Philips 312 or Yamaha YP-D4

[melofelo]

I'd keep the 212 and use it with a budget high compliance cartridge... the tonearm's vertical pivot assembly is flimsy but the 3 point suspension and speed circuitry inside go a long way to compensate *if* there is no damage to the tonearm..and *If* you match it to the correct compliance cartridge.
I would also keep the Yahama so that you can use a cartridge that has a lower compliance... something like the AT-95e which sounds excellent in the right arm..can be upgraded easily..and doesn't put a hole in your wallet every 6 - 800 hours when the stylus needs replacing.
As flimsy as the low mass 212 ( and 312) tonearm is... Philips at least went to the trouble of aligning it to Baerwald geometry with their slide in cartridge holder and GP-4xx range of cartridges. If you do plan to sell either Philips table and happen to have the 1/2 " cartridge adaptor headshell adaptor and/or the 1/2 alignment plastic cover for that 1/2" sled ...I'd be interested in buying it.

 

[melofelo]

Oh... and the 212 'magic eye' is one of the coolest looking turntable ever imho...

 

[kermit z]

I miss my 312, it truly was a poor mans Thorens. But once I got a TD-160, I moved it out. That and I had too many tables. I have no experience with any Yamaha table though I do know they are well thought of.

If the 312 was my only table, I would have been happy

 

[808_state]

I own a Yamaha GT-2000 and still very much appreciate my YP-D4. It's tonally rich, has autoreturn and keeps accurate speed. The only places it's lacking is with plinth dampening and non-adjustable VTA. I have an Ortofon 2M Bronze on it right now but the best sound so far has been with a Zyx R-50 Bloom. They get along well. I added feet to it for looks and leveling:

 

[caltechi]

I'd keep the 212 and use it with a budget high compliance cartridge... the tonearm's vertical pivot assembly is flimsy but the 3 point suspension and speed circuitry inside go a long way to compensate *if* there is no damage to the tonearm..and *If* you match it to the correct compliance cartridge.
I would also keep the Yahama so that you can use a cartridge that has a lower compliance... something like the AT-95e which sounds excellent in the right arm..can be upgraded easily..and doesn't put a hole in your wallet every 6 - 800 hours when the stylus needs replacing.
As flimsy as the low mass 212 ( and 312) tonearm is... Philips at least went to the trouble of aligning it to Baerwald geometry with their slide in cartridge holder and GP-4xx range of cartridges. If you do plan to sell either Philips table and happen to have the 1/2 " cartridge adaptor headshell adaptor and/or the 1/2 alignment plastic cover for that 1/2" sled ...I'd be interested in buying it.

Unfortunately I don't have the clear plastic alignment jig. Apparently those are quite rare. I do remember reading a thread where some folks were taking measurements of one for the purpose of reconstructing it, but I can't seem to enter the correct phrase to bring it up in the search. There's also another guy who's looking for a donor to scan and 3D print. No one has responded to his request however.

 

[caltechi]

I own a Yamaha GT-2000 and still very much appreciate my YP-D4. It's tonally rich, has autoreturn and keeps accurate speed. The only places it's lacking is with plinth dampening and non-adjustable VTA. I have an Ortofon 2M Bronze on it right now but the best sound so far has been with a Zyx R-50 Bloom. They get along well. I added feet to it for looks and leveling:

That's a really nice looking table. I'm so conflicted. I'm getting good reports for both. I may just have to keep both of them!

 

[melofelo]

Unfortunately I don't have the clear plastic alignment jig. Apparently those are quite rare. I do remember reading a thread where some folks were taking measurements of one for the purpose of reconstructing it, but I can't seem to enter the correct phrase to bring it up in the search. There's also another guy who's looking for a donor to scan and 3D print. No one has responded to his request however.

An accurate Baerwald Grid protractor should work pretty much the same...just a bit more fiddly with the Philips headshell to make final adjustments if you have to keep removing the sled to rotate the cartridge to the grid..
If you can to get the stylus tip out to the right effective length for a 200mm tonearm mounting distance before aligning to the null points at 66 and 120mm the sides of the headshell should still be pretty close to the correct offset angle for that specific geometry and you can fine tune with the protractor grid null points to take up any minor differences.