Luxman vs Technics vs Dual

[Stanton681EEES]

Luxman for me as well I sure think them luxmens are pretty

 

[mcp1]

My memory may be failing me here, but as I remember, to reject a record, I had to manually trip the wire bail. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember any provision to manually raise and lower the arm without doing a full shutoff with the trip lever and reset with the start knob.

No , you can twist the cueing lever in small increments to raise the tonearm as high as you want it. Turning it all the way, clockwise, will lift the arm and turn off the unit. The trip mechanism is only needed at the end of the record.

 

[arrow 68]

This is the 264 arm. It is a light weight, complex rube goldberg auto lift contraption that contains the on/off switch for the platter and rides loosely on plastic knife edge bearings. It does not have a cueing function. That little wire trip lever and the shaft it rides on are a source of endless grief.

This is the TA-1, the arm used on the 277. It is solid, well manufactured, has adjustable VTA, easily transfers to other tables and commands good prices.

I've had a 264, I have a TA-1. There is no comparison.

Pictures from the vinyl engine Luxman gallery. http://www.vinylengine.com/phpBB2/album_cat.php?cat_id=47

I have the 277 and agree. That is a great arm. Maybe one of their best. Since my dustcover looks like ****, instead of dropping a $100 on a new dustcover, I would rather put it towards a good deck and mount the arm from the 277.

 

[soundoc03]

As previously posted, all of these arms were made for Luxman by Micro-Seiki. They are all low mass and only suitable for a high-compliance cartridge. The specifications for the the PD-264 and PD-272 are identical. Although the TA-1 is sometimes sold separately, it makes no sense to buy one this way as the TT with intact arm sell for considerably less. (Our friend VLAD started this nonsense by selling the arm and TT separately last year on ebay). Keep in mind that the TA-1 was not meant to be transferred to another table as the thin short wires terminate on a pcb under the plinth. It has no DIN plug so essentially it need to be re-wired or spliced. There is also no threaded neck at the base for mounting to an armboard. Neither option is worth the bother in my opinion. On the other hand the previously mentioned KD-550 arm has a mass of 10gs (medium) and can be used with any standard DIN cable. I don't know who the manufacturer was but it does have the look of a Fidelity Research. It also has a standard mounting neck and hex nut. A KD-550 with the TA goes for half of what TA-1s are selling for!
The auto- lift feature in the PD-264 is actually very well designed. You will need to rotate the base to position the trip in order to enable it to raise the arm and turn off the motor at the end of most disks. Mine does works flawlessly in this regard. Considering that the cheap plastic Audio-Technica auto lift device which only raises the TA in much the same manner sells for $150, a PD-164 is a mid-fi bargain.

 

[x_25]

I have only ever used one TT (my first one that I got three months ago). It is a Dual 1009 that was bought in 1964 by my grandfather. The only service it has had in 44 years is needing the rubber idle wheel replaced (understandable because it is rubber). Some of the auto functions are slightly out of alignment (when I say slightly I mean just missing the edge of 10" and 7" records, 12" records it has no problem placing the arm.) I say that any company that can make something that will work reliably with no servicing for 44 years is the one to go with. :yes:

 

[absolon]

The auto- lift feature in the PD-264 is actually very well designed. You will need to rotate the base to position the trip will enable it to raise the arm and turn off the motor at the end of most disks. Mine works flawlessly. Considering that the Audio-Technica auto lift device which only raises the TA in much the same manner sells for $150, a PD-164 is a mid-fi bargain.

The autolift mechanism relies on very precise tolerance in the trip lever shaft to bore fit and gravity to engage it. With wear, a minute shoulder develops and interferes with free movement. Honing to remove the lip modifies the fit sufficiently that the shaft tips as it drops and binds in the bore. Lubrication of any type in the bore also causes binding. If the bore binds, the trip lever will not drop to the latch point and the motor switch will not stay engaged rendering an otherwise functioning turntable useless. Disassembly to repair is complicated and three hands are required to reassemble. In my books, that isn't good design. I consider Sony's magnetodiode-based autolift system a much more sensible design using fewer parts less subject to the vagaries of wear.

IIRC, the control/cueing shaft is spring loaded and unlike a cueing lever system, would therefore require two hands to manually cue, one for the control and one for the arm.

That's great that you are happy with yours, but I wouldn't go near one again.

My TA-1 will eventually find a home on one of my tables, likely as a second arm on my Unamco. The absence of DIN plugs is no issue as I intend to direct wire from cartridge to RCAs, nor is the absence of threaded collar as that is not the only method of TA mounting.

 

[Fred Longworth]

My first choice would be the Luxman. Second choice the Technics.

As for the Dual : potentially a very nice machine. . . however, the 1229 requires immense amounts of service to operate reliably and be safe on records. Not only that, it is highly specialized service. Most 1229's have not received this service, and frankly most video/TV techs and a goodly number of so-called audio techs should not be allowed to touch a 1229 without a chaperone.

One of the most common failures on the 1229 (and on the 1219) is that the arm binds or gets sticky in the horizontal mode, damaging records and styli. Another common failure is that the speed selector freezes up, so the owner "forces" the button, breaking either the button assembly itself or the plastic idler-wheel height-adjuster cam. The tonearm clutch pad is worn out on nearly every 1219 and 1229 I see.

Best,

Fred Longworth

 

[soundoc03]

There are several important factors which determine as to whether on not a TA will function well. Among these are mass, ability to set pivot to stylus distance(overhang), isolation from armboard and plinth, resonance of the arm tube, internal wiring, and quality of the bearing, horizontal friction, etc. The TA-1, has enough limitations imo, that makes me wonder why not just use a Grace g-707 instead? I think it is a better low mass TA that is easy to mount and adjust. A G-707 usually sells for less than what the last two TA-1s went for.

I agree that none of these decks are worth investing much money into. I bought my PD-264 which came with a new Shure cartridge from an AA member for essentially the value of the cartridge alone. When it fails I plan on tossing it.

As a slightly off the point observation, a PD-375 with a frozen DSS and broken DC hinge is currently up for auction on ebay. Even though the bidding is only up to $40 with a day to go, it will sell for over $200 because the bidders ids are encrypted. I have fixed two of these decks with frozen DSS, a feature that I really like, but I am not overly impressed with the ultra low mass Micro-Seiki TA which is non-exchangeable and virtually has no adjustments other than TF and AS. I believe that there are better vintage TT values at that price point.