DD Turntables by MC

Linear Tracing DD Turntables

Starting in the late 70's, mostly Japanese manufacturers started to develop Linear Tracing automatic TTs. Linear Tracing arms have many advantages over radial arms. The most important being that the inevital tracking errors associated with traditional arms can almost be eliminated. Consequently, Linear Tracing arms are the only arms capable to track the record groves in the same fashion as when the master record was cut in the first place.Tangential arms can also be made much shorter and thereby lighter and also stiffer. The main challenge with tangential arms are the complicated electronics and mechanics necessary to move the arm correctly. By the early 80s, the development of VLSI and IC's meant that advanced electronics now took much less space and could also be developed to a lower cost. The Japanese companies took full advantage of this fact and developed automation in vinyl playing to a new level with Fully Programmable Linear Tracers in true 80's Sci-Fi spirit!

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		Aiwa LP3000 - Fully automatic and programmable Linear Tracing DD TT. This is the dream machine for anyone seeking a fully automatic and programmable Linear tracer! It's absolutely loaded with features and the build quality is awesome. It's heavy - about 16kg and made of cast aluminium and steel. The Platter is made of Zink and weighs a hefty 3.7kg with the rubber mat. The programming and operating ease of this TT is one of a kind. Operation is dead easy and very logical. For instance, the arm does not need to scan the record first as most programmable units do, but scans as it plays so playing starts much faster. There are even two digital displays which shows speed and pitch! All in all, a statement player that showed what Aiwa could do at the time. Very rare and hard to find as it was hugely expensive and few units were sold.

		Akai AP-L95 - fully Automatic and PROGRAMMABLE Linear Tracing DD TT. This is a very unorthodox construction for several reasons. First, and most obviously, the arm starts at the back and moves forward. This unusual arrangement is rather smart as the arm is never in the way when you change records. It also enables the TT to be narrower than traditional Linear tracing designs. Secondly, the AP-L95 is FULLY PROGRAMMABLE just as the Aiwa above. You can program it to play only the tunes you want and skip the rest. Repeat function both for individual tracks and the whole record. There are 2 (!) arms on the player, one has an optical infrared reading head that makes the progmamming possible. It also makes the TT intelligent in that it will not play if no record is on the platter and it will go to the right starting position of a single and change the speed to 45 - all automatically! Very convenient! Constructionvise, it's well made with a thick heavy steel floating/suspended inner chassie. This makes it extremely immune to feedback and vibrations from the floor. The arm has a regular SME type quick change headshell so quick pickup changes are possible. The platter is thin and compact but nevertheless rather heavy, 1.8kg because it's made of Zink not Aluminium. All in all, a good player for the Audiophile seeking a high quality fully automatic and programmable TT.

		Yamaha PX-3 Linear Tracking Automatic Turntable. This model was the last incarnation of the Yamaha Linear tracking higher end turntables. The first and the best was the PX-1 which was really a statement player built to compete with the Exclusive, Denon and Technics reference turntables. The PX-3 is an excellent sounding and working Automatic direct drive turntable that can compete with many of the best DD models from the 80's. Plinth made of special anti-resonant Bulk Mold Composite. Heavy: 12kg. Really advanced and well constructed arm with regular SME type quick change pickup shell. One of the better linear tracking arms. Heavy and very stable arm fulcrum which even featured adjustable VTA - rather unusual on Linear tracking arms. Very accurate arm drive with a wide rubber belt instead of wire. Fullly automatic with repeat mode.

		Pioneer PL-L1000 - Top of Pioneer's line-up in the early 80s. Very elaborate Linear CONTACTLESS drive system with magnets and coils along the arm's guiderails that pull the arm along. Hence, it lacks any cord, belt or screw to move the arm. You can move the arm manually even since it's not attached to anything. This fact also makes these players extremely sensitive to off-level placement - absolute levelling is a must. The arm movements are very fast and controlling the arm by turning the unique JOG wheel is an almost unreal experience - Space-tech back then and still impressive today - 30 years later! There is a sub-plinth under the main body and it's suspended by rubber damped springs. The main body is cast aluminium making this player solid and heavy, about 12kg. A thick, heavy and precision machined platter weighing 2.5kg. The motor is extremely powerful, so much so that the platter is screwed down onto the motor with 3 screws to stop it from sliding when starting (like an SP-10)! Very fast start: 1/4 turn to lock. The motor is of supreme quality on this player. It's of Pioneer's unique SHR design and also with an upside-down layout with the contact point moved very close to the platter for superior stability. Only Pioneer's top players had this feature. All-in-all a very nice statement player from Pioneer. Can be tricky to find a perfectly working one today though as many have failed arm transports.

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