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JVC QL-?? owners thread

Hey AKers,

Hope this finds you well. I have a QL-A7 and recently it has been making what seems to be a rubbing sound every rotation. At first I read that it could be a dirty brake pad in the owner's manual and cleaned the brake pad with a toothbrush and cleaned the inside of the platter where the brake stops the platter with rubbing alcohol, as advised in the manual. However, the rubbing sound is still there.

You can hear the swish while the platter rotates, but don't hear it once the music starts unless you stick your ear really close to the platter. It doesn't seem that there are any loose stickers or anything like that causing the sound. I'm assuming that it might have something to do with the brake.

I did add a few drops to the spindle, but not sure if it sank down. Has anyone else lubricated this table?

Does anyone have any thoughts on why this is happening? Does the brake need to be adjusted?

Also, I can't seem to get the strobe light to function/stay on. It sometimes flickers or is just completely off. However, using the RMP app on my phone shows that both speeds are accurate.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
 
ranf1970 said:
Hey AKers,

Hope this finds you well. I have a QL-A7 and recently it has been making what seems to be a rubbing sound every rotation. At first I read that it could be a dirty brake pad in the owner's manual and cleaned the brake pad with a toothbrush and cleaned the inside of the platter where the brake stops the platter with rubbing alcohol, as advised in the manual. However, the rubbing sound is still there.

You can hear the swish while the platter rotates, but don't hear it once the music starts unless you stick your ear really close to the platter. It doesn't seem that there are any loose stickers or anything like that causing the sound. I'm assuming that it might have something to do with the brake.

I did add a few drops to the spindle, but not sure if it sank down. Has anyone else lubricated this table?

Does anyone have any thoughts on why this is happening? Does the brake need to be adjusted?

Also, I can't seem to get the strobe light to function/stay on. It sometimes flickers or is just completely off. However, using the RMP app on my phone shows that both speeds are accurate.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Click to expand...
It could very well be the bearing in need of lubricant. I’m not sure if it’s possible to do without some disassembly. I have never done that before. Hopefully someone else will chime in soon if they have. I would do a search on google for it though in the meantime.
 
Hopefully. I have no problem disassembling the TT to lube the spindle.

I'm not sure if this will help, but the noise becomes "louder" when I use my AT record cleaning brush to wipe the record (dry, not wet) before playing.

1700263355413.png
 
The only other reason I can think of is that the platter is rubbing against something. I assume that you pulled the platter and looked a few times. Does it make any difference if you remove the platter and replace it as gently as possible?

I’m still thinking it’s the bearing.
 
I noticed when the power is off, the brake is not engaged and I can easily lift and put the platter down.

However, when the power is on, the brake is engaged and if I pull the platter up, no issue but if I put the platter down, it will sit on the brake.

Not sure if that is normal or not.

I'm going to try to see if it makes a noise with the power off and me manually moving the platter once I get home from work.
 
best-groove said:
it could be the solenoid pin dirty with old hardened grease which slows down movements and does not release the brake well.


View attachment 3038797
Click to expand...

Thanks for this! Is this something that is fairly easy to fix? What kind of grease would you advise on using? I have Super Lube. Would that be good?

I also wanted to follow up from above. When I got home last night, there was no sound and the table just spun. Like taking a car to the mechanic, huh? However, if I clean the record with my AT brush, I still hear the "err err err" sound. Not every rotation, but it is constant.

One other thing I've noticed is that when music is playing, there is a "wavering" sound to certain instruments and vocals. Kind of like if you slow down the platter ever so slightly. You notice the small change in sound immediately.

But as also noted, the platter is running spot on.

Thanks again to everyone for their advice and recommendations so far!
 
ranf1970 said:
One other thing I've noticed is that when music is playing, there is a "wavering" sound to certain instruments and vocals. Kind of like if you slow down the platter ever so slightly. You notice the small change in sound immediately.
Click to expand...
This is not right. It seems like you have a speed (pitch) issue with your table. It should be quartz locked and absolutely steady.

Look at the red strobe light on the front. It should be steady and not wavering. When you are hearing the pitch change take a look at the strobe light. It most likely will not be steady locked.

My QL A7 was purchased used from original owner and worked fine for about one year and then developed a similar issue with speed fluctuations and would not lock in 33 1/3 rpm. After a lot of testing I found that the board had some poor connections, faulty solder joints making poor contact in one area.

It happened as I moved the table to my new home, I think it was just the vibrations from moving. I was going to go through and redo as many of the solder joints but as soon as I touched one of the resistors checking solder joints, removed and reinstalled cable connections, and after that it locked right up and didn’t waver.

This is a hard process because you have to be able to work from underneath the table to let it run properly for testing. I am still getting the issue if I move the table but hasn’t happened in over a year or two. Just a slight bump or lifting it up to move it can cause the problem. I am now able to fix it or lightly touching on the area of the board where it comes from.

I received advice from an electronics repairman who has fixed a few of these JVC tables (tt-71 and tt-81) as well as hundreds of other HiFi equipment and studio equipment. His main advice was for me to check connections on the board itself. Especially with the cable connections. His own words were “ it’s not always the bad capacitor like everybody wants to believe and claim. I find it more often. It is a bad connection, a poor solder, joint, or a bit of corrosion causing poor connection between traces. Check those first before trying to find a bad capacitor.”

This all might be related but the main feature of a QL
Table is the quartz locked rock steady speed.

Get on vinyl engine, sign up for it and download the repair manual for your QLA7 It will help.
 
Thanks @desertrat748 ! This TT was recapped a few years ago, but I'll looking at it again.

Unfortunately, I have never been successful in getting the strobe light to stay on. Sometimes it flickers, but for most of the time, the light is off, so I'm not able to check to see if the speed is locked or wavering. Not sure why that is. I really wish I could get this part of the table to work correctly.

I also take my previous comment back. The rubbing sound is back.
 
ranf1970 said:
Thanks @desertrat748 ! This TT was recapped a few years ago, but I'll looking at it again.

Unfortunately, I have never been successful in getting the strobe light to stay on. Sometimes it flickers, but for most of the time, the light is off, so I'm not able to check to see if the speed is locked or wavering. Not sure why that is. I really wish I could get this part of the table to work correctly.

I also take my previous comment back. The rubbing sound is back.
Click to expand...
You should disconnect the power to the break or remove it. It is also adjustable if I remember correctly. I’m not able to check mine out but I will check once I’m back home. Start with yours and see. But the speed fluctuations are a bigger issue for you.
 
Desertrat748 is correct, the TT71 motor drive is rock steady, I use one as my reference table.
I know the tech he is talking about as I purchased myTT71 motor drive from him already rebuilt. I consider these drive units up there with the very best.

BillWojo
 
ranf1970 said:
Thanks for this! Is this something that is fairly easy to fix? What kind of grease would you advise on using? I have Super Lube. Would that be good?
Click to expand...


usually it has to work dry but I happened to find old and hardened grease perhaps used by previous owners.
If you really want to lubricate slightly, it is better not to use grease but a thin (very thin) film of 800 cts grade silicone oil to be used only on the solenoid pin.
 
ranf1970 said:
I noticed when the power is off, the brake is not engaged and I can easily lift and put the platter down.

However, when the power is on, the brake is engaged and if I pull the platter up, no issue but if I put the platter down, it will sit on the brake.

Not sure if that is normal or not.

I'm going to try to see if it makes a noise with the power off and me manually moving the platter once I get home from work.
Click to expand...
I believe this is normal

I removed the platter on my Y7 with the power on, the brake moves and the platter won’t sit properly on the spindle. Power off and it drops right down.
 
I've recently acquired a beautiful and great sounding QL-Y7. I like it more than the 1200GR! I have a question after reading the manual on adjusting the tonearm height. The instruction in 5.2 is to see if the the tonearm is horizontal when the stylus is "nearly touching" the disc surface. I've always placed the stylus down on a record when adjusting height. It seems like it would be fairly difficult to hold the tonearm steady one hand while checking the level. Any reason for this?

1701099612972.png
 
Denon and Kenwood owner, figuring I need a JVC to round things out. Can't seem to find a solid features comparison btw QL-7Y and QL-A75.
Motors? Tonearms? Are they both auto-lift? Any key differences I should understand? Others I should consider? Just interested in semi- or full-auto. (currently have Denon 60L, Denon 47F, Denon 55K, Denon 59L, Denon 61F, Kenwood KD-990, Merrill Superpolytable, in case comparisons are worthwhile). Thank you.....
 
The Y7 is semi auto with an electro dynamic servo tonearm. It uses processors to control anti-skate, q damping, and tracking force. Its pretty slick. It’s also got a brake on the platter so it stops immediately upon reject or auto return.

I have one but haven’t played it yet. As I also got a Y3F at the same time and got that one going first, so I’ve just stuck with it.

The Y3F is fully auto and has a repeat function that keeps the record playing. I like it a lot.

Someday I’ll get the Y7 spinning.
 
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