Pioneer PL-600X tt - impulse eBay purchase!

[jandl100]

Oo 'eck. :eek:
I just could not resist. :rolleyes:

Spotted this on fleaBay this evening.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190486076824
Jap direct drive - did a Google - got this link put up by a certain David J. Price. Hmmm ... the name sounded familiar. :eyebrows: He seems to quite like it!
http://twitpic.com/duwnc

Also found this posting by a knowledgable seeming tt dweeb ....
Next is Pioneer pl-600x Despite pioneer having a great reputation for belt drives the DD's never caught the worlds attention in the same way the Technics did, a shame because the 1979 model reaching the UK later was a supurb one. The higher end models suported execellent DD motors robust main bearing with impressive dicast base aluminium plinth and sprung sub chassis.The pl-600x was as well made as any sub- sp10 Technics, had full autimation great s shaped arm. Sound is devine considering its complexity, bass is deep and articulated, midband wide and smooth and treble is highly incsive. The pioneers lack of reputation makes for low prices if you can find one. 5 globes pay 120 pounds
http://www.vinylengine.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=214653

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii114/jandl100/PioneerPL600Xtt.jpg

Go on then - tell me it's rubbish! :lol:

[chris@panteg]

Hi Jerry

Looks a cracker , its quartz lock and at 11kg a very solid machine ! i would think it should be excellent and look forward to reading how you get on with it , nice one .

[Tarzan]

Happy New Year Jerry- l trust a review will be forthcoming:).

[jandl100]

Woo-Hoo!!

Here it is - home & (almost) happy.

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii114/jandl100/PioneerPL600tt.jpg

Out with the naff rubber mat and on with a Herbie!

The tt is very nicely made, and looks a treat.

Runs dead silently (and dead steadily) when playing an LP.

Lovely free-moving arm bearings, smooth and zero play.

Fully automatic, which I love (sorry, you purists out there :eyebrows:) - but therein lies a slight problemette (as implied by the word 'almost' in the first sentence above!).

It works fine - but there's a squeak/squawk noise when raising the arm. I've contacted the eBay seller and he is being supportive. He's happy for me to return it but says the problem lies in a small belt which operates the lift/lower function needing replacing. He said he thought he had sorted the problem by giving the belt a clean, but as the problem has recurred a replacement seems necessary. He will supply me with a new belt and instructions for how to go about it.

Other than the squeaky lift/lower belt it is A1 and, oh yes, it sounds great. I think David J Price knows what he is on about! :cool:

I do love Japanese direct drives .... :eek:

_____________

For some reason I have a hankering to try some moving magnet carts - don't ask why, I don't think it's a rational thing!

So I have a Pickering XV15 and an Empire 999ex cart on their way to me. That could be fun and an interesting comparison to my re-bodied Denon 103. :)

Oh, and speaking of analog - there's also a Technics SL-7 tt heading my way. :carrot:

[Tarzan]

Please do not say it is better than the Techie:lolsign:

[gthang]

Hi Jerry,
I like the look of that.
Appears to be a very substantial platter, have you lifted it off to have a look underneath? is it heavy?

[jandl100]

Hi Graham

Yup, it's not a lightweight thing - the platter weighs just a touch under 2Kg.

[chris@panteg]

Its interesting that so many Jap DD's have platter's that weigh just under 2kg , something in that ? do you think, or just coincidence .

Also the cheaper DD's which have lighter platter's , and obviously less powerful motor's , and again the platter's are much the same weight .

The reason i say this is from talking to Richard of Vantage Audio , he said the stock Techie platter is not anything like as bad as people think ,
and perhaps is misunderstood ?

But anyway Jerry enjoy this deck it looks a gem to me .

[Tarzan]

Nothing wrong with mm Cartridges- they rock:).

[Barry]

Umm! - looks very nice Jerry. Just love those clean elegant lines.

Regards

[jandl100]

Still waiting for delivery of the Empire 999e/x mm cart from icebound Scotland ... but meanwhile this has arrived and is shown installed ....

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii114/jandl100/DSCF6523.jpg

By gum, it's a fine cartridge! Open and exuberant, with a ripe bass-end. Excellent clarity and where'd the LP surface noise go? :scratch: Many folks rate these, and lots of very positive mag reviews. Now I know why! :)

Setting it up with measurement protractor etc gives a bit of a bland result.
But lower the arm pivot end and push the cart forward a bit in the headshell, track it at 2.1g and Bingo!! ... funny old biz, innit!

[Barry]

Still waiting for delivery of the Empire 999e/x mm cart from icebound Scotland ... but meanwhile this has arrived and is shown installed ....

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii114/jandl100/DSCF6523.jpg

By gum, it's a fine cartridge! Open and exuberant, with a ripe bass-end. Excellent clarity and where'd the LP surface noise go? :scratch: Many folks rate these, and lots of very positive mag reviews. Now I know why! :)

Setting it up with measurement protractor etc gives a bit of a bland result.
But lower the arm pivot end and push the cart forward a bit in the headshell, track it at 2.1g and Bingo!! ... funny old biz, innit!

From the photograph, it looks like you lowered the pivot end quite a bit there Jerry.

Regards

[jandl100]

Yes, I see what you mean Barry - but, no. The photo was taken close up and from a bit under and a bit to the front of the cart to show the cantilever properly. The perspective makes it seem far more slanted up than it actually is! The armtube has a very gentle downward slope to the pivot which is about 5mm down, I would guess. :)

[The Vinyl Adventure]

You still running this bad boy Jerry?
How you getting on with it?
Just picked one up for £65 complete with artofon ff10xe ...
Works a treat and is minto! Even the lid is scratch free ... Well chuffed I am!

http://i728.photobucket.com/albums/ww282/hamish_gill/49b5942a.jpg

[RobbieGong]

Nothing wrong with mm Cartridges- they rock:).

Especially Ortofon 2M Black type mm cartridge :) (It thinks it's a good mc - Superb !!)

[jandl100]

You still running this bad boy Jerry?
How you getting on with it?
Just picked one up for £65 complete with artofon ff10xe ...
Works a treat and is minto! Even the lid is scratch free ... Well chuffed I am!


£65 ?? :doh:

Fook me. Mine cost me a £ton more than that, and I thought it was good vfm.
You've got a bargain and a half there, Hamish! :thumbsup:

Def on a par with a Techie 1200/1210 imho.
And that arm is very good and can easily take some fancy-shmansy cartridges! I'd recommend a Denon 103 or DV10X5. ;)


But no, mines 'resting' ... I recently bought Richard Gromit's Pioneer PL-71. :cool:

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Ahh yes I saw that go ...

Yep yep, I thought id done well, got em down from £70 too... Never spend full price in cash converters! ;)
I hadn't realised if got that good a deal though!

In situ

http://i728.photobucket.com/albums/ww282/hamish_gill/0de30574.jpg

Set up and sounding rather nice!

Did you ever play with the suspension?
One corner was bottoming out, I think I have worked out that if I screw the plastic circular nut thing on the foot to about 3 thread widths from the one end it seems to balance right ... It just seems odd that nothing seems to screw tight...?
Does any of that make any sence?

[Reid Malenfant]

I dig the retro TT stand Hamish :rfl: Couldn't you have at least painted it first :D

[The Vinyl Adventure]

It is painted ... Blue ...
It's a beautiful thing that box!
I think it's some sort of army crate of some sort ... Was given to me by a good friend of mine a few years back now... Perfect size for the tt so that's where it's staying :)

[The Vinyl Adventure]

http://i728.photobucket.com/albums/ww282/hamish_gill/220c5be8.jpg

[Reid Malenfant]

I was just pulling your leg Hamish, I'm sure Hannah loves it to :eyebrows: Ooops, I'm at it again :doh:

Very nice TT by the way & a superb price, can't take the mickey out of that :) Looks like you got a bargain! ;)

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Heh, I know Mark, sorry i didn't mean to sound offended ... Mick take away ;)

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Sounds like I got a bargain too! For £65 I can't believe how good it sounds even with minimal set up efforts!

[jandl100]

Does any of that make any sense?

No.

:D

[jandl100]

Nope, I have never played with the suspension so I can't help you there.

Love that box - looks like a pirate's treasure trove! Avast there. Shiver me timbers.

There's real character to it - some folks have no taste. ;)

[The Vinyl Adventure]

... shame ... i shall struggle on!
Im going to have more of a play with it i think, if it turns out i like it i might see what that vantage chap can do with it ...

we seem to be collecting tatty looking furniture at the moment, i think its trendy??
i like it anyway, bit of character never did anything any harm :)

[Marco]

Love that box - looks like a pirate's treasure trove! Avast there. Shiver me timbers.

There's real character to it - some folks have no taste. ;)

Indeed. The term is called 'distressed', which it is, and so like you (and Hamish), I love it. You'd have to pay an interior designer £100s to make a crappy modern box look like that. Therefore, it's cheaper and so much better to have achieved the effect naturally! ;)

Happy new T/T, Hamish... The PL-600X looks to have serious 'SPPV' stamped all over it, so enjoy! :eyebrows:

Marco.

[The Vinyl Adventure]

... im doing some photography for a company who have "vintage industrial" furniture made for them in india ... you should see some of it, looks like it was found in a shed, but actually its all really beautiful!...

this is one of the sets I did for their catalog ...

http://i728.photobucket.com/albums/ww282/hamish_gill/Uniche-189.jpg

really very very nice furniture ... and as you say not cheap!!!


Anyway, yes, SPPV in droves here matey... it sound stunning even with this old cart on it...
Going to get my even older phillips cart on it tomorrow and see how that fares ... Very happy bunny I am!!

[The Vinyl Adventure]

Put the phillips GP412ii on ... I thought i might have just got some magical combo with the rega arm, but it actually sound bloody good on this deck too!
I shall be using this set up for a while now ... The best £75 (inc the cart) I have ever spent on hifi by a big margin I think! Very Impressive stuff this tt and cart!!

Id agree with a few people when i say this is definitely better than a stock techie!!

[jandl100]

Yep, it's a very fine tt.

Mine is now surplus to requirements ... but I'll not be selling it for £65! :nono: :D