The topline Yamaha turntables (YP-D8/10, PF-800/1000, PX-2/3 etc) were all great turntables. I’d expect the PF-800 to be a better turntable than the YP-D8, which was one of the best Japanese DD turntables of that era (I have a late 70’s review of the YP-D8 – PM me if you want it). The reason that I think it would be better is that it’s a newer design, and incorporates Yamaha’s version of spring suspension, so it should be more resistant to feedback.
The difference between a good turntable and a great turntable as far as sound goes is often down to feedback resistance - the more resistant to feedback, the less coloured the sound. While the YP-D8 was pretty good, it relied mainly on a very heavy base and insulated feet to absorb feedback. While a heavy base helps, the fact that the platter is attached to that base means that some vibration
will make its way back to the stylus. The fact that the PF-800 isolates the tonearm and the platter from the main base and cover should make it quite a lot better – the Linn Sondeks, Thorens and other models with decent sprung baseboards always sounded pretty good due to the relative lack of feedback compared to other models (if they were set up properly – the Linns weren’t the easiest to setup
).
The PF-800 also had better specifications, so obviously it was a better design than the YP-D8 when new. Make sure you get a new belt for it, as belt drive turntables only perform near their best with relatively new belts – as soon as they start to stretch or slip, performance can suffer, particularly for wow and flutter (speed).
Because the sound of a turntable is influenced to a large degree by the cartridge, you should have the same cartridge to compare sound between the turntables. Different cartridges will impart their own sound, so some of the difference you'll hear between them (if you hear any
) would be down to the cartridges. And of course, you should also use the same music, otherwise record differences will be a factor.
You should also use speakers (rather than headphones) to listen to them, so that you'll be able to hear the differences due to acoustic feedback, and listen to them at a good level. You don't have to blast your ears off, but just listen at a reasonable level. Of course, if you listen via headphones normally, then feedback won't be a problem with either of them.
When I speak about feedback, it's not howling that I'm talking about, although that's the worst kind - it will just be a subtle degradation of the sound at higher levels when listening through speakers, as the sound vibrates the turntable and affects the sound. Feedback is about the worst thing about turntables, really,:tears: and a major reason why there can be significant differences between the sound of different turntables, even when measurements of wow and flutter (speed discrepancies) or rumble (noise) may be quite similar between them. We get more questions about feedback here than just about any other subject.
-Don
.