How hard is it to find this stereo?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGflUco1bWg
I mostly like it for the record player. Anyone know if this is hard to find in japan?

 

"Lo-D", low definition? lol

but the record player looks class, yeah.

 

Pretty hard... and in working order? Really hard I'm afraid.
If we compare the releases of hi-fi systems to those of game consoles, it's like an abyss and a pool.

EDIT: some information about the Lo-D series http://audio-database.com/Lo-D-HITACHI/
Yet, the tray turntable is not there :|

 

Oh WOW! I remember those Lo-D front loading record players. I always wanted one along with that 80's Hinari (think that was the name) CD player that looked more like a flatbed mixing console.

Yakumo

 

I've seen front loading record players in the junk department of Hard off a number of times, been tempted to buy one as well as a VHD player.

 

How much do they go for? It would be nice to have a working one. I mean my turntable does the job, but I don't think it's exactly the highest quality.

 

About 4000 to 5000 yen ISTR but they are sold as Junk so no gaurantees, etc.

 

Luckily, analogue hardware is easy to repair.

 

I'd imagine with shipping it be over $100 U.S. Blast it would be so awesome to have one of those.

 

God, that thing looks awful! Save your money and get some decent hi-fi equipment locally!!

Not in this case! It looks like its in a horrible MIDI format. Those things are always a nightmare to repair. Plus it's Japanese, so the service manual (if you can get one) will be in Japanese, and the parts will probably be really obscure! Even finding a new stylus would probably be hard - and you should change the stylus on something that old. They probably don't even use a stylus, they probably have some 'amazing' Japanese replacement modular thing that's impossible to get now :lol:

 

If you want good quality, cheap, retro and cool record decks then look for 'Little Pink Thing'. Now THAT was class!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PINK-TRIANGLE...14&_trkparms=72:1300|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

Yep a glass platter, REGA cartridge... now that is retro lovely! :icon_bigg

That one is a bit more expensive than I think they are worth, but just keep an eye open for one.

Or choose the cheaper Rega Planar series. Cool as and an excellent sound. Not as good as the Little Pink Thing, but frankly a million miles from that monstrosity you are even considering... yuk!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/REGA-PLANAR-3...14&_trkparms=72:1300|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318

 

Rega were OK, Pink Triangle were pretty good. Then there were the likes of Linn, Thorens, Michell, Clearaudio and Wilson Benesch. Some stunning turntables! On the cheaper end, you have Goldring and Pro-ject.

I wouldn't call any of those cheap, though! Cheap was the likes of Amstrad :lol:

If you REALLY like your vinyl, check this out:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/01/16/ces.luxury.turntable/index.html

 

Any recommendation for something released in the U.S.? I did see a turntable one a record show card that had a front loading turntable, but I didn't catch the name.

 

Front loading turntables are crap. You really want to avoid them. Or do you enjoy damaging your records?

Rega:

Pro-ject:

Goldring:

 

Didn't know they have a bad effect on vinyl. I just like the compact convince. If anything it be amazing to have a sound burger, though they go for insane amounts on ebay. Anyone know how acurate that laser turntable by that japanese company is soundwise?

 

They have a sale at $8000-9500. Who cares at that price? You could get an AWESOME turntable PLUS a decent amp for that!! :lol:

The laser is meant to last a lot longer than a stylus. However, they will only play black or opaque vinyl. You can't play your clear picture discs! The other thing that can be a problem is that it'll pick up defects - scratches, dust etc.

http://www.elpj.com/

 

You mean like a stylus? As far as I was aware, the advantage of the laser player was that it isn't quite as suceptible to dust as analog playback. Oh, and unlike a standard turntable there is minimal wear and tear. (even transcription decks wear out the vinyl quicker than this beast).

 

If i was rich I'd probably get one of those Japanese laser turntables, but I agree you can get a great turntable and amp for a fraction of that cost. It's funny how you have to fill out a form to get one of those laser turntables.

 

Well, there's cheap and there's cheap.... shit! Amstrad are up there with cheap shit!

I've owned a few turntables and the Rega etc were the cheap end of the market. Anything below that really wasn't worth listening to as you'd be listening to the plater as much as the vinyl. It's amazing when you place a needle onto a plastic turntable and you listen to all the farts, knocks, boom and sizzle of a shit turntable EVEN BEFORE anything musical has happened! As the stylus travels to the very first note you've already heard a symphony of shit prior to anything, plus it remains there underlying the audio.

I wouldn't go for the likes of Linn and all the high-end nonsense as frankly they are priced too highly and most folks can't tell the difference matched against lower spec models. It also really depends on the condition of the vinyl.

A mate of mine worked for Linn and used to be able to get 50% off and frankly even then I was not in the least bit tempted.

My last stereo set-up was a Cyrus rack bought for sod all on eBay. It's worth hunting for this stuff as people turn to the mighty, mighty World of MP3.

 

Here's the list of abilities Japanese are born with:

1: Lining up
2: Making bad television
3: Throwing shit out that's really not that old or bad.