So many great golden era DD tables out there, what do you recommend for $1000?

Hey uberwaltz...

Nice nice on the QL-A7.
Had the QL-7 back in the day, cause I couldn’t afford the QL-10 at my pay rank, was a sweet-piece.

Regarding the arm lift at the end of play...

There are a few LP’s out there that have very short run-outs and even if adjusted (TT) correctly may still lift a tad early. Luckily those LP’s are not the norm.
Sounds like yours is the adjustment.
On the PS-x75 there are adjustments for where the arm starts on an LP/45 and when it lifts at the end.
Unless one can find a person that’s fully knowledgable with the operations and adjustments of a given tt, it usually requires the Service Manual. They can be downloaded for free.
Along with lewm’s suggestion of searching Vinyl Engine... some very knowledgable folks @ Audiokarma too.

That switching thing, way above this simpleton’s skull.

Doing the same here in looking for DD’s.
But, I’m going back to those tables.

Just recently purchased a Sony PS-X75 in incredible condition, restored inside along with the original shipping container and all the originals that it came with, loving’ it.
Tried to add a picture (PS-x75) here but... guess a-gon doesn’t support that.
That’s too bad... it’s gorgeous.

Added it to our Denon DP-2000, SME III Tonearm w/damping trough... very nice sounding deck.

Next purchase is the Trio KP-9010.
Tuff to find one with the original shipping container and all. Keep checking hifido.

After that’s acquired will be selling my TNT 5 and not turning back.
Need the full auto of the x75, and semi on the 9010, as we’re getting older and aren’t so steady with our hands. The wiff isn’t comfortable with the manual tables anymore... can relate where she’s coming from.
I’m still ok with the semi-auto’s for now but, definitely see that changing in the near future...
Then the Denon will have to go :(

What I’ve found is this... putting the money into the phono amp and cartridge makes the difference in creating an awesome sounding DD or BD TT, they’re both a means to spin the squiggles on a disc.
Either can be great with some fine supporting equipment...

Would be interested if you find the solution to the arm lift issue on your QL-A7...

I did actually" fix"  the annoyance a while ago.
Inverted commas as I hope it is a long term fix.

I remembered a few years back I had an old Sony semi auto table doing similar although more erratic actions at end of play.

The cure was to manually move the tonearm as far across as possible which appeared to reset the stop position.

This subsequently appears to have worked on the QL-A7 as well.

Touch wood since doing this I have had no instance of premature shut down on any album including some near 30 minute long sides with very small remaining run out groove.

That's great to hear uber...
Have a good time spinning'.

Thank you indeed.
I most certainly intend to!
Stay safe out there.

Edgewear posted

"As far as I know Micro never moved from direct drive to belt drive. They simultaniously offered a range of direct drives (DD-series) and belt drives (BL-series). That being said, they went much higher end with belt drives (RX- and SX-series) than they ever did with direct drives. This might suggest that they had stronger faith in the capabilities of belt drive.
There's one point in their 80's catalogue where direct drive and belt drive sort of converged. This is the 1500-series platform, which offered the DDX-1500 direct drive (their top direct drive model) as well as the RX-1500 belt drive, which was the entry level of the big Micro's. It could be upgraded to include all the features also found in the highest end models, including gunmetal plateaus, air bearing and vacuum disc stabilizer. It would be interesting to compare the DDX-1500 with the basic RX-1500 (with aluminum plateau and the motor drive attached to the unit), using the same armboard, tonearm and cartridge. This would be a fair 'shoot out' between direct drive and belt drive, all else being equal. Has anyone ever done this?

The designer of the top belt (or string) drive Micro's founded a new company called TechDas, modernising his old designs with current technology. This would suggest that belt drive is - and perhaps always was - his preferred technology. He's now on a 'world tour' with the ultimate AirForce Zero. This monstrosity makes the old top Micro SX-8000 II look like an entry level table......"


Interesting post but Micro Seiki out sourced there direct drive motors for a lot of there tables. They did not have the resources like JVC did. So it's no surprise that they concentrated on belt drive tables when the manufactures gave up on high end DD after CD's came out. I wish the CD era had been held off for a few years longer, who knows what was in the pipeline.
I recently picked up a JVC QL-A7 myself. What a beautiful table, easy to use, dead silent and it just sounds awesome. Best 250 bucks I ever spent on a TT.
BillWojo