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Akai AP-206C..My first Direct Drive Table

melofelo

melofelo

Addicted Member
scored this quite cheaply for those less than perfect records, and a small collection of 7 & 12" 45 singles that don't get much play...mainly because i'm too lazy to lift the platter and flip the belt on either my ariston or rega..

she was covered in dirt and grease and the lid will stay off as its pretty badly scratched...

after a good scrub...here she is..Akai AP-206C..circa late 70's i think(?)


any akai turntable users out there ?
 
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Very nice. It looks like a CEC built table?

It almost makes me want to get out a black light to see the effect when the platter spins - lol

Rob
 
melofelo said:
scored this quite cheaply for those less than perfect records, and a small collection of 7 & 12" 45 singles that don't get much play...mainly because i'm too lasy to lift the platter and flip the belt on either my ariston or rega..

she was covered in dirt and grease and the lid will stay off as its pretty badly scratched...

after a good scrub...here she is..Akai AP-206C..circa late 70's i think(?)


any akai turntable users out there ?
Click to expand...
I love my Akai AP-D2 Direct Drive TT
 
i'm not really sure of the origins to be honest :scratch2: maybe someone who knows japanese turntable will chime in ?

she does seem pretty solidly put together though..

the vertical bearings in the arm seem free of play and i suspect the tiny bit of free play/movement felt in the lateral bearings might be a compromise of the automated arm mechanism

i'll get under the hood soon and prod and tinker..:D..just need to choose between some spare cartridges i have lying around once i work out the null points for this arm...


this site suggests 66 & 120 mm null points and 18.61 mm overhang might suit the mounting distance of the arm (205 mm as far as i can tell)...maybe a baerwald setting...
http://www.ls3-5a-forum.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=vynile;action=display;num=1133882494;start=all


if anyone knows or can suggest some approximate cartridge/tonearm alignment figures specific to this arm or akai tables i'd much appreciate it...:yes:

its kinda fun tinkering with these old tables..:thmbsp:

glad there are a few akai fans out there ...am hoping she will sound good once she's got a new cartridge installed.. =o]
 
melofelo said:
this site suggests 66 & 120 mm null points and 18.61 mm overhang might suit the mounting distance of the arm (205 mm as far as i can tell)...maybe a baerwald setting...
Click to expand...

huh?



just messin' wid ya.
altho i dont know about that stuff. my my tt doesnt seem to have any of those adjustments. as i'm not an audiophile i dont miss them.
 
melofelo said:
LOL...i must admit..i do enjoy tweaking cheap scores to sound good... :D


got a pic ?..what cartridge are you running in with it ?
Click to expand...
I'll take a pic when I get home. I'm running an AT cartridge on it at the moment but thinking about upgrading.
I bought it off ebay for $12 awhile back (it only needed a cartridge). I have it going into a Kenwood integrated amp and then to a pair of Cambridge soundworks Model 6's.
 
Funny seeing your post on the 206C as I'm heading off in an hour or so to pick mine up from the tech. It was in full time use for about 3 years until 6 months ago when it developed a couple of problems which I don't think have been fixed.
That's OK as I bought a new Denon a few weeks ago and I'm very happy with it.

Apparently it was TOTL back in '78 (I think) and I would have been real happy to keep using it except for the problems. Mine was mint (well...nearly) and came with a large haul of good stuff. :thmbsp:

I may be wrong but I always thought that Akai made their own stuff.
 
hope the tech is able to bring your deck back to working order :yes:...as its a nice little turntable indeed...although i bet the denon probably has stolen the limelight..:thmbsp:

for flipping between albums and singles...i must admit i do love the ergonomics of this deck...the lowering device works a treat..just the right speed of descent when you cue a track

mine had speed stability issues at first..turning the adjustment pots back and forth several times and it now keeps rock steady speed at 33 & 45...

yesterday...the left channel suddenly went dead...twisting the lead brought back temporarily..seems the cable had a break in the central core wire about an inch from the outlet.....what to do ?...:sigh:

so...i popped the hood...found a bandridge 5-pin din to phono cable lying around..cut the 5pin din end off..and got the soldering iron out..

a few hours later...and she has left and right channel again
( trying to solder the underside of a turntable without turning it upside down for is an art in itself :D )
...the sound is alot clearer now too...can't wait for the replacement stylus to arrive...

might also get another headshell for an ortofon vms 5e i've had lying around for a while..:scratch2:
 
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Still going strong 15 years on since I acquired it. Great turntable
 

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I have it too, it's perfect.
 

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Jirkas said:
I have it too, it's perfect.
Click to expand...
That's in fantastic condition. Very nice example indeed :)
Mine was pretty rough cosmetically and the dustcover and one of the hinges has clearly had a hard life but still functional.
Luckily the main unit itself was pretty clean , barring some tiny scuffs in the vinyl wrap
Most importantly it still sounds fantastic and all the mechanics and automation work a treat..
These are very underrated turntables .
I'll whisper it..but the original Akai PC-100 cartridge is actually a true *sleeper* cartridge once you look past the Akai 'clone' branding
;) Well worth seeking out the original if you haven't got one already.
 
I just got to do a little work on my FIL's Akai 207. Really nice DD unit. He had lost the counterweight at some point, and one of his know-it-all engineer friends put a C clamp on the arm which ultimately destroyed the suspension on the cart. I found the proper weight and set him up with an AT71 cart I wasn't using and it sounded great, and all auto functions still worked. Good looking unit, too.
 
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