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.
halcro
Dover.
yeah yeah we have all heard ( read ) the arguments extolling the virtues of BD,TD and ID over DD.
My point was that a synchronous motor in a thread drive has local error correction and under dynamic loads it is in play (correcting) all of the time, just like global error correction in a DD. Error correction, something that you seem to dislike with a passion, is clear and present in your own TT.
Different in nature yes, but it is feedback 

Further the fact is that the Final slows when you lower the tone arm. This you have published. You say that this can be adjusted out, but this adjustment must only be a best guess average. So there will be dynamic speed changes since modulation level and the radius read are not constant on an LP. IOW the retardation torque is far from constant.

This is the dynamic speed problem that I hear on the Final.

While one can debate the efficacy of the time line in showing what goes on within a single revolution, Halcro has quite clearly shown us all that a good DD TT maintains speed under load. The Final does not and high platter inertia isn't enough to resist this slowing 

Yes some cutting lathes use a gear principle and then many are DD.



Dover, that may have been a typo on your part.  The SP-20 was another in their series of studio and consumer motor units.  The mastering lathe model was the SP-02.

http://www.lathetrolls.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1223

Huge difference. ;^)
Thanks Pryso - yes indeed typo. Thanks for the link. If you google around should find a picture of the SP02 set up with 60lb Neumann flywheel. Be great to have a set up like that for a domestic TT.

Lewm or Halcro


One of you mentioned a thin leather mat made in Japan, could you post a link to it please ?

Thanks in advance


Peter
Hi Peter,
Victor made a special pigskin mat for their Laboritory Series DD decks like the TT-101 
 http://imgur.com/UnMbyr3 
I was lucky to find one 3 or 4 years ago but they are really scarce.
The closest sounding alternative I have found is the thin Jico suede mat which was launched about 6 months ago.
Regards