Aiwa AP 2500 D/D strobe turntable.

Hello to anybody out there, I live in the UK and I want to benefit from someone with more knowledge than me. I have been looking at this website for a while and have been intrigued by some of the threads. Everyone seems so knowledgeable. With that in mind, is there anyone out there who can tell me about an Aiwa AP2500, direct drive turntable? It dates from 1974 and is not to be confused with the crap hi fi products the company produces now. It is a real solid piece of kit with a strobe speed stabiliser and plus or minus 10% speed adjustment. It runs exceptionally quietly except for a rather loud 'clunk' when the arm automatically lifts from the running-in groove at the end of a record side. It uses a mechanical relay system as opposed to the more modern day electrical relays to power this function. But what really sold it to me, apart from its classic retro looks, was I paid for it with a bottle of decent red wine, that cost £3.49, about $7. Deals like that don't come by very often and I just had to take advantage of it.

I love my vinyl (listening to it, not wearing it) and I though it was about time, after a lapse of about 8 years, I dipped my toe back into the vinyl water, so to speak. My record collection is slowly getting back to what it was, courtesy of the myriad charity shops that have mushroomed in the high streets over here. I recently bought a Black Sabbath greatest hits and the classic 70s funk of Funkadelic, for £1 each in one of the said shops. The best years of my life were during the 70s and I can always remind myself of those days with music that fitted a memory. Nothing to me is more evocative than music. A single note can transmit me anywhere, instantly. And that sort of pleasure will always be associated with vinyl records. So when the deck came my way, I was really overjoyed. I thought at last I could listen to my records again.

So I have been trying, with no success at all, to find out something, anything, about the deck. I contacted Aiwa themselves, or rather I should say I sent an email query to an automated response centre., who replied back to me that they couldn’t/wouldn’t help me. For such a big company, their customer query and service leaves a lot to be desired. So in conclusion, can anyone out there can help me, I wonder in my quest? I also would like to get hold of a service/operator manual as well, as I have no idea what type of cartridge would fit or indeed suit, the deck. Any suggestions would be very welcome. Best regards,

John.