Luxman PD-284 questions

wendelltate

Active Member
Hi All,
I just purchased a Luxman PD-284 at GW. I am not even sure if it will play. It is really clean and the it runs when turned in.

It has an ADC XLM MK III cartridge but the stylus is broken. Is this cartridge worth replacing the stylus and keeping?

Also, I have an Audio Technica AT120e cartridge. Will this work on this table? Is it better than the ADC?
Thanks
 
Welcom to the Lux Club. That TT is made by Micro Seiki I think. I got a PD 289 from a thrift with a good Denon 103 on it for $40, go figure. To me this is the best automatic TT that I have ever owned. I am not sure which arm the 284 has but the 289 has a medium mass, nothing special arm, but it works better with my Koetsu than the Grace 707 that I used on an old Sony S3000 manual. The base will benefit from isolation, which will help with feedback. It has cheap construction but mine is dead quiet and has much better speed acuracy than the U-Turn or Project units. The problem with the ADC cart the better stylus will cost you more than an AT95 cart. If you had a good working stylus it will sound better than at120e just slightly on a very good system. You may not be aware that good vinyl recordings with the right cart can produce the best sound stage in audio, but you need good recordings to hear it.
 
Hi Freddymac2,
Thanks for the reply. I just got it up and running. I did changed the cartridge to the At120e and did a quick setup. It fired right up. It sounds great with my Fisher preamp.. I wonder of there are any tune up items I need to address with this unit. Anything to be oiled inside? Wires to replace. I am going to run it in my system for a while.
I am going to do some reading on these Luxman units to get up to speed.
Thanks again for your reply.
 
I have not found anything on lubrication. Motor bearing is very quiet, and speed stability is good. When i do any high level critical listening, the dust cover comes off. Feedback is the only problem I hear, on mine..
 
Hi, @Freddymac2. (And @wendelltate.) I also have the 284 and really like it. It has a straight arm that is very low mass (from what I've read). And I, too, have heard many stories about the arm (and maybe the entire TT) being made by Micro Seiki. However, I recently read a post by fellow AKer @hifi_nut who suggested that the Luxman 284 and 300 vacuum table were actually made by CEC. The mystery continues.

If either of you find any tips on lubricating the 284, please post it, okay? My auto lift works every time. And my auto shut-off works occasionally. But at the end of every record the arm doesn't just lift; the arm literally jumps off the record. It's a pretty aggressive move, straight up, with a slight bounce. But since the auto lift is engaged, there's never any damage to my vinyl or the TT. Something seems to be sticking.

BTW, owners have done things to their 284 platters to stop the platter from "ringing." One owner attached self-stick roofing material to the bottom of the platter. Seemed to work.
 
Hi, @Freddymac2. (And @wendelltate.) I also have the 284 and really like it. It has a straight arm that is very low mass (from what I've read). And I, too, have heard many stories about the arm (and maybe the entire TT) being made by Micro Seiki. However, I recently read a post by fellow AKer @hifi_nut who suggested that the Luxman 284 and 300 vacuum table were actually made by CEC. The mystery continues.

If either of you find any tips on lubricating the 284, please post it, okay? My auto lift works every time. And my auto shut-off works occasionally. But at the end of every record the arm doesn't just lift; the arm literally jumps off the record. It's a pretty aggressive move, straight up, with a slight bounce. But since the auto lift is engaged, there's never any damage to my vinyl or the TT. Something seems to be sticking.

BTW, owners have done things to their 284 platters to stop the platter from "ringing." One owner attached self-stick roofing material to the bottom of the platter. Seemed to work.

Fujiya Audio made several of the middle level turn tables for Luxman, among them Luxman DP-284. :music:
 
Okay, that muddies it up a bit more LOL. Thanks for jumping in, Balifly. You seem pretty confident. And with 18,275 AK messages to your credit, you obviously know your stuff. And I see that you are a Luxman owner several times over. I had never even heard of Fujiya Audio BTW. But I do appreciate this TT -- bought it new. Not TOTL, but very nice and will probably be one of the latter pieces I'll replace in my systems.
 
I had never even heard of Fujiya Audio BTW.

Fujiya Audio is also known as Fujiya Denshi using the "FD" initial trade mark.

You may see those lettering on the motor or on other parts of the turn table.

With proper servicing and maintenance, the Luxman PD-284 should provide great enjoyment for a very long time. :music:

Best of luck with yours.
 
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Any tips on what would be considered "proper servicing and maintenance?" I am the original owner of my PD-284 and have not serviced it ever. (But there was a period when the Luxman sat idle so actual "playing hours" might be lower than similar units.) Plays and sounds great with a Stanton 500 cart and Pickering DE stylus. Only one issue: The tone arm literally "jumps" up when an album is finished playing, then the platter stops spinning (as it should). The arm should lift gently, not pop up. No damage is ever done, tho.
 
Any tips on what would be considered "proper servicing and maintenance?" I am the original owner of my PD-284 and have not serviced it ever. (But there was a period when the Luxman sat idle so actual "playing hours" might be lower than similar units.) Plays and sounds great with a Stanton 500 cart and Pickering DE stylus. Only one issue: The tone arm literally "jumps" up when an album is finished playing, then the platter stops spinning (as it should). The arm should lift gently, not pop up. No damage is ever done, tho.

If you can locate the tone arm damping mechanism, post some pictures.

It probably needs a silicon oil replenishment on the damping spring.

Tone arm of this type typically use the 300,000 cst silicone oil.
https://www.amainhobbies.com/kyosho...il-40cc-300000cst-kyosil300000/p453217?v=6934

Best of luck with the restoration. :)
 
Hi @Balifly. Thanks so much for your reply. Stupid question, but can I assume that the tone arm damping mechanism (at least the part that would prob benefit from more silicone oil) would be accessible inside/underneath? I saw (and will order) the oil b/c it probably has other uses important uses.
 
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Hi @Balifly.

Thanks so much for your reply. Stupid question, but can I assume that the tone arm damping mechanism (at least the part that would prob benefit from more silicone oil) would be accessible inside/underneath? I saw (and will order) the oil b/c it probably has other uses important uses.

Yes, should be inside and under tone arm raising apparatus.

Check the explode diagram of the turn table inside in the service manual. :)
https://www.vinylengine.com/library/luxman/pd-284.shtml
 
Got it. Many thanks. And I'm sure that the AK community at large appreciates your willingness to help -- as noted by your 19,000+ messages.
 
Yes, should be inside and under tone arm raising apparatus.

Check the explode diagram of the turn table inside in the service manual. :)
https://www.vinylengine.com/library/luxman/pd-284.shtml

Hey, I finally took the bottom off the Luxman pd-284, and lubricated everything that moves with the 300,000 cst silicone oil. When I first opened the silicone oil jar, the "oil" was super, super thick -- as in "tip the plastic jar of 300,000 upside down and wait for the 'oil' to slowly begin to move." Not kidding. Anyway I applied the thick "liquid," re-assembled the TT, and the turntable platter now shuts off (as it should) when the arm lifts up at the end of the record side. The platter itself also spins more freely -- as it should. Thanks @Balifly. BTW, is the 300,000 oil supposed to be this thick?
 
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LOL. I knew it was supposed to be thick, but.... Everything works, so all good. And, as a bonus: I'll never be able to spill it. Many thanks for all your helpful tips.
 
G'day starcopy, just purchased a 284 fitted with a Stanton 681EEE. A bit of plastic polish has the lid looking good and a couple of drops of Moebius synthetic oil has the platter holding perfect speed but it has the same problem as yours. When it gets to the end of the record the arm launches like a "Saturn V" Could you please tell me which part you put the gooey stuff on to dampen the arm lift.
thanks
 

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G'day starcopy, just purchased a 284 fitted with a Stanton 681EEE. A bit of plastic polish has the lid looking good and a couple of drops of Moebius synthetic oil has the platter holding perfect speed but it has the same problem as yours. When it gets to the end of the record the arm launches like a "Saturn V" Could you please tell me which part you put the gooey stuff on to dampen the arm lift.
thanks
Hi, @Beeza. Sorry for the slow reply. And welcome to AK. What I did was pretty trial and error -- more just poking around than following a script.

1. First remove the TT platter. Very imp.
2. Make sure the clear, original lid is in place and closed.
3. Flip the TT over and place it "lid-side down" on a towel.
4. Remove the screws that hold the bottom panel in place. (I believe that all of the screws that need to be removed are around the perimeter -- and there are two sizes of screws.)
5. Remove the bottom.
6. Then take some damping fluid (I used 300,000 CST silicone oil recommended by @Balifly with excellent results) and apply it underneath only. Once underneath, it will be pretty obvious which part(s) of the tonearm underneath move up and down and would benefit from some damping action.

Oil usually make things move more smoothly and quickly. But this ultra-gooey, thick dampening oil actually causes the opposite -- makes the tonearm float/move slowly up and down. Calling it "oil" is probably a bad idea since this CST 300,000 silicone actually s-l-o-w-s the up/down action of the tonearm -- but this "floating" action is exactly what you need from your tonearm.

I did not take any photos. Hope this helps. BTW, after I did the above, my tonearm gently floats up at the end of every record, but also floats gently downward when you are "dropping the needle."

Enjoy the Luxman. I've had mine since the '80s and have no interest in, or need to, upgrade this part of my stereo.
 
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G'day starcopy, many thanks for the detailed reply, should make the job a bit easier. Got a gazillion different lubes in the cave but not 300,000 CST
Tis a tube of Electrolube PlasticSafe SPG somewhere, might be a bit thick so it looks like a trip to the local model car shop.
Enjoy the Luxman. I've had mine since the '80s and have no interest in, or need to, upgrade this part of my stereo.

Yep, I'll be keeping this one. Glad the previous owner didn't skimp on the cartridge. Unknown hours on the stylus so it may be time for a replacement.
cheers
 
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