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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
downunder
1,329 posts
 
Hi Henry aka Halcro

I now see you put the leather mat directly to the platter, not on top of the rubber mat like the Jico play pictures😀

I am a little worried as I dont use a record weight with my P3 or P10 as it sounds better without. The same platter or is sunken a bit with the lip around it. The thin Millennium mat did not get over the height of the platter lip so the lp was sort if touching it.

I have tested the P3 rubber mat ( it is very thick) and it has sounded better than the thinner Technics mat, Boston 1, Millennium, SAEC steel mat and Living Voice mat.

So the leather will be interesting
halcro's avatar
halcro OP
2,664 posts
 
Hi Shane,

I can't see where you see the leather mat on top of the rubber mat in the Jico pictures....👀❓
lewm
13,544 posts
 
Banquo, Re platter rubbing. There was indeed one point in time where I perceived noise coming from what sounded like platter rubbing, only audible at 45 rpm, and I reported it here. However, the noise or rubbing sound, or whatever it was, disappeared as mysteriously as it had appeared in the first place, with no treatment or cure from me. There's been no issues since, and the TT101 is dead silent. Which is kind of why I am reluctant to lubricate the bearing, since that opens up a potential new can of worms. Nonetheless, I certainly agree that when Victor stated that the bearing would need no service "for the life of the turntable", they did not envision that a few old farts would be resurrecting them 35 years later.

Aigenga, Is it fair to say that the benefit of your IEC socket is the capacity to use "modern" power cords? It's the power cord itself that affords the real benefit. Where did you connect the third "ground" wire from your IEC plug to the chassis? I have done similar to vintage equipment, except I choose to dispense with the IEC interface. I just choose a suitable modern power cord, buy a length of it from Michael Percy, and then solder it directly to the power transformer. My favorite cord for this purpose is XLO; there are two types made by XLO, one more costly than the other, of course. Mainly they differ in wire gauge, but the conductors are of high quality, 3 wires, shielded, and in a head to head comparison with other boutique power cords, the XLO came out ahead (at least in my imagination). Kimber 8TC speaker cable also makes an excellent power cord (I'm using it on my Lenco), as does Goertz ribbon-type speaker wire, the heavy gauge version. My TT101 has to prove itself reliable enough to be worthy of this embellishment before I will go to the trouble.
pryso
1,977 posts
 
Lew, brief power cord story -

One of my best audio buddies (who we unfortunately lost last year) had decades of experience with electronics, audio components, and on-site recording. So he approached problems with a background of technical knowledge, yet he kept an open mind to experiment, even when it went "against the rules".

His old school side was content with decent quality Belden PCs and only smiled at the pricing for most of the aftermarket "audiophile" PCs. Until one day he needed a longer than standard PC and couldn't find a Belden long enough. However he did have some spare Kimber 8TC and so fabricated a PC of the needed length rather than go shopping. The improvements with the Kimber made him a believer that standard PCs can indeed be improved upon.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
With the release of the Pioneer PLX-1000, which addresses the vibration issues of vintage DD turntables, there's no need to live dangerously. It's in current production, you'd be buying it under warranty, and it's a very affordable $699.
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