like you grew up in the seventies I loved this video it is very informative I almost forgot since I love automatics so much I even got me now get this the infamous crosley stacker record changer just like a BSR but a clone it works just fine I replaced the cart to a better ceramic cart the sound is better more bass its not half bad I got it for collecting purposes and I have the tracking force set to 4.5 grams which for this cart is fine just like you as soon as I get the nerve to get into the onkyo to fix tone arm ,everthing works except for that broken gear that the motor needs to move tone arm after watching your vid and hearing how you mustered to fix your PL-630 I am going to do the same thanks for your great vid I will have to check your other vids to JRo

I believe some of the new Duals are fully automatic and they were the automatic turntable kings back in the day, so should know how to build a reliable fully automatic table.