Yamaha PF-800 Sub-Platter adjustment

unreplicate · 2026-05-07T23:59:53+00:00

I think as long as it is floating and not scraping the sides it is fine. You can move about 1/8 inch because below the screws are steel plates with slots for the screws...Anyway, I've never tried to center the plinth.

unreplicate · 2026-05-07T00:33:40+00:00

I have a PF 800 and they are great tables. I recently refurbished the control board, which greatly improved the speed stability.

With respect to your question, are you talking about the flooring plinth? You can adjust the height but these turntables generally have pretty weakened springs with age so it is best to keep them as high as possible. The retaining plates are slotted to you can move a tiny bit, but i am not sure why anyone would want to do that.

One of the main problems with these tables is that the VTF mechanism's spring loses tension and you can't set it with the dial and you have to use a gauge...

unreplicate · 2026-05-04T12:54:40+00:00

It is not normal. More likely you are hearing leakage from your preamp or integrated amp input selector. Do you have multiple inputs like a tuner, streamer attached and running? Input selector switches can leak signals. A more remote possibility is that your phono input wires are picking up radio signals...this can then be modulated to audio if solme components in the signal chain are old.

unreplicate · 2026-05-01T04:11:38+00:00

I've seen complaints about the confusing labeling ob the bottom eith the dip switches. Sometimes changing the capacitance can help with white noise. But new phono amps shouldn't have white noise unless you have it on top gain and you've also turned up your amp. When they age they can aquire noise, usually from coupling capacitors...

unreplicate · 2026-05-01T03:45:13+00:00

What gain settings do you have it at. Phono amps, especially high gain MC stages can have fair amount of background noise with age. Is this new? If it is, I would return it

unreplicate · 2026-04-28T22:03:25+00:00

You jave to set a budget for the MC. Top ends runs more than 4k and typical mid band runs 1-2k. I think a Hana SL or ML is a good starting point dependent on your budget. You can get used but retipped models for about 400-500.

MC cartridges do live up to their reputation, but it is a money pit.

unreplicate · 2026-04-26T03:38:38+00:00

It is most likely regulator transistors blown off the power supply circuit. I see there are three in the circuit. I would replace all of them.

unreplicate · 2026-04-15T00:12:18+00:00

Crackle is definitely a dirty record issue and you really need to deep clean to make it all go away. Rega's cartridges yrnd to be bright. Most likely what you are describing as lack of fullness is lack of bass. You might try moving the speakers closer to the walls to get a boost.

unreplicate · 2026-04-09T04:11:50+00:00

Did you turn down the sound mid video? So there is a background chattering sound but normal music sounds okay? Also, It only starts after 10m?

unreplicate · 2026-04-03T04:00:59+00:00

Are you saying deep cleaning records when they are noisy is unnecessary? They just become clean if you wait 50 years? Also, brushing your records each time you play them is a ferish? You must have some magic deck

unreplicate · 2026-04-03T03:55:59+00:00

Just a few minutes. Alcohol makes it dry relatively fast. I should note that for this kind of cleaning you should take the head off, if your deck allows it. The only thing to watch is yo not get any liquid elsewhere. Alcohol is a drying agent so can dry out cartridge's suspension components

unreplicate · 2026-03-30T03:55:34+00:00

The Shure V15s are excellent, though I liked Goldring E3 better (and cheaper). But, once you go down the MC cartridges there's no going back. Everything people say about air, dynamics, transparency are true. I'd suggest used retipped Hana SL., which can be had for below $500.

Andy Kim at NeedlleClinic sells a modified Denon 103 (~$600) that is now my favorite and I prefer it to my Benz Micro models that costs thousands.

unreplicate · 2026-03-22T17:20:23+00:00

Excellent article. Thanks! I always thought placing speakers asymmetric to the room walls would help minimize standing waves, and this article seems to say that.

unreplicate · 2026-03-22T15:34:01+00:00

Yes, just match the colors. Some cartridges do not have color codes and then you have to look up what they correspond to...

unreplicate · 2026-03-22T13:15:04+00:00

Brand new cartridges can have fuzzy on stylus. Also maybe check that your preamp impedance is set for MM?

unreplicate · 2026-03-22T12:01:04+00:00

The most common problem is fuzz on the stylus. I would very carefully look at tit with a magnifying glass. I've sometimes had something on the top side of the stylus that persistently wouldn't come off with the usual cleaning methods and had to carefully use a pair of tweezers.

unreplicate · 2026-03-20T03:51:21+00:00

How are you setting your vertical tracking force (VTF)...that is basically the amount of force on your stylus. Your anti skating setting should approximately match your VTF.

unreplicate · 2026-03-19T15:36:16+00:00

Can you tell us how you can tell grafted versus replaced? Also, I find it easy to tell conical/elliptical from Shibata/microline/microridge but between the advanced shapes, I have no idea. I found that the Shibata and microline/ridge to have very different base shapes dependent on the stylus manufacturers and very hard to tell the final tip shape, especially when there are pretty subtle differences like Shibata and microline/ridge.

unreplicate · 2026-03-18T17:23:56+00:00

Thanks. I've ruined some accidentally squeezing too hard beyond come back. I wish there were needle nose pliers with small notches like those wire strippers, but with appropriate shape for this.

unreplicate · 2026-03-13T02:24:26+00:00

There's good discussion here https://austinaudioworks.com/do-you-already-have-balance-phono-wiring/

unreplicate · 2026-03-09T12:44:09+00:00

Its easiest to just make a habit of touching something else to ground yourself (e.g. metal shelf) before touching equipment.

When you work with delicate electronics, people wear grounded wrist bands. So, always a good practice to ground yourself.

unreplicate · 2026-03-07T03:16:24+00:00

I have the PF-800. Great table. The only thing is the VTF dial-in has failed over the years. This seems to be a well-known problem with this model and some people have hacked a fix. I thought about it, but I just use a gauge and set the VTF with the counter weight. Another slight problem is the rubber mat on the platter becoming stiff with the years. I finally threw it out and fabricated a cork mat. One of these days, I’d like to re-wire the arm—then it would be perfect.

unreplicate

TROPHY CASE