Vintage DD turntables. Are we living dangerously?


I have just acquired a 32 year old JVC/Victor TT-101 DD turntable after having its lesser brother, the TT-81 for the last year.
TT-101
This is one of the great DD designs made at a time when the giant Japanese electronics companies like Technics, Denon, JVC/Victor and Pioneer could pour millions of dollars into 'flagship' models to 'enhance' their lower range models which often sold in the millions.
Because of their complexity however.......if they malfunction.....parts are 'unobtanium'....and they often cannot be repaired.
128x128halcro
@chakster thank you for pointing out the dimensions, you are correct it cannot be mounted on the PD-444's existing stock mounts, what @dgarretson is saying is different, it is adding a pivoting board to add the arm.I don't have the PD-444 yet, it is in transit, I have seen pictures but not the actual unit and thought what dgarretson proposed was a symmetric extension to the TT, but it is an attachable board and indeed something will have to be devised to make that happen. It certainly won't look too appealing to the eye but he made an ingenious design which apparently it also eliminates some vibrations with the wenge extension. You have to "attach" the wenge to the base of the PD-444 though (logically),  I am thankful for your proposal @dgarretson to provide the details, kudos to you for such ingenious solution, and I know it works, but I think I'm going to pass on this one, I have a DP-80 also coming and possibly I could get or make a plinth for the DP-80 and make it work with the EPA-100.I would not want to screw the wenge to the PD-444 bottom, I know it is not visible as it is under the TT but really want to keep it vintage unmodified (if possible). Thank you very much for being so kind to offer some help with my initial question.


@luisma31 FWIW, my PD-444 subplinth modification is easily reversible. The stock RCA switch box comes off and its vacated mounting points receive the subplinth. The outboard pillar is the only projection, and doesn’t diminish stock aesthetics.

Another thing you can do is replace the stock elastomer footers with brass feet threaded 1/4-/20 to receive points, Stillpoints, or similar exotica. That is worthwhile and reversible.

I think you’ll enjoy your PD-444. I also have a Kenwood L-07D, a SP-10 MkII, and a much modified VPI TNT. The Luxman is up there with the others in performance and has the best aesthetics.

Dave, I noticed that you now have an L07D. Given your capabilities and your propensity for modification, have you considered changing the tone arm wires in your LO7D? I can’t prove it, but I think they are a kludge compared to the rest of the turntable. I have made some attempts at disassembling the tonearm, in order to do it, but I am fearful of damaging something that I cannot fix. So I have backed off on the idea. One option that I have not tried is simply to run some tonearm wires of my own choosing on the outside of the arm wand across the pivot and all the way back to the preamp. That would look bad but probably work.
Luis, do yourself a favor and use PD-444 as it is, without any modifications like subplinth or whatever, it’s a waste if time and money for nothing, really. The original design is absolutely perfect and it works perfectly without any single problem! It is a well engineered turntable, just replace the stock mat. 
Do not change the stock feet, they are adjustable (suspended). 
Luxman is one of thouse turntables you don’t have to mess arround, you don’t need a plinth! Read about clever engineering of this machine first. 

Lew, the L07D came to me with the Kenwood tonearm rewired from cartridge clips to RCA males.  I believe it has Cardas wiring. The fellow who sold it to me said that it was a fairly simple matter to loosen or uncouple the bearing and slip through the wires.  Perhaps, but he had above average dexterity.  This was amply demonstrated as he described the job while standing upright in the process of dismantling a Lyra Atlas from the detached tonearm without bothering to fix a stylus guard. I once rewired a rare Micro Seiki 808X with broken wires.  That was a delicate job that I would not want to repeat.

Chakster, a stock PD-444 is very nice indeed.  However one weakness in its design may be the relatively slight structure of the tonearm sleds and the locking mechanism that secures them at a single point.  Kenwood put lots of thought into a heroically built arm base that couples to the plinth and motor housing through a massive substructure.  My Wenge subchassis for the PD-444 was similarly conceived.  I compared two identical SME 3012R arms with ART7 cartridges on the Luxman.  The arm on the Wenge pedestal sounded better.  On the other hand, if you want to believe that a stock PD-444 is an immaculate conception, so be it.