Vintage DD turntables. Are we living dangerously?


I have just acquired a 32 year old JVC/Victor TT-101 DD turntable after having its lesser brother, the TT-81 for the last year.
TT-101
This is one of the great DD designs made at a time when the giant Japanese electronics companies like Technics, Denon, JVC/Victor and Pioneer could pour millions of dollars into 'flagship' models to 'enhance' their lower range models which often sold in the millions.
Because of their complexity however.......if they malfunction.....parts are 'unobtanium'....and they often cannot be repaired.
128x128halcro
Only Thuchan would luck into a PS-X9 in what appears to be mint condition. Damn him!!! (Kidding of course.)
From the site referenced by Halcro:
..."The engineer quickly responded that the motor was the toughest challenge, which led to another series of discussions resulting in the design we see here in the Classic Direct, where the platter is actually the main component in the motor. In this case, the motor in the Classic Direct is an AC motor, which Weisfeld prefers over DC motors. He smiles and says, “An AC motor knows where it is, and a DC motor only knows where it was.”
The secret here is that a three-phase motor is used, eliminating the cogging effect that always plagues direct-drive designs. This uneven power delivery results in a slight unsteadiness to the music at worst and a shrinking soundstage at best. These issues are a thing of the past with the Classic Direct, as my listening quickly reveals."

Two little white lies: (1) Speaking of the new VPI Direct as if the platter being part of the motor was not a property of every direct drive that came before this one, and (2) the statement that a 3-phase motor per se has no cogging issues. It would have been better to stick to actual facts. Kind of gutsy for HW to point out the problems inherent in belt drive, elsewhere in this blurb, since he has made a living from belt drive heretofore.
Halcro´s quote from the DirectDrive website, essential reading. Those dinosaur made by Japanese engineers never died, they just fell in sleep... What an interesting thread this is. And a new world that awaits searchers for Analog of today.