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Pioneer pl-910 worth the effort?

andylsun

andylsun

Active Member
I picked up a pioneer pl-910 at the weekend. Needs a stylus and not sure if it's worth it. It's quite plasticy, front slide out loading, belt drive linear tracking, auto track (cd like) operation.

I've got two DD turntables and would like to have a working belt drive. Can't find any comments on the Internet to gauge it's quality

Worth putting $30 for a stylus, or will it be a noisy, rumbly mess.
 
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I'd say there are few linear tracking TT's worthy of keeping, and that Pioneer is not one of them. My opinion only :)
 
andylsun said:
I picked up a pioneer pl-910 at the weekend. Needs a stylus and not sure if it's worth it. It's quite plasticy, front slide out loading, belt drive linear tracking, auto track (cd like) operation.

I've got two DD turntables and would like to have a working belt drive. Can't find any comments on the Internet to gauge it's quality

Worth putting $30 for a stylus, or will it be a noisy, rumbly mess.
Click to expand...

Hi, andylsun -

I thought your questions deserved something at least intended as a constructive response.

Anyway, I'm not familiar with that model but I was able to learn that it sold new for $400.00 in the late '80s. That price makes it far from entry level for the time so it could be decent.

I suppose what you do with it would depend on whether it's an improvement over the turntables you currently own. Also, don't forget that the stylus you buy and the cartridge can stay with you if the table heads down the road.

Also, you can get an entirely new cartridge and stylus for less than the $30.00 you mentioned. There's the AT3482P for $18.00 and the AT92ECD for $25.00. Both are decent, better than their price would suggest, and can benefit from a stylus upgrade in the future.

John
 
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Hi John

Thanks - I've got some nice DD turntables (Sony PS-X7 with Ortofon OM10E and a Stanton STR8-90 with Shure SC35C). My guts tell me it's not going to an improvement over these, which is why I'm hesitant to spend anything on it.

I'll have a look at a combo stylus and cartridge - I couldn't figure out how to get the cartridge out, which is why I was looking at stylus only prices. If it just takes any old p-mount cartridge then I'll go that route. $20 is well worth it, but over 30 for the stylus on it's own probably isn't for me.

andy
 
andylsun said:
Hi John

Thanks - I've got some nice DD turntables (Sony PS-X7 with Ortofon OM10E and a Stanton STR8-90 with Shure SC35C). My guts tell me it's not going to an improvement over these, which is why I'm hesitant to spend anything on it.

I'll have a look at a combo stylus and cartridge - I couldn't figure out how to get the cartridge out, which is why I was looking at stylus only prices. If it just takes any old p-mount cartridge then I'll go that route. $20 is well worth it, but over 30 for the stylus on it's own probably isn't for me.

andy
Click to expand...

Andy, it's probably just the standard T4P cartridge mount. Most linear trackers used them, except for a few TOTL models.

The way to remove the cartridge would be to remove the small screw that you'll see on the outside (right as viewed from the front) of the tonearm. Then just pull the cartridge straight out.

John
 
I'm not familiar with the Pioneer PL-910, however I do have a Pioneer PL-L30 here in the mancave/studio. It was brought in a customer who needed help getting it going again.

I'm guessing the PL-L30 is similar to the PL-910 in many respects, being a belt drive linear tracker with P-Mount cartridge.

I replaced the belt and the stylus on my customer's unit, spending about $50 on the new parts.

It's a decent sounding turntable and operates reliably. The automatic tonearm transport is very slow and tiresome to use. It's OK for casual, non-critical LP playback. It would be a total PITA for playing 45s. It's not a turntable I would recommend or seek out for personal use.

Based on the original poster's description of the unit he's looking at, I would say "PASS" on it and keep looking for a better, more user friendly belt drive.
 
As you can see from the pics, it doesn't look like it's p-mount. The cartridge is wired directly to the wires (no socket) with a screw going into the cartridge from the top. The horizonal screw is in front of the cartridge and doesn't connect to anything.

The stylus shell is a Pioneer PN-301. There's a replacement (not OEM) on that auction site for $12, might just go for it!

There's remote control in and out jacks on the back, which is the first time I've seen that on a turntable. I have the companion SA-V70 master control head - so I might just keep them both and that can be my 'what the hell were they thinking' system. Should have kept those 5 way kabuki Sansui speakers to go with it :-)
 

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andylsun said:
As you can see from the pics, it doesn't look like it's p-mount. The cartridge is wired directly to the wires (no socket) with a screw going into the cartridge from the top. The horizonal screw is in front of the cartridge and doesn't connect to anything.

The stylus shell is a Pioneer PN-301. There's a replacement (not OEM) on that auction site for $12, might just go for it!

There's remote control in and out jacks on the back, which is the first time I've seen that on a turntable. I have the companion SA-V70 master control head - so I might just keep them both and that can be my 'what the hell were they thinking' system. Should have kept those 5 way kabuki Sansui speakers to go with it :-)
Click to expand...

Weird..........

John
 
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