new turntable on its way!

[Ian7633]

And just think, you can finally play your 12" single

[karma67]

It has left Germany! Not long now

[Marco]

Nice one, Jamie. That's a lovely T/T, which I'm sure won't disappoint!

It's going to sound rather different from your Linn, for a number of reasons, but mainly because of the drive mechanism. D/D, regardless of which T/T it's used on, has an 'intrinsic sound', as does belt-drive - and both have their merits and pitfalls.

I'd expect the Pioneer to 'bop along' better than the Linn, having more 'drive' and energy with rock and pop music, and the Linn, as Alan says, being a little 'airier' and more detailed overall, with perhaps a warmer, slightly softer bass.

In terms of the headshell thing, which you PM'd me about, I wouldn't worry about that until you've decided and settled on which cartridge you'll be using. Just enjoy the T/T 'as is' for a while, until you get to know what it's doing, then you can tweak things, if necessary, from there

Marco.

[Gazjam]

Gorgeous bit of kit Jamie, look fwd to seeing the pics when she's in.

[karma67]

Thanks you 2,
For a while I'll be using an ortofon mc25 fl cartridge

[homespun]

I often think that some of the better Japanese decks get a poor press from the magazines because they don't always conform, lets say bias towards the Rega, Project etc etc designs, Fair comment, but I heard a TEAC 300N the other day at my local Richer Sounds and although its belt drive it sounded superb, If I spent 3 times the price on another deck I doubt it would be 3 times the sound quality. I agree some of the vintage Japanese decks do have a build quality that is better than some European makes. and I have no problem with direct drive. I guess there are differences in sound between DD and Belt but I think its more subtle than people like to think, Just listen to the bass response from an Audio Technica DJ deck, its awesome.

[karma67]

It's here!

[struth]

It's here!

Where?

[karma67]

hmm this aint half bad you know,im liking it so far,its got a cheapo yellow AT cartridge and the tonearms a bit of a faff to set up,its in the ball park though.quality finish,veneered in rio rosewood too!
its keeping speed nicely and it weighs a bloody ton, even with the pants cartridge and ok ish arm im not missing the lp12 so far!!!!!!
only downside is the lid has been damaged in shipping

here's a video clip of it in action
https://youtu.be/14iV6ubEy20

[DSJR]

The cartridge looks to be an AT91 or direct relative. Track it at 1.8g or so and certainly no higher than 2g, as bass muddies up and hf closes in. The directly related Rega Carbon I have is a secret pleasure, only limited in ultimate hf transparency*, The bass can be awesome though, but never thuddy or boomy and midrange is very clear indeed.

* The conical tip is nicely polished I think and surface noise is low. The natural conical treble losses over a side are kept to a minimum I think and you forget it's only twenty five quid or less for the AT91 version.

That tonearm should take almost anything and choice of headshells should be huge fun as well. The mass of the deck will also lift it above a typical techie and as for the lid replacement, completely remove it when playing and just use it as a dust cover when not in use