Anyone own a Pioneer Exclusive P3 ??


wondering if any one has heard one and how competitive it is to today's 10k tables

http://www.thevintageknob.org/PIONEER/P3/P3.html#
downunder
Hi there, well I found it all out:

I was wrong in my first mail: I ment to note the dial on the right side: this is for adjusting the tracking force.. Now I got it all adjusted in the right way.

I have the AT-150mlx cart on it with a tracking force of 1,5 grams, and damping is on 1: It sounds wonderfull, I have to go through my whole recordcollection again!, I hears stuff which was never there before.. the detail and steadiness of the sound is amazing, furthermore the soundstage is very holographic, not like anything I heard/had before.. To give you an idea; my daily TT before the P3 was a (Pioneer) PLC-590 with PA-5000 arm.

I will certainly never regret getting the P3, it looks wonderfull, and the sound improvement is amazing!

Regards,
Willem
Jwfabrie,
Good news - sounds like you're on track.

You might want to experiment further with the damping. I would have figured your AT-150MLX to be on the "low" end of compliance.

According to the P3 manual (p15, bottom right), in general, low compliance carts should be set at 3-5 using the straight armpipe, and 2-4 using the S-armpipe. High-compliance carts should be set at 2-4 on the straight armpipe and 1-3 on the S-armpipe.
Congrats Jwabrie

The damping has a big bearing on the overall sound, so like T-bone said, experiment after you become familar with the sound.

IMO the Exclusive P3 is as good as anything out there. I am sure you will enjoy it for many years.
T Bone,

Thanks for the reply.
Forgive me with being so ignorant: But I suppose you are talking about the damping when you say "2-4 using the S-armpipe"??

And Downunder:
Yes, I think I will indeed this TT for many more years. Especially since it was the last item to complete my eXclusive setup: I already had the C3, M3, F3 and 3401's to go with it.. I love the complete setup!

Regards,

Willem
Yes, 2-4 is the range on the damping knob on the top of the tonearm which the manual recommends for the S-armpipe when using 'low-compliance' carts. Personally, I tend to set it at the low side of what the manual recommends, but it is definitely worth experimenting - it will change the sound more than you expect...

FWIW, I assume your AT 150MLX is 'low' because of the specs shown on vinyl engine (which I had recently looked at). I have not used one of those carts on one of my tables.