Yamaha or Sony?

[Ottermel]

I have a line on two TT's, Yamaha YP-801 (for $450) and Sony PS-4300 (for $500).
Which one would be better overall?
I'm not sure if those prices are in line with their age. Both are in very good condition and fully functional.

[Dimal]

G'day...

Given that both are in good condition, I would be leaning towards the Sony TT; it is a very nicely engineered unit indeed and in my opinion, a cut above the Yamaha offering.

I know you can acquire the Yamaha unit for much less than what is being asked, though not sure about the asking price for the Sony. Also seems a bit steep, to be honest...

Mal.

[Smoke Screen]

I think its a close call. The Sony has a slightly better motor
the Yamaha the better, and heavier, arm (YA-9) which was also
sold separatly.
Both a solid build and good quality,no question about that.
I think the Yamaha is a little bit more robust with less plastic
on board but the Sony has the "sexier" look.
You cant do wrong with either of them. I guess it breaks down
to what cart you wanna use and what design appeals more to your
taste.
And yes,i also think both are a bit too expensive given their age.
I think 100 bucks less for each and you are in the okish area
pricewise. Unless both are technicly and cosmeticly mended for sale.
Considering the rareness factor the Yamaha should be a bit more ex-
pensive then the Sony,which was a very well sold upper middleclass
model back in the day. There are zillions of them out there. The
YP-801 is way more rare.

[Ottermel]

I was wrong, Yamaha is $500 and Sony was $ 350 (I got it for $300).
It's in execellent shape. The only thing that doesn't work is the arm lifter in manual mode (won't lower the arm) but that can be fixed.

[Ottermel]

Well,
I tried it out at home with the Luxman R-3055 I recently bought and it sounded fine (and the cue lever does work in manual mode. I just gotta get rid of the Sony cartridge it came with (I have no idea which one it is, can't see anything other than Sony on it).

[duficity]

I am surprised by the prices. A Yamaha pf800 can be bought for $350 and is a much better unit. I know, as I owned and sold one last year. I havent owned an 801, but I still have a 701 that I bought for less than $100. The Sony seems overpriced too, but you have already bought that. I would have sold you a TTS3000 for that, which is a superior table.

[Blue Shadow]

Those initial prices were very high. You got the Sony for a fair price for a fully working table in good shape, so you did well.

The Sony cartridge may have the numbers on the top. When you swap out the cartridge you can see if that is the case.