Yamaha PF-1000/800 Turntable

General Information

The PF-1000 and PF-800 are sub-platter belt-driven and 3-point feather suspended chassis on inverted springs with rubber surrounds. The left and right cartridge wires are separated in the techno-looking but dynamically balanced tonearm for better separation.

The resin-cast FG motor supports a double platter, the outer part of which is made of diecast aluminium, the inner part of zinc in the PF-800 and bronze in the PF-1000.
Apart from that difference and gold-plated RCA terminals for the PF-1000, the 1000 and 800 are identical.

Audiophile touches lie in the conductive carbon-fiber resin headshell, the record clamp with strobe pattern, the dynamic balancing of the tonearm and the equally dynamic damping of the tonearm's counterweight.

The resonance frequency was set at 12Hz : a frequency where, according to the Yamaha engineers, there is the least record warp and the least music.
The Twin-Pipe system is an "optimum" mass tonearm and allows better resistance to flexing while avoiding potential capacitive coupling of L and R signal leads.
However, at 10mg friction for the tonearm's bearings, we're far from a Technics EPA-100...

The US market only saw the PF-1000 with a walnut veneer and beautiful brushed aluminium top parts. In Europe, the PF-1000 was sadly as black as the PF-800.

Latest reviews

philspins

New Head-Fier
Pros: excellent isolation, wide soundstage, airy sound
Cons: fixed tonearm, proper adjustment is cumbersome
I bought this table about two years ago and I pretty much have nothing but good things to say about it.  It sounds *excellent*.  The unique proprietary twin-pipe tonearm provides for excellent channel separation which results in a huge, wide soundstage.  The suspension of the table provides excellent isolation from room vibrations, I can pound on the surface the table sits on and hear no more than the faintest echo through the speakers.  The tonearm design also has an excellent tracking ability due to being dynamically balanced.
 
I purchased this table for $800 CAD locally, and when compared to NEW options in the 800 range, I felt that this table really stood head and shoulders above the other offerings.  This review sold me on the table, and I largely agree with it: http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43726
 
Only reason I replaced this table in my main system is because the the dynamic tracking force feature broke, and the tonearm is irreplaceable without a parts table (which at the tables current pricepoint makes for one expensive arm).

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