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

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Lewm, In response to your questions on 4/16/14 about the quilted material and the EMI shield I refer you to the "Nude Turntable" thread and my responses on 8/27/12 and 9/16/13, and the surrounding entries. Hopefully these entries will cover the ground.
Gary
Gary, I found on that thread or another DD-related thread that I first wrote about shielding the motor in my L07D, and you asked ME questions at that time. So I assume you proceeded from there, but to find out what exactly I am looking at in your photos, I will seek out the posts you cite. Sadly, the product "TI Shield" seems no longer to be available. One might use mu metal or ERS cloth or just a sheet of copper or stainless or etc. Each has slightly different properties as a shield.
Hi Gary,
I found your post of 9/16/13. I now know (once again) that your shield is made of mu metal and that the black stuff is auto interior material (which is exactly what it looks like). I probably also knew this 7 months ago, when you posted the info and photos originally, but the memory is fleeting. I found that same stuff on eBay that you have used. I Googled the eBay product, and there was some discussion that it is not as "good" as mu metal (it's a lot cheaper), but most conceded that it does work as a shield. I like your metaphor about squeezing a balloon, where you are describing what happens to the EMI when you installed the shield; the energy shows up elsewhere but not where you don't want it. Possibly, if you can ground the shield to the turntable, you would actually drain the energy to ground. But that may be tough to do.

I am going to get used to the sound of the TT101 with no shield, then install a shield, perhaps using the very same material you used, and see if I can hear a difference. I wonder whether some of the perceived benefits of those heavy copper platter mats are actually due to the shielding effect such mats have. If you read the verbal descriptions of the improvements in sonics, it certainly is consistent with the shielding effect.