found a vintage turntable

aps1ngh

I was here on this forum seeking advice on purchasing a turntable not too long ago, but today I am at my parents house and they had a turntable in our basement that I am now going to use.

It is a vintage JVC QL-A5. It's an auto-return quartz lock turntable. It is also direct-drive. I am excited as hell. They've had this thing since the early 80s and have barely used it. It's sturdy feeling but needs a damn good cleaning (it's filthy even though it's been sitting in the original box). It's been sitting in our basement and has gone through two moves for me to find and use in 2008 =p. Anyone know a thing or two about vintage turntables? I've been searching around and found a couple thread posts off a google search and I found a similiar model (the JVC QL-A51) new in box on ebay for 450 dollars. I plugged it in and the motor and auto return function properly as does the lighting, but I will have to wait until tomorrow to test out the sound when I return to my apartment with my 2 channel rig and vinyls.

Since this is my first turntable and my first experimentation with vinyl, I don't know a thing. Anyone care to explain to me what quartz lock is?

AudioFilet

Not familiar with that particular model, I have a vintage Dual and a new Music Hall. I think the "Quartz Lock" is a speed regulating circuit that locks the platter into the selected speed. Somebody here will chime in and help you with getting set up.

Jonesy

check audiokarma.org......they know a few things.

danger boy

cool a free turntable... snap a pic of that bad boy and post it for us to see.. we can tell you a lot by posting a few pics of it. at the very least.. get her cleaned up... and then get yourself a new needle.. also called a stylus. once you do that. you'll need to adjust the VTF (vertical tracking force) this is important to get the best sound.. you'll also need to set up the anti skate for best result.

it may seem overwhelming at first.. but take it step by step and you'll do fine. ask questions here.. lots of people here are into turntables..

aps1ngh

The sylus and cartridge seem to be intact. I disassembled that portion of the turntable. I think it might need a phono preamp. There are cables that come directly out of the back of the turntable so I assumed it had a built in preamp, but when I plug it into my preamp and try to play vinyls, no sound.

aps1ngh

I reassembled the cartridge onto the arm and put on a vinyl. I can hear sound and music coming from where the needle touches the vinyl so contact is being made but no sound is coming out of my speakers. I have the turntable plugged directly into my B&K preamplifier.

Does this mean I need a phono preamp?

mhardy6647

Yes you need a phono preamp.
That should be a decent turntable.

danger boy

in the back of your B&K does it have a phono input? or just CD, AUX, etc? if no phono input is on there, then yeah you need a phono pre amp. not to much money actually.

here is a simple inexpensive one.. there are better ones out there.. but i'm just showing that they can start pretty inexpensive. http://www.amazon.com/TC-754-Phono-Preamplifier-Switchable-Variable/dp/B000ZZINTK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1208635126&sr=1-4

cmy330go

As said above you will need a phono preamp to use this table. If you don't have one built into your B&K you might try this basic Rolls VP29. It's a really respectable piece for the money.

Also since you've apparently played around with the mounting of the cartridge it is very unlikely that it is now properly aligned so you might want to invest in an alignment tool. On the same page you will also find a stylus force gauge that will help you more accurately set the tracking force on the arm.

Enjoy!

Jonesy

I got a VP29 when I got my first TT and it gets the job done at a great price.