Pioneer's new PLX-1000 Turntable

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by bluelips, Jul 17, 2014.

  1. Stefan

    Stefan Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal, Canada
    Read the first paragraph in the post you quoted. ;-)
     
  2. Stefan

    Stefan Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal, Canada
    Exactly!
     
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  3. Dr. Metal MD

    Dr. Metal MD Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
  4. Stefan

    Stefan Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal, Canada
    There's always the Kab EV1 as well. Just add a small shop vac or other vacuum cleaner (yes they advise against a shop vac, but they mean the big ones)

    https://www.kabusa.com/ev1.htm
     
    Dr. Metal MD likes this.
  5. Dr. Metal MD

    Dr. Metal MD Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Thanks for the link!
     
  6. Dr. Metal MD

    Dr. Metal MD Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Well, just got my Zupreme in the mail and all set up. I have one word... WOW! This thing is amazing. Thank you to all of you who recommended it. Sound quality is improved and now I have more precise tracking. I am very, very pleased with this purchase. Everything sounds better. I had no idea those stock interconnects were so poor. The azimuth adjustment is clutch, too.

    Cheers,:cheers:
     
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  7. HiFi Guy

    HiFi Guy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lakeland, FL
    Well, I think I've done my last two tweaks. After being very happy with George Merrill's RCC platter mat, I figured I'd complete the system with his PolyWeight.

    It's well made and certainly makes another audible improvement. It's heavy enough to couple the LP to the mat, and yet light enough that I don't fear damage. The cork interface on the underside won't harm labels. I do wish it was black though.

    http://www.hifigem.com/polyweight.html

    So, I start listening, and while I hear an improvement, somehow, I know there is more. I adjusted the VTA up at the rear, and everything just snapped into focus. Yes, up, because the RCC is a two piece mat- about 6mm thick.

    Right now, the Doors first album- a plain Jane red label Ekectra reissue- it's crazy all the stuff I've never heard on this exact album. I think it's going to be a late night (again.)

    Edit: Most say the Shure V15xMR is rolled off on top, but has excellent bass. I initially heard what they said, although, I thought the upper frequencies were just natural sounding. I did occasionally miss the more "hi fi" sound of the Zu. Since adjusting the VTA, the highs have improved noticeably. I'm thinking this cartridge is very picky on VTA due to the MR stylus profile. Wow, just wow. I'm a happy camper.
     
    Last edited: May 14, 2015
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  8. HiFi Guy

    HiFi Guy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lakeland, FL
    When you set the azimuth, did you use a bubble level?
     
  9. Dr. Metal MD

    Dr. Metal MD Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Interesting. I'll look into that. I fashioned a hockey puck into a pretty darn good record clamp. I used a 15/64" drill bit and did not drill through the entire puck. This keeps the hole small enough so that it hugs my spindle tightly and I can literally screw it down onto the LP. The puck doesn't damage or mark the labels, either. Very happy with that $3 mod haha.

    I eye-balled it based on how my stylus/cantilever was lining up with my protracter. I think my cantilever is a bit kinked, so I had to rotate it a bit to get it going straight up and down. I do not know how to use a bubble level to set the azimuth. Mind sharing your method? I use a bubble level app on my phone to balance the turntable, though.
     
  10. HiFi Guy

    HiFi Guy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lakeland, FL
    George Merrill has an interesting article (actually lots of them) on his website. He specifically addressed screw down clamps in this link:

    http://www.hifigem.com/record-weights-and-clamps.html

    The man knows his stuff and makes a lot of sense.

    To adjust azimuth, here's what I did. Note that I have trouble adjusting by eye, as I am for all intents and purposes stereoscopically blind- in other words, I have nearly 0 depth perception.

    Lock the tone arm down. Use the smallest bubble level that you can find at the hardware store- mine is about 6" long. Lay it on top of the headshell (it has a nice flat surface doesn't it) and check it. Mine was off from the factory. Getting it right made another big improvement.

    The level is cheap, and you can use it as a straight edge or hanging pictures. I wouldn't use your phone to do this due to weight.
     
    Last edited: May 14, 2015
  11. Dr. Metal MD

    Dr. Metal MD Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Thanks for the link. I may look into getting a weight. I did notice improvements in soundstage and detail after I started using my puck, though.

    Thanks for the tip. I'll level it this way. I wish I would have gotten the black model of the AT LP120. I bet this black headshell looks sweet on the black Pioneer.
     
    Last edited: May 15, 2015
  12. Turntable

    Turntable Senior Member

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Easy fix there. Trade the Lp120 on the PLX-1000 . A nice upgrade and the cool black color :D
     
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  13. Dr. Metal MD

    Dr. Metal MD Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Haha any suggestions on where I can trade in my modified LP120? Or, are you suggesting I simply sell it used on eBay?
     
  14. jonstatt

    jonstatt Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Good that you have got better tracking. I have now seen a couple of PLX-1000s and for those still using stock headshell, I found that you need to hold/rotate the headshell clockwise while tightening and the azimuth is closer to correct on the PLX-1000s I have seen. They may well vary from unit to unit, but for some reason the ones I have seen all will tend to rotate left side down (as seen from the front) if you don't do what I suggest. I didn't find anything wrong with the stock interconnects...in fact my testing and comparison suggests they are actually pretty good and much better than most freebie interconnects provided OOTB. For me the biggest improvement in tracking was actually changing from the 2M Red to Black cartridge. The Black is far more tolerant once set-up correctly in terms of VTF and Anti-skate to things like inner groove distortion. I have some famous Tori Amos LPs for evaluating a set-up. The last track on Side B (Disc 1) of Unrepentant Geraldines is a track that should never have been on the inner grooves but the playlist is determined without thought on LP track placement. With the Red it is distortion city whereas with the Black there is only the subtlest of distortion in isolated places. Similarly the 1996 Boys for Pele with grooves cut far too close to each other, even resulting in what is known as "groove echo" where you hear a bit of sound from the next groove before you have actually started playing it....is awful with the Red cartridge which just distorts on Tori's voice and the backing piano when any note is a bit louder....whereas the Black tames it significantly.
     
  15. Dr. Metal MD

    Dr. Metal MD Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Cheers! I actually do not (yet) own a PLX-1000. I am using an Audio Technica AT LP 120 that I'm overall very happy with for my first turntable. The interconnects on the Zupreme blow the stock interconnects out of the water for the AT headshell. The Zupreme is also held more stably in the tonearm. Everything just feels and sounds better stabilized and more solid.
     
  16. jonstatt

    jonstatt Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Just for fun.....
    [​IMG]
     
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  17. jonstatt

    jonstatt Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    I posted earlier that I was having issues with the 2M Black, when I lowered the stylus onto the lead-in groove and the stylus would slide into the first audio groove...sometimes the second groove if I dropped the arm close to the edge of the record due to the sliding momentum. Some records would do it, and some never do it and the theory was that some LPs have a raised lead-in groove. I have since found one significant cause for this in my set-up.

    The rubber mat that comes with the PLX-1000 is indented in the middle section (for 7"). Some of the LPs are a little stiff in the centre cut-out and I was tending to push them down at the label. What I had not realised is by doing so I was distorting the record slightly due to the indented section in the rubber mat. Effectively I was creating a "bowl" effect albeit very slight...but since I started ensuring the record was flat and not "over pushed" in the middle, it hasn't happened with those discs ever again.
     
  18. atbolding

    atbolding Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    I'm bracing myself for the "your cartridge is twisted slightly counter-clockwise" discussion.
     
  19. Turntable

    Turntable Senior Member

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia

    Great to hear you found the root cause.

    User error :uhhuh::shrug:
     
  20. jonstatt

    jonstatt Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    LOL....I think its the way the camera flash hit the cartridge. When I look at it under a flat light it looks straight.....
     
  21. Stefan

    Stefan Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal, Canada
    Hey the cantilever on my 2M Black is so far off center that I had to twist my cartridge about 3 degrees counterclockwise just to line it up!
     
  22. jonstatt

    jonstatt Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Was that new out of the box like that? I had a closer look at mine, and actually it is slightly skewed, but when I try and measure the error, it looks like about 0.3 of a degree.....does it matter? It sounds great :) The picture isn't perfect for evaluation because the available light comes from the right side.

    P.S I find the mind plays tricks on me when looking at this picture because I think part of the "illusion" is that the curled up loop bits of metal at each side on the end of the cantilever are not quite symmetrical. It seems straighter when I focus on the diamond.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 19, 2015
    bluemooze likes this.
  23. Stefan

    Stefan Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal, Canada
    Yes and my second with the same problem. According to my dealer, that's the way they all are and shouldn't cause a problem if one aligns to the cantilever and not the cartridge body. While that's may be true (aligning to the cantilever), I still don't think it's the way the cartridge was designed or a condition in which the cartridge will perform as speced. by the way, from your pic, it looks like yours is pretty close to centered. Were I to take a similar pic, the tip of my cantilever would be much further to the left.

    Strangely enough, I once photographed my stylus from the bottom and then later saw a pic on the Ortofon web site that was almost identical so I guess even they don't care!

    Anyway, we're getting off topic.

    I'm glad to Glad to hear you tracked down the source of your skating problem. The more I think about possibly buying a PLX-1000, the more I realize I should order an add-on mat. The rubber one that comes with it looks much thinner than the old 4mm one that came with the SL-1200. Plus, a thicker mat will help with the VTA range.
     
    jonstatt likes this.
  24. Licorice pizza

    Licorice pizza Livin’ On The Fault Line

    Sounds like something out of Boyz N the Hood or Boulevard Nights.:wantsome:

    Soon there'll be direct drive and belt drive by shootings.
     
    Stefan likes this.
  25. Turntable

    Turntable Senior Member

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia

    An audio buddy of mine has a couple of high end LP12's - in fact he makes his own fancy plinths for the LP12. He has had plenty of other tables.

    He just bought the PLX-1000 with Ortofon Black. His jaw dropper on how good the combo sounds.


    As he and I agree, the PLX-1000 is for anyone considering spending 2-3k on a table to seriously consider it
     
    Last edited: May 22, 2015

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