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Luxman PD441 Spindle system

CHATRITOR

CHATRITOR

cattoo
I am planning to buy a PD441 that comes with all 4 armboards for $500.

After some research, I have seen that the PD441 and the PD444 are some of the best luxman / micro seiki turntables ever made, incorporating a special (Loadless free spindle?) floating motor system which just helps with damping or removing unwanted vibrations (Something around that).

My question is: How reliable are these mechanisms? I know that Micro seiki has always done some genius engineering, however I am also aware that not all of them are made to last and could prove to be quite unreliable and prone to breaking after 50 long years. How sturdy is this mechanism? Can I buy this turntable, put on a nice tonearm and enjoy it properly?


Or will frequent repairs cause me concern? Owners of PD441 / 444, let me know!

Side note: Does the 441 fit 12" arms? There is a AS309S (Ortofon, made and designed by Jelco) Arm that seems quite nice and I'd like to try on this turntable. Hopefully it is possible.

The tonearm mounting section looks a bit confusing to me so some clarification will help.
 
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The floating motor system works just fine. Be sure to keep the inner platter stationary when transporting the table. Came from the factory with this rubber washers, 10mm with bolt to hold inner platter stationary in shipping.

Table has chips that might not be available. These can fail so having the table refreshed is probably good insurance against issues. I don’t think they need constant attention but one and done refresh should be good.

The 441 might not have enough room to move the mounting plate far enough from the platte for a 12” arm. Need to test fit to see. Dang that’s a cheap price especially if the dust cover is in nice shape. Always wanted one after using one in the store for a few years.

CHATRITOR said:
Can I buy this turntable, put on a nice tonearm and enjoy it properly
Click to expand...
If you can’t, I will. The arm board collection is worth the cost of admission.
 
Blue Shadow said:
The floating motor system works just fine. Be sure to keep the inner platter stationary when transporting the table. Came from the factory with this rubber washers, 10mm with bolt to hold inner platter stationary in shipping.

Table has chips that might not be available. These can fail so having the table refreshed is probably good insurance against issues. I don’t think they need constant attention but one and done refresh should be good.

The 441 might not have enough room to move the mounting plate far enough from the platte for a 12” arm. Need to test fit to see. Dang that’s a cheap price especially if the dust cover is in nice shape. Always wanted one after using one in the store for a few years.


If you can’t, I will. The arm board collection is worth the cost of admission.
Click to expand...
The dust cover is a generic one, I don’t think one can tell the difference between an original and high quality replica.

Armboards selling so high? Is this the Luxman equivalent of McIntosh glass panels selling for hundreds and up to thousands ;’)

Noted, will check the caps and whatever else is in there. I will tell seller to take off outer platter and secure inner.
 
Blue Shadow said:
The floating motor system works just fine. Be sure to keep the inner platter stationary when transporting the table. Came from the factory with this rubber washers, 10mm with bolt to hold inner platter stationary in shipping.

Table has chips that might not be available. These can fail so having the table refreshed is probably good insurance against issues. I don’t think they need constant attention but one and done refresh should be good.

The 441 might not have enough room to move the mounting plate far enough from the platte for a 12” arm. Need to test fit to see. Dang that’s a cheap price especially if the dust cover is in nice shape. Always wanted one after using one in the store for a few years.


If you can’t, I will. The arm board collection is worth the cost of admission.
Click to expand...
Side note:
Do you think it is possible customizing a glass panel like that of a pioneer exclusive p3?

Real glass + real wood, no plastic bs.
 
CHATRITOR said:
The dust cover is a generic one, I don’t think one can tell the difference between an original and high quality replica
Click to expand...
You probably won’t have the full 4mm soft PMMA of the original or the Luxman L in the front corner of the aftermarket cover.
 
CHATRITOR said:
Side note:
Do you think it is possible customizing a glass panel like that of a pioneer exclusive p3?

Real glass + real wood, no plastic bs.
Click to expand...
What do you want to replace and downgrade to Pioneer spec vs. Luxman spec? I know exclusive is the good stuff, I’m just being ornery. The P3 would be a fine table but I like the looks of the Luxman.
 
Blue Shadow said:
What do you want to replace and downgrade to Pioneer spec vs. Luxman spec? I know exclusive is the good stuff, I’m just being ornery. The P3 would be a fine table but I like the looks of the Luxman.
Click to expand...
The dust cover. I thought it was generic so I wanted wood sides to match the table sides. Would’ve looked amazing
 
CHATRITOR said:
The dust cover. I thought it was generic so I wanted wood sides to match the table sides. Would’ve looked amazing
Click to expand...
I was surprised to find the wood side panels are vinyl veneer on these tables. Luxman’s choice of vinyl was great and probably looked better than wood veneer for such small pieces.

The table looks so badass with the thick metal sandwich suspended by the 4 high performance isolation feet able to look under and see the motor and power switch hanging below that level. I’d never box it up. Some might. The PD-444 adds a pair of switches to select the tonearm that goes to the output cable.

A generic dust cover, needs to be thick to fit the original hinges or a spacer installed. The original was softer plastic than most and it deadens the sound hitting it better. Kenwood has softer plastic on the KD-500/600 and others as do some other companies in their better tables. Regular tables have hard almost brittle sounding plastic covers when you rap your fingernails on them.
 
Tonearms are mounted to the sliding/locking plates which consist of the sled and a precut arm board. All metal, using correct arm board for the arm, bolted to the plate, mount tonearm, install combo in track on the table and slide on the track to align properly, use lock lever to fix the sled in position. Same on the 444 but the left side rails are longer to accommodate longer tonearms in addition to regular arms.
 
Blue Shadow said:
Tonearms are mounted to the sliding/locking plates which consist of the sled and a precut arm board. All metal, using correct arm board for the arm, bolted to the plate, mount tonearm, install combo in track on the table and slide on the track to align properly, use lock lever to fix the sled in position. Same on the 444 but the left side rails are longer to accommodate longer tonearms in addition to regular arms.
Click to expand...
I see. thanks for the information
 
Blue Shadow said:
I was surprised to find the wood side panels are vinyl veneer on these tables. Luxman’s choice of vinyl was great and probably looked better than wood veneer for such small pieces.

The table looks so badass with the thick metal sandwich suspended by the 4 high performance isolation feet able to look under and see the motor and power switch hanging below that level. I’d never box it up. Some might. The PD-444 adds a pair of switches to select the tonearm that goes to the output cable.

A generic dust cover, needs to be thick to fit the original hinges or a spacer installed. The original was softer plastic than most and it deadens the sound hitting it better. Kenwood has softer plastic on the KD-500/600 and others as do some other companies in their better tables. Regular tables have hard almost brittle sounding plastic covers when you rap your fingernails on them.
Click to expand...
Would I have to worry about the veneer peeling? I see thats quite a common issue with most veneered tables.
 
I haven’t seen it on intact pieces. Only determined it was vinyl when I saw pics of a damaged panel on a table a few years ago. Lux units don’t seem to suffer vinyl peel much.
 
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