Rob-ber
Super Member
I often buy turntables in Japan and then I have to rely on the info and pictures of the advertisement. So far that has always gone well.
Vintage semi/full auto table under $500 Recommendations
- Thread starter CHATRITOR
- Start date
From everything I've read, the 990 and 7010 are the exact same table with a new name and slightly different finish on the plinth.
JVC made great turntables. They were as good as Denon, Pioneer, etc. The QL-Y5 and Y7 were great if you want full auto but again, they're more complicated. With any DD turntable from that time, it's a good idea to replace the capacitors. The reason is that they all have ICs and an out of spec capacitor means it's more likely they'll get fried and they can't be replaced.
The KP-990 and the rest in that series (7010, 9010, 1100, 8030) are all very, very similar to each other and all great. They were actually designed by Micro Seiki and at least some were manufactured by Micro Seiki. The 990 I have says "Seiko" on the back.
This channel has videos on the JVC, Kenwood, Pioneer and others. It's a good time sink.
Kenwood made the series from about 1986-1996. Originally they were named the KP-990 and KD-1100 internationally and KD-990 and KD-1100 in the US. At some point, the 990 became the 7010 and the 1100 became the 9010 and they slightly changed the finish on the plinth. The 1100/9010 have a slightly more powerful motor and a slightly better tonearm but the difference is really minimal. There was also the KD-8030 which again, is pretty much the same thing with a different name.
Again, I like these because they have auto lift/shut off and are very reliable overall. The arm is very good and can do justice to an expensive cartridge and the chassis is very cool.
I'd argue that's not true in the case of some auto lift/shut off tables.
For the Kenwoods already mentioned, they use an optical sensor that detects when the arm is at the end of the record. It then triggers a solenoid to lift the arm and shut off the platter. There's no mechanical connection to the tonearm. The pivot shaft just has a tiny arm with a tiny mirror that the optical sensor sees when it's at the correct angle.
The Pioneer PL-30/50Ls are similar but they use a hall sensor to do the same thing.
I can't see how any of these solutions would affect the tone arm in a negative way.
CHATRITOR
cattoo
1500 is full manual and I really don’t see the point buying a $200 turntable that constantly requires getting a cuing lever fixed
Cost of fixing that horrible design will one day surpass the cost of the turntable
CHATRITOR
cattoo
I
i will search for a KP-990 / 7010, they aren’t exactly rare to find I just want one for the right price since I still need to save some budget to buy some subwoofers and get a better cartridge
OK, so the 1500 is fully manual. The other two aren't. I just GoogleBinged that series. I doubt very much that the cueing lever needs to be "constantly fixed". The 1300 that I have has been working fine, and was working fine for years before I got it. I also have a Rega Planar 2, which I have never felt the need to upgrade, as it sounds fine to me.
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You might consider Technics SL-1600 or 1700 - the MKII versions. These are fully automatic and semi-automatic, respectively. Both are quartz lock speed control, direct drive. They are suspended tables to dampen vibrations, and have easy tonearm height adjustment. A nice add is the stylus illuminator. I love my 1700MKII.
