After two weeks or so with my functioning TT101, I would say that the TT101 is right up there with the best of them, and I do own two of the best of them (SP10 Mk3 and Kenwood L07D) for comparison. Arguably, the Denon DP80 would be a third, but I don't use it. By scuttlebutt only, I think of the GT2000 as second tier, but that's a completely unfair assessment based on gossip. I wouldn't put much stock in TVK, either. The write-ups in TVK are probably not done by someone who listens to the turntables. (GT2000 is the turntable; 2000GT is the collectible car made by Toyota, I think. But it could be the other way around.) Does the GT2000 have a coreless motor? What sort of servo does it use? How is the platter made and what does it weigh? (It does appear to have an over-size platter with mass disposed to the edge, a nice design.) These are things I would consider in deciding between the TT101 and the GT2000, absent the chance to compare them in a single audio system. (Coreless motor is to be preferred, in my opinion.) The one I've got to try is the Pioneer Exclusive P3, but every time I have the chance to buy one, I cannot justify the purchase what with the excess of turntables already in my stable. Then there's the Luxman, which Dave G owns.
Vintage DD turntables. Are we living dangerously?
I have just acquired a 32 year old JVC/Victor TT-101 DD turntable after having its lesser brother, the TT-81 for the last year.
TT-101
This is one of the great DD designs made at a time when the giant Japanese electronics companies like Technics, Denon, JVC/Victor and Pioneer could pour millions of dollars into 'flagship' models to 'enhance' their lower range models which often sold in the millions.
Because of their complexity however.......if they malfunction.....parts are 'unobtanium'....and they often cannot be repaired.
TT-101
This is one of the great DD designs made at a time when the giant Japanese electronics companies like Technics, Denon, JVC/Victor and Pioneer could pour millions of dollars into 'flagship' models to 'enhance' their lower range models which often sold in the millions.
Because of their complexity however.......if they malfunction.....parts are 'unobtanium'....and they often cannot be repaired.
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- 1648 posts total
- 1648 posts total

