Hitachi PS-38 Direct Drive (1975 Japanese Vintage)

Hitachi PS-38 (Smoke-free, Pet-free Home)

Those Who Know... Know. The Audiophile Sleeper.

Hitachi. You’ve heard the name. But a turntable?

When other mainstream Japanese companies were making excellent audio equipment, some had to take perfection to the next level in order to compete. Welcome to the little known, hard-to-find Hitachi name plate. This rich walnut surface Direct Drive turntable is equipped with a great sounding NEW Stanton Diamond elliptical stylus. Extra thick, factory-installed MOGAMI RCA cables that can easily be replaced or swapped out. Comes with original rubber platter mat. Solid, felt bottomed rubber spring feet with no cracks and in great condition. 

This deck is for the enthusiast. Someone who wants a beautiful turntable that will be a conversation piece, as well as a fine listening experience.

Details:  Fully Functioning.

Serviced and Cleaned. Balanced sound in both channels. Comes with an NEW stylus, pre-calibrated and set up for immediate play. Speed is accurate on both 33 and 45. Cuing lever is fluid and smooth. Beefy, low capacitance RCA cables. And a beautiful sounding tonearm with precision tracking capability to extract every bit of wonderful sound from your record collection. Feet are all in good condition. Restored as close to its original 1970’s condition as possible. Includes the original dust cover. Hinges are solid and flex with ease. 

*All photos are unedited and representative of the actual item for sale.

** Shipping can be a nightmare with the "big name" carriers. My shipping fee reflects the excessive amount of care I put into insuring the item you are buying arrives as it should. I package EXTREMELY well... so much so, I include instructions on how to remove all the wrapping. (See my Reverb Reviews!)

Feel free to ask questions. Serious bidders/buyers only, please.

Description

The Hitachi PS-38 precision direct-drive turntable is designed to meet higher performance standards for audiophiles who wish to enjoy superb sound reproduction.

Features include oil-damped cueing, anti-skating, tracking force direct-reading balance weight, stroboscope and neon lamp.

Specifications

Type: 2-speed direct drive system

Platter: 305mm, 1.6kg, aluminium alloy diecast

Motor: brushless DC servo direct drive motor

Speed: 33 and 45rpm

Pitch control range: +-3%

Speed change over system: electronic change over system

Signal to noise ratio: 60dB

Wow and flutter: 0.04% WRMS

Tonearm: static balance type tubular

Headshell: plug in

Overall length: 301mm

Effective length: 220mm

Overhang: 15mm

Cartridge weight: 4-10g

Dimensions: 476 x 368 x 159mm

Weight: 7.5kg

Dust Cover

Our Philosophy: These turntables are old and some have weathered time more gracefully than others. In our own personal listening experience we find that the cover serves a single purpose - you guessed it, keep dust off of the 'table while it is not in use. Beyond that, it can actually do more harm to the listening experience than good. So it is recommended to be be removed during play.

Your Gift: Dust covers in our sales should be viewed as a gift, not a necessity. Often times they are not in the best of shape - having seen 30+ years of use. While we strive to repair, restore and revitalize these useful accessories, they are sometime not even included with the turntables when we acquire them. Therefore, we prefer to view the inclusion of a dust cover as a free gift to you and not a part of the sale.  

About My Sales:

I have several turntables and receivers, some of which are "vintage" like this one. I do not claim to be an audio expert. I am as much an audiophile as my budget will allow. I do the cleaning and servicing myself, because these are from my legit audio set up and have been used by me to play my vinyl collection. I do not turn around high volume and I’m not flipping these on the cheap. I take the time to fix these up because I actually enjoy the process of restoring these older decks to their former glory (or as close as possible) and then listening to them for a while on my own system. When I come across another great find, I reluctantly part with one of the previous ones and repeat the process.

All That Fine Print and Terms:

Fully Functioning: Everything works and functions as it should. It is used, and in some cases, many decades old. It may carry some “character” with it that tells its own story. If it does, I do my best to explain this by stating it has scratches, scuffs, etc.

Working: Works as it has been tested and played by me. There may be features which I am not fully aware of that have been overlooked - not out of neglect... it just may be something I missed. Bottom line - I can confidently claim it works.

Sold as Parts or Repair: If the listing states the item is Parts, then there will be a description explaining what works and what does not.

Servicing and cleaning: (by my definition) includes removing all dirt and dust from the exterior and interior - to include any funk that was imparted to the item that was not the jazzy kind - completely check the functionality of all components, replacing the belt (if belt driven), replacing old fuses (if needed), cleaning all contacts, switches and pots (when present) with De-Oxit, lubing all necessary parts with Hoppes 9 or white lithium, examining the condition of the head shell and, if needed, replacing the cart, stylus and/or wires, buffing and removing scratches from the dust cover with Novus 3 step polish.

All sales are intended to be made with the buyer feeling confident they are purchasing a solid, reliable item. These ‘Vintage’ pieces were built to last... and they do! With that said, by nature of what they are, and why we love them, they are old. Things can and do break. Honesty is my thing. If I know something is not working, I come clean with it. As such, this listing is sold AS-DESCRIBED and the description is as accurate as I can manage. All sales are final and I cannot offer any refunds.