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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.
halcro
richardkrebs
427 posts
 

Lew.

I think that we slow a little as we age, less youthful bravado.

I have built/rebuilt  virtually all of my system but, like you, I would not have the energy to start again.

I spend most of my time listening, which is after all what the system is for.


cheers.   

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fleib
1,124 posts
 

Had an interesting conversation with my Tech yesterday. He's been fixing all kinds of stereo equipment for a long time. He's one guy I know who is actually older than me and wise in the ways of keeping equipment functional. He essentially said, if it's not broken don't fix it.

I told him my TT81 was fully functional, but I wanted all the electrolytics replaced and the board(s) gone over for cracks, old solder etc. He said he could do that but electrolytic caps don't automatically go bad after 20 or 40 years. They might last 80 years, and could very well last longer than I. 

After discussing a couple of pieces I have waiting in the wings, so to speak, I've decided to take my tube amp to him. I can't get the bias adjusted on the left channel input board, although it sounds good. This amp was built by Dan Fanny and is 50/wpc, class A/B.  It was originally my tweeter amp and can pass a perfect square wave at 1KHz. Rise time is about 2usec and it sounds like nothing at all. 

I'll start experimenting with anti-resonant material and let you know.

dgarretson
2,623 posts
 
That’s interesting about the life span of electrolytics. Electrolytic manufacturers typical spec capacitor life at several thousand hours--though I suppose that this is calculated at the most extreme conditions of voltage and temperature. I only have anecdotal experience with their failure in TTs. My L07D lasted about 300 hours before exhibiting speed instability due to a failing electrolytic. I then replaced them all.
lewm
13,785 posts
 
I guess I am guilty of being a frequent advocate of replacing electrolytics in vintage DD turntables, meaning electrolytics that are typically at least 30 years old. My main reasons for that are (1) it's cheap insurance against a future failure, and (2) in the worst case scenario a bad electrolytic that might cost one dollar to replace (if you can solder) eventually can result in the destruction of an irreplaceable transistor or IC.  I agree that when you do replace ALL the electrolytics with new, you are probably discarding a few capacitors that are still good, but the cost is trivial.  (I'd love to see an 80-year-old electrolytic that still works fine, however. We're talking 1936.)

Plus there is the added possible benefit that modern electroytics are generally a little better, specification-wise, than they were in 1980. Your "stuff" might work better because of that.

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