JVC QL-?? owners thread

[Oerets]

[QUOTE

@Oerets that is a sweet looking table. Always good to have a spare parts machine as well. What is wrong with your spare? As far as the other arm style, you might look at the auctions and such in Japan. They get stupid money on Ebay for them.

BillWojo[/QUOTE]

Not a thing wrong with the spare table now. When I purchased would only work in manual mode. Quick fix and back into the box until needed or not.

 

[brunomarcs]

Buyee wants to charge me almost 300 bucks for DHL shipping a headshell and the motor unit for a TT-81. Can you believe that? Or sea mail for 96.00 but that’ll take 12 weeks. What a joke.

 

[BillWojo]

I have never shipped with DHL, are there different levels like UPS? UPS has ground, 2nd day, Next day and Next day early AM delivery. Maybe see if there is a different DHL shipping option.
I agree that it seems like a lot of money. I hear stories of entire high end TT being shipped for that cost.
I often get industrial repair parts shipped overnight by UPS. Customer pays shipping and needs machine back running so gladly pays the freight. Little electronic parts not to bad but a big servo motor that weighs 75 lbs is very pricey.
Having DHL ship parts from Japan over night is very expensive especially if it is a big heavy package.
Check if there is a different tier level for shipping.

Billwojo

 

[desertrat748]

Buyee wants to charge me almost 300 bucks for DHL shipping a headshell and the motor unit for a TT-81. Can you believe that? Or sea mail for 96.00 but that’ll take 12 weeks. What a joke.

Yes I can believe that. Sorry to hear but a sunk cost. Thought it was discussed earlier that shipping was really expensive from Japan? And then it’s another converter cost if voltage is 100 volts unit.

On the plus side of things Japanese owners seem to take extremely nice care of their tt.

Hopefully you are going to have a pristine tt arrive soon.

 

[desertrat748]

Something else to take notice of with the tt 71, 81, 101 or QL - 7 (w it’s tt 71) is the amount of torque that big motor produces. It is a wonderful amount of torque compared to even some of the nicer mid level models like Technics SL- 1700.

Using a Discwasher doesn’t make it slow down with the QL A7 and I believe that huge amount of torque helps that stable speed.

 

[bsjapost]

I have a QL-F300. Wish I could find an entire new cartridge. Mine came with a worn down Empire 3000 II and when I set the counter weight at 1.75 after balancing the tone arm, the back of the weight hits the turntable. I think the cartridge is too heavy. But I am a newbie and dont know.

Any other QL-F300 owners have a cartridge selection?

 

[patient_ot]

Buyee wants to charge me almost 300 bucks for DHL shipping a headshell and the motor unit for a TT-81. Can you believe that? Or sea mail for 96.00 but that’ll take 12 weeks. What a joke.

Those prices don't seem out of line for DHL at all, based on what I've heard about shipping large items. All my DHL orders have been smaller, lighter items and weren't exactly cheap w/r/t shipping charges.

The reasons I've pretty much written off ordering a TT from Japan are the shipping charges and the need for a transformer.

 

[brunomarcs]

The first quote for shipping the motor was 175. Way over my projected 125 as I was hoping it would be. I added a victor HS to consolidate packing and whamo, a 290.00 shipping fee using DHL, they say to wait for Japan post to come back online and offer seamail for 96 but don’t recommend it. How much can the TT 81 weigh? I do have a $14 enhanced packing fee involved, I won’t pay the asking price right now. As a side note 2 GT 2000’s were 396 and 420 when I bought them last year. I’m thinking there just taking advantage of us with the virus going on right now.

 

[desertrat748]

I have a QL-F300. Wish I could find an entire new cartridge. Mine came with a worn down Empire 3000 II and when I set the counter weight at 1.75 after balancing the tone arm, the back of the weight hits the turntable. I think the cartridge is too heavy. But I am a newbie and dont know.

Any other QL-F300 owners have a cartridge selection?

,


Okay, I happen to really like to collect old JVC tt and Empire carts. You can search on here for the Empire cart inductance thread but it's most likely a Empire 66/x clone, if it measures out near 500 ohms dc resistance ( you can measure inductance if you have a meter for it, if not, dc resistance is the next best thing that can be used to see what your Empire 3000 II really is, it doesn't really matter what Empire labeled it because some are just mislabeled. You have to measure to be sure).

With that said, if it's a 66 clone, 239-PDE and what Empire called the$8-15 S912E (purple) and S913E (white) are going to be the best replacement stylus, if you can find them. I haven't seen orignal Empire stylus for sale in about 2 years unless it's a small batch found by someone's old stock pile. Voice of music sells a few modern Japanese made or Swiss made 4239 models. The 4 prefix is indication of aftermarket.

I have had good luck with the 4239-DEC from VOM. A tad bit brighter in upper mids-treble though. Works well for me and a bit of tone control (foreboded by some). If it has a bit higher resistance it's probably going to be a 2000/e clone and you will need the 4237 stylus for those. They are even harder to find an original stylus for sale.

As far as your JVC table and the weight of the counter balance. Your tt has that high compliance lightweight straight arm I believe? It's still going to be able to handle the blob style 2000/3000/4000 carts. I suspect you may have to use a scale and not go by what your counter weight shows. Get a cheap electronic scale of the web. About $8-15 can be found.

That's a really light headshell for your model and the cart is coming in around 6-7 grams. Should be fine. I use all my 66 models on a similar JVC table with similar arm. No problems.

Good luck with your quest and let us know how it goes for you!

 

[Mr Derph]

Artsy ish photo my step daughter took the other night of my new turntable.

 

[desertrat748]

The first quote for shipping the motor was 175. Way over my projected 125 . How much can the TT 81 weigh? I do have a $14 enhanced packing fee involved.

I recall that the tt-71 weighs in at 8kg about 18lbs. TT-81 has a little more circuitry so maybe about 19lbs? Edit: That's just the tt-81 with no plinth. If it's a QL-8 (with a tt-81) it's going to be closer to 40lbs. A QL-A7 is about 27lbs. They aren't light weight units.

 

[brunomarcs]

I have just the motor.

I recall that the tt-71 weighs in at 8kg about 18lbs. TT-81 has a little more circuitry so maybe about 19lbs? Edit: That's just the tt-81 with no plinth. If it's a QL-8 (with a tt-81) it's going to be closer to 40lbs. A QL-A7 is about 27lbs. They aren't light weight units.

 

[bsjapost]

,


Okay, I happen to really like to collect old JVC tt and Empire carts. You can search on here for the Empire cart inductance thread but it's most likely a Empire 66/x clone, if it measures out near 500 ohms dc resistance ( you can measure inductance if you have a meter for it, if not, dc resistance is the next best thing that can be used to see what your Empire 3000 II really is, it doesn't really matter what Empire labeled it because some are just mislabeled. You have to measure to be sure).

With that said, if it's a 66 clone, 239-PDE and what Empire called the$8-15 S912E (purple) and S913E (white) are going to be the best replacement stylus, if you can find them. I haven't seen orignal Empire stylus for sale in about 2 years unless it's a small batch found by someone's old stock pile. Voice of music sells a few modern Japanese made or Swiss made 4239 models. The 4 prefix is indication of aftermarket.

I have had good luck with the 4239-DEC from VOM. A tad bit brighter in upper mids-treble though. Works well for me and a bit of tone control (foreboded by some). If it has a bit higher resistance it's probably going to be a 2000/e clone and you will need the 4237 stylus for those. They are even harder to find an original stylus for sale.

As far as your JVC table and the weight of the counter balance. Your tt has that high compliance lightweight straight arm I believe? It's still going to be able to handle the blob style 2000/3000/4000 carts. I suspect you may have to use a scale and not go by what your counter weight shows. Get a cheap electronic scale of the web. About $8-15 can be found.

That's a really light headshell for your model and the cart is coming in around 6-7 grams. Should be fine. I use all my 66 models on a similar JVC table with similar arm. No problems.

Good luck with your quest and let us know how it goes for you!

I have a picture of the cartridge. The bottom says 3000II. The tone arm catch is broken so this stylus has taken a beating.

I will be purchasing a weight scale.
This is my first old TT, hell, I am so new to quality music listening that I probably couldn't make a 3000 dollar TT sound good. I hope it is as simple as tracking force, stylus, or cartridge. If it is the RCA cable.......

 

[desertrat748]

I have a picture of the cartridge. The bottom says 3000II. The tone arm catch is broken so this stylus has taken a beating.

I will be purchasing a weight scale.
This is my first old TT, hell, I am so new to quality music listening that I probably couldn't make a 3000 dollar TT sound good. I hope it is as simple as tracking force, stylus, or cartridge. If it is the RCA cable.......

From your picture it looks like you have a stylus made for the 2000/iii and could be an original. We would need to have a few more to see what is what. Especially one with cart off the tonearm on its back and a clear photo of the cantilever. Is there a black dot on it?

Also needed would be a dc resistance measure of the carts terminals. They are measured diagonal with empire.

It might be a 2000 clone w the correct stylus or it might be a mismatch. If mismatched it might sound a little bright overall.

Set up is important. Do a quick search on the web for setup. There are a few good examples.

Big thing for your jvc is going to be using a protractor, setting proper vertical tracking force , about 1.25 grams should be decent for the cart and stylus. Maybe a little bit more - 1.5 but I’m going to say not 1.75 or higher for that stylus. Also you have to set overhang but that’s usually taken care of with your protractor. I know you are new to this but keep reading and looking up videos online. (Look up vinyl protractor and you can find generic ones that look like a little mirrored ruler).

I don’t know what you mean by the beat up tone arm catch but I think you mean tone arm rest, or maybe lift? Take a pic. It might not be bad if we can see what is what with the cart, pics of the needle (cantilever & diamond ) and maybe the broken tone arm “catch”.

Hang in there and we can get you started on a very addictive hobby. You’ll be buying a new house with an extra room for your jvc tt collection in no time.

 

[bsjapost]

From your picture it looks like you have a stylus made for the 2000/iii and could be an original. We would need to have a few more to see what is what. Especially one with cart off the tonearm on its back and a clear photo of the cantilever. Is there a black dot on it?

Also needed would be a dc resistance measure of the carts terminals. They are measured diagonal with empire.

It might be a 2000 clone w the correct stylus or it might be a mismatch. If mismatched it might sound a little bright overall.

Set up is important. Do a quick search on the web for setup. There are a few good examples.

Big thing for your jvc is going to be using a protractor, setting proper vertical tracking force , about 1.25 grams should be decent for the cart and stylus. Maybe a little bit more - 1.5 but I’m going to say not 1.75 or higher for that stylus. Also you have to set overhang but that’s usually taken care of with your protractor. I know you are new to this but keep reading and looking up videos online. (Look up vinyl protractor and you can find generic ones that look like a little mirrored ruler).

I don’t know what you mean by the beat up tone arm catch but I think you mean tone arm rest, or maybe lift? Take a pic. It might not be bad if we can see what is what with the cart, pics of the needle (cantilever & diamond ) and maybe the broken tone arm “catch”.

Hang in there and we can get you started on a very addictive hobby. You’ll be buying a new house with an extra room for your jvc tt collection in no time.

No the clear holder when the TT is off. Is should have a lock on it. It doesn't. When it was shipped that tone arm was flipping all around. I am sure the stylus took a beating.

I will find protracters and I have ordered a traking force scale.

I really think a cheap new cartridge on this turn table would be better than my lp60x I currently use.

The JVC just sounds horrible right now. I will do all the electronic measuring on Saturday.

 

[bsjapost]

So it is an empire 2000 E/III.

Second picture is the tone arm rest the clear piece should have a lock over the top of the tone arm. During shipping I bet that stylus got beat up with the tone arm flapping about.

 

[55Redneck]

Artsy ish photo my step daughter took the other night of my new turntable.

Nothing fancy or pretty about the QL A2 but it sure is a solid performer. I'm quite happy with mine.

 

[desertrat748]

So it is an empire 2000 E/III.

Second picture is the tone arm rest the clear piece should have a lock over the top of the tone arm. During shipping I bet that stylus got beat up with the tone arm flapping about.

Yes it is. I’m glad you are on your way to getting it going. But, that cart is a top notch cart and most others can’t match the performance if you have an original stylus and it is set up correctly.

 

[desertrat748]

So it is an empire 2000 E/III.

Second picture is the tone arm rest the clear piece should have a lock over the top of the tone arm. During shipping I bet that stylus got beat up with the tone arm flapping about.

Now I understand. Yes that stylus might be damaged. If the diamond tip is broken it’s going to sound terrible. Much of what I would expect. It also would sound bad if you were running it with a very light tracking force. That’s something to look for too.

 

[mjw21a]

I've a QL-7. The platter has been damped with Dynamat Extreme and mat replaced with SDS IsoPlatMat, the arm changed for a Fidelity Research FR-54. It's the best sounding table I possess. It's been fully recapped too.

The only irritation is that with Brisbane often being a humid environment the touch sensitive buttons don't always register that they've been pressed.

I'm going to have to agree with respect to the Empire 2000E/III as well. I'm convinced there's no current production cart can match it. If the diamond is missing and the suspension is good then send it off for a retip.