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The Best Vintage DD Turntables $200 to $250

mrgates3

mrgates3

Road to Ruin
My Friends at Audiokarma ! What in your opinion , would be the best VINTAGE Direct Drive Turntables in the $200.00 to $ 250.00 Range . I know prices vary
but some seem to sell consistently for these prices . I have a Pioneer PL 518
which I like but , is really the only one I have had long term use with . It is also in rough shape . I'm not looking for one best , but a list mainly for build quality of plinth tonearm ect .

Thank You

Mike
 
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I really like my Kenny KD-550, but I hear that the KD-500 with an SME arm is light years ahead of mine.
 
Your going to get many opinions as to your question. There are a a lot of tables in that price range. So I don't think there is a definite answer to what your are asking. I will say that any of the Technics SL1600 1700 or 1800MKII are very good tables in that price range, but I don't think there is any best table in that price range.
 
A dual 1200 series preferably a 1245 or a 1249 are awesome turntables in that price range but they are not direct drive. A sanyo PLus series Q50 on the other hand is a direct drive and it is another awesome table.
 
No No please I need opinions of where to start looking :yes: I want something
that has good vibration resistance , a well built tonearm assembly (stock .)
A technics 1200 MK 2 sells for more than $ 250 most times unless its abused .
A technics SL-D1 , 2 , 3 have plastic plinths I believe. Most all Vintage Turntables sound Good , I'm looking for opinions on the other things . I dont care about Time periods or manufacture , tell me about your Direct Drive and why you like that one above the others . Thanks for your comments so far :)

Tell me about yours if you own one , or about one you know good things about !
 
I think there are a number of very nice TT's in your price range. These come to mind:

Pioneer PL71
JVC QL Y5F or Y7F
or a real sleeper - MCS 6700 which is a Technics 1900 in disguise :)

As you can see, I gravitate towards quartz lock speed controls. I think that is where I'd be looking :)
 
My Technics SL-2000 direct drive has been an excellent reliable unit for 31 years. It's fully manual. Don't know if they all are like that (reliable and quiet), but this one is.
 
mrgates3 said:
No No please I need opinions of where to start looking :yes: I want something
that has good vibration resistance , a well built tonearm assembly (stock .)
A technics 1200 MK 2 sells for more than $ 250 most times unless its abused .
A technics SL-D1 , 2 , 3 have plastic plinths I believe. Most all Vintage Turntables sound Good , I'm looking for opinions on the other things . I dont care about Time periods or manufacture , tell me about your Direct Drive and why you like that one above the others . Thanks for your comments so far :)

Tell me about yours if you own one , or about one you know good things about !
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The Kenwood KD-500/550 weighs in at about 30lbs, is not really susceptible to footfalls or incidental vibration and the speed is rock solid.

Is it the greatest sounding deck? I wouldn't know...never heard a REALLY high end TT. But, it sounds better than any of the other 'tables I've had so far.

EDIT: And I picked it up for a Benjamin.
 
The Technics sl110 and 1100- the sl-1100 came with an interesting and
Excellent Technics arm, the SL-110 no arm, but could be optioned with either a wood or aluminum base and sme 3009 arm.

Got mine for a great price.
 
To add to those already on the list:

Pioneer PL-1000 - statement table that can be found under $250, because the tangetial tracking arm scares folks...and it can be a touch repair job. But when it works....heaven!

The Technics SL-1200 should make such a list as a default selection. You can sometimes get lucky and find one on Craigslist in good condition. The SL-1100 can also be a good performing table in this price range. Though it is not quartz locked, it holds speed quite reliably.

The Pioneer PL-600 series: PL-600, PL-610, and PL-630 are screaming deals in this price range.
 
Although it's lower down the line than the Techics Mk II tables, I sugest the SL Q2 if you want to avoid the 1200 line and the problem with the armlift on the Mk II models. It is above the SL D2, very solid, and is quartz, not servo. The SL D2 is better than the SL 1900 or 2000. Frankly, as long as they hold their speed well, most Technics DD tables built before 1980 or so are fine.
 
Here's another vote for the SL-Q2. I've had mine since new, the only glitch has been the strobe went. out. (speed is still right on) I've damped the aluminum plinth with about 5 lbs. of modelling clay shoved in where it won't impede cooling or the return mechanism. I use varying thickness mats to adjust for VTA. I have run a Denon DL-110 with nice results- presently have the "Quest Digitrac OM " installed.
 
Stanton681EEES said:
Your going to get many opinions as to your question. There are a a lot of tables in that price range. So I don't think there is a definite answer to what your are asking. I will say that any of the Technics SL1600 1700 or 1800MKII are very good tables in that price range, but I don't think there is any best table in that price range.
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They are very nice tables! I agree on this one! They are known to have return mechanism issues, other than the SL1800 MK II that is manual. I am speaking of the MKII series.
Regards,
Jim
 
and what issues are these that you speak of? I ask because I own all three from that series and haven't had any issues with any of them other than getting them back in good working order, do to there sitting without use for god knows how many years.
Now if your referring to the cuing issue that is the 1300 1400 and 1500MKII series.
And you can get rid of the cuing issue on the 1500MKII by replacing the tonearm.
 
I have a TechnicsSL-1700mk1 and a SL-D3 (with dampened plinth). The SL-1700 absolutely smokes the D3 in a A to B sound comparison, but to be fair the SL-1700 does have new cables. The one button start/stop on the D3 is nice.
 
Stanton681EEES said:
and what issues are these that you speak of? I ask because I own all three from that series and haven't had any issues with any of them other than getting them back in good working order, do to there sitting without use for god knows how many years.
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The late Joel @ The Turntable Factory has a thing on his website about a gear cracking and eventually breaking in the return mechanism of the SL-1600Mk2 and SL-1700Mk2 -- see http://www.theturntablefactory.com/technics.html above and below the fourth photo down the page, of a plastic gear showing cracks. That said, these are popular turntables with AK members, and I haven't seen anyone here say that they've had problems with this gear breaking. Both of my 1700Mk2s (one in everyday use and a "parts" unit) have had no auto-return problems.

Has anyone here had this issue turn up with their 1600Mk2 or 1700Mk2?
 
Thanks Guys for all your input . Some of the turntables mentioned I have viewed in real life , but most I have only viewed pictures , which is why I need the input . Audiokarma is the best PERIOD !
 
SA-708 said:
The late Joel @ The Turntable Factory has a thing on his website about a gear cracking and eventually breaking in the return mechanism of the SL-1600Mk2 and SL-1700Mk2 -- see http://www.theturntablefactory.com/technics.html above and below the fourth photo down the page, of a plastic gear showing cracks. That said, these are popular turntables with AK members, and I haven't seen anyone here say that they've had problems with this gear breaking. Both of my 1700Mk2s (one in everyday use and a "parts" unit) have had no auto-return problems.

Has anyone here had this issue turn up with their 1600Mk2 or 1700Mk2?
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Oh that, Yes i knew about that but i've only known of one 1600MKII that had that problem, a friend of mine owns and he replaced the gear which he said wasn't very difficult. In fact he wrote an explanation as to how to do it and posted it at Audioasylum. I can tell you both my 1600 and 1700 are Ok as of this moment plus i have an extra tonearm that has a good gear that was smashed in shipping but that's another story for another time.
 
Pioneer PL-550, 570, 600, 610, 630.

Sony PS-X5, X6, X7, X50, X60, X70.

All quartz DD with varying degrees of automation.
 
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