Older tt quest

[Bill K Davis]

I want a good older turntable with a heavy platter, price range $100- 450. I have cruised ebay and read reviews and am considering: a Dual 701 DD, Emt 598, Harman Kardon t35 or higher, and a belt drive Dual 1219 or 1229. For some reason I am not very interested in the newer turntables. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated.

[basite]

old tt lover...
well, since I own a 1978 Luxman PD-282 tt myself, I can tell you that you won't regret it...

a pd-284
http://cgi.ebay.com/LUXMAN-PD-284-Vi...QQcmdZViewItem

a pd-277
http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-QUALITY-...QQcmdZViewItem

and
a pd-264
http://cgi.ebay.com/Luxman-PD264-Dir...QQcmdZViewItem

the problem with vintage tt's is that you probably have to clean them out, and fix some small things, like cleaning contacts, and checking the wires and stuff, maybe rewire it...
apart from that, old tt's are perfect.

but you should consider new ones too though,
Pro-ject makes really good tt's for a reasonable price...

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[royphil345]

http://cgi.ebay.com/PIONEER-PL-550-R...QQcmdZViewItem

Unfortunately, my experience is that the average human being 80% of the time will destroy any turntable they try to ship no matter how much advice you offer, how much you beg them to pack carefully, or even if you offer to pay a little extra for a 1st class packing job. If you order any used turntable to be shipped, ABSOLUTELY make sure the package is insured. Paying by Paypal using a credit card that will reverse Paypal charges if necessary is also a good idea. Ask your credit card company... Sometimes you'll see turntables on eBay from sellers who sell many of them and have experience shipping them. They usually sell for a little more money and it's probably worth it.

I bought a new Technics SL-1200MKII from etronics for $400.00 shipped. It's quiet, speed is perfect, isolation is good, nice leveling feet, arm is easily and precisely adjustable (could never go back to having no VTA adjustment), sounds fantastic to me, bulletproof design and build that hasn't changed in over 20 years, far exceeded my expectations after hearing it dissed by so many audiophiles... Something to think about...

http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/te..._sl1200_e.html



EDIT: Just a year ago you could have picked up something like that Pioneer for less than $100.00 easy (maybe $150.00 since it has the box and claims to be minty). Another reason I went with the new Technics. The supply of good used tables seems to be drying up as demand increases. The prices are getting crazy for something old that may soon require work, or may even be unrepairable for the lack of parts. Nothing wrong with the Duals or Luxman... The Duals run a little noisier and the stacker tables will have the tonearm set pretty high to allow for playing stacks of records. You'd want to stick with a modest cartridge. A more revealing one would just sound edgy with the rake angle that off. They are getting pretty old to buy sight unseen... Worn bearings, motors and such becoming more common.

Cheap vinyl seems to be becoming a thing of the past as well. I find myself paying closer to CD prices or more lately. Oh well... It was nice while it lasted... We vinyl lovers should have been telling everyone vinyl sucks... don't bother... LOL

[likeitloud]

I still use my trusty Pioneer PL518, owned since new in 1980. Last year it was
balanced/rebuilt by a company called, CBS truntables. All they do in life is bring
vintage tt's back to specs, and they have a shopping list of mods available. This is
the only piece of gear left from my first system. Wish I still had those 4312's though.
Good luck.

[jrhymeammo]

I think old Pioneer or Tech would be a safe bet.

I found an some old Tech deck at a local record shop today for around $70. I think I'll pick it up next week, but gotta remember to bring in my trusty strobe disc.Detachable headshells are really nice.

[Death2Jrhymeammo]

I think old Pioneer or Tech would be a safe bet.

I found an some old Tech deck at a local record shop today for around $70. I think I'll pick it up next week, but gotta remember to bring in my trusty strobe disc.Detachable headshells are really nice.

Hey Dr. JRA, I can handle this so just go away. Thank you.

[emaidel]

For starters, the Dual 1219 and 1229 are not belt-driven turntables - they're each rim-driven, but still decent.

I "won" a Dual 721 (direct drive) on eBay a couple of years ago for $150. I actually had owned one back in 1979 when it was a new model, and foolishly sold it for something else. My Denon DP-62 had given up the ghost, and I just wanted something fairly decent to use periodically, so I bought the 721. When I hooked it up, I was floored to hear that it significantly out-performed the Denon sonically: everything was considerably sharper and clearer.

The seller packed the turntable very, very well, but unfortunately didn't spend as much care on it during the period in which he owned it. The unit was absoslutely filthy, the cables frayed, and the included cheapo AT cartridge had a worn-out stylus. I was readily able to correct all of these major shortcomings, but I can't say the same for everyone else, so purchasing turntables from eBay is still a risk.

[royphil345]

Did you guys see what that Pioneer sold for???!!! http://cgi.ebay.com/PIONEER-PL-550-R...QQcmdZViewItem

That's just insane for a turntable you couldn't get parts for and won't outperform a Technics 1200. I passed on a ton of these at under $100.00 shipped over the last few years.

Used turntable supply must definitely be drying up...

[jrhymeammo]

I've been keeping my eyes on this one to see how much it's gonna go for.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Near-Min...QQcmdZViewItem


But like what some already mentioned, make sure the seller still has original packing material. I think some would say they have the orignal box, but no stirofoam fillings and casings.....

Problem is that my place is full of boxes.

JRA

[royphil345]

This one's rarer and definitely looks more worth the money... but still!!!

That other model is (or was) pretty common and nothing to write home about at all... Unbelievable!!!

Should have bought every decent turntable I saw for sale a couple years ago and held onto them... LOL

[R.S.]

I would look for a new turntable or a decent used direct drive. The Technics SL-1200s are fine turntables as mentioned above.

I've bought a couple of used belt drive turntables on the internet, and they were both badly damaged... they seem to be more delicate than direct drives. One of them was shipped without separating the dustcover from the base, plus the idiot didn't even secure the tonearm.

I finally found a Pioneer PL-707 PLL direct drive on Ebay (one of their better models from the early 80's). It's a real steady player, plus I upgraded the power cord and RCA cables, and added some dampening material. I'm very happy with it. I looked thoroughly at the seller's feedback, and he had a lot of positive reviews from other people that bought turntables from him that arrived undamaged.

[hifitommy]

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....abl&1180425168

pretty solid.

[Bill K Davis]

Hi: Thanks for all the input. I got a temporary Bic 940( supposedly"working condition") with a frozen platter, which I learned to fix from a great webpage. I used Deoxit and Stabilant after unfreezing the platter, but the volume increased almost 1/2 when I took off the old detachable phono Rca cords,that seemed fine,and put new ones on. It sounds amazingly good for a plastic ,old table, but the speed is about 1/2 revolution too fast(unfixable?). While messing with it I saw how those headshell wires come in contact with metal in a couple of places. Shouldn't these wires be shielded ,since they are so fine and carry all the audio information? Anyhow I plan to try for a cheapie Dual I have watched on ebay. If I do get burnt again , the prodigal son will return to the fold, and spend major dollars on a sure thing. Ps. Do record clamps work? They have a $10 one on ebay that sounds interesting.

[hifitommy]

duals are a good bet, lots of support around for those.

http://dual-reference.com/

i would steer away from the lower end such as bic and drift more towards the more solid products like the denon i recommended or EVEN the technics tables. a kenwood kd500 could be a good bet if the speed is right on.

yes, clamps are worth using but some duals wont support their use as the spindles are removable on some. grab the $10 clamp, you will eventually use it.

[Bill K Davis]

I bought these 2 Duals on ebay. The 1229 seems like a sure thing ,largely based on the detailed answer to the question asked of the seller. The 721 is a gamble ,based on the seeming honesty of the seller. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...0014&rd=1&rd=1
eBay: Barely Used Vintage Classic DUAL 1229 Auto Turntable (item 150110450014 end time Apr-10-07 0637 PDT) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...6439&rd=1&rd=1
eBay: DUAL 721 turntable (item 110108126439 end time Apr-06-07 0036 PDT) Both turntables arrived and seem ok so far.

[superdougiefreshness]

duals are a good bet, lots of support around for those.

http://dual-reference.com/

i would steer away from the lower end such as bic and drift more towards the more solid products like the denon i recommended or EVEN the technics tables. a kenwood kd500 could be a good bet if the speed is right on.

yes, clamps are worth using but some duals wont support their use as the spindles are removable on some. grab the $10 clamp, you will eventually use it.

Hi everyone,
I did get my hands on the Dual cs-508 at a thrift store today with the dust cover unscratched. The staff at the store said they had set the price at a dollar because when turned on the table and it did not spin, I think it needs a new belt or its given belt reattached. The old owner just dropped it off about an hour before I bought it. I think for a dollar I might have gotten a steal, have to add a new belt though to see. Any feedback would certainly be useful from others out there.

I am glad I have two other turntables just in case this Dual doesn't work for the better.

Thanks for your comments
SupDugFreshNis - San Diego, CA - My piece of heaven on earth.

[Gary Hubbard]

Speaking as a devotee and slave to my twin arm Luxman PD 444. Some of the older (1980s) direct drive tables (especially good brand- high end tables that are well made are easily the equivalent of the newer belt drive tables. Their speed control system has to check out and may need minor repair - but for a few bucks you can have a real gem. Find a tonearm that is compatible in terms of mass to the cartridge that you favor and start experimenting. When you find the right combination it is a real hoot. Gary Hubbard, Rockford, IL