YOUR Top 5 Automatic Vintage Turntables

We asked our viewers what their favorite automatic vintage turntables were and here they are!

Kevin goes over the top 5 and wait until you see the surprising results. Enjoy!

Join this channel to get access to perks:

Follow us on Instagram

Find us on Facebook

Check out our store:

#vintageaudio #vinylrecords #vintagehifi

[rainermeergans]

Luckily here in Germany we have lots of Dual 1219 and 1229 available. I like the 1219 more, due to its more classical and cleaner look. Usually it has metal levers, whereas the 1229 has plastic levers. It is always a pleasure after servicing a Dual turntable to see it work as if it had just left St. Georgen!

[ddavejb]

I love my Dual 1219. I have had it for decades and it still works like a champ!

[MichaelDogan]

I have a Pioneer PL-530 refurbished with real wood veneer, and it is beautiful and my favorite turntable. Such a joy to use.

[primeanalogrecords]

I love my Technics SL-1610 MKII (the Black edition)! It’s a perfect performer and super accurate! It also has auto-breaking too! Glad you included this on the list!

[AbbieHoffmansGhost]

I've had my SL-1300 since 1976, 47 years, and the only issue I've had with it was a wandering strobe speed after going away and not using it for months. I removed the platter and lubed it and then let it run for about 5 minutes and once again it worked flawlessly and continues to do so. Got it though APO/FPO as an acquaintance of mine was in Greece in the service. It was $250 which included an Audio Technica AT-SA 15 cartridge which I still use occasionally. That was a lot of money for me back then but boy was it worth it.

[kennethquintini]

I found my 1019 for 20 dollars with the original dust cover 5 years ago in a local thrift store, I needed a new cartridge and stylus which was easy to get at Turntable needles in Oregon!! Great table 😀🎶🎵

[stevenwymor]

My favorite Duals are a tie between the belt drive 510 and and the direct drive 704. I give additional points to the 704 for VTA adjustment and the fact that the service manual has instructions on how to modify the circuitry to adapt the 45 rpm speed to play at 78 rpm. The Dual tone arms are fantastic and the 510 and 704 both have beefy platters. I’ve owned and sold a bunch of Duals including the 1019 and 1219. Not a fan of idler tire drive systems. I’m very happy with my 704 as I use it to digitize and archive vinyl with a Stanton 681eee MKIII. It’s perfection. I also have a Technics SL-1700 with the floating platter and arm which is an unbelievably great sounding table as well. I also have a Thorens TD-318 MKII that is a beauty, but surprisingly, the arm is the weakest link in that table. And it’s fussy about matching the right cartridge. But I’m very happy with all four of them although the 510 has been retired. I just keep it as backup should anything happen to my 704. And of course, these are all semi-autos, which is plenty for me. I’m kinda surprised a Denon didn’t make the list. I say that as someone who owned a JVC QL-Y55F as I believe JVC built a lot of the Denon tables like the DP-47F. Both great fully auto tables with very sophisticated tonearms. The JVC can use either a straight or s-shaped arm and has simple VTA adjustment.

[jamesminotto]

Of course!!! I bought mine from Bill. Never regretted my purchase. I had one in 1972 and just had to have another. Bill is awesome. Great review.

[sanjeevmoudgil]

Nothing lasts forever and that's why i love your reviews from a technicians point of view, now i know what is easily serviceable and enjoyable ....thanks for this video !!

[dentman]

I ran a Lab 400 from buying it new around 79 to 2018 When I passed it on to my daughter when she left for college. Great table, silky smooth tone arm.

[Craig]

My PL514 is coming up on 50 years old. Had it serviced a couple times over the years. Complete overhaul last year. Works great.

[francescotenti]

Another nice and very entertaining video and thank you very much for spelling out the right pronunciation of Technics!!! It makes my ears bleed to hear some YouTubers mispronounce that historical name. I own an SL-D2 bought new in '79-80, never serviced but still looking great and working with no issues, a "monogamous relationship" lasting over 43 years! That says a lot about the quality of Technics turntables.

[jayc]

I have a perfect working Pioneer PL-570 with a plinth redone with real wood and a clean clear dust cover. All refurbished and I love it!! It’s a beautiful beast and looks better than anything to me. I love fully automatic turntables and it must have a repeat button.

[daniannaci]

Honorable mention goes to the direct drive, single play, fully automatic Dual 721. Great low-mass tonearm. Stunning looker, too. Dual’s top of the line in 1980.

[HarmonyHomeInspectionServices]

My Kenwood KD-5070 has been the only one I've owned for over 45 years. "The Rock" was one of the first manmade quartz tt's. Fully auto and looks sharp.

[kiwid]

I purchased a Pioneer PL550 turntable back in the seventies when I was about seventeen. It was so expensive for me, I had to put it on layaway and went on a bus then a train to the big city every week to pay half my paycheck as an installment payment. It took me twelve months to pay for that turntable and take possession of it, but it was the start of my lifelong affliction with a love for beautiful audio equipment. Since then, I have spent many hundreds of times what that turntable cost, but it still ranks as the most impactful and pride filling audio gear purchase I have ever made. I wish I still had that PL-550….

[hifionthemoon]

I had Dual turntables from 1965 (in a system I built for my parents) until 2021: 1009; 1212; 1219; CS-622; CS-5000. Of all, my favorite was the CS-622 - single-play, direct-drive automatic with a great arm and sound. Great automatic mechanism. I bought it in 1980; used it until 1993; gave it to a friend who still uses it with one service to lubricate and change the "steuerpimpel" - a little rubber thingy that makes the auto-return work. Great deck!!!

[paulciprus]

Hello…I am the proud owner of a cherry Pioneer PL560 that I rebuilt the feet.and had a very nice cartridge built in England…plus a new acrylic dust cover cause my mom and dad used to put their cds on it..plus a very nice canvas cover …what a awesome piece of hifi history….love your channel…😀

[jeffbrooke]

I'm here to tell you that nobody went into a hifi shop back in the 70s and 80s and asked to look at the Tech-Nicks tables. If they did, the sales person politely took them over to their Tech-NEEKS display. Technics was also the "go to" table if you just wanted a quite platform for playing your records (not vinyles) no matter what price point you picked from. As for Dual, one day I aim to get a 1219. Thanks for another great video!

[owennikish]

Im really loving my new to me Denon dp-47f. I bought it knowing the automatic functions didn’t work but a hour or so of cleaning and everything started working flawlessly. Sounds really really good even with a cheaper 2m red on it! I am going to upgrade the cart soon now that its been working great to a Denon 301mk2.
I also have to say. I really think alot of the older (70's-early 80's) Realistic equipment is extremely underrated. Alot of very good turntables, and receivers came from RadioShack back in the day. By the mid1990's they basically sold junk.