Reason for buying old/classic turntables

FWIW, I find that the flagship direct-drive TTs of Japan in the late 1970s and early 1980s are really quite good. I have one which I enjoy quite a bit. However, they are from being the same. Some of them were relatively light, with very high-torque motors - like the Technics SP-10 Mk2 (and in particular, one other which I will not yet name because I am trying to find one!). Others were lower torque but higher inertia-moment players like the Yamaha PX-1, the Onkyo PX-100M, and a few others (note that when I call these low-torque players, they were not slouches - they all had torque 30-100% higher than the Technics SL-1200 series - but they had half the torque of the Technics SP-10Mk2). Having heard the SP-10Mk2 in the at-the-time very expensive original plinth vs some of the others, I prefer some of the others in stock form. That said, every table in a super-heavy plinth that I have ever heard outdid the same table in the cheaper plinth which came with it.

Thermonicavenger, I have to disagree on why most TT mfrs go for belt drive - it certainly isn't to make it rich selling belts. And when Technics was selling its SP-10Mk2 in 1975 for 250k yen (the average monthly salary for the household head in the top-earning quintile of Japanese households in 1975), they certainly did not care about trying to squeeze out a few extra yen on the aftermarket (though they nicely provided with an upgrade path with the Mk3 a few years later).

Personally, I think most people who make TTs now are smaller shops who are built around working with materials rather than working with the electronics and/or motors, and frankly, I think it is because a lot of people got sucked into the 'smooth sound' of really good high-mass platter belt drives. Heck, I'm still a sucker for it.

The MicroSeiki designs are not terribly high-tech. They are simply very, very well-machined. And I agree, they don't make them like that anymore.

Are the old decks that over-hyped? People will argue that a good new Technics 1200 is better than the old decks any day of the week. Well, most of the tables (from the big mfrs) a rank or two down from the top in the late 70s and early 80s had better torque, AND better inertia moment. Some of the plinths stunk, but some were quite OK (though those decks are among the rarest). And you can get that technology now, with the original arm (which in some cases are really top notch) for not a lot of money. The trickle-down technology was ridiculously good (still is - most of the makers are still present in precision electronics (Technics = Matsushita/Panny, Aurex = Toshiba, Diatone = Mitsubishi Electric, Lo-D = Hitachi, Exclusive = Pioneer, and Kyocera and Sony are, well, Kyocera and Sony)) and as mikelavigne says, with a new phono stage, cart, plinth, etc, these compete with the best out there.

And Macrojack, I would be very surprised if you did... I don't think I've seen more than 2-3 people ever mention it :^)

The common comparison being made in this thread by people who are fans of "vintage" TTs is that AFTER new plinths, modern isolation platforms, ensuring the bearing is OK (and sometimes putting a new bearing in), adding a modern state of the art arm, wiring, TT mat, cartridge, and phonostage, the "vintage" TT now compares pretty well with what is out there. I don't see anyone saying that the Lenco in stock form smokes anything modern. There are a few TTs from 20-30yrs ago which can hold their own in stock form but they came in the "hi-fi age", some 25yrs after the Garrard 301. I expect, however, that manufacturers of console-bound tables of the 50s and 60s and DD workhorses from the 70s and 80s were not, at the time, intended to be competitive with the top-tier tables 25-50 years later. I believe it is a combination of a lack of development of motors, plus a certain set of fortunate circumstances (used tables are somewhat cheap, people can use their good arms and carts from previous tables, and for the lucky few who can wield tools with some skill, making a plinth worthy of a top-tier table doesn't cost much in terms of materials (and for the same, the pleasure of making it pays for the time). And the result is an excellent table at a lower out-of-pocket cost (usually) than new rivals, which does what we want it to do, which is spin at 33 1/3rpm all day every day and do absolutely nothing else perceptible to the stylus/record interface.

And coincidence of coincidences, I just missed on a Sony PS-X9 which was up for auction... wonder when I am going to see one of those again...

Jloveys, I can only hope that my idler project, which awaits in the everlasting projecthood limbo, will perform as well as your 124 once completed. I now have a second project also awaiting, and a stock Diatone LT-1 to play with over the holidays. I have reasonably high hopes for the Diatone, but it too eventually may have to be re-plinthed.

04rdking, bless your heart. Happy holidays to all.