Speed issues with Sony PS-X6 turntable

[RazvanP]

Hi guys - my story is familiar: I've just purchased a Sony PS-X6 TT on eBay sold as "fully working" - only to discover that a lot of things aren't working. It's ok, I expected a TT of this age to require some mild repairs, but the problem may be more serious than that, hence I'm appealing to your wisdom. (The TT has been well kept esthetically, and I'm kinda tempted to keep it on sentimental grounds, as this was the TT my brother used to have when I was a kid etc).
There are wild issues with speed: not just slightly off the mark, but galloping at crazy speeds - both for 33 and 45, although the 45 seems to be slightly more "stable". I know that this in principle could be fixed by recapping capacitors and cleaning some potentiometers - but I also know that if the magnetic strip under the platter is damaged, it won't be fixable (other than by replacing the platter). My question for you guys is: by looking at the pics attached here does the strip appear to be damaged enough as to mess up the speed? Any feedback greatly appreciated.View attachment 3594140View attachment 3594141

 

[JeffS7444]

Visually it looks fine, but whether it's still properly encoded, I couldn't say without hooking it up to instruments and seeing what's being detected.

 

[Luca Sorrentino]

Hi, you’ll need an oscilloscope to check whether the signal coming from the magnetic head is reasonably steady and strong enough. The head might be too far from the magnetic trace. If you have some electronics skills, it’s fairly easy to verify where the control loop is failing; otherwise, look for a good repair technician near you.
Here’s an example of the signal right at the output of the magnetic head of a Sony turntable.

 

[DVDdoug]

I know that this in principle could be fixed by recapping capacitors and cleaning some potentiometers -

It wouldn't hurt to clean the pots unless they are trim pots that have to be set using a procedure that you don't know.... (Of course you'd have to rotate them to clean them.)

Any critical capacitors are probably stable types (not electrolytics).

I don't know what the magnetic strip looks like or how to test it.

Have you looked for a repair manual? Do you know enough electronics and have some electronics tools that you could make-use of the repair manual? ....I know some electronics but I've never worked on a DD turntable and if my 40-year old Technics died I wouldn't put a lot of effort (or money) into attempting a repair.

If I had a sentimental attachment, I might buy another working one and use it for parts if it was in worse cosmetic shape.

And there may be some other special-custom electronics, besides the magnetic strip, that are no longer available.

 

[Penmarker]

Hi I’ve just registered to reply to this thread. I recently repaired this turntable model and you definitely need the service manual. There will be some trimpots to be adjusted and you’ll require a multimeter to measure voltage DC and AC.

The multimeter also needs to have clips or grabbers so you can hook them up to the test points.

If you got the skills I can happily walk you through it. We can do the discussion here so if other people googled for an answer they can also learn from us.

Hi guys - my story is familiar: I've just purchased a Sony PS-X6 TT on eBay sold as "fully working" - only to discover that a lot of things aren't working. It's ok, I expected a TT of this age to require some mild repairs, but the problem may be more serious than that, hence I'm appealing to your wisdom. (The TT has been well kept esthetically, and I'm kinda tempted to keep it on sentimental grounds, as this was the TT my brother used to have when I was a kid etc).
There are wild issues with speed: not just slightly off the mark, but galloping at crazy speeds - both for 33 and 45, although the 45 seems to be slightly more "stable". I know that this in principle could be fixed by recapping capacitors and cleaning some potentiometers - but I also know that if the magnetic strip under the platter is damaged, it won't be fixable (other than by replacing the platter). My question for you guys is: by looking at the pics attached here does the strip appear to be damaged enough as to mess up the speed? Any feedback greatly appreciated.View attachment 3594140View attachment 3594141

 

[Woody66]

Hi guys - my story is familiar: I've just purchased a Sony PS-X6 TT on eBay sold as "fully working" - only to discover that a lot of things aren't working. It's ok, I expected a TT of this age to require some mild repairs, but the problem may be more serious than that, hence I'm appealing to your wisdom. (The TT has been well kept esthetically, and I'm kinda tempted to keep it on sentimental grounds, as this was the TT my brother used to have when I was a kid etc).
There are wild issues with speed: not just slightly off the mark, but galloping at crazy speeds - both for 33 and 45, although the 45 seems to be slightly more "stable". I know that this in principle could be fixed by recapping capacitors and cleaning some potentiometers - but I also know that if the magnetic strip under the platter is damaged, it won't be fixable (other than by replacing the platter). My question for you guys is: by looking at the pics attached here does the strip appear to be damaged enough as to mess up the speed? Any feedback greatly appreciated.View attachment 3594140View attachment 3594141

Hi
I've just registered to respond to your issue as well. I have had two of these as well as three PS-X7s and a PS-X4 and have experienced the crazy speed issue twice. Each time I have fixed it by simply applying a liberal squirt of De-oxit to the speed potentiometers and then rapidly rotated them back and forth with a small screwdriver and left the deck to dry out overnight - I read this fix on another forum years ago and was sceptical about it but it worked for me.
If you need a replacement platter, let me know - I have a couple of spares from junked PS-X7s which work equally well with the PS-X6. It would be a shame not to revive your deck - they are just amazing machines!

 

[Newzealand]

Hi I’ve just registered to reply to this thread. I recently repaired this turntable model and you definitely need the service manual. There will be some trimpots to be adjusted and you’ll require a multimeter to measure voltage DC and AC.

The multimeter also needs to have clips or grabbers so you can hook them up to the test points.

If you got the skills I can happily walk you through it. We can do the discussion here so if other people googled for an answer they can also learn from us.

Hi there,I see you have o er come some problems with your sony turntable,
I'm experiencing some rather upsetting conditions with mine,
I would be greatfull if you might walk me through a few tests to diagnose
All the best
Mike

 

[Chrispy]

You've got it properly lubed? My only thought unless something else is seriously off....

 

[Newzealand]

I followed the service manual and have a adjusted the pots on the control pcb,this has got the arm moving into position and dropping reliability,
How ever I have 3 other problems,

1. When arm is lifting or lowering it is in a on or off situation, it falls like a rock and rises as it is at full speed,I'm wondering if this is a mechanical damping that needs work, but the nature of the electro magnetic arms suggest that it should have good control via magnetic forces?


2. If no record is present and start is pushed the arm moves to the 7" position and drops, the light tower at rear of table is illuminated at all times,I have cleaned the lens of dust so led light can be picked up,

3.speed is good with x-tal lock engaged but once it is turned off it speeds up alot,I have cleaned pot for speed with no effect, I'd like to test pot some how,any ideas?

Any ideas to these problems would be greatly appreciated
Mike

 

[Newzealand]

You've got it properly lubed? My only thought unless something else is seriously off....

Yes ,every thing is very free and lubed,
I have just recapped the power supply pcb as the caps had been hot be the looks, has not made any difference but the caps are new and now are looking good

 

[Woody66]

Hi there
Sounds like some serious issues, as you say! I have no electronic knowledge or skills but have "cured" bizarre behaviour with the tonearm on three or four PS-X6 and PS-X7 decks by disabling the auto-return mechanism. This really only involves cutting through and removing some of the plastic parts connected to the tonearm and creating a manually-operated tonearm. This may be too extreme for many owners who want to retain or restore the automatic functions but in my experience it's a small price to pay for having a deck which works predictably and protects the stylus from expensive damage!

Happy to let you know which parts need butchering to disable the auto-return mechanism!

Good luck with your efforts in fixing this incredible turntable - well worth the blood, sweat and inevitable tears!

 

[Newzealand]

Hi there
Sounds like some serious issues, as you say! I have no electronic knowledge or skills but have "cured" bizarre behaviour with the tonearm on three or four PS-X6 and PS-X7 decks by disabling the auto-return mechanism. This really only involves cutting through and removing some of the plastic parts connected to the tonearm and creating a manually-operated tonearm. This may be too extreme for many owners who want to retain or restore the automatic functions but in my experience it's a small price to pay for having a deck which works predictably and protects the stylus from expensive damage!

Happy to let you know which parts need butchering to disable the auto-return mechanism!

Good luck with your efforts in fixing this incredible turntable - well worth the blood, sweat and inevitable tears!

Hi there,
I've been working at it for a couple hrs,
I have remedied the speed issue, I took pot apart and cleaned very well,all speed problems solved,

Tone arm queuing and lowering has been remedied, recapped servo pcb,and adjusted voltage off set,
All auto start problems solved,

Now to see about the heavy drop and lift problems,
I think I'll start with recap the control pcb,they all look good but I always start that way, had a look at the service manual and it has a lot to do with a big bunch of transistors but could be wrong, I'll see if I can order a couple dozen of them and replace them all,
It should be a nice table once done,

I have not yet looked at the disc sencing problems yet,I want to tackle the problem that scares me the most frist haha
Mike

 

[Woody66]

Sounds like you're most of the way there! You obviously know what you're doing, so my rather crude suggested solution is irrelevant.

Having used the PS-X6, PS-X7 and a modified PS-X4 (a PS-X4 with a carbon-fibre tonearm "imported" from a PS-X7), I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed when you complete your project - I have seen a post somewhere on another forum from an ex-hifi dealer stating that the PS-X7 used to regularly beat the Linn LP12 in A/B listening tests with customers!

Good luck!