The Realistic LAB-2100 Linear Tracking Turntable- Warning: This Turntable Might Contain Balrogs!

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This is the Realistic LAB-2100 linear tracking automatic turn table built for Radio Shack by Panasonic's Technics division. It's a very simple, but very robust turntable that we found at an estate sale for five dollars.
This is a simple show-and-tell of what I thought was a very nice turntable for the price.
You probably won't find any balrogs inside. But then again, that's what the dwarves believed when they mined just a little too deep in Khazad-dûm... and look what happened to them. I'm just saying be careful.
(Disclaimer)
I say this every time. I can't believe I still have to... political comments and hostility or trolling will be immediately deleted and you will be reported. This is a silly little show and tell of a turntabe, not a platform for pontification.

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Опубликовано:

20 дек 2023

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Комментарии : 51

@dualityk 7 месяцев назад

Man, mine was $10 when I got it like 15 years ago from ... Salvation Army I think. It's 100% for sure not a Technics. I've heard it might be a rebranded BSR, but I'm not totally sure I believe that either. As you said though, it's pretty good, especially with that A-T cart. When I got a Technics SL-L3, I took the A-T cart out to replace the super sibilant one the 'L3 came with.

@AudioThrift 7 месяцев назад

Where did you find that? Because I read it was Technics in a few different places. If you're right, that means someone is dumb and post bad info all over the place. Lol

@dualityk 7 месяцев назад

@@AudioThrift If you take a peek inside yours again, the main control chip, MP2001, is labeled "(fa)", which is Fujiya Audio. Also if you take off the turntable drive motor and flip it over, it's labeled "Fujiya Audio Co., Ltd. Japan" with the same (fa) logo. Technics/Matsushita made all their own bits and labeled them as such, like all the custom control chips and motors.

@AudioThrift 7 месяцев назад

I feel like it would be good to correct that info because I read it several places. Likely someone said it one time and several people repeated it as fact (including me). Not that it matters all that much in the long run but better not to have false info. I don't have the option to change it in the video once it's uploaded, unfortunately. Also, I'm gonna' pin your comment so that it's more visible.

@jaymemeulemans7482 7 месяцев назад

How I repair damaged clear plastic: tape area around damage, sand high spots with 220 grit sandpaper, fill/cover damage with clear casting epoxy. If a hole needs filled, use wax paper as a backer. Only use enough epoxy to cover damaged area and remain level with surrounding plastic. Is especially useful on thrift store dust covers and will last for years.

@AudioThrift 7 месяцев назад

Oh snap... you should do a video of that. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I'd love to see that process. I'm pinning this.

@Boswd 25 дней назад

Oh man i love that turntable... What a piece of machinery...

@awbzerver 3 месяца назад

This was my first time watching your channel. I really like your presentation style. I learned a lot of good info about this turntable because you explained it very understandably.

@AudioThrift 3 месяца назад

Thank you. I appreciate that.

@rlegalv 29 дней назад

Thank You! Thanks to this video, I was able to open my turntable and fix the stuck arm.

@AudioThrift 29 дней назад

Awesome. I'm glad it helped.

@raymiehershey1430 6 месяцев назад

I've had mcs, jc penny brand. Made by technics, printed on the pc board. That looks nec, which is still good. The motor will jerk without the platter on it. While the top is off you can put the platter on it and it will run while you work on it. Nice little table.

@michaelbyrne8860 4 дня назад

Nice video! I own a couple! If adjusted they play well! You forgot to mention how heavy they are!

@AudioThrift 4 дня назад

That's a fact. Especially with how much smaller it is than turntables usually are. :)

@rosemeyer1939 6 месяцев назад

Very similar internally to Aiwa LX70 etc from similar time... Although the design and compactness forces some similar design choices. Worth getting the Aiwa. I love mine...

@jimfarrell4635 7 месяцев назад

You can certainly see the Technics DNA in this one. I just picked up an SP-L1 linear tracker last week, and it's great fun. It's also a lot cheaper than sought after tables like the SP-10. Also, you are 1980s Mike Myers and I claim my reward in the "find Deepfake 1980s Myers on RU-vid" competition.

@AudioThrift 7 месяцев назад

Groovy, baby! Party on.

@pablov1973 7 месяцев назад

After having two linear turntables I will tell you, even having one for free is expensive and a nightmare. Sooner or later the electronics will dtive you crazy, specially if they refuse to cue or lift the tonearm in the middle of a song. That's what I love manual turntables.

@AudioThrift 7 месяцев назад

Truthfully, I still use a traditional one for myself.

@jackmatson962 Месяц назад

While you have the cover off, you can see the speed adjustments on the lower left of the motor board. Now turn the unit over and you will see access holes in the bottom'. You can easily tweak the speeds here. It drifts a little with temperature, but you can at least match them up.

@AudioThrift Месяц назад

Good idea. The temperature here fluctuates a lot so that's helpful.

@jackmatson962 Месяц назад

Rado Shack was good at copying whatever was popular at the time, so if it looks like a Technics, it's intentional. They wrote up a spec and shopped it out to the lowest bidder. This was their bargain model (list $300), therefore it lacks quartz lock, auto size and speed sensor, no 10", etc. They also cut some corners in their sled/servo, so it doesn't move as smoothly as the more advanced models. I bought mine for half price, as they were known to do, and has generally been a good performer. Some people don't like the fixed cables but that's only a problem if you're moving it a lot (DJing with a linear?). In a fixed installation, I believe hard wired cables would be more reliable.

@AudioThrift Месяц назад

I know Realistic is considered a cheap brand, their products have been the most reliable of all the second hand things I've found. They may not sound as good as Marantz and Pioneer and stuff, but I have yet to find a Marantz machine that works so far. lol

@xaenon 14 дней назад

I had no idea that direct drive turntables cogged THAT MUCH. I always assumed it was more like 60 or 100 times per rotation of the platter.

@AudioThrift 14 дней назад

It's not subtle. lol You don't really notice because the motor isn't very torquey fortunately... but it's not ideal. lol

@TheBasementChannel 7 месяцев назад

Love a nice linear drive tt.

@AudioThrift 7 месяцев назад

Me too!

@cuttinchops 7 месяцев назад

That arm mech and platter motor looks very close to my re-badged NEC/luxman deck. But tech. always had those p-mounts. Hmmmmm

@mescko 6 месяцев назад

I have seen more than one source mention CEC. There are several of these linear tables that all have different brand names but look exactly the same. For sure there was one company that made these with various names.

@jameslaidler2152 7 месяцев назад

Seems a better constructed unit than the Sony one of about the same era I had. Does this one have Quartz Lock? Also Technics had a model of this, the SL-10 I think? This one had a moving coil P4T cartridge. Very rare that cartridge. Anyway lovely table, though the permanently affixed stereo interconnects give me the horrors. You any good with a soldering iron mate? Might be worth your effort someday to replace those with regular RCAs. Or a better thicker cable with RCA sockets attached. Shame I'm not local, I live for doing that stuff

@AudioThrift 7 месяцев назад

I wouldn't call myself "good" with soldering, but I have done a few quick and dirty solder jobs when the need arose.

@jameslaidler2152 7 месяцев назад

@@AudioThrift That's cool. As they're wires, I can't imagine it being a big hassle to unsolder the old ones and put better bigger ones on. Now getting them out of the back of the case may require some careful and gentle reaming with a power drill. Did that to fit slightly bigger fuse holders in my friend's B&W DM-220 loudspeakers when I rebuilt the crossovers. Both a fun AND frustrating job.

@user-qb5st9ij7s 5 месяцев назад

Hi, I have a Sherwood ST-903, which is very similar to the Lab-2100, and the tone arm is 3 degrees from perpendicular to the rail when the tone arm is at rest, so the starting position adjustment will not correct for this. Is there some way to adjust the tone arm so it is perpendicular to the rail?

@AudioThrift 5 месяцев назад

Oh man... I don't know. Is it possible it got bent somehow? If anyone reading knows, please let us know.

@jarlrise 6 месяцев назад

Are you sure this is built by Technics? Most tangential turntables from them had the pickup arm assembly in the lid. Also I never have seen a Technics without record detection, but I haven't seen all models up close. Looking at the arm assembly here, it is virtually identical to a NEC P444LE which I have, and the rest of the design also have similarities to that one. I would guess NEC is the OEM for this turntable.

@AudioThrift 6 месяцев назад

At this point, no I'm not. I read online that it was when I was doing my research for the video but I suspect that may have been false now.

@waytostoned 3 месяца назад

Its definitely an NEC. Been researching a similar sister unit I just obtained, that its mostly identical. Sherwood ST-903. Same speed tracking system, same arm, fonts etc.

@LucasMacdonald 7 месяцев назад

I had one of those, or something very similar, back in high school. I wish I had kept it around. It stopped working and got junked... Totally sad.

@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx 7 месяцев назад

It does have the Technics look about it with the buttons, text and general appearance. I didn't know Technics did OEM.

@mtkseattle 17 дней назад

Actually, technics made the MCS series carried by jc penneys back in the 80's. My first CD player was an MCS branded technics and was a great player, even included a pitch control!

@MuzikJunky 7 месяцев назад

Does it mute during the automatic cycle? Peace.

@AudioThrift 7 месяцев назад

I don't know but I can find out tomorrow, probably.

@jackmatson962 Месяц назад

No mute, costs money!

@alexcameron7665 10 дней назад

Has anyone ever had to replace the LED bulb that he showed inside of the turntable? (the one where he demonstrated how it powers the turntable with a pokemon card) My bulb is either burned out or not working because of something else wrong, and I can't figure out what to do!!

@AudioThrift 10 дней назад

Have you asked the folks on AudioKarma? I'm kinda shocked how knowledgeable they are about specific pieces of equipment.

@robertdavis5714 7 месяцев назад

Neighbor Troubles ?

@AudioThrift 7 месяцев назад

Lol… yes indeed. I think I moved into a sitcom without realizing it.

@pervertedalchemist9944 7 месяцев назад

Five dollars?! You got lucky there. If you bought that turntable on certain auction sites, you'd be out of at least $100, LOL!

@AudioThrift 7 месяцев назад

Thanks. Yeah, I was pretty stoked.

@marcse7en 6 месяцев назад

I very much doubt it's made by Technics (I find it curious how Americans 🇺🇲 insist on calling it "Techniques"). Technics linear trackers always had the tonearm mechanism mounted inside the lid, not on the deck itself. If that turntable is made by "Techniques" I'll eat it! 😋 Looks more like a Sharp to me! ... Or, possibly a JVC, but definitely NOT Technics! (The motor looks VERY JVC!)

@AudioThrift 6 месяцев назад

No, I think you're right about that. I pinned a comment already about it. That said, watching someone try to eat a record player might be entertaining.