Tourtable Aiwa AP2400 direct drive, year 1982 or Rega RP1 or Pro Ject Debut Carbon

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Hello, today the question is this. I am holder of an audio system that have been improving throughout the years.
Currently it consists of: Marantz PM6006 integrated amplifier; Marantz CD5400 CD Player; B&W DM602 acoustic boxes; Van Den Hull c122 wires; Aiwa Ap2400 direct drive turntable; Audio Technica AT440 magnetic capsule Mla.
The last change was an integrated Rotel RA970 BX year 1996 by Marantz PM6006 amplifier. Comparing them exceeds by far in technology and dynamic sound clarity to Rotel.
The question of the turntables is because I am tempted to buy a Rega or Pro Ject.
But if I look at their technical characteristics, I see that the old Aiwa exceeds these modern.
Which you think suits me ?. Or should I stay with the old Aiwa Ap2400 ?.
Greetings to you.
He added that already possess two phono preamps DIY. VSPS 300 and Muffsy.
Both with impressive performance.

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Scrabbe, thanks for your opinion. ahe searched on the internet and I found the c.e.c Chuo Denki st540 turntable. in fact it is almost equal to Aiwa AP2400. The arm and the headshell is identical.
I'll stay with because it is in very good condition and performance.
Greetings to you.
 
Nice vintage turntable although i would be tempted by the Rega with the rest of your set-up. One thing you may want to consider is relocation of the amp to allow more airflow. All the Marantz amps i have owned like plenty of space above them and without it they tend to overheat causing the protect mode to kick in when they are driven hard.
 
Konzentr8, it is true that I've been tempted to buy Rega or Project. which of the two is not superior. But comparing these specifications against Aiwa, I see that the old Aiwa is better.
But the review lead me to acquire some of them by Amazon.
Like Marantz PM 6006 I had to be acquired by Amazon. For these places where I live it is difficult to get products like these.
As for the separation for dissipating heat the amplficador, you are right.
The manual advises more than 10 cm. I will do it.
Greetings and thanks.
 
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Don't even concider the Rega. I had a Rega RP1 earlier and it had a lot of issues. Ground humm that had to be sorted by installing ground cable on the arm. Terrible quality on both platter and sub platter. The platter was waving up and down during playback. Giving a poor feeling of quality. I searched for the problem and it turned out to be normal for RP1.
 
Don't even concider the Rega. I had a Rega RP1 earlier and it had a lot of issues. Ground humm that had to be sorted by installing ground cable on the arm. Terrible quality on both platter and sub platter. The platter was waving up and down during playback. Giving a poor feeling of quality. I searched for the problem and it turned out to be normal for RP1.

I was a little surprised by your post having owned many Rega products over the years with no issues so i did a bit of searching .
There do seem to be a large number of complaints about more recent Rega equipment. It would appear that quality control isn't what it once was.
However like most things you tend to read about the bad experiences rather than the good .
Rega is a relatively small company and sometimes demand for a product causes standards to slip in production
all it takes is one person not doing their part of the process correctly to end up with a whole batch of faulty products.
Having said that i do think the general quality of mainstream hi -fi has declined steeply in the last decade.
Take a look at the vintage stuff for sale , tons of original working order cd players amps etc many 30 + years old then search for stuff from the last ten years or so and you find " faulty spares or repair " as the saying goes " things ain't what they used to be " .
 
Hi. Thank you for your opinions. I have seen videos of both comparative turntables, and really inclined Pro Ject Debut Dc. I think with better construction and nicer appearance. Besides, having anti-skating system variable other magnetic capsules can be used. I will make an effort and try to reach the essential model. Greetings.
 
Hi. In the end I decided to stay with the old Aiwa AP2400.
But I've done something crazy. Anyway it has been new.
The color I chose from a Pro ject Debut carbon.
I show photos.
Greetings and happy new year for all.

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.


An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.


An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.


An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
 
What you could try is a 25 mm MDF base to sit where the plastic one does. With luck the existing one is mostly flat so easy to copy. It would need a few air holes to keep it cool. I would exspect a slightly better sense of depth and tonal colour from this reasonably simple mod. 25 mm is about the best choice. Not too heavy yet thick enough. Too heavy might go too far and loose the higher frequencies or make it sound that way. Pockets could be made to fit squash ball feet. 6 mm ply + 15 mm MDF + 6 mm ply sandwich could be tried. PVA glue and a bucket of water as a weight to get a good bond. If the sandwich the ply cut to resemble the original before the glue stage.

The top molding is complex so best clamped to the MDF base as it's main damping. Damping of the rubber or plasticine type is not very good as it favours certain frequencies, the PVA is as good as we can get if the sandwich. If the arm can be mounted on the MDF that might be worth thinking about, if so squash balls become more important. A simple cork mat is worth thinking about ( cork + rubber is ideal ). The mass is low and the damping is chaotic so not favouring a narrow range of frequencies. High mass mats are a risk ( bearing ) and can sound worse. There is a chance if the DD servo opperation is well thought out it could sound better than many belt drives with this simple upgrade. What usually lets these turntables down is the plastic construction. If you wish to use mass below the squash balls works best, thus slightly decoupled. I would use concrete as not too expensive if disliked. Garden centres in the UK have slabs of concrete at low cost, they can be polished to look very good.The squash balls will deform, use card spacers to adjust. All squash balls work about the same, it's in play they change ( says Dunlop ).

Analogue Studio Cork Rubber Turntable Mat
 
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Nigel Pearson, I was tempted to replace the lower plastic base (which is still black), as you suggest, a mdf plate.
This turntable is with floating subframe supported by springs cushioned with foam.
Neither the plate nor the arm is in contact with the upper plastic cover (now painted white), supported on the lower cover by the four springs.
It could do all the cover and the bottom of mdf, eliminating the springs, realizing the cushioning as you say with squash balls. But you would have to relocate the controls or remove some of them (for example the disk size selection and the repeat).
Maybe do it and do lacquered finish. If I do I will upload photos.
Greetings.
 
This looks to be possible without too much pain nor money spent. Do try the squash balls as they are more forgiving than springs. The idea is not exactly as most see it. It's just to decouple the arm-stylus from the mass it will see. If not the sound seems in 1980's terms " slow " or heavy. I am happy with MDF for this idea. It is now a fashion to say MDF is a bad choice. Plywood is prefered. I suspect in this use MDF is better. The ply gives a brighter almost bass light sound. I don't doubt for loudspeakers some types of ply are better. Ply+MDF is good.

The MDF looks great in simple matt black. Don't underestimate the cork mat idea.
 
Really interested how you progress with this. I suspect the designers of these turntables knew how to make better ones. The production engineers stopped it becoming the best it could be. Their only interest to get it made fast and cheaply. Often the intention of the design is still there. What we have to do it find a way of getting the best to happen.
 
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