Vintage Japanese DD Consult and Suggestions Please

I’ve got following DD tables Technics: Sl1200, SP15, SP10 MkII and MkIII, Pioneer Exclusive P3, Yamaha GT 1000 and GT2000, Denon Dp 75 and DP80 and a bunch of belt driven tables. When it comes to price/performance ratio I can’t think of anything that can touch P3 and Dp80. P3 is not expensive if you know were to buy in Japan but it will cost at least 3 times more here but D80 is still dirty cheap. In my books the performance of DP80 is not that far behind the one of Sp10MKIII and exceeds the one of SP10 MKII. You can get Dp80 in DK300 plinth or DK2300 (two arms plinth) for less than $1200 which is the basement bargain price for the extraordinary good table. There are cheaper Denon plinths available, but their construction is not very good. DK300 is a very decent plinth but a better option would be to mold your own plinth using epoxy and bentonite. It is not difficult to build one and it will cost you less than $400.

Sl1200 will blow TD160 ( I've got one in my collection and I grew up with TD125 which I replaced with SL1200 and never looked back) out of the water so any DD table that you listed would be a  big step up.   Luxman is not in the same league as DP80,  Sp10MK II or GT2000. GT2000 is another option that you should consider) as it come with a decent arm and you can have it for $2500.

I’ve got a couple of DP80s with plinths. PM me if you are interested.

At $2500 or less, from your list, I would go for the SP10 MKII. Very enjoyable table. If it were me, these days I think I'd just chase a Micro Seiki DD8 in the best shape that I could find. That's maybe $800 and drop a great cartridge on it. This table performs excellent at its price.

Alex, the Pioneer Exclusive P3 is my great white whale. I’ve always wanted one. We visit Tokyo annually because our son lives there. I’ve never seen one in the flesh and for sale even in Tokyo. Even on Hifido. If you have an idea where I can find one, I’d appreciate it.

Meantime we completely agree on the excellence of the DP80.

@tomic601 Thank you for the kind sentiments regarding my system. However, it is going through a bit of a metamorphosis at the moment, and I am hoping to retain as much of its sonic bliss.

@timlub The SP 10 MKII is certainly in play...the MKIII is out of my budget at the moment. Micro Seiki DD8's are available out of Japan for less than $1K...what are your thoughts on the MS DD 100 listed here domestically?

@billstevenson You are likely correct, but fussing is part of our esoteric hobby.

@alexv I have seen a few DP 80's listed on eBay/Japan that look like good candidates, and there is a gentleman out of Ontario, Canada that has some listed as well. Is there a particular tonearm, Denon or otherwise (SME for one), that are great pairings for this table? I will likely reach out to you privately to discuss matters further, if you are not opposed. 

Lewm, I used to travel to Japan for work at least twice a year and I had a customer in Kyoto (I don’t think it could get better than that :) who was an audiophile and he introduced me to a to a friend, used equipment dealer/collector in the area. I was offered P3 at least on 3 occasions and I pulled the  plug twice, unfortunately the  first  time UPS totally trashed it so the second time I took it with me on the plane. Unfortunately, my employer exited electronics business and it was not done gracefully so I'm no longer in contact with these guys. I had some other contacts so I will try to find them and PM to you.  When I was in Japan after Covid in 2023 I did only vinyl shopping in Tokyo  and it was not the same: the selection and the quality went down big time. It probably did not help that it was August, but I did vinyl shopping in summer before.

One thing that I actually never saw in Japan was L07D. One day we should do a shoot out between your L07D  and  P3 as I think we live within 2 hour drive.