Skip to main content

Sanyo TP-1020 Turntable

That's right, I got myself a Sanyo! It's actually not a bad unit when you start stripping it down. I know, the overall black motif isn't awe-inspiring but, it is quite the performer. It's definitely better built than some other turntable I've come across. The motor, especially, is quite good.

So, what can I say about this Sanyo? Well, it's definitely a CEC built table. Apparently, it as a twin called the Grundig PS-1020, tonearm looks different but, probably performs the same. It's your typical Japanese made direct drive turntable, 2-speed, pitch control and automatic return/reject (semi-automatic). It was a quite easy to work, everything was laid out nicely and everything was within reach to get too. Definitely better built than some of the Japanese turntables of the late 70s and into the 80s.

I think one of the more common features with the Sanyo is the mirror at the base of the platter. It's an inspection mirror for the needle and I like it!

I found the tonearm to be on the heavy side, so I put a nice ADC QLM on it. It's a very underrated turntable and the only down fall is really the name it's associated with and the black motif.

Overall, it's a well made, reliable turntable from Japan, what's not to like about it? I know I like it and more than I thought I would. Granted, I've always have a soft spot for lesser known direct drive tables from Japan, despite, there were only a handful of companies that made turntables.

This is a great starter table.

Additional Link!
http://www.vinylengine.com/library/sanyo/tp-1020.shtml






Popular posts from this blog

Yamaha YP-66 Turntable

The rosewood vinyl wrapped twin sibling of the Yamaha YP-221, they are the exactly the same other than the colour of the plinth and instead of silver plastic bits on the YP-221 the YP-66 has black bits. This is your typical belt drive turntable of the mid to late 70s.  It's a 2-speed with automatic return (semi-automatic).  It's a nice entry level turntable with all the decent built quality that you find on majority of the Japanese made tables of that era.  It has a good sized motor and a decent weight.  Yamaha tables are like Sony tables, they always have decent quality components and they always look nice to the eyes.  The slight smoked dustcover and the rosewood plinth makes it quite unique to look at. Sadly, the antiskate weight on our isn't original.  It was missing when we got it.  After a bit of research we found the appropriate weight and found an appropriate weight to retrofit into our table.  We found a nice brass weight to fit with the design.  And, as usual,

Energy Encore 2 Speakers

My family were the original owners of these speakers. We actually had the entire Energy Encore 5.1 surround set, minus the integrated stands. Slowly, the rear speakers were sold. I kept the subwoofer to use with my sound bar, and the center channel broke. All that remained were these little guys sitting on the same shelving unit for the past 15ish years. I used them for a bit for my computer setup but, opted to use my Mirage Omni 350 instead. While these are considered "big box store" speakers, they are still great little speakers. These were made in Canada. Used their hyperdome aluminum tweeter that made Energy famous from the Pro22 days (thank you Burhoe!). A super nice black piano finish and sealed box, with a 4" long throw woofer. Some Specifications that I took from the web: System Type: Magnetically shielded acoustic suspension satellite Tweeter: 1" (28mm) Aluminum dome with cloth suspension Woofers: 4" (112mm) Multi-laminated aluminum polycarbonate c

Micro Seiki MR-622 Turntable

This is one of my greatest prize possessions, well for turntables.  The Micro Seiki MR-622 is a fabulous turntable, and definitely has been one of my favourite tables that I had the pleasure of owning. Everything about this turntable screams quality.  Even the 45rpm adapter seemed to be milled aluminum.  It has adjustable feet, a side pocket for accessories , a nice heavy die cast platter and even the top part of the plinth is cast.  All wrapped in a beautiful smoked dustcover and real wood sides. The Micro Seiki MR-622 is a fully manual, 2-speed, direct drive turntable.  This means, it's low maintenance and high reliability as there is less moving parts within the turntable.  It's just a huge motor, speed controls and Micro Seiki MA-202 tone arm, placed in a overly built plinth just like what one would expect from Micro Seiki. The MA-202 tone arm is a S-shaped tone arm with excellent tracking ability.  It has an adjustable counterweight and the tone arm pipe is filled w