Best vintage DD turntables from the 70's and 80's?

Pioneer pl-630. All stainless. Very heavy. Built like a tank. Has the cool quartz or manual pitch gauge. Great table. 

I had the first Yamaha direct drive, don’t remember the model #, but it was a good table with a decent arm and very good looking...but the speed did drift a bit. ...YP-800 ?

yamaha yp-800 - Google Search

Kenwood KD650 with the resin stone base! I have one! 

The Marantz tables from the 70's were and still are quite nice, besides their vintage receivers, loved my 6100.

The Marantz tables from the 70's were and still are quite nice,

Sorry to disappoint you but Marantz have never been famous for their turntables with the exception of the TT1000

SL-1600mk2.  I bought one in the mid-80's.  I gave it to my son a few years ago, and its still going strong. 

Another is the Pioneer PL-1000 linear tracking TT.  I gave it away about 10 years ago and have been kicking myself every since.  

I think on page 5 people just post what they have (or used decades ago), but the OP question was about “THE BEST” from 70’s/80’s. 
Or just like he said: 

I’d like to hear suggestions and comments on some fantastic, cool as crap, vintage turntables that you think should sit next to the Luxman.

This is Luxman and this is Victor that OP already have next to his new Technics GR. 

Just got an update from JP regarding my Victor TT 101 that’s on his bench. He’s got an MK3 and another table before he can finish with mine. When JP is finished with his magic, the 41 year old drive will be new again. Looking forward to sitting it next to the Luxman.

There is often discussion of the relationships among the various Victor TT series turntables, the 101, 81, and 71.  The page in Vintage Knob cited by Chakster if you click on the blue Victor in his post, clarifies the differences nicely.
"The TT-81 is a 101 sans Double Bi-Directional Servo and with a simplified pitch control system/display ; the functions and features are nevertheless the same : +/- servo, ±6Hz of 440Hz without switching off quartz-lock switch, soft-touch transport keys and electronic braking with reverse-current circuit.
The strobe is included in the servo loop to avoid AC fluctuations from affecting the actual reading.

The TT-71 is an 81 without +/- servo, no pitch control, an even simplified stroboscope circuit and a solenoid-activated braking pad.

Many integrated players were based on these two drives : QL-10 (TT-81), QL-7 (TT-81) or QL-F6 (TT-81 but with Double Bi-Directional Servo added) among others."
However, I can attest that at least one small point in the VK passage is not correct.  The QL10 incorporates a TT101, not a TT81, along with a plinth and a UA 7XXX series tonearm.  That's how I bought my TT101, as part of a QL10 ensemble.

@lewm 

I have always known and am sure I am not mistaken that
-QL 10 consists of TT101, UA 7045 arm and CLP1 plinth
-QL 8 consists of a TT 81 engine, UA 7045 arm and CLP1 plinth

-QL7A is composed of a TT 71 engine and tonearm derived from UA7045 but very simplified with a lifter adjustable by a knob the plinth is chipboard not even plywood veneered, in wood for the Japanese market and partly for some European countries otherwise it is always matt black ... same thing for QL7 with lever adjusted lifter.
Finally QL6 with TT61 engine wood veneer plinth for Japanese market I don't think it has ever been exported outside of Japan.
This is all.

@best-groove, I never stated Marantz was "famous" for their tables, I stated they were "nice" tables for the time period and if you can find one in fairly good condition. 

@Tim_p
ok no problems, nice yes but similar to other brands of the time; the 6300 is a good example but the interest stops there.
In this 3ad we discuss the best DD turntables, try to make a list of the best or considered best for each brand if is possible, the Marantz TT 1000 could be part of this list.
All there.

My Victor 101 plinth is original and recently veneered by me with Teak. 4 arm boards. That's a lot of experimenting. 

@knollbrent    can you show some pictures of your plinth?

@best-groove plinth photo in my virtual system.

Gale GT 2101

@knollbrent   ok I saw, it looks interesting!

LENCO rules!!!!! I have completely rebuilt Lenco 70 and 75"s. They are superb and the equal of many turntables costing 5 to 10 times more

Lenco is nice, but the title of this topic is Direct Drive

He must have thought this was the Direct Drivel thread...

"Direct Drivel" that’s funny @theophile

As good as belt drivel.

Neither has any bearing on the matter at hand. No time to go into that now, my platter is full.

@chakster  thanks, I already own the SAEC SS-180 mat.
thank you though….
I was kind of bummed that my PUA-9 would not fit on the right side.

@chakster thanks, I already own the SAEC SS-180 mat.

SAES SS-300 or MICRO CU-180 :)
You mixed up the brands and numbers

JP just contacted me. My Victor TT101 is finished and ready to ship! Need to wait a couple weeks before he ships due to my domestic travel schedule. Can’t wait!
@chakster I've got a few vintage carts, arms waiting to mount. 

To use all of them you will have to make a carousel around tt-101 , lol @knollbrent

Took 11 month at JP’s lab

Took 11 month at JP’s lab

practically on a par with the greek kalends! LoL
luckily I learned to do it myself for repair turntables so that I no longer have to depend on anyone.

With cats.

 I learned to do it myself for repair turntables so that I no longer have to depend on anyone.

@best-groove but you could’t fix your Victor for ages yourself until I mentioned hall sensor that JP replaced for Brent. 

@chakster

Mr. Brent could not or did not want to sell me any sensors, I practically found the door closed and with much disappointment I had to manage completely alone (after all, not everyone is like Nelson Pass) looking for compatible sensors by buying engines on engines of other brands, spending a lot of time and money on engines to find compatible sensors and doing extensive testing; of the TT 101 only one sensor was defective but in the end I replaced all 3 sensors for consistency and uniformity of performance.
Now that I have the discovery and the knowledge, I'm sorry but I will do exactly as it happened to me, whoever needs it will have to spend time and money in research or stick to the tram and be satisfied.

There's no recipe for this stuff.  Some of the motors I've used for donor parts I don't even know what 'table they came from, and unless you can somehow find one with compatible properties some degree of circuit modification is inevitable.  That's a lot to ask someone to walk you through on a forum, especially when they hadn't even completed the modifications themselves.  

If you only needed one sensor the easiest path is to use the 'extra' one in your motor.  The rotation direction sensor is the same as the commutation sensors, but it's fairly non-critical what it is replaced with.  You could even disable the direction detection circuit and not replace it. 

@best-groove 
Mr. Brent I'm guessing is me. I do not and will not have any sensors to sell anyone. I never did. Any doors your finding closed is due to the fact that you don't know how to open them.  Any bitterness or ill will your feeling is your issue. Might it be that people don't want to deal with you? Thrilled JP got my Victor 101 back up and running flawlessly. Keep closing doors best groove and there won't be anymore to open. 

@knollbrent

Sorry if I'm confused, you weren't absolutely the person, on the contrary, I officially thank you for giving me directions where to try to ask but after trying I found the door closed.

@knollbrent Might it be that people don’t want to deal with you?

however to avoid misunderstanding, I was not asking to get a repair for my TT 101 nor did I want to ship it 7000 miles away for service; I was just trying to buy a sensor, then I would have done it myself by proceeding with the replacement and calibration as it actually happened.

The Saucer has Arrived! Japan to Russia, Russia to Connecticut, then CT to Miami. Chakster sold me a beautiful sample and sent it to directly to JP for an overhaul. Started this thread in 2018 and now have two legendary vintage tables. 

Victor's gonna look wicked sitting next to the Luxman. You can see it armless in my virtual system.    https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/9512

@chakster @lewm @theophile @jpjones 

Congratulations Brent.

They are both wonderful turntables, by all accounts, and I'm sure you will be happy with them.

It was September 2019 when I shipped my spare TT-101 in the boiler box to Fidelis Analog where it was re-capped, adjusted and calibrated, and the hall sensor has been replaced... everything was done by @jpjones3318

I’m super excited about this project and it’s nice to see restored TT-101 spinning @knollbrent listening room in Florida.

I’m also excited about the original Victor dual arm plinth that I shipped in another super heavy parcel (it was huge).

Veneered by Brent’s carpenter in Miami it look so nice (new teak wood veneer over the original victor mdf).

P.S. I have another Victor TT-101 here in a smaller plinth for one tonearm. 

Oops. Actually it was shipped in September 2020 (not in 2019), I forgot we are in 2021 now :)