Kenwood P78 Turntable Repair or replace

starni999

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Hi all,

I'm in no way an expert, so need some advice.
My lovely old Kenwood P78 Turntable motor is dying, I've removed the table and drive band and the motor itself is running erratically / slow.
Question is, new motor? replace with used P78? or upgrade to a better turntable that will plug in to my Kenwood system.
Amp is Kenwood A97.

Hope you can help.
Chris Warr
 
Have you tried to clean and oil the Motor???

Use a few drops of Isopropyl Alcohol to wash away the old dried out lubricant around the motor shaft and bearings, then re-oil with some light sewing machine oil or 3-in-1 Brand oil or similar.

With the Turntable turned Off, try spinning the Motor shaft by hand. If you feel any resistance, the the original lubrication has dried out and turned to paste. Clean and re-oil the motor.

However, if the Motor Shaft spins free for this test, then likely the motor speed control mechanism has a problem. Though with an old turntable, I'm betting it just need to be clean and oiled.

Steve/bluewizard
 
However, that said, the Kenwood P78 is not a very sophisticated turntable. If you like listening to vinyl, you might want to consider a new more sophisticated turntable. You can get roughly the equivalent of the Kenwood for about £100 to £150. But a truly good turntable with a nice tone arm is gong to run between £200 and about £350.

Here are a few examples -

Lenco L90 USB Turntable with Built in Pre Amplifier - Superfi

Reloop RP1000M DJ Turntable - Superfi

Lenco L3807 Professional Turntable - Superfi

Audio Technica LP3 Turntable

Audio Technica LP120 USB Direct Drive Turntable

Project Essential 3 Turntable

Denon DP300 Turntable

The last above Denon DP300 has the advantage of being an Auto-Start/Auto-Stop turntable.

The lower cost Audio Technica LP3 is also an Auto-Start/Auto-Stop turntable.

This is probably the most commonly recommended entry level turntable, it has the advantage of having an upgraded £90 Cartridge added -

Project Debut Carbon Turntable With Ortofon 2M Red Cartridge - Superfi

You should be able to find YouTube videos demonstrating these turntables.

Steve/bluewizard
 
Last edited:
Hi Steve,
Thank you for the reply, the motor does spin very freely with no resistance, so with nothing to lose I'm going to do as you say and give the whole thing a good clean.
If not then I'll invest in a new turntable as you say.
I presume there aren't any compatibility issues with a new turntable and my amp etc?
Cheers
Chris Warr.
 

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