Has anyone here restored a Sony TTS 8000 platter or a similar strobed platter

There's a slew of restoration videos on youtube. Search around you will find all kinds of really neat tricks for removing oxidation and restoring an original finish on all kinds of things.

Unless the TTS-8000 just needs light cosmetic work it's just not worth the effort of a full restoration.  They were an early effort by Sony to try and capture the low-end of the professional market.  Most were sold to consumers.

I have restored 3-4 of these for customers over the years and IMO they're just not that great.  Looks - good.  Build quality - OK.  Ease of finding replacement parts - poor.  Sound quality, once restored - OK but not great.

Unless you are in love with this model I would look for something else as a restoration project: TD-124, 301/401, Lenco, Rek-O-Kut or EMT.  All of these will provide a better final result and reward for your efforts.

The YouTube videos contrary to my skepticism were quite good @millercarbon . @br3098 I am surprised what you say about the deck. As it happens I am also restoring a jvc tt101. I am going to sell my emt950 project as I have no space left for it - it really needs a specialist to do the work unfortunately as well

parrotbee, I just never felt that this deck was worth the (any) amount of effort required to get it into operational and salable condition.  YMMV

Perhaps Lohanimal is doing a restoration for his own pleasure and satisfaction.  Perhaps he is not thinking about re-sale value.  After all, he did not ask for an appraisal. Apparently also (and here Lohanimal can correct me) his TTS8000 works fine; he just wants a cosmetic upgrade. In my experience, the only hard to find parts for a vintage Japanese turntable are likely to be integrated circuits or op amps that are critical to speed control and which are no longer made.  Power supply parts and discrete transistors (usually superior to the originals) can usually be sourced without much trouble.  Also, I have found that supposedly "no longer available" ICs are actually available, if you search hard enough on the internet.  I found the critical ICs for my Denon DP80, and for my Victor TT101, on Alibaba, for example.  On that score, is it possible that the apparently mediocre performance of TTS8000s that you have owned was simply due to a lack of calibration or some other glitch associated with speed control?  These vintage DD's can often appear to "work" OK, while not really performing up to original specs due to either failing parts or lack of calibration or both.

 @lewm You have hit the nail on the head in virtually every way. Just like anything hi fi it is for my own pleasure. If I want to make money it won’t be selling and restoring Hifi - I don’t know enough - there are better people at it - and even they only scrape a living. I have other decks too...

With that in mind have any of you restored a strobed platter successfully and if so - how?

I was able to restore Technics SP 10mk2 dishes both to stroboscope and to external but never to TTS 8000

This was the worst platter that ever happened to me ... found in the water along with the whole turntable but with calm I restored everything and now the turntable is finished; I just have to prepare an excellent plinth.

before
https://i.postimg.cc/KYtgBWPv/16.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/Qd1MyTHf/18.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/MTPZQ0Fp/22.jpg

after
https://i.postimg.cc/zvhBYbxD/P1000888.jpg

Wow! Great job.But what about the rest of the chassis?  Have you been able to restore the function of the electronics?

Have you been able to restore the function of the electronics?

All .... pcb and chassis


little taste....lol

before
https://i.postimg.cc/3RMZm6dt/10.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/vZVgfmfd/13.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/Bnb6BnFv/33.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/pLSNb26y/39.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/SKKKVNzs/41.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/4xxZR242/58.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/DwvskhXV/P1000720.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/MZ08MJvr/24.jpg

after
https://i.postimg.cc/vHS2D0LN/DSCN5433.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/QNYJqH9B/P1000138.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/yY9nY7xk/OK-1.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/7bvCW8rR/P1000876.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/1t2T2MCT/3.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/QNqYp8sw/IMG-20190715-110753-1.jpg

Outstanding restoration!

That is amazing work!
Outstanding.

+3!But what estupido let that beautiful thing sit in water for god knows how long?  Did you find it while SCUBA diving?

I have to disagree with the comment above that the TTS 8000 is not worth the effort to make it look nice, clearly you have not heard one well enough set up as they can beat so many TT's around, vintage or modern. I use mine daily, and never think of changing for anything supposedly better as I know it would be money wasted.

Did you find it while SCUBA diving?

ha ha lol ... 
no, a fisherman friend of mine found him in a river and, knowing that I love turntables and like to restore them, he gave them to me. :)

Perhaps with further trolling he could have pulled up an SP10 Mk3.Anyway, that's a remarkable story.

clearly you have not heard one well enough set up as they can beat so many TT's around, vintage or modern

Sorry, gotta respectfully disagree.  I've restored several (4?) of these over the years and heard others, restored and original.  Just doesn't float my boat.  But I'm happy you like yours.

@br3098  What does float your boat and why? not that this was the main focus of my thread

My spidey sense smells a trap but here goes:

It's not that I think the TTS8000 is a bad turntable, just that it's not a great turntable IMO and is not worth a lot of time or effort to restore; not from a monetary (resale) perspective anyway and I just don't think it's a great sounding deck.  My ears, yours may be different.  I won't go into a litany of what I think is "wrong" with the TTS8000.  If you really want my opinion please send me a PM.

If I were going to spend the time and money to restore a vintage deck my No. 1 choice would be a TD124, preferably a MkI.  It's built like a Swiss battleship* and sounds great.  Parts are readily available and there are a myriad of upgrade and customization options.  I would lump in the TD121 as well.  Single speed, simpler design and still sounds great if adjusted properly.

No 2 choice would be a good Garrard 301 or (preferably) a 401.  Also great, bulletproof designs that support a wide array of tonearm/cartridge combinations.

No. 3 would probably be a Luxman DD turntable p PD 121/131, better a PD 441 or best a PD 444.  Absolutely phenomenal decks that are easy to restore (assuming that you don't need unobtanium parts) and sound great.  Completely different that the Luxmans but still great.  Any of these will paired with a restored Micro Seiki MA-505 tonearm and paired with a great medium compliance MC cartridge will beat many much more expensive decks.

There are lots of others: Lenco, Empire (very vintage sound but still great), EMT, some of the Rek-O-Kut models.  These are mainly less desirable as restoration candidates because of limited parts availability.

Right now anything vintage is hot and considered great.  You seldom saw a used TTS8000 for sale until just a few years ago.  Because they were rare?  No, because no one wanted them.  Now anything made in the "golden age" is a classic.  Well, there are great classics, good classics, and a lot of less then good.  You can decide for yourself where the TTS8000 fits
.

@br3098 
Ur Spidey Sense may well be tingling, but it merely a question of perspective.
U clearly like to rumble in the jungle with the big bombastic 'sound' of a good idler - yes yes I'm sure the Home Depot lenco brigade are gonna be up in arms and quote Arthur Salvatore along the way and explain that I don't know what I am talking about and then there will be a minor storm on the forum (please forgive my drole writing)
All said and done you made a very good point 'each to their own'. I find that people become vehement supporters of a machine and drive type thereby dismissing all others.
Anyway back to the original topic:
1. I found the youtube search quite good - they were articles on the technics sl1200 deck.
2. I tried some of the methods - they didn't write 'cut the mustard'
3. I found a fine local polisher who has done the job brilliantly in the end for £20 per platter (BTW he did my JVC TT101 platter) - I bet u don't like the TT-101 either ;) 

3. I found a fine local polisher who has done the job brilliantly in the end for £20 per platter

that's it, it was enough to wax around yourself.