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.
128x128halcro

Showing 1 response by gandmjl

WOW! Reading through all of this, the parts I can understand anyway, I am well aware I am way out of touch these days.
All of my gear is from what I called the "Golden Age" when I mustered out of the USN after Vietnam. With my pockets somewhat full I began putting together my system and building on it for a few years until I had what I thought was pretty good. Not so great by any standards of today but happy to report what I bought back in the mid 1970s is still going strong and I still love my music.
For the TT I selected the Luxman PD 121 with an SME 309 TA fitted with a Denon 103 MC and Denon 320 matching transformer. Later on I added a Technics SL1200 MKll for the vinyl I had that may have seen some bumps along the way.
After all this reading I have to ask am I doing wrong. I do not use the Luxman often at all unless I get in the mood to spin some of my better vinyls and that means it sometimes does not get used for over a year at a time. Some here say that it is best to use it rather than allow it to set. All I know is when ever I do decide to spin it it is spot on just the way it always has been and sounds great played through my Sansui G-9000 and Altec 19s. This discussion made me do some math but most of my gear is well over 40 years old but still doing just fine and I highly doubt I will ever need to update any of it with newer offerings. All I have ever done is cleaned a few contacts, mostly in the receiver, and kept all my components clean and dust free. The SL 1200 is the workhorse and about as bulletproof as can be and only ever gets a cartridge or stylus change once in a great while. I doubt any of this stuff can be repaired if something goes simply because the parts likely don't exist except for the Altecs thanks to GPA. I don't run in circles where I get to hear what the new stuff has to offer and none of my pals have any interest in good tunes now in our late 60s. My wife and I do enjoy doing concerts here at home but just the two of us when we decide to crank it up a bit and give the 19s a workout. I often say I am and Analog guy stuck in a digital world and most of my family youngsters never even heard a vinyl album played the way they were back in the "Olden Days". They seem very satisfied with what ever comes from their phones through ear buds but they do want to get behind my gear and do hook ups so they can hear their tunes through my 19s. Never going to happen as long as I am here.
Great discussion here so carry on and all I wanted to say is if you buy quality stuff I hope it can last as long as what I bought but it just does not appear to be going that way.