Akai Fans?

chris_f

Active Member
Any of you guys fans of these things? Picked up an AP-B20 on the cheap. What cartridges do you like on them? Will probably flip the table but plan on keeping the cartridge.

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I mainly picked it up because of this.. Have been wanting to test drive one of these.

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I've not owned much of their gear, but have had friends that did. Always found it to be of very good quality (talking back in the day here...) and a very good value. You usually got a little more bang for your buck with them.
 
Have a linear from Akai. Nice to use but turntables were not Akai's strong suit. It was tape decks... of all kinds. Reel, 8-track and cassette.
 
Yes, yes, yes ! I've had several Akai TTs and R2Rs recently. Sold an AP-D33C recently to make way for an AP-Q41. The 41 is quite an interesting deck and can be had for silly money - it's quartz lock, direct drive with fully automatic functions. The arm is a straight, low mass, motorised graphite job and I've got it running an Ortofon OM10. I had a Technics SL-QL1 linear tracker but it was plagued by sibilance that I just couldn't cure - however all Akai TTs I've tried have sounded great.

Personally I don't like their belt drive stuff but anything DD is up there easily with Technics etc in terms of specs and performance.

I run a Garrand Zero 100S idler drive fitted with a Goldring Elan too. That thing just loves blasting through 70s rock even if its specs are nowhere near the Akai's.
 
Most Akai turntables were of little interest to me when turntables were a mainstay and it was a brand carried by some retailers I was with during 35 or so years in that business. The only Akai turntable that did make me look twice was not in a store but on a repair bench maybe 15 years ago and it was an AP-Q80. I do not think that model was intended for the North American market.

From time to time, when I think of it, I check if any are up for sale or have recently sold on e-bay but none have that I've seen. I asked the owner of a local turntable specialty shop if he's ever encountered one but he has not.

I suspect that Akai was out it's element market share wise back in the days of expensive Japanese turntables. Most Akai turntables I witnessed being sold (or sold myself) were combined with stereo packages. Not necessarily the ubiquitous "rack system" but those assembled according to customer's wants while in the store(s).

If an individual were to purchase a turntable on it's own, it was seldom an Akai.

Absolutely no critique about quality of product just acceptance by consumers. However, low end Akai direct drives were really low end direct drives.
 
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The AP-B20 truly was not one of their better efforts. I think it truly came as part of a package system. Note the proprietary headshell.

I've had a couple Akai AP-103 which seem to be about in the same range as a Pioneer PL-514 / 516 / 518. Well built, decent sounding, not a lot of $.
 
I picked up an AP-Q310 for 10 bucks at the GW last year. Had to "fabricate" a set of feet and replace the cartridge, but it all works. What I like most about it is the SOLID, heavy plinth. The switches, however, are somewhat cheap and not very easy to use. Nothing to brag about the sound, but a nice table for someone looking to step up from an "All in One" suitcase.
 
AP-Q310 has a fixed headshell? Looks like the same tonearm as the AP-Q41 .... but isn't.

If we go by weight:
11.9 lbs for the AP-Q310
13.4 lbs for the AP-Q41
13.4 lbs for the AP-100
17.2 lbs for the AP-206 / 207
22 lbs for the AP-Q80

I think 10 to 11 lbs is pretty standard weight for plastic-plinth turntables of that era. So it isn't too bad.

As a reference, a Technics SL-1200 Mk2 is 27.6 lbs and the Yamaha YP-D8 in my Avatar is 33 lbs.

If I had a AP-Q310 I think the 1st thing I'd do is replace the pressed fiberboard bottom board with a nice thick piece of MDF.
 
The Akai AP-D30 that I have encountered seems to have issues with the counter weight stems. :idea:
https://www.vinylengine.com/library/akai/ap-d30.shtml

Yep, the D33C that I had suffered from severe counter weight droop. I unscrewed the rubber mounting stub and made a wooden stub comprised of several cocktail sticks bundled together and cut to length. Once I got them to wedge into the tone arm, I put the weight on and it held fine.
 
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