Pioneer Direct Drives - Now and then?

I got into vinyl about  5 years ago.  I actually had records before I had a turntable.

Walked into an flea-market / re-sale type of store in my city one Saturday morning, asked the girl working the counter if she had any turntables.  At first she said no, but then said "oh hold on, I think I have one in the back".

She walked out from the back carrying a Pioneer PL-550 turntable in excellent condition, with the original owners manual. I had already been looking around online for a decent turntable, so I knew I was looking at something that was pretty damn nice and desirable.

Asked her what she wanted for it, she replied "how about $60?". 

I'll take it!

It had an Acutex cartridge on it. I bought a new needle for that cartridge, checked the alignment and settings, and have been listening to it for the past 5 years without issue. 

I plan on getting a new cartridge for it in the near future. 

Great turntable.

There's a Kenwood KD550 listed here on Agon. $799 in Washington State. I'd buy this myself but already have too many TTs - including a Kenwood KD650! Great DD TTs worth owning and using!

Hi,

I was looking intensely for a TT for my office system, and wanted either semi or full automatic. The Pioneer PL-530 caught my eye and budget also. I agree with Chackster, with higher budget, the PL-70II is a great choice.

Have you ruled out JVC or Denon DD?

Hopping about this am, I noticed, the PL-530 is not Quartz Locked. If you can fine one you like, Quartz Lock is better IMO. PL-505; A500; 707 are in that price range.

Fully Manual, this one with a solid wood base is on eBay, a curiosity for sure

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pioneer-PL-PM2000-Stereo-Record-Player-Millennium-Model-In-Excellent-Condition-/153834530694?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10

btw, to play a turntable, you will need two specific electronic things to occur:

1. phono signal equalization (RIAA curve)
2. phono signal boost (preamp).

many amps do not include phono inputs/phono equalization/phono signal strength boost, they only accept 'line level' signals (think 1 volt), like tuners, tape decks, .....

1. equalization: boost the lows and cut the highs

a. the lows are cut during recording (keeps grooves smaller, that is how they got more grooves on a platter, more music on a 12" disk. i.e. Long Play, i.e. LP.

b. the highs are boosted during recording.

Eventually RIAA curve was standardized: defined agreed amounts of alteration during recording and corresponding re-equalization during playback.

2. Preamplification. Original tuners and ceramic cartridges produced around 1 volt directly into amps. New stereo MM moving magnet cartridges produce a lower signal, half or often less strong. That weaker signal has to boosted (preamp) up to 1 volt, then sent to your amp designed to receive/boost a 1 volt signal strength enough for your speakers.

3. IF you choose a Moving Coil cartridge, they in turn produce an even weaker signal, and they need a pre-pre amp, to get up to the MM signal strength, then the 'normal' pre-amp boost up to 1 volt. A few High Output Moving Coil cartridges exist, they are 'strong enough or just strong enough' to go into a MM phono input

many new moderately priced TT have an optional/switchable built in phono eq/preamp, so you can use it and go into a 'line' input, or not use it and go to your external phono eq/pre-amp.

Helomech, seems like you have an intuitive understanding of what Herb Reichert might have meant when he used the term “forced weightiness”. I do not. Sounds like nonsense to me. So if you could expound on what you think it means, I’d appreciate it.

Chakster, somewhere above you suggested that the SL 1200 Mk7 incorporates the new coreless direct drive motor that distinguishes the latest crop of technics turntables in the G series and the new SP 10R from any olderTechnics DD turntables. I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think that is the case. I think the SL 1200 Mk7 has the older iron core motor from the older 1200 series. Which is one reason why it is so relatively inexpensive.