I love my JL-A40. I’ve owned this turntable from 1977. The only problem I’ve had was the cueing lever cam broke. Bought a new one. When I bought it the dealer installed a AT cartridge. I’ve replaced the stylus a couple of times. I switch between the AT and a Ortofon red. I have the Ortofon red on a second factory head Shell. I wouldn’t part with this turntable for ANYTHING!
I'm still loving mine. I need to look at the feet on it. That is my only complaint. It has become very susceptible to picking up vibration from people walking.
Nice review on this sleeper. It states on the front "Professional" and my guess is that the large motor making the table to reach the right speed being quite fast is that what it refers to. As you said good quality lid when others exploded long ago, rugged and long output cables, very nice looking TT (add a Nagaoka single adaptor and it looks perfect). The feet on yours are just worn out as the needle drop damping (a tad erratic seems here). I got a pristine one, nicely suspended on feet even if no rocket science here (if you need to store the TT do it on a board large enough to hold the whole bottom lid, small enough to let the feet hanging). Switches under tend to rust and one (for 33/45rpm) adds a resistance to the circuit and messes the speeds. Clean contact (open the OEM switch) or change the switch, then clean the adjustable resistors and here you go! (even if as you said no quartz so a small drift if you run it for hours...). Enjoy your records guys and gals!
Nice tt I actually purchased mine three years ago now trying to get back into vinyl as my entire collection wast lost . The loss of my collection was a bit of a shock as it contained many hundreds of fantastic albums from my youth in the seventies and eighties what a pisser. Managed to find a jvc ql f4 for £40 in immaculate condition I use same cart on that but with upgraded stylus thinking of purchasing the latest model as the stylus is easier to upgrade whilst keeping same cart . Nice table you have its in beautiful condition .
Sorry to hear you about your collection. That is rough. Good find on that f4. Which upgraded stylus did you put in your cartridge? I hear lpgear has some good upgrades.
Hold My Beverage hi only made a small step as I wasn't sure it was worth it on such a well priced cart but to be honest I was surprised . Only stepped up to the ex but it was a noticeable step up . I will step up further now I have more confidence in this cartridge for the money it's a great cartridge think I will go with the sh stylus the shibata hopefully that will be another step up . I have been more than happy with my choice of turntable and cartridge my brother has gone down a more exspensive route but I'm not convinced he gets a huge advantage over sound quality. I use the marantz 4400 amp another bargain find and some beautiful Italian chario speakers another bargain find . Think the most exspensive part was my CD player a Ken ishiwata special edition but super happy with the qlf4 and cart set up
Found the specs for it if anyone wanted to know Specifications Type: auto return, direct drive Drive method: DC servo motor Speeds: 33 and 45rpm Wow and flutter: less than 0.03% WRMS Signal to noise ratio: more than 70dB Speed adjustment range: more than +-2.5% Platter: 310mm die-cast aluminium alloy Tonearm: static balance s-shaped tubular arm with TH balancing system Effective length: 220mm Overhang: 15mm Tracking force range: 0 to 3g Cartridge weight range: 14.5 to 21.5g (inc headshell) Dimensions: 460 x 368 x 144mm Weight: 7.2kg
It's not that the feet do nothing, they have a special structure. JVC incorporates a parallel isolation suspension system that utilises coupled rubber dampers and coil springs to soak up shakes, jolts and jarring giving this turntable a good degree of immunity to jumping.
@@HoldMyBeverage The real story... this is the best and last CD-4 Quadraphonic Turntable by JVC in 1977... JVC was heavily invested in Quad... I have an Audio Technica AT20SLa with new reproduction Shibata stylus on mine... the Ortofon Reloop Vibe is a DJ cart with a nice elliptical stylus... its easy...
@@paulpettegrove5508 I'm currently using an AT-95E. Do you feel the Ortofon would be that much of a step up? What is the advantage of going to a DJ style cartridge?
@@HoldMyBeverage An Ortofon Reloop Vibe should be a big jump over the AT95e... that cartridge is entry level... Example: In 1977 this turntable was designed for the flagship CD-4 Quad Cartridges with Shibata styli ... JVC’s X-1 & X-1II (X2) Quad cartridges...
@@paulpettegrove5508 I'm confused by the quad part. Shouldn't it have 4 RCA cables to do quad? I've never used quad before, but that is four channels right?
I still have the original head and cartridge on my JLA40. I just took it out of storage from the 80's. Can you advise me of a good cartridge/needle i can use and still keep the head shell. Thanks.
From what I have read, this turntable came without a cartridge from the factory, so the one you have could be any cartridge really. My information could be flawed, but never the less, I cannot tell you what you have now. Cartridges are a very hotly debated and subjective thing. They also come in many price points, so it is hard to give you a blanket recommendation. What I can do is tell you what I have. I am using the Audio Technica AT-95E. I am very pleased with it. Those among us that are more audiophiles may completely disagree. It hit a good price vs performance metric for me. Audio Technica has since came out with an updated version the AT-VM95E. Were I shopping for a cartridge for this turntable today, that is what I would buy.
Hi. I still have my JLA40 bought way back in the late70’s. I use a Nagaoka MP110 and it sounds amazing through a Schmitt Mani phono preamp. I did have to replace the plastic lift cue gizmo and a couple of resistors/caps on the power supply board. The DC servo motor and the speed adjustment and strobe are amazing after 50 years.
What preamp would you recommend for it? It can't cost too much and it can't be to big either. I'm thinking about buying this turntable (really like the design of it) and I don't own a preamp. Btw great video, really helpful and informative!
Do you already have a receiver/stereo with line in that you will be hooking this to? If so, the Pyle PP999 works pretty darn well for a very reasonable price. You can get into much higher end units if you would like, but to my ear, it does a fine a job... smile.amazon.com/Pyle-Phono-Turntable-Preamp-Preamplifier/dp/B00025742A/ref=pd_sbs_1?pd_rd_w=8WVMP&pf_rd_p=ed1e2146-ecfe-435e-b3b5-d79fa072fd58&pf_rd_r=C7TMCHHNEN53STC6R2ZT&pd_rd_r=00484700-6e99-407b-9fb5-38fe9f20a88f&pd_rd_wg=kNjPR&pd_rd_i=B00025742A&psc=1
@@james5583 I am using the AT-95E from Audio Technica and have been for years. It sounds fantastic for the money, but it looks like it has been replaced. There is now an AT-VM95E. Near as I can tell, it sounds very similar from the reviews and stats, maybe even a touch better. If I were trying to pick up an economical cartridge, that is where I'd go.
Just found this great looking tt at a value village for 15$ lol. Ordering a new stylus for the Grado F3+ cartridge it has in it. Not sure what you mean by it needs a preamp. My current turntable hooks up to my Marantz receiver with the 2 rca jacks and a grounding wire. This looks no different. Am I missing something?
Hold My Beverage when did you get this turntable and what was the price ,this is the perfect turntable I ever saw on your cartridge I have the same thing which came with my ATLP-120 manual turntable it is a very good cartridge you can't go wrong with it, on the acrylic mat not to crazy about them .I installed and acrylic platter on my Pro-ject Debut III to replace metal platter ,when I was testing it my record started to slip with very little pressure when i used my cleaning brush I barely clean it ,record was slipping on platter I do not like the idea of record sliding on platter ,worried about scuffing album ,this is the same reason audio philes did not like the stack-o-matic record players causeof record sliding on the other record I prefer the rubber mat no slippage and record is clean ,I would trade away my two turntables for this one it is the one I was looking for,thumbs up for this review JRo
Hello JRo. Thank you for your comment. Yes I am quite happy with it. I picked it up on FaceBook Marketplace. I fortunately got a killer deal on it, but I have seen them on there multiple times for between $100 and $200. JVC has many variations of this turntable as well, so it seems like you have some options. Unfortunately new turntables seem to really be manual only affairs. There are a few decent ones that are fully automatic, but they are mostly on the lower end. If you are looking for something new, I have heard pretty good things about the Fluance turntables. They don't seem to have the auto return, but many of them have auto stop. This model in particular is rather intriguing for the price and feature balance: smile.amazon.com/dp/B07PZF7S8G/ref=psdc_3003611_t1_B01F2B3FKI?th=1 From what I have read, the sound quality should be quite similar to your 120, but this will at least stop the platter from spinning when you hit the end of the record.
