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Turntable from Japan shipping experiences

belyin

belyin

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I put a lowish bid on a turntable on the Japan Yahoo auction site and was surprised to win. Zenmarket is showing 36,700 ¥ (considerably more than the item cost) to ship EMS, but only 14,280¥ for UPS; 21,400¥ FedEx; or 24,400¥ for DHL. I am surprised the courier services are so much cheaper than Japan Post, and I have always had good luck EMS for smaller packages. Is UPS and/or FedEx from Japan reliable, or should I just pay the much higher EMS freight?
 
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FedEx and UPS are preferable because they will be the carrier through the whole trip & that keeps time down for some reason. EMS doesn't have local service in alot of places and it will transfer to USPS. When it transfers for me in California, it's always at this warehouse that's notorious for being slow & disappearing packages. Same with domestic Japanese carriers, it will transfer. I've ordered twice from HiFi-Do "junk shop" in Tokyo and they've used FedEx and it's been great.

Packing up a TT is a thing best done carefully. This is going to be the biggest factor in whether it arrives safely. But if the person you've ordered from is a professional, there's probably nothing to worry about. It's those folks who have never shipped such a thing before that mess it up.
 
I had a good experience with EMS to USPS when I bought a guitar from Japan a few months ago. It sat for an extra day or two in customs (LAX USPS), but made it to me safe and sound - so large packages can do just fine w/EMS.

That said - since you have the option, you might as well go UPS/FedEx/DHL since they're cheaper in this case, and will stay with one carrier the entire trip. Having packages held for pickup tends to be easier with private carrier services as well.
 
My DP 75 came from Japan DHL, didn’t choose them but there were no issues, it arrived in perfect condition.


VR
Andy
 
unga-unga said:
FedEx and UPS are preferable because they will be the carrier through the whole trip & that keeps time down for some reason. EMS doesn't have local service in alot of places and it will transfer to USPS. When it transfers for me in California, it's always at this warehouse that's notorious for being slow & disappearing packages. Same with domestic Japanese carriers, it will transfer. I've ordered twice from HiFi-Do "junk shop" in Tokyo and they've used FedEx and it's been great.

Packing up a TT is a thing best done carefully. This is going to be the biggest factor in whether it arrives safely. But if the person you've ordered from is a professional, there's probably nothing to worry about. It's those folks who have never shipped such a thing before that mess it up.
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i decided to go with the least expensive option despite my misgivings about UPS. Arrived in two days in fine shape. I payed Zenmarket 1000¥ for “reinforced” box: an extra layer of cardboard glued along all the edges of the box which looks like a simple addition easy to reproduce at home.
 
It was double boxed, with foam cut out for the platter—I imagine the inner box was what the auction seller sent to Zenmarket. The turntable (a Denon DP75) looks great (better than advertised) but it runs about 8% slow !@##!%$
 
belyin said:
It was double boxed, with foam cut out for the platter—I imagine the inner box was what the auction seller sent to Zenmarket. The turntable (a Denon DP75) looks great (better than advertised) but it runs about 8% slow !@##!%$
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Try cleaning the speed pots and cleaning/re-oiling the bearing. Good chance it will help if it's been sitting for some time.
 
Assuming your running it at 100V and that the switch underneath the platter is set to 60 hz?


Edit: Not related, but also remove the transit screws…

VR
Andy
 
adnick said:
Assuming your running it at 100V and that the switch underneath the platter is set to 60 hz?


Edit: Not related, but also remove the transit screws…

VR
Andy
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I have a 100v to 120v transformer and set the switch to 60hz. I had the thought that perhaps the switch wasn't activating, but as is a quartz locked DD turntable it shouldn't effect the motor speed, should it? The strobe is static even at the slow speed, so that makes me wonder. Wow and flutter is good—lowest of all my (too many) turntables according to the RPM app.
 
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Again how does it sound, an RPM of 31 would sound terrible, couldn’t listen to it kinda thing….a little fast, most won’t notice, a little slow most will, but 31 is a lot slow (bad syntax to emphasize the point ;))
 
adnick said:
Again how does it sound, an RPM of 31 would sound terrible, couldn’t listen to it kinda thing….a little fast, most won’t notice, a little slow most will, but 31 is a lot slow (bad syntax to emphasize the point ;))
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I do have a plinth for it, but I haven't mounted it yet; not much point until I get the speed sorted.
 
belyin said:
I do have a plinth for it, but I haven't mounted it yet; not much point until I get the speed sorted.
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Again, play one of your favorite albums, if it’s actually running at 30.7 it will sound completely horrible:no:

Not sure how the plinth or no plinth came into the conversation? Is it because you don’t have it setup to play?

If so I’d suggest you set it up and play an album, you’ll need to do that to prove an issue…

VR
Andy
 
The practical reason is that I would have to drill out an arm board, and I don't want to make that commitment if the table is not a keeper. The Denon DK-2000 plinth has some resale value, but it would probably be an easier sale if the boards aren't drilled.

And while I agree the final proof is in the listening not the measurements, we are talking about the turntable's pitch being more than a half step flat (not to mention the rhythmic dimension,) and if I can't hear that I might as well sell off all of my hifi gear and forsake my occasional vocation as a record producer!
 
If you are using a phone ap to determine the speed, and running the turntable without the platter on it (i.e. very light load), you are not doing yourself any favors.

Put the platter on, and either time a tape strip with a stopwatch or (somehow) play a track you know to see/hear that the speed is close. If the frequency is set correctly and the strobe is not crawling, it doesn't make sense. But, a phone ap being incorrect with platter speed does make sense.
 
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