Vintage JVC QL-A2 Turntable found in garbage

allsmith

allsmith

Super Member
Found this turntable in the garbage the other day..Surprised to find out it is totally usable..i posted a video on YouTube if you wanna check it out...Been too lazy to clean the other side of this wings album, but have been playing this side all week..lol ..I really like this album!..And the turntable i think sounds pretty dang good..It has a audio technica cart but the model number must be on the top and i would need to remove it to read it...the stylus looked decent but is bent over to one side ever so slightly..i decided not to mess with it..I may go ahead and wet sand and buff the cover and clean up the deck...this was found in what is called a transfer station,garbage that is headed for the landfill..i have found many pieces of vintage audio gear out of there, many that needed no work at all...here is the link...
 
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Amazing what people just throw away, even here in O-H-I-O. Cart and sled would bring decent money on (you know where).
 
Cart looks like an AT10/11/12 derivative. Nice little carts. The mounting ears on them tend to get chowdered up a bit with time, that aspect of the design is probably my least favorite of all the carts I've played with. They sound great though!

That thing has a nicer dust cover than the one I paid for! I think mine must have sat somewhere it got direct sunlight for years, and then someone scratched the ever loving hell out of the top of it. Going to take some serious wet sanding.

The strobe on these is really neat. Instead of painted dots it has notches like a timing wheel on a car. I like it!

The chassis looks great but doesn't feel as solid as the plastic Pioneers or Technics I've worked on from the same period. Likewise with the controls. Great styling though for sure.

I think they sound great with the right cart and the motor unit is nothing to sneeze at. JVC has quartz lock figured out.

If you keep it, the arm likes a lower compliance cart best, something like the AT95e or AT7v would be a good fit.

Enjoy!
Nathan
 
The speed change switch can be a bit balky. It worked fine on a QL-A2 I acquired a couple of years ago then started to not work. Easy to get at and clean though. There is a thread somewhere from a different poster who had the same problem with the same table.
 
Been through a JL-A20 and QL-F4. Lubed all the controls, the levers don't need much but it sure did improve the feel of the control. Wholly adequate turntables that JVC used the basic design for many different models. Most of the weight is the bottom metal cover, I guess good shelf hugging weight.
 
Allsmith, you should always clean both sides of an LP before placing on the platter. Otherwise, dirt can get ground into the mat and cause scratches and surface wear to the flip side.
 
I have a JL-A20 that was basically free as well. It is a quiet, stable and well isolated TT that sounds excellent with it's basically unused Stanton 600EE cart/stylus. These are still cheap and mine has been absolutely trouble free though not being used currently.
 
allsmith said:
Found this turntable in the garbage the other day..Surprised to find out it is totally usable..i posted a video on YouTube if you wanna check it out...Been too lazy to clean the other side of this wings album, but have been playing this side all week..lol ..I really like this album!..And the turntable i think sounds pretty dang good..It has a audio technica cart but the model number must be on the top and i would need to remove it to read it...the stylus looked decent but is bent over to one side ever so slightly..i decided not to mess with it..I may go ahead and wet sand and buff the cover and clean up the deck...this was found in what is called a transfer station,garbage that is headed for the landfill..i have found many pieces of vintage audio gear out of there, many that needed no work at all...here is the link...
Click to expand...
Good find. I have one of these that I got at (you guessed it) my local dump about 5 years ago. I paid the princely sum of 2 bucks also. Many tables have come and gone but the old workhorse JVC still remains my main table although my Dual 510 had a pretty good run, it had a few quirks that the JVC did not have. My dust cover is pretty scuffy and it has an ADC cart on it and I'm still running the stylus that was on it when I got it. It sounds great. If I ever run across a good deal on a higher up the ladder JVC deck I won't hesitate to scoop it up.
 
55Redneck said:
Good find. I have one of these that I got at (you guessed it) my local dump about 5 years ago. I paid the princely sum of 2 bucks also. Many tables have come and gone but the old workhorse JVC still remains my main table although my Dual 510 had a pretty good run, it had a few quirks that the JVC did not have. My dust cover is pretty scuffy and it has an ADC cart on it and I'm still running the stylus that was on it when I got it. It sounds great. If I ever run across a good deal on a higher up the ladder JVC deck I won't hesitate to scoop it up.
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thats awesome u found one too!..yeah it seems like a solid unit for sure
 
sgleich said:
I have a JL-A20 that was basically free as well. It is a quiet, stable and well isolated TT that sounds excellent with it's basically unused Stanton 600EE cart/stylus. These are still cheap and mine has been absolutely trouble free though not being used currently.
Click to expand...
does seem like a solid unit for sure
 
anytune said:
Allsmith, you should always clean both sides of an LP before placing on the platter. Otherwise, dirt can get ground into the mat and cause scratches and surface wear to the flip side.
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good point, i never really thought of that..i grew up with a disc washer and have always hand spun the record on the platter when using the disc washer, so yeah dirt could get on the platter mat that way
 
Blue Shadow said:
Been through a JL-A20 and QL-F4. Lubed all the controls, the levers don't need much but it sure did improve the feel of the control. Wholly adequate turntables that JVC used the basic design for many different models. Most of the weight is the bottom metal cover, I guess good shelf hugging weight.
Click to expand...
i also have a QL-F4 my dad got at a garage sale and it worked really good when i got it(speed control needs cleaned a little i think tho)..at first when i found this one i thought it was the same unit until i got it home and compared
 
62vauxhall said:
The speed change switch can be a bit balky. It worked fine on a QL-A2 I acquired a couple of years ago then started to not work. Easy to get at and clean though. There is a thread somewhere from a different poster who had the same problem with the same table.
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thanks for the info, yeah i have a ql-f4 that i think needs the speed switch cleaned, it was working fine, but took a fit once and the speed what haywire for a sec..only did it once for me tho
 
EngineerNate said:
Cart looks like an AT10/11/12 derivative. Nice little carts. The mounting ears on them tend to get chowdered up a bit with time, that aspect of the design is probably my least favorite of all the carts I've played with. They sound great though!

That thing has a nicer dust cover than the one I paid for! I think mine must have sat somewhere it got direct sunlight for years, and then someone scratched the ever loving hell out of the top of it. Going to take some serious wet sanding.

The strobe on these is really neat. Instead of painted dots it has notches like a timing wheel on a car. I like it!

The chassis looks great but doesn't feel as solid as the plastic Pioneers or Technics I've worked on from the same period. Likewise with the controls. Great styling though for sure.

I think they sound great with the right cart and the motor unit is nothing to sneeze at. JVC has quartz lock figured out.

If you keep it, the arm likes a lower compliance cart best, something like the AT95e or AT7v would be a good fit.

Enjoy!
Nathan
Click to expand...
thanks for all the info, i will have to pull the cart and see what it is..it does really seem to sound good, i hooked it up to my computer system that i always listen too with my cd's and i swear this thing sounds better..im pretty impressed
 
tom3 said:
Amazing what people just throw away, even here in O-H-I-O. Cart and sled would bring decent money on (you know where).
Click to expand...
hey Ohioan!...thanks yeah i have found some amazing stuff in the garbage..enough to put together at least 2 systems...let them throw the stuff away,it dont bother me...well unless i miss getting it!..lol
 
allsmith said:
Found this turntable in the garbage the other day..Surprised to find out it is totally usable..i posted a video on YouTube if you wanna check it out...Been too lazy to clean the other side of this wings album, but have been playing this side all week..lol ..I really like this album!..And the turntable i think sounds pretty dang good..It has a audio technica cart but the model number must be on the top and i would need to remove it to read it...the stylus looked decent but is bent over to one side ever so slightly..i decided not to mess with it..I may go ahead and wet sand and buff the cover and clean up the deck...this was found in what is called a transfer station,garbage that is headed for the landfill..i have found many pieces of vintage audio gear out of there, many that needed no work at all...here is the link...
Click to expand...
Great save! Can't believe somebody would pop this in the trash! JVC made some very good TT's.
 
When you get around to cleaning it all up - try this tip that I found works really well: The antiseptic wipes from Costco. You know, like the Lysol brand but the Costco version doesn't leave lint behind. They clean amazingly well and cost next to nothing.
 
Listening to mine through my main system for the first time. This is a great sounding table, especially for the price I paid!

Mine has started having occasional trouble locking to 33 rpm, there's a thread here with a fix. I'll clean the speed pot first and see if that helps but it seems like a simple fix in any case.

Cheers
Nathan
 
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