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JVC Experts?

RyFi

RyFi

Active Member
Howdy folks. I've been reading how great the JVC quartz lock tables are lately.
Could someone in the know compare the quality of the JVC QL-A2 and the QL-F4 turntables? The specs show the QL-F4 as quieter (-82db vs -72db rumble. Is that a lot?) and heavier but other than that is the only difference full-auto vs semi-auto? Are the motors and tone arms similar in quality?

There is an A2 available locally and a friend has an F4 he doesn't use that I was thinking about offering to buy.

Thanks in advance. Cheers.
 
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As can be read in the flyers at Vinyl Engine the motors are the same "core-less" design. Other than the automatic features the tonearm also appears to be improved in the F4 with a "new gimbal support."
 
Among the differences are the following:

New Cost:
QL-F4 16% higher (1979 Australian price list)

QL-A2 semi-automatic,QL-F4 fully automatic

QL-F4 0.8kg heavier.

The tonearms have slightly different part numbers, but appear identical in most specifications – same length, same looks and same cartridge and headshell weight range, but I think the headshells are different. There’s not much difference between the tonearms, and in operation the performance should be very close.

I don’t know about the motors, but the specifications for rumble, signal to noise ratio and everything else are absolutely identical. The main difference is the automatic starting on the QL-F4, and its extra overall weight, which may be just due to the extra parts for auto start.

So if the price is right, and its condition is the same, the QL-F4 is probably the one to go for, but you shouldn’t feel hard done by if the QL-A2 is in much better condition and you decide to buy that. In an old review I’ve seen, it was very quiet, and performed better than its price suggested it should – JVC always seemed to maintain a lead with quartz lock direct drive technology because they invented the quartz lock turntable in 1974.
 
Thanks for the replies folks. I'll see if my friend with the F4 wants to sell. If not I'll keep my eye on the A2. The rumble specs I saw on vinyl engine seem to be different with the F4 being 10dbs lower than the A2 but I don't know if that's significant or not.
I'm currently running a Sony PS-T3 which I do like but I think I'm being seduced by the quartz lock and overall love the JVCs get.

Cheers.
 
Hi,

Don't be seduced by numbers that don't make a lot of sense.
Look at the technology. Suspect typos or pure utter BS.

rgds, sreten.
 
I have a QL-F4 and am very happy with it. Rock solid base. I can't even get it to skip. Very good torque and speed is dead nuts on. Controls are very ergonomic and work very will. Cueing is one of the smoothest and most repeatable of any swivel turntable I've ever owned. Blows away the Thorens TD160 that I had for many years after buying it new. Auto functions also operate very smoothly. I have a moving coil cartridge mounted in my ReVox B795 turntable and use the QL-F4 for MM/MI cartridges. I have several cartridges mounted on different headshells. Most common that I use are Grado Gold1 and Blue1. The Blue1 is for used records that haven't been proven yet. I also have a Stanton 681EEE-II-S and an Empire 660EEE. All cartridges have mint OEM stylii and track very will at manufacturers recommended tracking force. I hope this helps. I also have a QL-A5 but don't care much for it. If I can be of additional assistance please don't hesitate to ask.


image.jpeg
 
I can't offer any comparisons, but I can say that I've been very happy with my QL-A2 since 1979.
 
Thanks folks. I asked my buddy tonight if he'd be interested in selling me his F4. It is currently collecting dust underneath a stack of music books. He's gonna think about it. Hopefully he'll say yes and hopefully for a really good deal. I don't know what cart he has on it. That could be a factor. I can't afford anything but a bargain right now.
@Bugler great pic. Table looks very sexy ;) Thanks for the info on carts too. I'll do some googling. @noogies what cartridge are you using on your A2?
 
RyFi said:
The specs show the QL-F4 as quieter (-82db vs -72db rumble. Is that a lot?) and heavier but other than that is the only difference full-auto vs semi-auto? Are the motors and tone arms similar in quality?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure where you're getting -82dB on the QL-F4. The manuals show both the QL-F4 and QL-A2 specs as less than 72dB rumble using DIN-B weighting and less than 62dB using IEC-8 weighting. I think that's pretty typical for the time period. They claim -78dB DIN-B on their 1980s turntables, which is the same as the SL-1200. I wouldn't worry too much about slight differences between rumble specs in general, unless you see one around -54dB, which would be typical for a cassette deck without noise reduction. That would be a bit noisy for a turntable.
 
@Johnny B I got the specs from the Vinyl Engine database. I didn't read the manuals. I guess they have them listed incorrectly. Looks like the tables are even closer in performance. Thanks for the insight on rumble specs. Cheers.
 
I like the F4, the one I have is promised to my daughter when she goes out on her own. It sounds great with decent MM carts & works perfectly. The only thing I might do is polish the dust cover.
 
RyFi said:
@Johnny B I got the specs from the Vinyl Engine database. I didn't read the manuals. I guess they have them listed incorrectly. Looks like the tables are even closer in performance. Thanks for the insight on rumble specs. Cheers.
Click to expand...
Oh weird, it does say that on the database, doesn't it. I always go right to the manuals so I didn't catch that. Probably a typo.
 
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