One of my first posts in this blog was regarding the servicing of the Pioneer PL12D turntable, and that has proven to be the most popular by a significant margin. The Pioneer PL12D had its competitors, and probably the most popular alternative was the Trio Kenwood KD-1033 turntable. I use both names (Trio and Kenwood) as the company operated under different names in different markets. In the UK they were Trio, possibly because the brand Kenwood was most famous here for food blenders. 95% of a KD-1033 is similar to Pioneer PL12D, and servicing them is very much the same process. Both are belt drive , have an AC synchronous motor, mechanical speed change , a main bearing, sprung top deck and rubber motor mounts. the KD-1033 uses a different type of anti skate mechanism, employing a thread and weight. The plinth is shallower with an internal cross brace. One aspect that is different is the design of the main bearing, and servicing it is a little harder than a PL12D. The ...
Introduction I got back into vinyl records via my son, who started to collect LPs and i decided he should get a turntable as a surprise Christmas present back in 2011. I was an avid audiophile in the late 70s and my father had a great system,including a Thorens deck. With the arrival of CD, I whole heartedly embraced that format and hadn't owned a deck since around 1981. I decided that a decent but cheap second-hand deck would be ideal for my son, it wasnt a main present, more a novelty to see if he liked the format, so i didnt want to get a more expensive Thorens or Rega, brands i remembered from my past. Why my son had started buying vinyl without a deck I'm not sure, I think he liked the aesthetic and tactile element of LPs, which i completely understand. Looking on ebay, many of the decks i remembered were going for high prices second hand, and in the end i bid for and won a humble NAD 5120 . I looked for decks close to where i lived as i reasoned that with...