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
Theophile, Please understand that the question of the gunmetal platter on a GT2000 or 2000X is not on my front burner, as I do not own any Yamaha turntable. Thus I confess only to being human and to having forgotten our previous discussion. In fact, after I posted my previous comment, it did occur to me that we have covered this ground before. Mea culpa.

Also, you seem to think that I dismiss the possibility that the 18kg platter was a significant upgrade to performance. I do not and did not. But because of its far greater mass compared to the standard platter, I personally would not run the 18kg platter unless I had the version of the GT2000(X) with the larger bearing assembly. Personal preference aside, I also don’t think I ever asserted that the 18kg platter could not be used with the standard bearing, if one wanted to do that.

You may also like to know that I have advised others not to purchase a GT750 or any other lesser model of vintage Yamaha DD in the belief the lesser model would be "just as good" as a GT2000. I agree with your assessment of the relative merits, based on data, not personal experience. I have also mentioned here that, because our son has worked and lived in Tokyo for nearly 10 years, I am a fairly frequent visitor. I can attest that the GT2000 is not rarely seen in high end emporia that sell vintage used merchandise. (Typically, the ones I have seen in the flesh were a priori "sold" to some other lucky buyer, before I got there.) They also turn up on Hifido more often than a Pioneer Exclusive P3 or Sony PS-X9, for examples. This is evidence that the GT2000 was very popular when it was current, among Japanese aficionados.
In Italy no GT 2000 has ever been imported nor even the older brothers.
Great pity.
Hello fellow audiogoners

I have a Luxman PD-444 which is dead for all practical purposes: the light are on but nobody's home. I have re-capped it - no change. Can anybody fix it? Cosmetically it's only fair, so I'm thinking if repairs are too much I may sell it as is... I couldn't find any schematics or service manuals on it. 
Mark,  Please see up the thread where I have mentioned many times the fact that JP Jones is good with these problematic gems. I don't know if JP ever worked on a PD444, but he is a fast learner, especially if you can dig up a schematic.  JP posts here, too.  His business is called Fidelis Analog, located in NYC.  Also, Dave Garretson, another member of this forum, owns a PD444; Dave is a pretty smart guy as well.  Best of luck; your PD444 is worth the effort and cost to make it run again.
@markshvarts have you checked original notes from Luxman (dates April 26, 1978). It's for adjustment of unstable speed on PD441/444. here is a link to my google docs for this file: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7SnhzDV__cCb3BmSFZYU0xzc00/view?usp=sharing 

Not sure if that's your problem, but just in case.
I have two PD-444 and it's amazing turntable.