Anyone into quality vintage direct drive?

I had a deal for a Thorens TD-147 and the seller reneged. I'm still in the
market if anyone has a cherry Thorens table they'd like to sell. I'd prefer
a model with auto lift-up.

I have a TD-124, but I got tired of the rumble, noise, and speed instability. I found a Technics SP-10MKII on ePay for $215 and built a birch plywood plinth, and I'm very happy with the sound. The big home model Japanese DD sure look gorgeous, but they seem to sell for much more than the SP10MkII since the price of the Technics is kept low because they made so many for the radio market. In any event, I would only get oneof the top end models and stay clear of the mass market crap.

Hello

I have boght a few Technics SP-15 motor units on e-bay.

They are easy to test, require only a simple high mass plinth and sound great.

Easily worthy of a SME IV and good MC cartridge.

You can even strip them down and respray them at home. Look as good as new.

Best wishes from Ireland

Neil

I have an early 80's Kenwood KD-750 that is in excellent condition and still works well today. It is the higher end model from the granite base unit you sometimes hear about. The engineering is actually pretty impressive. It weighs about 45-50 lbs! It had been stored in the original carton for about 12 years when I got it a few years ago.

Agee hit it. The thing to look for is a vintage direct drive that has been in storage for a long time. A lot of audiophiles put their turntable in the closet when CD took over and just left it there. I have 4 DD tables that I know were stored for a long time and one other one that looks like it was.
The suggestion to ignore low and middle level DD tables is also correct. The luxury models have better motors, more mass and better isolation and typically were cared for better.
With these models you can get a big piece of what Teres and Black Diamond are now selling for only 5% to 10% of the investment. Several of them are worthy of the best tonearms.