When a Kenwood record cleaner-to be becomes a Garrard 301/Thorens TD124 Hybridmonster

[honinbou]

Hey all,

If you want to find an old school turntable with the following features during economic bad times...



Grease spindle bearing mojo with belt idler drive
Molybdenum disulfide grease for the spindle
3 kg hybrid aluminum/magnesium platter
8 cm Big Idler wheel
Polished Silicon belt
Unipivot oil damped tonearm
Auto play mechanism
Low voltage 4 pole hysterous synchronous motor designed to run at 100V
integrated voltage Step up transformer to make motor run at 115/230AC
8mm solid die cast aluminum chasss

Sounds like a Thorens/Lenco/Dual/Garrard Hybrid???

Might have to go into forclosure to get one, don't you think?.



Well let me tell you a secret. It discovered this one unexpectedly...

dung dung dung dung...

Everybody knows the Kenwood Trio stable gave the world the famous L-7D turntable...

But few people knew, in 1969 they made a PC-400(U) with all the features mentioned above. MSRP was about 43000 yen, so about $150 in 1969 dollars. I only paid $15 for the Kenwood plus $55 shipping, expecting a unit with solid direct drive mechanisms, so it should have been a good base for DIY record cleaners...


Anyway,

can this all be true? For $70 only?



Pictures to follow. I want to see how this turntable performs in comparison to my trusted Denon direct drive.

but at the moment you could check this website for more details:
http://audio-heritage.jp/TRIO-KENWOO...er/pc-400.html

My two cents worth to go "high end" without paying high end fees during bad economic times.

Happy hunting before it obtains cult status

[honinbou]

physical form

[honinbou]

without the platter

[honinbou]

hybrid aluminum-zinc platter
damps resonance?
sorry it's not magnesium

[honinbou]

belt idler drive
look at that big idler wheel
it's bigger than the one in my garrard 401

[Damo72]

Hi I have been lucky enough to fine one of these at a bargan price aswell,and I was also blown away with the design,a belt and idler drive?? I'd never heard of that,I had to make a new thrust bearing for the idler bearing and with that fixed Im amazed how quiet it is,great tonearm and perfect speed,and have you seen the size of the motor!!,very nice.But Im guessing parts like the idler wheel and belt may be hard to get??.

[directdriver]

Kenwood also made a similar model, perhaps, for domestic market, KP-5021. Looks amazing.
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Electronics...-223090763.htm
http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/5812/5021cqm7.jpg
http://audio-heritage.jp/TRIO-KENWOO...er/index3.html

[honinbou]

Damo72,
I found polyurethane pads that stick to the legs of chairs make excellent replacement thrust pads for the idler wheel and spindle.
They are not as durable and inert as engineering grade plastics like vespel or meldin but hey poly pads are dirt cheap... C$2 for a pack of 12 pads.

[honinbou]

directdriver,
KP-5021 looks very much the same as the pc-400u. The former seems to have a better tonearm and a smaller motor.

[analog_sa]

Originally posted by Damo72
[Ba belt and idler drive?? I'd never heard of that[/B]

You're kidding, right? They just borrowed the idea