Vintage Japanese DD Consult and Suggestions Please

Too bad Chakster is no longer on Audiogon as he was a wealth of information on older direct drive turntables and cartridges. You may want to look through his older posts, a wealth of information there.

I have in various rooms, a Kenwood KD990, a Denon DP60L, a Denon DP47F, a Denon DP59L, a Denon 55K, and a JVC QL-Y7. Keep in mind, most all of this is original JVC technology with various bells and whistles. I also have a half a dozen various others "on ice." First, you have to decide if you want autolift. Then if you want play with various arms--such as the 55K lets you do (or the 80 you are considering) (I have a Unitrac on my 55K, perfect match I think) and if you want a lot of cartridge swapping. And what sort of cartridges. I like lightweight cartridges on most of the Denons. Such as Denon 303, or some MMs, or Grados. But, the 59 and 60 have swappable S-arms to let you use heavier, more modern cartridges. The JVC and Kenwood have removable headshells, as do some of the Denons. The Kenwood has a heavier effective mass arm allowing for some heavier modern cartridges. The Kenwood cuing, arm motion, and build are all very nice. I put it against an expensive VPI for 6 months and sold the VPI (the only belt table I've kept, among many, is the Merrill Superpolytable and a DIY one, both with smaller footprints). The 60, while not quite the arm of the 59, is a nice, steady performer. Footprint matters to me. The 47 and the 60 can get in tighter spaces. As for the JVC, I have a Benz Micro cartridge on it and it has played maybe 15 hours a week  for two years flawlessly, so if you get a good one I assume it will run well for a long time. Some of my many Denons I bought at bargain prices and those needed some form of minor tweaking. Intermittent buttons, or tonearm stickiness, or VTA adjustment/shimming, mis-calibrated VTF, all easily done in less than fifteen minutes. The others have been perfect for years.

You can get a rebuilt DP80 off of yahoo auction japan through a service like buyee or others, just be aware that shipping costs are high.

a dk-110 or 300 can also be found there.

a dp75 motor unit could be an option, some say there is no sonic difference between the two. (I have never heard a 75) but you can get a 110 volt version. not so with the 80.

@neonknight, Trust me, I have toiled over this decision and have considered other means and ways to hold onto the 301 in some form. I am resolved to any replacement, Denon or other, to pale in comparison as it relates to aesthetics...sonic performance will take precedence over how new or restored it looks. 

So you still have the 301. It is my opinion that you should not let it go. Sell the arm off it and replace it with a good basic vintage one for the time being. A Fidelity Research FR 24, an Audio Technica, a JVC, or maybe even an ADC. Sell the cartridge too if its a higher end piece and go with a basic Denon DL 301 II or an Audio Technica. You will never replace that 301 for what you get out of it. Also you are going to sink real money into a SP10 MK II or Denon DP80 to have it restored to where its like new to you. Heck I would even let the phono stage go and use a Darlington, Sota Pyxi, or something along those lines before parting with the table. 

@lewm, I am grateful for this information, and thank you for the offer to part with one of your chips should it become necessary. In the event that cost were no object, or my budget was stretched, would the recommendation change at all? 

Once my 301 sells, I will certainly consider reaching out to Music Technologies for their direction and suggestions on this matter.

I currently own and use four different Japanese DD turntables (Kenwood L07D, Technics SP10 Mk3, Victor TT101, and Denon DP80), and in the past i owned a few others (especially Technics SP10 Mk2 and Mk2A).  Since cost is an object, I would recommend the Denon DP80 as best bang for the buck. It has two Achilles heels. First, there is a chip that governs speed.  That chip is rare if not unobtainable, so make sure the sample you buy is working well. Push come to shove, I have a few spare chips that I bought several years ago and would part with one.  Most were built for 100V for use in Japan. It is my impression that the chip was damaged in many units used in the US due to running at 120V; it's just a guess. The DP80 also used some discrete transistors that are known to be problematic, but there are modern equivalents that work much better. Best to find a tech with some experience working on them.  Sadly, Bill Thalmann, who lived in my area and was in my opinion the best of the best, passed away a year or two ago.  You might contact his business, Music Technologies in Springfield, VA. Maybe they still have a guy for DD TTs. With any of these TTs, it is wise to have help. In my. opinion also, the SP15 is not in the same league with the others discussed here. I am not saying it is a bad unit, just not as good as the others mentioned, which are all among the best of that era.

Thank you for the information. I do not foresee the need for multiple tonearms. 

Hard to discern, but would you state that you prefer the sound one over the other between the Luxman, Denon, and Technics? If so, what are the qualities that make one stand out over the others?

Denon DP80 in a DK-300 Plinth is a simple solid option, there is enough availability/competition, a few people have chosen different arms, or you change to ......... I have only read about them.

A very nice QLDD option is Mitsubishi Linear Tracking, with auto start/stop or hands free manual features. LT-22, (other versions exist). Solidly built, I have the Vertical Version LT-5V in my office, it is belt drive, auto start/stop is a treat.

Mitsubishi LT-22 needs repair, just to see it

I helped another friend find/buy one. I had it shipped here, refined all the adjustments, and gave him the option to buy it or I would keep it, he loves it. It sounds darn good. We put a new AT540ml MM cartridge on it. A solid and easy TT, worthy of cartridge upgrade when ready, he went to 15 IPS Reel to Reel, OMG, they blow my pre-recorded 7-1/2 IPS R2R away. You hear what the musicians were hearing in the Studio while making decisions.

I helped my friend find/buy/install a Luxman PD-444, I became so impressed with it, I recently added info about it on this site. Option for a second arm, (one can be long), makes it a terrific choice if you have the extra width it needs. Dust cover down/up/easy to remove

Luxman PD-444, high tech within elegant simplicity

We put long and normal length Micro Seiki 505 arms on his, I may buy one for myself I like it so much, it’s headshell fitting is adjustable for azimuth. The Micro Seiki arm height is easy, hand tightened lever similar to my Acos Lustre GST-801, the wonderful SME arms in the photo are not, allen head set screws are used like my other two arms, Blackbird from NewArtVinyl in Russia and a very compact Mission branded Jelco.

To fit my very long effective 12.5" arm, I chose JVC Victor TT81 QLDD Quartz Locked Direct Drive in a seven layer CL-P2 Plinth which needs more depth, heavy acrylic dust cover lifts off

I highly recommend at least one arm with removable headshell, my rear Acos Lustre GST-801 9" arm has that and unique magnetics, the easiest/smoothest height adjust while playing. Headshell with azimuth adjustment is helpful.

You mentioned SP-10, Yesterday I checked all alignments of the Technics SP-15 I gave my friend years ago, with the EPA-BP500 Base that enables optional arm wands. One option, his, is the S arm with removable headshell, like this:

It has a clear dust cover that can be played up/dn/lifted off

ps, luckily as it turns out, my SUT has inputs for 3 arms; one advantage of the Luxman PD444 is it incorporates a switch for either arm, so only one ’phono in’ is needed for 2 arms.