Luxman PD-375

[basite]

I will have another go at it later

Definately do so. A luxman tt is worth taking care of.

I have an older PD-282 (without the vacuum thing). Not only is it beautiful, it also sounds fantastic. It has never let me down, and I'm looking at a big investement if I were/needed to replace it...

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

 

[Marantz 500]

Just changed the belts on my PD375, and now the vacuum system works as intended, holding the disc firmly to the platter, and releasing it when that button is pressed. Not sure if I can hear a difference, but it's nice to have that function working!

 

[BrocLuno]

Good go - Glad it's back from the dead. Luxman gear should be in a place that is respected and taken care of

 

[soundoc03]

I just discovered this thread or I would have chimed in earlier. I have two of these turnables one severely beat up cosmetically from botched packing and the other picked up cheap as it was advertised as "broken". As Dr*Audio has pointed out, there is really a very simple mechanism for creating the vacuum. The belt is the problem I am guessing in nearly all of them as the rubber could not possibly last 26 years! I got my replacement from Bob Toeffler at Vintage Electronics. He is by far the cheapest source for replacement belts. I found by trial and error that in order to replace the belt the cam sub chassis needed to be removed by loosening the 4 screws to get at the motor pulley and cam.

As for the manual cueing, that was a factory change on later productions. It is a non fluid damped mechanical cam that was fitted next to the base and black plastic lifter. I removed it from my donor table and with great difficulty was able to put it on my good one. Be careful as it is easy to crack the metal looking plactic arm rest part which I found impossible to disassemble from the base.

I also have some problem with the lead in placement using the auto-start. There is an adjustment between the platter and tonearm base as well as under the table itself. I have both manuals and the instructions are poor to useless in regard to this adjustment. I would tinker with it some day but for now the auto shut off is good enough.

Another issue is the length of time the suction will adequately hold the record. Mine lasts anwhere from 15-20 mins which usually gets to the last track. I have tried cleaning the platter, blowing out the two small vent holes and rejuvenating the rubber libs with Formula 303 with modest success.

Finally, I believe the true benefits of this deck is the DDS and the resulting mass coupling of the disc and platter. The tonearm and plinth are mediocre at best, and vibration isolation is not stellar by any means. I would not put it's overall performance anywhere near my PD-441. Nonetherless, the DSS is unique to a deck in this price class and well worth the effort to change the belt.

 

[dr*audio]

For the rubber seals on the platter, try CAIG RBR. Best rubber restorer I've used. I disagree on the arm quality. With my Grace F-9 mounted on it, the sound is simply wonderful with no tracking issues. I used a Dennesen Sondtraktor to set up the cartridge geometry. Maybe the needle bearings in yours are broken or in need of adjustment? Or perhaps it's not such a great match to your cartridge? I agree on the isolation issue. My system is on a concrete floor in the basement, so no worries.

 

[Marantz 500]

Soundoc03 - interesting info about the manual cueing, I had been wondering about that! BTW, I also have the same problem as you with the lead in placement. I'm trying to gather patience to try and sort it out without damaging anything.

Glad to hear that the more expensive Luxman turntable models (PD441) are probably even better than the ones I have. I'm very happy with my PD277 and PD375, and I wouldn't mind an even better Luxman turntable! My Linn Basik and Thorens TD166 turntables are resting for now while I'm using the Luxman as my main turntable.

Great to find so much information on Luxman turntables here, thanks for sharing, everyone!

>>>As for the manual cueing, that was a factory change on later productions. It is a non fluid damped mechanical cam that was fitted next to the base and black plastic lifter. I removed it from my donor table and with great difficulty was able to put it on my good one. Be careful as it is easy to crack the metal looking plactic arm rest part which I found impossible to disassemble from the base.

I also have some problem with the lead in placement using the auto-start. There is an adjustment between the platter and tonearm base as well as under the table itself. I have both manuals and the instructions are poor to useless in regard to this adjustment. I would tinker with it some day but for now the auto shut off is good enough.

 

[soundoc03]

Warren, there is nothing wrong with the bearing or the cartridge match with a high compliant Acutex M320-STR lll. My comment pertains to the oddity of combining a DSS system arguably a very high end feature, with an automatic, non exchangeable tonearm with limited adjustments all very much mid-fi in design. Also if you even lightly tap on the plinth the sound will be transmitted readily by the pick up.

I am however a huge fan of the DSS. It will flatten a record in away that no clamp can compare with, even one badly warped. This must make a significant reduction in inaudible rumble. Take a look at your woofer cone with the DSS off (assuming the sub-sonic filter is also disengaged).

The design concept behind Luxman's mid-fi decks was that the high mass platter would compensate for the lightweight (cheap) plinths. I think this works better with the PD-375 than the PD-2XX models.

Then again the massive platter of the PD-441 is magnetically suspended and the plinth in 3 layers of aluminum and high density particle board to all but eliminate resonance. The footers also have neoprene coupled springs to provide further isolation.

I have never heard a PD-300 but I suspect that it is awesome as it combines all of these features in one deck.

 

[dr*audio]

Now I see what you mean about the arm; no VTA, for example. The VDS sure does a fine job of clamping the disc. As for the isolation and tapping the plinth, it's like the old joke: "Doctor, it hurts when I do this." "Well, don't do that anymore." I have a TEAC A-6010GSL right next to the PD-375 on my rack, and I don't pick up any motor noise from it when I'm recording a record, so I consider the poor damping a non-issue. Strictly speaking, if you wanted to go to the effort, you could mount another arm on that turntable. It's a b&tch taking the arm off, though. I had to remove mine to do some work on it and it was glued in place, besides the nut that held it.

 

[soundoc03]

Lots of microphonics get picked up from the motor, TA and plinth that effect the sound quality of the deck, not to mention the ability of the suspension in allowing the stylus to ride in the deepest third of the groove without bouncing around. I have yet to come across a mid-fi deck that can address these issues.

Don't get me wrong the PD-375 is a cool looking and practical TT. I have one hooked up to a Scott 299A and Rectilinear llls right now and the sound is very
respectable.

 

[Marantz 500]

Here's a short list of what some Luxman turntables cost new.


Model Price new

PD-277 Turntable 1976-1980 400.00
PD-284 Turntable 1982-1985 230.00
PD-289 Turntable 1982-1985 300.00
PD-300 Turntable 1982-1985 1000.00
PD-375 Turntable 1981-1984 500.00
PD-441 Turntable 1976-1980 695.00
PD-444 Turntable 1976-1980 845.00
PD-555 Turntable 1976-1980 2900.00

 

[dmadmc]

Mirland - how is your PD375 coming along? If I could get mine to work, I'm sure you can (I'm far from a technician). It really makes wonderful music, I think I prefer it to my Thorens TD166 MkII and my Luxman PD-277. May be the best DD turntable I've had, alongside the Sony PS-X555ES, which I also like a lot.

Jake

I saw you have a fine collection of the audio system.
I recently purchased a pair of Dynaco A25 speakers. How do you compare that with other your speakers, Kef and Quad?

 

[ETI_5000]

Luxman didn't make "mid-fi" turntables - that is a nonsensical term.:thumbsdn: All of their models were hi-fi turntables, and good ones at that, from someone who's been involved in hi-fi for a long time - all except their cheapest models were at least at a similar level to the Technics SL-1200MkII in measured performance, and their better models were quite a bit better. The tonearms were excellent quality - some of the best out of Japan from the 70's and 80's. They did lack height adjustment, but many tonearms do, including plenty today (eg Rega).

 

[corpblues]

Just changed the belts on my PD375, and now the vacuum system works as intended, holding the disc firmly to the platter, and releasing it when that button is pressed. Not sure if I can hear a difference, but it's nice to have that function working!

I picked up a luxman PD-375 and it works great but needs new belts for the vds. Like you I don't need the VDS to work, but it just bugs me it doesn't.

Do you recall what exact belts you ordered?

 

[corpblues]

I picked up a luxman PD-375 and it works great but needs new belts for the vds. Like you I don't need the VDS to work, but it just bugs me it doesn't.

Do you recall what exact belts you ordered?

I ordered belts from classic audio service service@cas-germany.com on ebay. The belts fit properly and vacuum system works file. And the table sounds great.

Still have one issue, there is a slight scraping noise once every two plater rotations. I've found it comes from under the tonearm and goes away if I life up on the arm pivot point and gets louder if I press down. Must be something a bit loose in there. Guess I get to open it up again. Anyone have a similar issue?

 

[corpblues]

Still have one issue, there is a slight scraping noise once every two plater rotations. I've found it comes from under the tonearm and goes away if I life up on the arm pivot point and gets louder if I press down. Must be something a bit loose in there. Guess I get to open it up again. Anyone have a similar issue?

I found the collar at the base of the tonearm was loose, slight finger tightening of it eliminated the issue. So happy I finally found time to work on it. The turntable is working and sounding GREAT!

 

[dr*audio]

Glad you got it working. It's a wonderful table.

 

[corpblues]

I am looking for a pair of dust cover hinges for the Luxman PD-375 dustcover. I have the dust cover in excellent condition but the hinges were missing when I bought the turntable. Please PM me if you have a pair available.

 

[dr*audio]

I am looking for a pair of dust cover hinges for the Luxman PD-375 dustcover. I have the dust cover in excellent condition but the hinges were missing when I bought the turntable. Please PM me if you have a pair available.

Good luck finding those. You will probably have to just buy some cabinet hinges or something like that and glue / screw them on. It's in the back so no one will see it.

 

[corpblues]

One more update that might be helpful for those picking up a Luxman PD-375 turntables.

After I replaced the belts and all was working properly, I still would hear an occasional scrapping sound, which got more frequent. So frustrated because I had spent so much time and the turntable was sounding awesome. Well finally took some time to give it the once over again.

I took off the platter and looked and looked for anything cause, I finally noticed there were rub marks on the 4 rubber bumpers that sit directly under the turntable. Which made me question what purpose they served as the turntable platter should not be touching anything other than the spindle structure. So I took them off and NO more scrapping. I was tempted to just leave them off, but figured they were there for a reason. I think they are there to help support the patter if you are cleaning a record just in case you push down too hard. Not sure why but the rubber must have grown a few millimeters taller over time, perhaps from drying out as the rubber had become hard. I used an Emory board and sanded down all four, took a couple of tries before I sanded them enough. A little sanding took the rock hard rubber off and made them soft again. Put them back on and it is now working perfectly with zero rubbing noise. YEA!

Tricky turntable to work on, but well worth it.

p.s. If you are new to this PD-375, to remove the platter, you have to have run the vacuum cycle to release the turntable, otherwise it will be frozen and no about of pulling can remove it. If the vacuum is not working it is usually because the belt for it is gone or too loose. You can release the platter by turning the wheel it drives with your finger. I've not found any difference in using the vacuum system or not, but it is needed to remove the platter.

 

[dr*audio]

When I want to release the vacuum, I press the "Vacuum Start" button, while pulling up on the record. When you do it that way, the vacuum releases and the mechanism then completes its cycle and releases the platter, leaving it free to turn.
I just replaced the vacuum belt on mine again. I think it lasted like 10 years.