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Vintage turntable running fast, any ideas?

I got a Pioneer Pl-12 turntable from a friend who had it stored away for years. I cleaned it up but have found that some voices have a higher pitch compared to the CD version. I tried the free strobe disks and they verified my fears about the platter turning (I assume) too fast. I also measured similar songs from CDs and albums, and the albums always finish sooner. From some rough time estimates, the turntable is running about 3% too fast.

Looking from the bottom side up on the turntable, there are no adjustments and very little electronics at all. The only electronics are: the motor with a few wires running to it; an enclosed switch to select 115/230 voltable, and a somewhat large capacitor (I think). The "capacitor" has a rating of 0.1 uF and some serial numbers.

I suspect the "capacitor" is old or burnt or whatever. I doubt the voltage switch is the prolem, nor the motor, but who knows?

Any ideas? I have a voltage meter so I can measure the usual volts, ohms, or ampere, but I don't have an oscilloscope to measure frequency.

Thanks for any ideas,
rrick
rrick OP
23 posts
 
I have a theory on why musicians have such crappy stereo systems. From watching my violin playing brother-in-law, he uses a stereo like someone would use a hammer. All he wants from a stereo is the pace and tone of the music; mainly so he can play it himself. As such, he sees no need for an expensive system with great imaging and timbre, fast attack, etc. What's funny is that these are the same qualities he expects out of his violin!
seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
Unless you want to play along is the speed really such a big issue ? Or does it really bug you now that you've noticed :-) ?

HiFi is like cars ... best not to go looking for problems !
viridian's avatar
viridian
4,184 posts
 
Speed is one of the biggest issues in the reproduction of sound. The meaning of music is in how sounds are organized in time.Change the time and you have changed the meaning. Even if you do not buy into that arguement, certainly changing the pitch of sounds is an alteration of the musicians intent and the changes the meaning of the music.
seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
Viridian ... I agree ... to a point ... we're talking a 3% change, not an octave. Personally I'd leave it alone.
rrick OP
23 posts
 
It's wierd, I thought a percent or two change in speed wouldn't make much of a difference, but it does. With the speed-up you get an increase in frequency and also a change in timing. Not only are voices pitched higher, but the music has lots of extra snap to it. If you have a recording that seems dull and lifeless, just speed it up a bit, and man, it'll gain a new life.

Since we like to compare and grade our cables, power cords, and what not, I'll go out on a limb and say the tonal changes from the speed-up is a lot bigger than a cable change. At first I didn't notice the difference so much, but now that I'm keyed onto it, and I notice it immediately.
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