Pioneer PLX-1000

[NaimNatNod]

Hi DK1,

Well, I couldn't pass the opportunity when I had it. :) I personally don't thing the gold version sounds difference than the regular black version. It just the paint. The Pioneer DJ on the gold and Pioneer Professional Turntable on the black. I have not seen the back one that says Pioneer DJ.

I haven't used the Orbe since I switch the pre photo to the PLX-1000n. I am enjoying on whatever I throw at it. I don't care if it's made in China or anywhere else in the world. I just enjoy it so much. The key points for me are, I like the quiet background noise, nice looking and sound that I enjoy. The environmental
of each room and each person has a difference hearing ability, so the good sounding for me may not good for you or vice versa. It doesn't need to give me an 100% accurate sounding that match from the studio. As long as I enjoy the song or music, that's good for me. 8)

Ah, so you have one of the exclusive and rare DJ gold ones. It does sound rather lovely through my PC speakers. Just seen your post in the other thread, what a set-up! I'm very jealous =P~

[yoda58]

new to the forum concerns about tonearm bearings and woble first turntable so i do not no the tricks to fix any problems i like the table just wondering if they still have those problems thanks

[NaimNatNod]

Hi yoda58,

I wouldn't worry much about what you referred to. In this world, there is nothing that is defect free. That's why there is Sales Return & Allowance and service department.

If this is your first turntable, I would not hesitate to recommend this to you. I'd buy this brand new over a used 1200s out there that you don't know how it's been abused. Unlike a used market, if you think something is not right (tonearm bearings or wobble platter, etc.), you can always return or get a replacement. I can say this because I have owned it for over 2 years now and there's nothing wrong with the unit and it produces an excellent sound every time that I play.

Cheers,

Andy

new to the forum concerns about tonearm bearings and woble first turntable so i do not no the tricks to fix any problems i like the table just wondering if they still have those problems thanks

[Garven]

I can say this because I have owned it for over 2 years now and there's nothing wrong with the unit and it produces an excellent sound every time that I play.

Same here! Just the other day I was thinking about at how quiet the background was on some LPs I was spinning. I thought back to my two Pro-Ject turntables with their incessant motor hum ruining every quiet passage even after I tried all the tweaks on the internet (transport screws, no transport screws, sorbothane, kit from Pro-Ject that was supposed to solve the problem but didn't, blue-tack, etc, etc., etc.).

With the Pioneer, there's no such problem. At times, it's as quiet as a CD between tracks.

[bigus3333]

I grew up with vinyl and I've owned a lot of turntables in my time.
The Pioneer is without a doubt, the best turntable I've ever owned. Period.
I've had mine since release and no issues.
Just great tunes and you can hear the vinyl difference.
Great table.

[Luicas]

Hi everyone. Got my new PLX-1000 yesterday. I want to share valuable info.

My unit came with a nice platter, with almost imperceptible lateral runout, and no wobble at all. Same as my SL-Q2.

Got it a local DJ shop, great price (much better than online!). I wanted to have a chance to check it out before paying for it, as there's too much drama on several forums going on about its Hanpin origins.

Out of the box, it had a very slight but noticeable tonearm bearing play. The shop owner, a DJ himself, said that "informed" turntablists prefer a slightly loose TOP (vertical axis, right-left arm movement) gimbal bearings, and that adjusting them to zero play would be according to each user's preference. He showed me his own technics sl-1200's and they all had that tiny bit amount of play. Dunno about turntablism myself, so that could've been just some bad sales pitch.

Once at home, it took me 5 minutes to get the top tonearm bearing in check, to the point where, when floating the arm, it would freely move sideways while blowing VERY softly at about a 6" distance. Just the top gimbal bearing needs adjustment. The side gimbal (up-down tonearm movement) is PERFECTLY adjusted out of the box, as should be. To test this, you float the arm, and place a tiny square of paper on top of the headshell (1cm x 1cm) and it should lower freely. Which it did. This leads me to believe the DJ's comments.

I have several technics headshells with mounted and aligned carts (for my SL-Q2 which has the exact same geometry as an SL1200), and they DO NOT follow the same 215mm pivot-to-spindle Stevenson arc, meaning, the tonearm tube is indeed shorter than on the technics. That's why Pioneer specs a 54mm distance from headshell flange to stylus tip, while Technics specs a 52mm distance. So, I realigned my AT440mlb for the Pioneer, using the SAME arc protractor (215mm pivot to spindle) I use for my Technics, and it meant moving the cart a tiny bit forward. Still lots of room on the technics headshell for doing a Baerwald, for example.

Results are better than expected. This PLX-1000 seems to be the real deal. Weighs a ton. I accidentally bumped the rack where the TT sits on, and there was no needle jump, not even a "thud" through the speakers. Dampening and sound quality-wise, it's well ahead my SL-Q2 and MMF 5.1.

Tested several of my well known recordings. Perfect speed stability, zero sibilance, and a sensibly quieter background. I don't want to come up with ludicrous audiophile mumbo-jumbo, but if my "sound memory" doesn't fail me, the bass is much more defined, less muddy than on my other decks. Mids and highs sound spot on, no sibilance, and of course, I can crank the amp as hard as it'll go with zero feedback.

It seems to be a very solid performer.

Another concern about this TT is the high starting and braking torque, and it's influence on cogging. To that respect, my findings are that indeed, it has a very high starting/braking torque, but once the platter is stabilized, the torque goes down to about the same level as an SL-1200. My observations come from using my cleaning brush on the spinning vinyl. It's speed lowers very predictably, as on the technics. The motor doesn't fight you at a high torque, but at the regular accustomed torque.

Will keep on posting any upcoming good (or bad) things. Main interest is to demystify the "just another Hanpin" theory surrounding the PLX-1000. Any other question, please shoot, I'll try to give the most objetive answer.

Cheers.

Luis

[Luicas]

Adding some more info. Just installed a LOMC cart, and it works perfectly, no hum or weird stuff. Excellent TT, indeed.


One other comment regarding the TT's torque. When already spinning, if you try to manually brake/stop it (like when brushing a record), it seems the torque level is about the same as my technics, BUT, if you keep adding pressure to the brush, torque ramps up to diesel truck level.... so it seems that while normally spinning, it's doing so at a "normal-ish" torque level, but if you try to stop it from spinning, it'll go to a higher torque setting. Or so it seems.

Cheers,
Luis

[NewOldVinyl]

I got a PLX-1000 today. Spent quite a few hours getting it set up and on listening tests. Tonearm bearings seem perfect. Platter perfect. No motor noise. Cue damping rate good.

I’ll report on it more along the way..l

[NewOldVinyl]

This is a very long thread and I admit I’m not going to read everything. Just sharing my experience and observations.

The specs for my Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge say its total overall height is 18mm. The PLX-1000 manual includes a table of recommended tonearm height settings based on the height of the cartridge. The minimum cartridge height listed in that table is 19mm, which would equal setting the tonearm height to 0.

What about an 18mm cartridge like mine? I discovered that the tonearm height adjustment will move in the minus direction slightly, maybe about -0.75mm. That’s where I set it and eyeballing things it looks correct to me. Other easy ways to deal with that would be to shim the cartridge by about 1mm (anyone remember when turntables came with those shims?), or use a thicker or 2nd platter mat. Or disregard it.

Following the manual’s instructions to set the distance from the headshell flange to stylus tip to 54mm just didn’t look right to my eye in terms of the cartridge alignment. I tried using the Baerwald Arc Protractor for the Technics SL-1200 and the resulting alignment of the cartridge in the headshell is identical to the Technics arm. That’s where I’m running the Pioneer and it tracks beautifully across the entire record.

Depending on where you get the data, the wow and flutter spec for the PLX-1000 is stated as either 0.1% or 0.01%. The Owner’s Manual says 0.01%. Notably, Reloop also specs their version of this table at 0.01%. Poking around the official Pioneer DJ forum, Pioneer states the correct figure is 0.01%. If true that’s pretty impressive.

The tonearm has a threaded receiver to attach an auxiliary counterweight (for heavy cartridges). The threads on mine are messed up. At least one other PLX-1000 owner has complained about the same thing on the Pioneer forum. The solution is a replacement tonearm. Since my tonearm seems otherwise perfect, I’m going to ignore this issue. If I ever need the aux counterweight, I’ll figure out a solution. I don’t want to risk getting a replacement tonearm that has some other more serious flaw.

So after diddling around with all this stuff and then finally settling back and listening, I’m very very pleased with how this thing sounds.

[Luicas]

Screwing in the auxiliary weight is tricky. I wouldn’t dismiss your tonearm as faulty, yet. Takes several tries and using a bit of force to get the thing screwed on. FWIW, the same applies to my Technics TT. The tonearm’s end doesn’t actually have a machined thread. It’s more of a stamped/punched springy sheet metal cap. Whose orifice has a slight offset so the aux weight threads in on a slight angle.

Hopefully this helps other people.

[NewOldVinyl]

Screwing in the auxiliary weight is tricky. I wouldn’t dismiss your tonearm as faulty, yet. Takes several tries and using a bit of force to get the thing screwed on. FWIW, the same applies to my Technics TT. The tonearm’s end doesn’t actually have a machined thread. It’s more of a stamped/punched springy sheet metal cap. Whose orifice has a slight offset so the aux weight threads in on a slight angle.

Hopefully this helps other people.

Interesting. Thanks for pointing that out. On closer inspection, that’s exactly how it looks. I played around with it some more and was able to successfully thread the aux counterweight on the arm.

[rtrt]

Yes I found similar 'persuasion' needed to attach my weight.

I'm wondering if others thought about installing the weight as standard?

I think Ive read similar on the technics sl-1200 showing an improvement in an arm resonance, with the weight installed or alternatively a plastic bolt from KAB screwed in.

[NewOldVinyl]

Yes I found similar 'persuasion' needed to attach my weight.

I'm wondering if others thought about installing the weight as standard?

I think Ive read similar on the technics sl-1200 showing an improvement in an arm resonance, with the weight installed or alternatively a plastic bolt from KAB screwed in.

If the cover was hinged, I’d consider leaving the aux weight installed all the time. But when putting the dust cover on “by hand”, there’s an increased risk of accidentally hitting that aux weight (because it extends further back) and sending the tonearm flying.

Or maybe I’m overthinking it.

[rtrt]

Good point. I have a headshell / cartridge spare in the slot at the back, so already need to take care with the cover. Not sure which is further back though.

I have a plan to use a reloop hinged cover on mine and avoid any risk entirely, but as my drilling isn't always the best, i haven't yet got the courage to install the hinge plates on the rear of the plx.

[NewOldVinyl]

Good point. I have a headshell / cartridge spare in the slot at the back, so already need to take care with the cover. Not sure which is further back though.

I have a plan to use a reloop hinged cover on mine and avoid any risk entirely, but as my drilling isn't always the best, i haven't yet got the courage to install the hinge plates on the rear of the plx.

I’ve thought about doing the Reloop cover but like you I’m very reluctant to start drilling holes in the TT. It’s a shame Pioneer didn’t give it hinges. That’s my only real criticism of this unit for home use.