Neglected

I really need to resurrect this.

Stuck in in the pre-fab garage a few years ago on a hi-fi stand and neglected to box it.

Last few years it’s been stuck in a room full of clutter which I’ve largely cleared in recent days.

Bearing is stuffed. A few options I gather.

Yes, and sadly that’s a sock.

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Probably lowers the noise floor…

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Hi AC. I think I spot a pink triangle. If so I also have one that has sat in a loft for at least 20 years unused. Although I have managed to keep it free of socks. During an idle moment in 2020 I made some tentative enquiries about getting it serviced and back into working order. Never actually did anything about it, but got the impression that there was a specialist firm up in the Liverpool area who could help out. I keep thinking of boxing it up and getting the job done, but I haven’t played any vinyl for so long it’s really going to take me some effort to take the plunge. My two sons in their early 20’s are probably more keen than me. Good luck.

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It’s usually the sapphire bearing that requires attention on old PTs and I think there’s a company called True-Point, who bought stocks from the original supplier and can repair or replace them. It’s definitely worth resuscitating your deck - it looks lovely and I see there’s a very nice SME (309?) on there too.

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An Anniversary? Can’t help but get it working again, what a fantastic deck that was/is

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If that is an Anniversary, I have happy memories of hearing one with an Aro and Troika at Mike Manning Audio in the mid nineties.

Got to be worth getting yours fettled @Alley_Cat

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Always a gorgeous looking deck (apart from the one with the Perspex knob at the front). How do PT decks compare to the usual suspects of that era (LP12, Xerxes) as I’ve never heard one ?

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I went from a Valhalla LP12 with Ittok II and Asaka to the Anniversary with Akito and Lyra Lydian. To me it was a huge step forward. I had several arms and cartridges on the PT, ending with a Graham Series 2 and Koetsu Urushi (the one in my avatar).
Still a great table and absolutely worth a service.

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Nice and much better looking than my former black Anniversary.
Have you tried cleaning the bearing with a soft cotton cloth? Maybe just a little dirt and hardened oil. Otherwise the Funk Firm, the current company of Arthur Koubesserian, the PT founde, might be a good place to ask.

The contemporaneous LP12 was pre Cirkus (I think) with Lingo [1], Ekos and Troika. My recall of the PT Anniversary was that it sounded far more fluid, had the Linn’s bass but it was tighter.

One could easily argue that with the advent of a DC motor and controller, the one piece keel etc Linn have eventually caught up!

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When I bought my Michell Syncro back in 1986 I auditioned it up against a PT. I much preferred the Syncro even though (if I recall correctly) the Syncro was a bit cheaper than the PT.

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If you ressusitate this turntable your in for a real treat, leave something in budget for possible Cartridge purchase, up there with LP12. XERXES.

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Yes it’s a PT Anniversary I got secondhand many years ago.

The sock is primarily there to prevent the lid slipping down at one side while not in use, it’s ok but the hinges have probably got a little loose which when lifting it allows some lateral movement and slight lateral nudges could make it drop over the edge of the plinth on one side.

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The Anniversary worked well for several years, then the PSU failed (which should be fixable), and it could not maintain the correct speed unless it was the shattered sapphire causing friction that I discovered some time later.

Thank for mentioning True-Point, I’d forgotten the name of the company. Getting it fixed is on my rather long to-do list, but probably low down priority wise currently. I largely posted as I’d forgotten how nice it looked until I put it temporarily atop an Ikea Kallax unit the other day - far better than on the floor in the other room.

Quite right, it is an SME 309 - shows how long I’ve neglected it as for some reason I thought it had an SME IV.

Do you mind! That’s an AT-OC9MLII on board at the moment, or very similar! Please have a care for the sensitivities of your fellow forumites. And don’t dis my kit!

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Indeed, a lovely cartridge. I snapped the cantilever on my original AT OC-9ML which I had on my LP12 and preferred to the Linn Arkiv which was more ponderous. I got a pair of OC-9MLII’s for a good price years ago, one went on the LP12 the other on the Anniversary. The one on the LP12 had a slightly wonky looking cantilever and had been well used but still sounded good to me - replaced it with a Linn Krystal in the summer. The OC-9 on the PT oddly has a cantilever which looks slightly wonky in the other direction, it’s not been used muchat all.

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Yes, an Anniversary.

My main introduction to ‘proper’ separates hi-fi was at University when a fellow student asked me to look after his PT 1 over the summer along with Onyx amp and Mission speakers. It was a revelation compared to old music centres and radio-cassette recorders I’d had myself, though I’d alway enjoyed my father’s ITT music centre probably because with the accompanying speakers it went pretty loud - I must have driven the neighbours crazy singing along to albums. Some things never change.

Local dealerships were primarily Linn/Naim though occasionally stocked PT.

Being rather skint at Uni I went through a cheap Sony deck, a Revolver turntable, Linn Axis and eventually an LP12 aided by summer jobs.

The reviews for the PT Anniversary were almost always extremely positive and I wanted one, especially after a pal got a PT TOO secondhand which was superb. By the time I might have been able to afford an Anniversary they were no longer made and I was well into the Linn/Naim path.

I think it was over 20 years ago I saw an ad for an Anniversary and jumped at the chance and drove a few hundred miles to somehwere along the South coast of England to get it. Used the LP12 in one room and the PT Anniversary in another at that time with an old Linn Intek.

Yes I have to get it sorted at some stage along with getting my NAC-72 and older chrome bumper HICAP fixed. Months ago I was planning to get the old NAXO serviced too, just don’t want to be without the active SBL system currently.

Unfortunately having spent a lot on upgrading my LP12 to Karousel along with several other LP12 upgrades I’ll need to wait a little while as there are more important and pressing things to sort out in the house which I’ve left far too long.

As I mentioned above it’s been neglected for several years, and seeing it off the floor made me realise what a lovely looking deck it is.

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…or you could put the cost of a NAXO service towards a SNAXO…

your SBLs would thank you :smiley:

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Personally I think the PT 1 I heard and looked after in the mid 80’s was probably one of the most balanced sounding decks I’ve ever heard, more clinical than Linn decks but without sounding bright. Incredibly detailed with great musicality, more controlled/less bass perhaps, but for the cost I think it was pretty hard to beat. Admittedly I’ve always wanted to listen to a Xerxes or various Gyrodecs especially the Orbe, not to mention SME’s own decks which I’ve always felt have been under-represented in the UK hi-fi press.

I’d never heard an Anniversary, then they were no more, but based on glowing hi-fi press reviews I had to snap one up when I saw it advertised secondhand.

I’ve never been convinced I set it up correctly and added the OC-9 myself. Definitely need to get to grips with the SME manual once I get it fixed.

Current travel restrictions apart, I would need to travel a few hundred miles I suspect to safely transport it for service/repair.

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