JVC QL-?? owners thread
- Thread starter BillWojo
- Start date
Bart-Jeroen
New Member
Thanks
Invisible things I've done1. Relubed tonearm queing mechanism (300000 cSt. silicone oil). Wasn't working top down so I had to take it apart and go from there.
2. Lubed and oiled other bits.
3. Checked all caps for leackage, especially on the top since they seem to be prone to leak from there.
4. Inspected all soldering joints, all seems more than fine for now.
5. Cleaned pitch control, wasn't needed but I was in there anyway.
6. Needed new dust cover hinges, found out hinges from a Linn LP12 are a perfect match at 38 euro and readily available.
7. And last but not least: If you look closely you can see a ridge above the buttons. Initially this was silver with black text. When I got the TT it was badly scuffed and damaged, the silver was starting to disappear. So I got some Vinyl wrap to fix this. Before wrapping I wanted to give it a cleanup and applied some rubbing alcohol, this removed the silver paint away completely :-O But for some reason underneath there was shiny black plastic with identical lettering in high gloss silver printing
I like it way better this way and looks like brand new The time and money spent are well worth the result. I paid 60 euro for the turntable on a Dutch online marketplace and spent about 190 in lubes, parts and cleaning materials. Two Saturdays of work.
I am impressed by how it sounds, even with the E stylus. It is on par with my Technics, apart from the plinth that needs some serious damping. The looks from these JVC/Victor players are just amazing.
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Bart-Jeroen
New Member
This is a stayer, as far as that is possible in this hobby. I have always loved tinkering (from watches to vintage mopeds) and turntables are a nice new way of doing it. After doing the Technics I fell for direct drives and had to replace the SL-BD22D that was my second table. With the QL-A5 I now have two first tables.
Main advantage about DIY, imho, is that you can experiment with whatever you like at reasonable budgets, mainly time spent and the typical money on small parts, headshells, cartridges, lubes and cleaning stuff. For this job I felt the need for a nice stand-like thing to work on it upside down. I found out that one particular part of the packaging material from my Wharfedale Evo 4.4's would fill in that job perfectly after a few modifications. It is now my official turntable repair stand and allows me to work on turntables of various sizes up-side-down without having risks for damaging tonearm's, buttons etc. Apart from this all, I grew up in a rural area from the Netherlands in the late sixties to early eighties, throwing away was not a thing, I learned very early that everything can be fixed.
Most of the bits done are under the hood, apart from the tonearm sagging, the silver strip with text, the new hinges and an enormous clean and polish job. I will make some more detailed and artsy pictures some day soon and post them
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Bart-Jeroen
New Member
Even though the lowest, it is still coreless direct drive with switchable quartz lock/manual pitch control and high torque. Would have to spend sl-1200 MK7 money to get that. And I like this particular table because it matches with my SL-Q3 color wise.
Finding a reasonable QL-A7 or up is pretty hard form the Netherlands but definitely on my whish list. For now I am incredibly happy with the QL-A5 that out-spins any midrange 2023 turntable imho.
B.T.W. I love the looks of the QL-A2, especially the buttons/knobs on it give it a real late seventies charm.
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wushuliu
Super Member
Thanks to this great thread I bit the bullet on a Y5 on the auction site. I've had lower end JVC's in the past and was really, really impressed with them; however, never really came across higher end models in the wild. I have too many tables as it is but couldn't pass this up. Prices are only getting higher. The days of $10-$100 scores are long gone. But this seems only fair considering vinyl has become a billion dollar business for the first time in 35 years.
I just got the QL-Y7 this week. She's a beaut Clark!
I took some time to open it up and clean the switches and pots as well as oil the spindle.
I powered it up and everything is working as advertised. I'll play a record on it tonight when I get the head shell assembled.
I have a question though. There is a voltage knob under the platter with minimal markings and a label in Japanese. Anyone know what its for?
I took some time to open it up and clean the switches and pots as well as oil the spindle.
I powered it up and everything is working as advertised. I'll play a record on it tonight when I get the head shell assembled.
I have a question though. There is a voltage knob under the platter with minimal markings and a label in Japanese. Anyone know what its for?
Bart-Jeroen
New Member
desertrat748
Super Member
Beautiful TT and can’t wait to read how it plays. Also, I love your workbench! It’s almost identical to mine!
awesome thank you.
Didnt know the goog could translate from a photo
wushuliu
Super Member
Used my android phone w/ Google Translate app. Just point the camera at the text and voila. *Very* handy.
I bought it from yahoo japan auction through buyee.
There is always tons of vintage equipment for sale for fairly cheap.
The shipping is what kills you on these things.
I went on a bender and bought 3 tables, QL-Y7, QL-Y3f, and a yamaha YP-D51. As well a several carts and a victor head shell.
Sadly two weren't packaged very well. The YP-D51's dust cover is damaged beyond repair. So they refunded me the cost of the TT and domestic shipping, but not the $135 intl shipping. Luckily paypal just refunded me for that part.
The Y3F did not arrive as advertised. Its not really functional as stated by the seller and the dust cover hinge pulled from the plinth during transit. I have an open case with paypal for reimbursement.
There is no control of the tone arm but it will be easy to repair. Im searching for new replacement PCB switches. I may recap the tonearm as well.
The Y7 was packaged properly by the seller and arrived in perfect condition. I just cleaned and lubed the switches/pots and reoiled the spindle.
It sounds fantastic through my sherwood s7100a with a used AT14Sa cart, even with my junk speakers. Once my new table is built I can break out my good speakers! Cant wait!!!!
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wushuliu
Super Member
I'm real close to getting something from Zenmarket. What's the average shipping cost for you?
It was a wide range based on the 3 turntables. $135 for the yamaha, $235 for the QL-y3f, and $255 for the Y7. Took 2 days to get them to St Louis.
The shipping cost was way more than the TTs.
Im bummed I let this one slip away:
https://buyee.jp/item/yahoo/auction/q1080894309?conversionType=buyee_top_browsing_history
Bart-Jeroen
New Member
I have been looking at Buyee and it does scare me a bit. I live in the Netherlands, how would I go from here? Just get an account at Buyee, find what I like and see how much shipping will be? And who is doing the packaging? Is that Buyee or the intial shipper?
I also looked at Reverb > Unisound and that looks a bit easier.