Lovely, restored Pioneer PL-518 turntable on eBay. Pretty, but worth it?

I've seen these pop up on eBay before, I'm guessing from the same seller. He completely restores them from the inside out, and as a bonus removes the vinyl veneer and replaces it with real wood. Pretty!

It's not modified though so it probably sounds no better than factory fresh. Worth almost $600? Or would a guy be better off buying a new turntable with that money. I'm guessing the latter. Can't help but admire his work though. It's pretty.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pioneer-PL-...833&pid=100033&prg=1011&rk=2&sd=330881199288&

dan c

 

Looks real nice!

 

Nice.

I have a PL-518 but it needs new feet. Does anyone recognize or know where I can get a set of feet like those?

 

Cool! Would you be able to comment on how it sounds compared to a modern 'table in the $600 range? Just curious is all.

BTW, I wonder if the guy who restores these would sell you some feet? Might be worth trying.

dan c

 

I have one of this model, not refurb, and it is a rock solid table, very tight perfect speed, and arm tracks perfectly as well.

So at least he is spending his time and efforts on a good model to begin with.

 

They look exactly like Technics SL-1200 feet. Not the greatest for isolation, but handy for leveling your table.

jeff

 

Amazon has these. Not quite as fancy but are "original"

http://www.amazon.com/Technics-Repl...lacement+Foot+for+Technics+1200+(SFGC122-04E)

 

I don't understand why they are selling on ebay for such high prices (average $13 each) if their insulating properties are not so great.

 

Sorry Dan. I've never owned any table except for a PL-514, which I bought new and still own, and the PL-518. I run a Shure V15 Type IV cart with HE stylus. I know it's old school but man that old cart still sounds sweet.

 

Not even close to being worth that kind of money. I sold these back when. It was an under $200 turntable. This one does look modified in that it has at least a refinished if not replaced base. The old one was grey.



You could buy a much better turntable today for this kind of money, with a quieter drive, better tone arm and much better suspension and isolation.

The only way this turntable would be worth $600 to someone is if they lost their virginity in 1979 while a PL-518 was playing a Marvin Gaye record in the background.

 

No more than $150. At that price I would buy a new Project Debut Carbon and at some point up grade the stylus.

 

I bought one for $25 on eBay last month.

Local seller, so I picked it up for no shipping cost. It was missing the dust cover, and the arm lift wasn't working (I fixed it in 10 minutes) but otherwise great condition. I replaced the Pickering cartridge it had with a Shure M44-7 and I'm using it in a second system I set up with other cheap items I had or picked up (Set of Ohm D speakers for 2 bucks?!?!).

It's a nice table, tracks well, but I agree with others, $600 is too much...

 

Yeah, that's what I thought. Wasn't thinking of buying one, just curious. Kinda neat that he's doing it though. I'm sure with the amount of work he puts into them he's charging a 'fair' price, but there are so many tables now at this price or lower that we well designed and made.

I wonder if anyone's done this with the Marantz decks from this era. They had fake wood and would look really pretty dressed up like this.

dan c

 

Well it looks nice and I'm sure the restorer did a fine job. However these 'tables don't sound so great in my experience. Most recently, I had a PL-71. It did not sound very good, to me. Maybe OK for $100 or so, but not for $500+.

 

Because their insulating properties are actually very good, and because it's a very popular table and so it's not surprising there is demand for new feet.

I'm actually not familiar with a foot design with better isolation on a common table. I'm sure such a thing exists, but I'm not aware of it.

 

There is absolutely no way that turntable is worth $600.

 

Not $600 but you guys are being too hard on the PL518. I'd say a good one in good condition is worth $200 and a restoration like this I bet would outperform a Carbon. I'd pay $300 for that one.

I actually regret selling mine (I'd like one for a second system). It's one of the better DD tables I've heard. I've never seen one with wood either. If it's solid I'd just drill some shallow holes and put squash ball feet on it. WTL style.

 

For once I am forced to agree.

 

$200? Absolutely. Why not. But for $600 you can buy a decent modern table that will run circles around the Pioneer any day of the week.

 

You folks are too hard on the Pioneer. In my area, they sell for $240 in nice condition easily with a decent cartridge. And it is a good performer. It's also better about holding pitch accuracy than a budget Rega or Pro-Ject does for that price point. The Pioneer tonearm is OK.

 

Greetings to all - I am new here and also the person who has restored the Pioneer PL-516's, PL-518's, PL-540's and PL-560's you have seen on ebay this calender year, 2013. The table that is referenced in this forum is one that I have done. I am not the only party that has restored these tables seen on ebay but I am the one who was one of the first to do this. I have completed close to 35 of this series of tables recently and not all have been sold on ebay. More than half are sold privately or through my other website.

I was searching the web about the PL-518 turntable and stumbled onto this forum and felt I would share the reason's and process about the restoration of these classic vintage turntables. I was very intrigued to read your thoughts about this model and your feelings about the restoration of this model. I am not defending my price on this table because I sell every model I finish and have customers waiting for others to be completed. Are there other turntables that sound better, priced less or better performers? Absolutely there are. Is the Pioneer PL-518 a good turntable and worthy of this type of restoration? Absolutely it is, the entire series is as well.

The reason I like this series of Pioneer turntables is because of the build quality. The plinth is made of a 40mm solid dense particle board base and weighs 5.6 lbs. It is a platform for good sonic isolation and once the factory vinyl is stripped of the grey covering the cosmetic possibilites are unlimited for the visual presentation. The top arm deck is made of all metal and the S shaped tonearm has excellent carbon chromium bearings. The 24 pole motor and return mechanism is well made and highly reliable. There is very little plastic in this model and once these tables are restored the new owner can expect another couple decades of performance. The new, real wood veneer visual presentation of this series of turntables make this a collectable stereo component that becomes a true conversation piece. Unrestored in their original factory cosmetic condition they are just another PL-518 turntable that needs work.

These tables (PL-518, PL-540 and PL-560) have there weakness's. First, is the feet and the internal rubber suspension rots away and falls apart, Second, the electro mechanics needs to be serivced and switches chemically cleaned or replaced. Periodically the power supplies need to be repaired. The plinth and dustcovers are always in bad shape and in need of restoration. Age and usage takes it's toll on these tables just like any other vintage audio component. The feet that I use are made by Panasonic for the Technics SL-1200 series. Although they are not the absolute best insulating foot they work very well when mounted to the 40mm restored plinth. The feet need to have threaded wood inserts mounted up into he base in order for the Panasonic foot to mount. The foot is then adjustable and allows for leveling of the turntable to the surface that it is placed on. Once the plinth restoration is done the foundation of this turntable surpasses just about any other Japanese vintage table and many of the modern turntables. The total process for me to restore one of these tables takes about 20 hours to complete. Install a good quality phono cartridge and the table is now ready to be used everyday. The end result is very rewarding and knowing that the new owner will be happy with the result is satisfying. Does this restoration still make them worth $500 - $600? For the ones that purchase these from me, it does.

Thanks to all for your thoughts and comments. Vintage audio is great fun and the beauty of these machines takes us back to a time and place remembered.

Regards, Dudley

 

Hey Dudley, thanks for posting! Really nice work you do there, and I'm happy to hear people are buying these. I think there are a lot of different reasons people choose different turntables, and no one is absolutely 'right'. The fun is in the variety. I sure admire anyone with craftsmanship as fine as yours. Keep it up!

dan c

 

people around these parts are often rather harsh on just about anything that's more than a couple years old and/or carries the PIONEER badge.

i simply chalk it off to classical High-End snobbery...

 

I don't know why my PL-540 tracks inner grooves so well, and strobe platter displays locked in, and rock solid steady speed, but it does. Never been refurbished, and does not appear to need it.

If these tables were running around $300 or so in the mid-70s, that means (by inflation) that they are over a grand tables correct? That would mean that they are in fact worth restoring for sure.

 

Thanks for your comments Dan and MacGyver. One thing that I have noticed since I started listing these tables last November is that I may have artificially driven the asking price up on non restored models within this series of Pioneer turntables. It appears that other casual ebay sellers now value their tables much higher as a result of seeing what I have sold mine for. The un-restored ones I see being listed in a fixed price format usually have all of the problems associated within this series like bad feet, peeling or yellowed vinyl, damaged covers, broken arm rests, missing stylus or partial operation, yet they are asking more than what I have seen in the past. I also have seen other sellers who have seen what I have done and they now are re-veneering and restoring to a degree. I have even seen other sellers describing how their veneer work and veneer type is better or done in a specific fashion that makes their work more worthy. There also are sellers I have found who do great work and should be commended for their efforts as well. All of this has become very interesting for me to watch and read across the web as a result of restoring and selling vintage audio equipment. I find similar forum discussions on other product categories I have restored and sold and I enjoy reading the comments. At the end of the day, its all about enjoying listening to some music and being happy with our prized equipment regardless of what it is or how much we paid. Hi Fi audio is a great hobby and will outlast all of us.

Dudley