Bought a used Pioneer PL-7 TT today, but I think it has a mono cart installed...

OH NO. I was afraid of that happening.
At this point I think this is mostly or fully the store's responsibility. Is the bent post the one that came out? (Doesn't really matter.)
Contact the store and see what they will do.

Trying to look at a brighter side of this, getting a vintage unit up to speed can be a little hassle. @timind above mentioned this without going into his details.
But when you do get it going, this PL-7 will hold its value, and it's better than anything you could buy new under $250 at least.

 

Okay, I'll try bringing it back later this week. If they have another cart, then hopefully they'll let me test it before leaving.

 

Yes, I have own one, but got rid of it right away. Besides, people on these forums feel they can badmouth a turntable that they've never owned.
My first high quality turntable was a Pioneer PL-12D-II and it was the best turntable I've ever had. Made a mistake and traded it for a Dual 506. Down the road, I ended up buying another Pioneer turntable. This time it was a fully automatic 2-speed turntable which came with a crappy pre-mounted cartridge. It was on sale for $50. and it worked OK at first but then something went wrong with the cartridge. I swapped it out with my old standby cartridge, a Shure V-15, and it played great for another couple of years. I still have that turntable somewhere in storage. It had electronic speed control and started flipping back and forth from 45 to 33. I had a friend working a Sears and they were selling the Pioneer PL-7 and I was able to buy it through my friend for his discount. I took it home and hooked it up. It was so bad that I immediately boxed it back up and took it back the next day.

 

I'd say that it isn't any better than the AT-LP60, only the cartridge. A U-turn Orbit? Talking about another bad choice. It reminds me of a kiddie-type record player. They've had speed issues with them. Standard features on many turntables are extra-cost options on the U-turn, like dust cover and cue lever, plus it has no anti-skate adjustment.
If you have to have a fully automatic turntable, get an older quality one like say a Garrard Zero100. Pioneer even had some good ones. You want a heavyweight one that takes both hands to pick up. If it looks cheap, it usually is.
Here's what I currently use for turntables:
1). ADC Accutrac +6 fully programmable remote controlled automatic turntable with a Shure M97xe cartridge.(not recommended for the faint of heart, I had to buy
three of them to get one working one)
2). I have 2 AT-LP120's. Because I play many different types of records, I have several headshells mounted with different cartridges to accomodate the different types
of records. I use all speeds, 33, 45 & 78. I also use the variable speed control because not all records are cut at the right speed.
3). I use a GLI BD-1600 for needle drops on 33 and 45 rpm records, saving to my external hard drive as high-resolution wav files.
4). I also sometimes use an old radio station QRK 3-speed commercial turntable which is idler driven but is mainly suited for playing mono 45's and 78's.

One nice feature is that my AT's, GLI and QRK all use universal interchangeable headshells. This is another feature to look for on a high-quality turntable. Many of the Pioneer and Technics had universal interchangeable headshells. I even use a black headshell from a Technics 1200 for my CD-4 Shibata-type quadraphonic cartridge in the AT-LP120 hooked up to my quadraphonic system when I play CD-4 discrete quadraphonic records.

If all you need is a manual turntable that plays 33's and 45's, and don't care about variable speed, a terrific turntable is the AT-LP5. It is highly rated and falls in line just below turntables costing more than 3 times more. It is also rated a couple of notches above the U-turn Orbit.

 

Since you're saying the PL-7 isn't that big of an upgrade from the AT-LP60, then I'm probably just going to return it (if the shop lets me). In the case that the shop won't let me outright return the TT or even get replacement cartridge, then I guess I'll be SOL. Will have to look into those other TTs you mentioned.

 

The Pioneer PL-12DII is a CEC built turntable of which many early 70s belt drives were. Pioneer, Radio Shack, Sanyo, Sansui, and many others sold the rebranded CEC tables. One of the tables I tried was one of these and I couldn't get it to give me accurate speed, I also didn't care for the heavy arm and the anti-skate mechanism. Mine ran slow so I bought a new belt which made it run fast. It looked cool though.

My PL7, on the other hand, runs at an exact 33.3 rpm and 45 rpm. I also prefer the polymer graphite arm. I will concede it doesn't look like much though. I bought mine as a parts unit on ebay because I noticed it had a Shure V-15 type III cart on it. The stylus was broke, but the cart was worth way more than I paid for the table. I will concede though, the older models are much better looking.

Full disclosure on my opinion: after reviving analog in my system, I find I get more enjoyment working on turntables than listening to them.

 

Did the shop have any other turntables? I've heard/read of the place, and looking at their website, it looks like a good and cool place.

From what I picked up here, you wanted something safely under $100 (with a good working cart). With such a limit, a good working PL-7 is a great deal. Direct drive, full auto, quartz lock, low wow and flutter, and excellent rumble spec (75db or 78db I believe). It does not have the "universal" headshell, but it does have a removable headshell, and (used) extras are on ebay, I see five listings at the moment, maybe a little overpriced because they are much less common. But they are always available there and elsewhere. That only matters at all if you will be changing carts.

I have turntables, I have carts. (But I have not ever had a PL-7.) If I had only a good working PL-7 and cart, I would be OK with it, and I do not tolerate junk. If I had only a PL-7 that had some problem, it can be and is worth adjusting it or repairing and it's not very hard. I've read that any difficulty is mostly just getting inside it, and there is a userwritten guide to do that. I think it is a classic, a sleeper classic that is not very well known.

I am hoping that the shop makes this right for you. With either a different cart, or a good credit toward a brand new cart. If you feel you want to just return it and start over, I could understand that too.

BTW, this is the original (cheap China) manufacturer model of the AT-LP60. AT just has their name pressed into it, it is a generic model sold under a couple brand names. Look at its 50db rumble figure. I don't exactly mean to knock the LP60, but the PL-7 is a huge grade up, and to the best of my knowledge, it was fully engineered by Pioneer and made in Japan.
Hanpin Electron

 

I just called Shake It, and since they can't give me another cart, they just want me to return it for a full refund. I'm fine with just sticking to my AT-LP60 for the moment.

 

IMO a big mistake.
In my book vintage Japanese made turntable from the golden era of audio still worth investing money and time, even if it doesn't work properly at the moment.
OTOH a modern Chinese made junk worth very little, actually as for me it worth nothing.

 

I must agree with @Cronverc and @JohnO regarding the LP60 being not-so-great, since the Hanpin FU-700 is rebadged not just by Audio Technica but also the Denon DP-29F, and a few other cheapo plastic players sourced by Awai and JVC from the 2000's. Same goes for the R200, which is basically the Pioneer PL-990 and Sony PS-LX300, which they are basically the same as the LP60, just on a larger plastic chassis. Both OEM models by Hanpin are notoriously bad due to skipping on hotly cut records, speed being too fast/too slow, no upgrade options, and overall very cheap plastic build.

 

Seems like a prudent course of action to me, unless he wants to buy another cartridge right now. In the meantime, I'd think about looking for a bargain in the local craigslist, looks like some good stuff listed in the Cinncinatti area right now, could probably pick up a nice vintage table that more reflects the quality of those bygone times. The board just helped another person here recently through the exact same adventure, except in Northern California, and he came out smiling. Of course, there's also probably a few people around here that would send the OP an old cartridge he could use too. I don't have one, gave them all away, but if I did...

cincinnati for sale "turntable" - craigslist

 

I would just consider buying a new cartridge, something like AT 95E which is inexpensive and actually sounds pretty good for the price.
Audio-Technica Consumer AT95E Dual Magnet Phonograph AT95E B&H - it can be found even cheaper, usually around 40 bucks.

 

The original Pioneer PL-12D had a wire with hanging weight for anti-skate, like some of the cheap-o expensive turntables available today. Made in Japan, the Pioneer PL-12D series helped usher in the next generation of high quality manual turntables. In the early-70's, fully automatic turntables were what most people bought.
The "S" style tubular tone arm was revolutionary and set a standard. Not sure why you called it 'heavy', as with most quality tone arms tracking force and anti-skate was adjustable actually making it lighter than other contemporary tone arms of the day. Talking about heavy, radio station and radio station commercial turntable manufacturers began getting rid of those monster heavy-weight tone arms and upgraded to "S" style. Tracking was better and records lasted longer.
Many current high-end turntable manufacturers use straight shaft tone arms, probably because they are cheaper to make because the curved type are hydro-formed which costs more and is more difficult to do.
Just because one turntable manufacturer makes turntables for other companies doesn't mean they are all of the same quality. Many current turntables come out of the same factory in China and are branded under names like AudioTechnica, Crosley, Pioneer, etc. I never had a speed problem with my Pioneer PL-12D-II until many years later when the belt needed to be replaced. The anti-skate system was a dream come true. Now, my Dual 506, that was different. Thankfully being adjustable, I was always having to finetune the speed. It had an external knob attached internally to an adjuster by a cog belt. When the cog belt broke, I couldn't finetune the speed anymore so it was time to get another turntable.
When I see those new turntables now, they look so cheap-o to me with their straight shaft tone arms and exposed external belt drives, like the U-turn. External belt drives aren't anything new, Empire used that on their much respected turntable, but they covered the drive pulley.

 

Quite happy!

I was gonna suggest CL earlier. That Pioneer PL-S40 has a cartridge and seems to be at a good price for Diablo, but a bit of looking around revealed opinions on it are about as mixed as those of the PL-7. Shame there doesn't seem to be as many options there as there are here. Maybe something really great will eventually show up! A really nice looking JVC QL-F4 equipped with an Ortofon Red showed up on CL for $200 a couple of days after a bought my Technics. I was a bit miffed because of the included, high quality, cartridge, but it's all good.

Anyway, my point is, something really nice can pop up for a great price. Just keep checking CL everyday. If you're anywhere near as uncomfortable with your LP-60 as I was towards the end, I feel your pain!

 

Do new cartridges include needles or do I need to buy them separately?

 

Needles are included (at least typically).

 

If it helps, Shake It also had these TTs. Let me know if any of them would be good. If not, then I can at least try getting another cart:

JVC QL-A51
Sansui FR-D25
Denon DP-29F
Technics SL-B210
Teac P-A688
Pioneer PL-300

They also had a Sony PS-LX150 and a 250, but I didn't consider them as they seem to have a bad rep.

 

What counts is the price of each. Do you know the prices? And which cart each has. Every one is worth something, but one in that list I rate as worth $5 to use as a doorstop or something.

 

Don't bother with the Denon DP-29F and the Teac P-A688 as they are the exact same as the LP60.

 

Recommend you spend a few minutes on Vinylengine.com for information on these models and many others. You can look at the specs and sometime owner reviews. Another good site is Audiokarma.org. Check the discussions for user opinions. I will say, they are more geared toward vintage tables, but very knowledgeable members.

 

I've never seen a cartridge that doesn't include the stylus. The stylus is the most expensive part of a cartridge. I do keep a spare stylus, but I've bought entire brand new Shure M97xe cartridges for about the same price as a replacement stylus. I have a couple extra new cartridges for My Shure M97xe, plus a replacement stylus, an extra new Shure M24H and spare stylus, an extra new Shure M78S and a couple of replacement stylii, a couple new Pickering NP/AC's and several stylii, etc.
Always keeps extras so you don't have to wait for a replacement.

 

I ended up getting an AT95E a few days ago on eBay. I've never installed or aligned a new cart before, so hopefully it won't be too hard. Once I get that out of the way, then I have to worry about cleaning my records even though I don't have an actual cleaner or vacuum for them. It seems that the Spin Clean is the best way to go, but I'm not willing to spend any more money on vinyl related stuff for the time being, even if a cleaning device is absolutely necessary. BTW, yes, I consider $80 for a Spin Clean to be very expensive. Not trying to sound snarky or anything, it's just that I don't have a lot of money to spare right now. I'm assuming that a sink and a towel will not suffice and I'll have to get some kind of cleaning equipment?

 

The poster has a good stylus, a good M-91E or M91-ED without stylus can be found on ebay, these are seldom bad and very inexpensive, typically about $15.00 for the cart only.

 

Some micro fibre cloths with a solution of distilled water, isopropyl alcohol, and maybe some dish soap or finisher is a cheap trick. Also an Audio Technica cleaner kit could be found for about $15.

I feel your pain with regard to how much you've spent.

 

If you choose to replace the Shure M91-E, (or with an M91-ED) you can find these on ebay without a stylus or broken stylus very cheap. A cartridge is almost never bad, so you could use the stylus you have.