Vintage DD turntables. Are we living dangerously?

I too have a JVC TT101 and a JVC TT81. I really enjoy these tables, they are both mounted in identical original plinths.

At this moment my TT101 is out for recapping and contact cleaning at a local (Brooklyn, NY) pro audio repair shop - RepairNY.com

I might have waited too long to get it recapped as a warm up suddenly became necessary to achieve speed stability. Needless to say I am nervous about getting my baby back and running well.

I am using the TT81 at this time and it is fine, but it ain't the same - as Halcro has so beautifully written. My wife - who only comes in and listens from time to time commented that the sound wasn't as good at this time: and the only thing that changed was the the TT substitution.

Part 2 follows

Speaking of my TT101 and TT81:
I use aurios and still points in combination (creating three feet - two in back and one in front) to support the plinth, I also have a squash ball under the sheet metal motor cover - that ball is absolutely required to damp this ringing metal bowl.
I am very interested in Halcro's finding that when he compared so many amazing tables, that I don't believe I will ever have a chance to listen to, the TT101 was a top runner. I feel rather lucky that I ended up with such a seriously good machine, that is if I get it back in one working piece.

Now that these machines with their sealed bearings are in their 30's I am thinking it may be time to clean the bearings and most likely change the oil. Does anyone have any information on getting into these sealed bearings?

Dear Aigenga,
My 'Brother' :-)
How fortunate we both are to have these tables?
Don't worry about cleaning the bearings and changing the oil.......there is no oil and the bearings need no maintenance.
At least that's what the Service Manual says.
You can download both of these on Vinyl Engine.
I hope your tech knows what he's doing and does a good job?
It will be interesting to hear your reports back?
Please keep us informed :-)
Cheers
Henry

The TT-81 and TT-71 use the same CORE motor. The 81 uses more sophisticated electronic drive than the 71.

Now, the TT-101 is a completely different beast. It uses a CORELESS motor and a "double bi-directional servo" in the electronics. So it is no surprise that Aigenga prefers the 101 over the 81. I have no experience with the 81 nor 101 but I have owned other JVC models and every time I prefer the ones with the coreless motor and even my non-audiophile friends noticed the coreless tables sound "smoother." It has a distinctive fluidity in the sound that's recognizable. I would LOVE to hear a TT-101.

Much information can be found at the invaluable The Vintage Knob site.

_____

Hiho, FWIW, that's the first thing I noticed once I got my L07D up and running, an uncanny sense of "fluidity" (good word for what I hear), plus the L07D's signal to noise ratio seems to be unusually low, which adds to that same sense. The turntable gets out of the way, and the music is just "there".