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Yamaha px-3 first impressions

J

jstraw

Active Member
I bought a basket case px-3 awhile back.It needed a new counterweight.
I could not source a old part so i needed to build my own.
Yesterday i finally got it going.
I own a scout and a thoren's td 160.
I have been all over this unit and when it didn't work i thought i might of been suckered with all i have read about this unit.
It's case is dead but it's also thin plastic.The exact opposite of what you would think a good design should be.
Otherwise it's pretty good but complex.
So how does it sound vs my scout and td 160?
Well I'm impressed.Despite the cheap plinth/case it sound's quite good.
I have run my cart's on all my decks.What i have found is this deck because of it's linear tracking kills the other two in clarity.
It simply has the same distortion from beginning to end of a record.
It's audible and frankly i'm not sure i could go back.
I was going to build a wood 16 inch arm.I bought all the part's.I'm not now.
The px-3 does not do prat.It does run on speed no fuss no muss.
My scout need's a speed controler to run like this.It does prat though.
My wife imediately thought my scout was fast in comparison to the px-3
So In short while the px-3 is a old model of completely different design it can and does compete with my scout.It's totaly different but on the same level.
It beat's my modded td 160.
One area both beat the px-3 is in bass.Both do bass better.
The cart's i use are the sumiko bp 2,grado statement sonata and shure v 15 III jico sas tipped.
 
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Yamaha PX-3

Not surprised that you noticed a marked clarity from start to finish with the PX-3 compared to the VPI and Thorens. By chance I put my Yamaha PX-2 back in roatation in my primary system today replacing a VPI HW19MkIV. Agree that the VPI has pratt but speed is always an uphill fight with the VPI and I have to keep checking with the KAB strobe. While setting up the PX-2 I was wondering if the spindle needed oiling or is it a sealed bearing, maybe a PX-2/3 expert knows.
 
I swapped in my bp2 mc and got some bass back.
Question's i have are like you does it need to be oiled.
Whats the weight of the tone arm?
It's a 50 mm overhang to set up the arm.I used the protractor i have but i'm not sure how to set it up.If what i did was right.It sounds very detailed.How do you use the scale on the arm?
 
yamaha PX-3

I used a Denon overhang guage, its 50mm. The scale on the arm tube is for your stylus pressure. Ballpark recollection of arm weight 17gr should be medium mass. Owners manual should answer most if not all of your questions re setup.
 
Yamaha PX-3

IMO due to accurate speed and minimal distortion due to the linear tracking with your PX-3 what you might consider as a loss of bass/pratt is probably your hearing accurate bass now, the pratt we hear with our VPI is probably the bass being smeared from inaccurate speed. Just my humble opinion.
 
The px-2 and 3 do need to get an oil change now and then, on first look you will think it is a sealed bearing - but it is not. The fitting is just really tight and it will take quite some time for the shaft to sink back into place (my px-3 took half a day, merrylanders px-2 took a day).

Setting up the arm is well described in the manual and really easy to do.
 
Yamaha PX-3

the-real-mandak thanks for the update re the PX-2/3 bearing can be oiled, would Technics oil do? how much?
 
the-real-mandak said:
The px-2 and 3 do need to get an oil change now and then, on first look you will think it is a sealed bearing - but it is not. The fitting is just really tight and it will take quite some time for the shaft to sink back into place (my px-3 took half a day, merrylanders px-2 took a day).

Setting up the arm is well described in the manual and really easy to do.
Click to expand...

Would appreciate oiling info for my PX-3...doubt that it's been done in many moons.

Season's Greetings
 
No i lost the last octive it seem's.Tried 3 cart's all the same.i also gained a ton of clarity in the midrange.
What type of oil for the bearing?
If i were to make a 50.5 overhang gage/protractor would it come off the spindle or do i measure from the base of the arm?
My scout still sound's very good.I see a ton of tweeking possiblities with this deck.
 
Yamaha PX-3

jstraw the 50mm (not 50.5) is measured from the base of the cartridge to the stylus tip. If you look in the manual you will see the Yamaha stylus guage/headshell and that will give you a good idea how its measured. Do you have the original Yamaha headshell? If not most headshells will work fine and a finger lift isn't necessary.
 
For what it is worth the stylus pressure guage on the arm tube is accurate. I have an electronic pressure guage that I calibrate with a nickle (5 grams) and I checked it against the two PXs. On the other hand the guage on my RB300 is not accurate.
 
I have a copy of the manuel somewhere around here but it's mia right now.
Unfortunatly i was missing the stock headshell and tonearm weight when i bought this unit.I bought a generic headshell which work's fine.
I''m going to make a 50 mm protractor righy now thank's
 
Well i just made a 50 mm protractor.I just got enough travel with my generic headshell.I assume you measure frome the tonearm locking nut?
It makes sense as this point is parrellel at the spindle,
I got most of my bass back:)
 
Yamaha PX-3

jstraw if you got most of the bass back you probably have the stylus at 50mm. The measurement is from the base of the headshell to the stylus with the stylus centered straight in the headshell. You could use a simple MM ruler but I'v found the Denon cartridge guage perfect since it's marked at 50mm. The original Yamaha cartridge guage was missing from my accessory kit but the Denon cartridge guage is almost identical.
 
The oil just have to be as thin as possible and of curse non acid. Remember to "wash" out the old oil and clean up any spils/overflow!

Maybe merrylander will kick in with his favorite tt oil US sold, I just used some sewing machine oil I had handy.
 
Yamaha PX-3

I already have oil for my Technics TT so I'll go with it for my PX-2. Does the spindle lift out or is it threaded? On a side note I recently purchased a Denon DL-103D off Agon and I will try it out it on the PX-2 and update on how it sounds.
 
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