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Hitachi PS-14 Turntable

Everyone knows I have a soft spot for Hitachi gear.  They are well built, excellent performers, they sound great and you'd be surprised to find that many other Japanese companies used Hitachi components.

However, this is one of the oddest turntables I've seem in quite some time.  This is a Hitachi PS-14 turntable.  It's a belt drive and semi-automatic.  However, it's a 4-channel or quadraphonic turntable with the ability to play in 4-channel or stereo (2-channel).  There are 2 pair of RCA connectors at the back, 4-channel separation attenuators in the front and the ability to select between direct, stereo and 4-channel play back.  Very neat turntable.

It's also fairly large as it has to house several PCB for the 4-channel feature.  But, it's housed in a nice wooden plinth and nice aluminum accents.  It also features a suspended platform, very typical Japanese of the early 70s to help with vibration as well large rubber feet.  Not to mention the original LOD or Hitachi headshell!

It has a new belt and an Empire 5000MKIII cartridge.  That's right an Empire 5000MKIII.  Very nice sounding cartridge.  But, the stylus is meant for stereo playback.  I don't think I have any 4-channel cartridges.  Either way, it's a very nice sounding cartridge and was pretty close to the top of the chain of that series.















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