Vintage DD turntables. Are we living dangerously?

** From my notes about pitch control on vintage DD turntables *

Some people don’t understand why there is a pitch control on High-End turntables, for most of them pitch associated with DJ turntables only.

In reality pitch control is an amazing feature for reference class turntables and critical listening sessions too! Musicians will get the idea quicker ...

JVC/Victor engineers explained very well why there is a special pitch control on TT-101:

"The pitch, "A" is standardized at 440Hz according to international standards, and is the standard for all western musical instruments. In other words, the tuning of all instruments of the orchestra is based on this pitch. But in reality, the basic tuning pitch of each orchestra differs due to the instrumentation and individual characteristics of each orchestra, as well as the personality of the conductor. The diagram shows such differences by orchestra. Most of the pitches range within +/- 6Hz of 400Hz. To reproduce these subtly different pitches, a quality turntable with highly accurate rotation is required. Another important requirement is the possibility of minute speed adjustment. If the speed of a turntable could be adjusted to the individual pitch used by an orchestra while at the same time remaining controlled by a quartz-locked servo system, the benefits of flexibility and precision would be significant from a musicological viewpoint. For this reason the TT-101 is equipped with built-in speed-control facilities which can adjust the pitch in 1Hz steps within a range of +/- 6Hz or 440Hz. The difference of pitches between master tape recorders and disc record cutting machines has been intentionally ignored before but now the speed of a record can be adjusted to match the original pitch of the orchestra, even if the master was recorded differently from the original performance. For example, a performance of the NHK Symphony Orchestra on the record can be adjusted to match the pitch of the same performance on a record by the London Symphony Orchestra, for the enjoyment of critical comparison.

The "A" key of a piano in your home is usually tuned to 440Hz. When you practice the piano while playing back a record, you can adjust the pitch of the record, to be in perfect tune with your piano."

( *all images of tt-101 taken by myself)

For this reason the TT-101 is equipped with built-in speed-control facilities which can adjust the pitch in 1Hz steps within a range of +/- 6Hz or 440Hz.

 

exactly, on the brochures of the time and on the review of an old Stereoplay they emphasized this particularity.

Chakster,

How do you rate the TT-801 vs the TT-101. Is the TT-801 a better model since it cane out later, has better specs anf comes with vacuum platter?

Never tried TT-801, I don't like vacuum pumps on any turntables, I like usability and simplicity (record clamp or record weight, no vacuum pumps). I don't think TT-801 is any better than TT-101. 

This has been discussed elsewhere, possibly earlier on this thread. The TT801 is essentially a TT101 with vacuum hold-down. To incorporate the vacuum system, it seems Victor used, or would have had to use, more ICs, to replace discrete transistors in the electronics section, than were used in the TT101, because there is much less space in the TT801 chassis for PCBs than there is in the TT101 chassis. There is a nice cutaway depiction of the TT801 on Vintage Knob that shows how much plumbing was incorporated into the TT801, even though the vacuum pump itself is housed separately. If one wanted vacuum hold down on the TT101, one might be better off to find and restore one of those vacuum mats made by AT, although I understand that restoration of those is problematic, at best.