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eBay fairies visit, leave BIG DD turntable


kev313

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Well the trusty Thorens 124 has been taken down for a major overhaul (new plinth, SME 3009 rebuild / rewire, another new tonearm on the way). Knowing the pace at which I usually work, I figured I'd take advantage of the situation by grabbing a new table of the 'bay. Thinking back to the great Thorens 124 vs. direct drive arguments, I figured, "Why not!" Enter the Yamaha PX-2:

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It's big. Really big. But more than that, it is heavy. It has to be twice what my Thorens is in its current plinth. According to The Vintage Knob, as great asource on the web as there is for 80's vintage DD tables, it was one of the better tables made by Yamaha. In the 80s. For whatever that is worth. Kidding! It is pretty impressive. It has a really nice linear arm and a cool automatic play system.

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Well - for whatever reason, I can't flip that pic around! Rest assured, however, it my house the table is NOT upside down. The sound is, a little, though. I put a Denon 103m on it. It is definitely *MUCH* different than the Thorens. The sound is not as bold. Not as big. It is, however, more detailed, and not in a bad way. I've only got 3 albums on it so far, so that is about all I can say.

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One other change that has made a VAST improvement in my system was the replacement of the Rowland 112 with an Air Tight ATM-1, shown above, using the el34. A drop of about 100 watts and a much much much improved sound. That Rowland was so steely in the mids that I could only comfortably listen for an hour at a time. I was very surprised and disappointed. The Air Tight also has the best build quality that I have ever seen. Beautifully hand wired.

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Thanks Pete! Weird. It looks normal on my computer and flips on the forum. This forum HATES Macs!! Nice table, BTW. Really nice. Yours was sourced from Micro Seiki according to my new bible for 70's and 80's audio...The Vintage Knob. OK. I'm done pimping that site.

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The Air Tight also has the best build quality that I have ever seen. Beautifully hand wired.

Hmmm... Beautiful price too. Looks great.

Bruce

Well if one were to buy it new, that is true. It is expensive. However, this one is used and, ironically, cost just a bit north of what I paid for the Moondogs that you currently have. I don't know if that was a typical used price, though.

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Kev you might be hearing the difference between neutral and well, not neutral.  Can't really say as i have no experience with the yamaha, but generally that seems to be the difference between much 80's dd and vintage thorens.

That certainly is possible. Further listening this evening has, thus far, confirmed my initial impression. I'll be listening to ALOT of different music to flush out the differences and see which I like better with what. I can't say for certain, but the PX-2 may just beat the Thorens on classical (chamber music anyway). Really hard to draw any real conclusions, I guess, given the different arms and carts. This is fun!

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However, this one is used and, ironically, cost just a bit north of what I paid for the Moondogs that you currently have

Sounds like a really GREAT deal. That is truly a beautiful amp. btw, do you know what Moondogs cost when they were NEW?
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Kev,

Interesting - first Yamaha linear tracker I ever saw - who knew???

I think most companies have flirted with the LT option over the years - should be a very different sound from the Thorens - table differences aside.

A good test for how well an LT is performing is the 4th movement of Scheherezade - Living Stereo, Reiner / Chicago. No normal arm can play that properly as you are tending towards the centre of the record where distortion is naturally greater. LT's handle it much better and it is not a difference you can miss....

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There's DD and there's DD.

The power switch on my Technics SP10 finally crapped out. While it's out for repair I did the same...went ebaying for something to spin vinly in its absence. I ended up with a very pretty Technics MA1...near their top of the line for consumer decks. Nice, but the sound is a bit flat and "diffuse" compared to lively and rock solid sound out of the Beast (SP10). I can't figure the difference, though some of it doubtless is the arm. But I've tried 3 carts in the MA1 and it produces the same family of sound regardless.

I didn't have much comparison to the SP10, but I owned both it and a Rega p3 for many years. The SP10 always walked all over the Rega, if that gives you an idea.

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