Hi there everyone, so I have recently been putting together my first turntable set up. Already have my amp and speakers (amp has phono). But now I have come down to actually purchasing a table. There are 3 I am currently looking at that people are selling and I don't know which one would the better one to get based on performance and price. So the first one is a JVC AL-A151, belt driven automatic return. it seems to work well but i am as inexperienced as it gets so i dont really know. Guy wants around 120$ for it. Second, is a Pioneer PL-12D. Belt driven as well, all I really know. Saw some reviews saying its a basic entry level deck. Some ppl seemed to really vouch for it, others seemed to not like so much. I noticed a lot of ppl who really liked mentioned the amount of work into it. Is that why it would sound as good as it did? Don't want to get myself a poorly sounding table having to take it apart clean and do stuff to it in order for it to sound ideal. Guy also wants about 120$ for it. Third, is a sansui p-900. Also belt driven lol. Heard that sansui is well known for its direct drive tables. Are their belt drive tables not up to par? Couldn't really find anything about this table. Guy is asking 75$ Note that dollars are in Canadian. So I was just wondering what advice people had for me on the tables listed, I'm tempted to just go with the a151 as it is my landlords and I know it actually works good. But on the fence about the others because I want to get the best bang for my buck. Thanks! Cheers
which turntable should i get
- Thread starter b_radd17
- Start date
I would go with the PL12D, it was a well thought of entry level to proper hi-fi decks, rather than entry level. It has a decent arm, and being totally manual in operation has less to go wrong. I would try and see it working, fit a new drive belt, clean out the bearing well and replace the oil, sit back and enjoy.
b_radd17 said:
To be fair, any deck 35 - 40+ year old has a right to need a bit of TLC to have it working back to it's full potential, unless it's already being sold as fully serviced (and proof is provided). My pick of the bunch is also the PL12D, only because I know it and I can vouch for it, but I'd buy it expecting to put a little bit of work into it. Probably if you really want something to be in A1 functioning condition right out the box, you're better off buying new. Hope that helps a bit.
Al ears
Well-known member
Again I'd agree with Majorfubar.
The PL12D sold in the thousands and so you should have no trouble finding spare parts as and when required, and also I have not had any experience with the others you mention.
However, my suggestion to you is to forget any of these ancient beesties, spend a bit more and get the basic model (new) from either Project or Rega, which will probably out-perform any of those you mention and will have a warranty.
If you don't really know what you are buying it could all very well turn out to be an expensive mistake.
The PL12D sold in the thousands and so you should have no trouble finding spare parts as and when required, and also I have not had any experience with the others you mention.
However, my suggestion to you is to forget any of these ancient beesties, spend a bit more and get the basic model (new) from either Project or Rega, which will probably out-perform any of those you mention and will have a warranty.
If you don't really know what you are buying it could all very well turn out to be an expensive mistake.
I would recommend the pl12d, I've had a pioneer pl514, for about 38 years never had any problems at all only changed the belt, but I've just bought a pl12d off eBay for £49, all I had to do was unwrap it give it a wipe, I put 2 drops of sewing machine oil in,the little hole,changed the cartridge to the nagaoka 110 which I,d had in the pl514 put it on and it sounded great, I was a bit sceptical at first thinking I'd just bought something about 41 year old ,but the new decks such as the projects sound great but they seem very flimsy ,I don't they will last the same amount of time
I agree with Alears, better to save up a little more and plump for a Rega or Project.
However, there are other s/h alternatives which almost certainly would better your choices for similar money.
I use both a Technics SL7 (and SL6) and Thorens TD115.
The former is a superb piece of engineering and sounds very good. It's a direct drive. The SL6 is only a little less substantial but still heavy for such a compact machine. The latter is the TD125's little brother and also supremely built. It is a suspended belt driven deck and has servo controlled speed adjustment, a very good feature to have plus a lovely arm. It also features a completely non-intrusive semi automatic feature. Handy if for some reason you can't lift the arm at the end.
Both should fall within your budget if you can find them but with anything second hand, especially turntables, make sure you find a good example and if possible pick up rather than having it sent to you by courier. Then give them a good service.
Good luck and let us know what you've found when you found it.
Enjoy your vinyl
However, there are other s/h alternatives which almost certainly would better your choices for similar money.
I use both a Technics SL7 (and SL6) and Thorens TD115.
The former is a superb piece of engineering and sounds very good. It's a direct drive. The SL6 is only a little less substantial but still heavy for such a compact machine. The latter is the TD125's little brother and also supremely built. It is a suspended belt driven deck and has servo controlled speed adjustment, a very good feature to have plus a lovely arm. It also features a completely non-intrusive semi automatic feature. Handy if for some reason you can't lift the arm at the end.
Both should fall within your budget if you can find them but with anything second hand, especially turntables, make sure you find a good example and if possible pick up rather than having it sent to you by courier. Then give them a good service.
Good luck and let us know what you've found when you found it.
Enjoy your vinyl
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