Hello Downunder,
Just like you I have been able to pick up the elusive P3.. I just got it about three days ago. I need some help adjusting it in the right way, since I can't make up anything out of the manual.. Can you tell me what the adjustment knob on the left does? For as far as I know: the top one is damping, and the one on the right is for tracking force.. now still to find out what the one on the left does..
I have it paired with a AT-150mlx cart, since I use a eXclusive P3 as preamp, I wanted to find a decent MM cart.
Regards,
Willem |
Hi there, well I found it all out:
I was wrong in my first mail: I ment to note the dial on the right side: this is for adjusting the tracking force.. Now I got it all adjusted in the right way.
I have the AT-150mlx cart on it with a tracking force of 1,5 grams, and damping is on 1: It sounds wonderfull, I have to go through my whole recordcollection again!, I hears stuff which was never there before.. the detail and steadiness of the sound is amazing, furthermore the soundstage is very holographic, not like anything I heard/had before.. To give you an idea; my daily TT before the P3 was a (Pioneer) PLC-590 with PA-5000 arm.
I will certainly never regret getting the P3, it looks wonderfull, and the sound improvement is amazing!
Regards,
Willem |
T Bone,
Thanks for the reply.
Forgive me with being so ignorant: But I suppose you are talking about the damping when you say "2-4 using the S-armpipe"??
And Downunder:
Yes, I think I will indeed this TT for many more years. Especially since it was the last item to complete my eXclusive setup: I already had the C3, M3, F3 and 3401's to go with it.. I love the complete setup!
Regards,
Willem |
Hi Jaspert,
I actually bought the P3 in Japan and got it shipped... Finding it outside of Japan is next to impossible.
I like the C3 alot: the onboard phono stage sound very nice to me; quite neutral, but with a bit warmth in it.. just enough.. I actually have two sets of C3/M3; one set has seen a full revision/upgrade, while the other set is fully original, I want to do some a-b testing in the nearby future.
T-Bone:
Thanks! I will try some different settings with the damping etc.. I might give it a try with the Pioneer PC-1000II and PC-70mc cart as well..
Regards,
Willem |
I had a huge stepdown transformer build to power both my exclusive P3 and F3, which are both Japanese domestic 100 volts units.. the F3 tuner is a story on itself, since it also has a bandwidh of 76 to 90 mhz, instead of 88 to 108.. However: everything can be solved!
T_bone: interesting info about the transformer and the peak power handling.. I never really thought of that.. |
T_bone:
My initial plan was to get the tuner rebuild for Euro bandwidth.. I got the Japanese servicemanual etc. And thought I found a tech who could do it, but after studying the servicemanual he told me he is afraid he can't get it right, he finds the APC circuit on the F3 to difficult, he asked me to find the servicemanual for the same tuner but than with western bandwidth, however.. the F3 is japan only.. The closest thing it could come up with, is the F26 tuner, however I can't seem to find any servicedocs on that one.
So, for now I have find another solution: I use a bandwidth expander (the Merlin, can be found on that auction site) which is build for in-car use. I did a small conversion, so I could power it with a 12v adapter.. and cutted of the original connectors. It works like a charm! the sound output is very clean and crispy, no distortion whatsoever.. Ofcourse there is still the issue of the dialscale, but I can live with that for now..
My plan to get it rebuild still stands.. but I'm not sure if I will ever be able to get it done, it all depends on the availability of the right person and docs. Changing the dialscale shouldnt be to hard: I just have to get someone to cut me a glass plate in the right size, and then (after measurement etc apply the print.
There is a guy in the States who has some expierence with rebuilding Accuphase T-102's ans Sansui TU-9900 and TU-X1's.. He can do it to your Kenwood as well, I'm shure about that, but it will be pricey... |
Jaspert:
Congrats on getting the P3! you will never regret it. was it from Yahoo? Let us know how you like it. Did it came with both the straigt and the S-shape tonearm?
Results on the A\B testing as soon as i get my 2'nd M3 back from some minor repair. I'm quite curious myself as well about the audible differences |
Unfortanetly I cant comment on any of the other high-end turntables bespoken here above.. the P3 is the only one I have/heard.
Today I have been playing around with the setup of the P3: I fitted the Pioneer PC-1000II cartridge onto the straight tonearm, tracking force at 1,2grams and damping at two (on the lower end, manual advices from 2-4 with straight arm and PC-1000II cart) I was amazed by the sound quality: Listened to some records and was absolutely suprised that this old cart could give such a great soundquality: voices are very lively, piano sounds fluid.. that is always a good indicator for me..
This cart is unfortanetly very, very hard to find, but I is certainly worth the search!
Funny thing is; I have the original brochure for the P3, and on the pictures in the brochure, it's shown with the PC-1000II cart as well! |
Jaspert:
It's the P3a with the minor blemish on the base-foot? It looks quite allright, bigger issue to me should be the fact that the rubber mat is missing, but shurely you should be able to find a suitable replacement..
I was offered that one as well, since I was on the waiting list at hifido for a P3(a).. Since I just got one from Yahoo I passed.
Congratulations again with this great piece of engineering. |
Sonofjim:
I actually think the TT on Hifido is a P3 plinth with P3a arm.. you can read on the vintageknob about the differences between the two, which are marginal btw..
Pioneer has its own servicecenter in Japan which still services all their highend units, like the P3, C3, M3, M4, M5, F3, C5, C7, M7, M8 etc. etc. etc. Any P3 should be serviced by this center before it's shipped to anywhere outside Japan, it's worth every penny!
Jaspert: May I ask: does it come with both tonearms? If not: these arms are being offered for sale every now and then on Yahoo.. |
Very, very nice! Enjoy it. |
