Vintage DD turntables. Are we living dangerously?

I'm glad it worked out for you, Halcro. The good news for us is that you now believe the much more widely available tt 81 is just as good?

There appears to be some disagreement regarding whether the tt 81 has a coreless motor or not. The vintage knob asserts that it does, but 'caligari' on this thread says he's positive that it does not. If he's right, then I assume the two tables would sound different? Did you notice that? I'm asking because I wouldn't mind getting a back-up. Nearly every time I push play on my 101, I feel a touch of anxiety; how's that for living dangerously?

OK...let's try this again.....
TT-101
TT-81
TT-81
Yes Banquo......the TT-81 is a stunning performer as well....although I need to now listen to the differences with my 'new' rebuilt TT-101?
Initial impressions are that the 'old' TT-101 had suffered audibly before its demise and the 'new' TT-101 appears to be a 'new' animal?

I think that the information from Caligari about the motor differences may be correct as the Service Manual for the TT-81 specifies the motor as "DC Servomotor" whilst the TT-101 manual specifies "Coreless DC servomotor".......

I could happily live with the TT-81 nevertheless.....

I have been liaising with a keen audiophile in Crete by the name of Antonis who has designed and assembled a 'sprung platform base' for the 'nude' mounting of his TT-81
I think he has done a marvellous job and his solution certainly addresses Lew's concerns regarding the armpods and turntable relationships....?
The 'Movement' appears to be gaining strength? :-)

Thanks for the links, Halcro. The boards of your 101 look immaculate. Did you relube the bearing?

Antonis's design sort of looks like what Ct0517 has done with his sp10. He also advocates bolting down the footers. What materials does he use? Slate, granite, marble: I can't tell.

Thanks Banquo,
I think my whole TT-101 is in amazing condition.
I counted up in the manual.....and there are 90 capacitors and my Tech replaced them all.......
He said that when he removed all the old solder joints.....there was so much black smoke in his workshop...that his wife thought the place was on fire :^)
He seems to have done a great job of re-building the deck...and he is young, talented and thorough....so it bodes well for the future?
Perhaps we aren't living dangerously...as long as there are good Techs around?

I didn't have the bearing re-lubed as the manual says it is sealed and never needs it. The platter turns so freely and is totally noiseless.....so if it ain't broke....?

Antonis' sprung bases appear to be 1" thick granite slabs with stainless steel and/or aluminium sheets laminated top and bottom in an attempt at creating Constrained Layer Damping.....however, I think he may have erred in his understanding of the principles?
Had he placed the aluminium sheet between two slabs of 1/2" granite with joint adhesive of viscoelastic consistency.....it may perform better.
Alternatively a material like plywood between the granite sheets seems a better choice as metal sheeting shares many of the same acoustic properties of stone?
The supports for his TT-81 and for the tonearm pods are solid stainless steel rods but the interesting choice appears to be that of the turntable supporting ring which I simply can't make out?
I'll have to ask him.....
I'm sure it sounds fabulous and he seems to confirm that at the first few listens....