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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
dgarretson
2,598 posts
 

Harold, you already had the disease. It just mutated....

On Terminator the inside corners of the aluminum angle "thrust pads" on which the two needle bearings pivot, are replaced by thick, tensioned horizontal rubber bands. The pivoting needles fix their locations during break-in by slightly penetrating into the rubber. I assume that this new approach adds damping, and-- after the needles have seated into the rubber-- imposes a small dynamic counterforce against the wand’s vertical travel. I can imagine that the dynamic weighting could be helpful to a short wand of light vertical inertial mass..


Audio_d, I hope your friend had all the electrolytic caps replaced in his SP-10. Aging electrolytics are probably the biggest risks in living with a vintage DD. I routinely replaced them all in PD444, LO7D, and SP-10.

harold-not-the-barrel
895 posts
 
Dave, could you show your slider w/ banded bearing cups ? 
dgarretson
2,598 posts
 
It's a bit more complicated than that.  Each slider is matched to its air manifold at factory.  To update a slider to banded cups you need to break off the alum bearing cradles glued to your existing slider, then glue on replacement cradles that accommodate the bands.  I'll post a photo after finishing this (delicate!) operation.  
harold-not-the-barrel
895 posts
 
I didn´t know this. I very much appreciate your info.
totem395
390 posts
 
For those that had expressed an interest in obtaining a revised chip set for
for their SP10 MKIII,s and other Technics tables JP is now shipping.
 

http://fidelisanalog.com/product/mn6042/

 
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