Audioless Winnipeg Group!

This Realistic turntable was strictly for the Canadian market and you will not find it on any catalogs off Radio Shack Catalogs . Essentially, this is the Hitachi PS-48 turntable, it is virtually identical mechanically and they only differ in cosmetics and tonearm. Personally, I prefer the look of the Hitachi overall. But, this is a fantastic turntable. Built by CEC for Radio Shack, this is a lovely direct drive table that probably features "Hitachi Uni-torque motor." It's your typical semi-automatic, 2-speed turntable. Built quality is one of the nicest you can get. Though, it is not real wood veneer but, vinyl wrapped, it is certainly quite thick. The knobs, if I am not mistaken, are aluminum. It also has the neat "lead-in" assist when you bring the tonearm to the platter. When you bring the needle to the platter there is a mechanism that engages and pulls it towards the inner groove of the record. It's nice and it's pretty neat! This originally ...

This particular generation of Thorens are one of my favorites. The newly designed suspension and the removal of the sub-chassis makes it a winner, in my humblest opinion. For one, you can adjust the suspension is easier to adjust and second of all the tonearm and platter share the same platform like the AR The Turntable, the HK T60C and various others. This means it's far easier to swap tonearms, if desired. These two features and the fact the plinth is better built than the older Thorens makes this table better than the TD-160/165/145/146/147, again, in my opinion. However, there are some added bonuses for the TD-160 but, I don't think majority of people will care e.g. bigger bearing. The ability of having an automatic lift at the end of the record is also a bonus. Oh, and way better hinges than some of the older Thorens. Now the styling isn't for everything but, I like this cleaner and sleeker look. It's not entirely retro (all wood) and not entirely modern. Thoug...

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 f...

One of the holy grail of Marantz turntable, the venerable 6300! It was sure a beauty to behold and wonderful to work on. Super easy to service as there's not a whole lot of moving parts. The build quality was superb, it reminded me of the Yamaha YP-450, or at least I think it was the YP-450. The whole plinth was a solid or at least layered MDF they only cut out what was needed to fit the component. So, 90% of the plinth was solid. The exterior was a nice thick veneer and the motor was awesome. I've always loved large motors as they always generated more torque and had less variance to weight. The tone arm was decent, I've seen this tone arm on several CEC labeled turntables and it's well made. The platter is of a good weight, similar weight to the platter on the Technics SL-1500mki. It had a very interesting feature where you can either set it as a pure manual table or have it auto-lift, no return, at the end of the record and shuts the turntable off. The rest is ...

I know this turntable isn't of the norm that most people want as it doesn't give that vintage vibe. However, the Hitachi HT-45 is still a very capable turntable of the early 80s. Despite having a straight tone arm, it does mean it's a low mass tone arm and generally favours high compliant cartridges like Shures and Audio Technica. Since it was made during the early 80s, it is relatively slim line. However, it still has all the goodies of a capable turntable. It is a 2-speed, direct drive turntable with automatic return and pitch control. The overall build quality is pretty much standard of the 80s. And it's quite reliable. There isn't a lot of information out there, however, there's been a few rendition of this turntable, like the earlier or later HT-40S and the Baycrest models. The tone arm shaft is aluminium, and it's relatively easy to service so it's of decent quality. As well, the hinges are quite nice. It also features Hitachi's unitorque...

Here is a cute little gem! I think I've have owned and heard the 221, 331, 441, 771 and I don't think I've ever written anything about them. Well, definitely not the 771 but, maybe I did on the 331 and 441. But, the 551is really no different than the other lower powered siblings of this series. They have the same aesthetics and pretty much the same sound, and of course always needing new fuse lamps! What can I say about this little unit? Well, for one it was in excellent condition and we were the first to break the sticker and open the unit up to service, clean and test the unit. Finding fuse lamps in Winnipeg can be tricky and finding the correct value was tough, we actually had to put a lower voltage fuse lamp in. Does it make a difference? Not really, it might be as bright but, it will run cooler! It's a pretty nice receiver, I think it looks great. The silver face with the faux wood-metal case and the cool green lights makes it a definite looker. I won't b...

I've always enjoyed working on Technics turntables, especially the non-mkii, they are are more simplistic and easier to work on than the mkii which require a bit more work. The SL-1500mki was very easy to work since it's a pure manual turntable. While, it was the least expensive of the SL-1300/1400/1500, all it gave up was the return automation. It still had all the workmanship of the other two models. The SL-1500mki is a well made machine. Excellent motor, nice metal plinth, heavy platter, very nice tonearm and bearings and simple to use. For some it had all the features one wanted. It has a selector switch for 33 and 45, pitch control and a cue arm. Of course, in case anyone didn't know already, it is direct drive unit. It's been serviced, motor was re-lubricated, cue arm was re-dampened (very common issue), dust cover was lightly polished, new headshell with a NOS Piezo/spectrum YM-308ii stylus that I found in my box of miscellaneous styli. How does it sound? R...