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2/20/2011

Yamaha YP-B2 Turntable

Here is a very nice manual belt driven turntable that arrived this week. It has a simple and elegant vintage look with the Brazilian rosewood stocky plinth. A polished S-tonearm is complimented with the original head shell. It sounds like a menu description doesn't it? Ah well these units are like fine foods aren't they? When all the right ingredients are there it truly is delectable!






I replaced the belt and wiped it off and away we went. My wife actually likes cleaning them for me. Quite nice when she comments on the quality of a unit. Once the tracking was set up I found the sound to be surprisingly good as I was skeptical on the Yamaha series although they really did have some gems in the late 70's. All in all this is a solid entry level TT that you really cant go wrong with in both function and design.

19 comments:

  1. Nice TT! I'm not sure, but I think this wood pattern is Jacarandá (Brazilian Rosewood). I am Brazilian and I have a blog that discuss something about vintage equipments and v8 engines. Visit me!

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  2. Thanks for your comments. I will visit you for sure!

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  3. Please forgive an ignorant question. I inherited this beautiful turntable from my father. We have connected it to the amplifier, and now (embarrassment!) can't figure out how to get the turntable moving. All wisdom welcome, with thanks!

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  4. Susan the fact that you don have any experience with this table is nothing to be embarrassed about. This Yamaha doesn't have a power button. To get it running simply set the lift lever to the up position. Now pull the tonearm to the beginning of the record. It will automatically start rotating. Put the lever to down and it will come to contact the vinyl and begin tracking. You might want your local hifi shop to do a set up on it if you plan to use it a lot. Hope this helped.

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  5. I have the same turntable and I am looking for a new stylus- I cannot seem to locate one, any ideas

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  6. Hi Dennis. Some of these fine turntables are really difficult to find parts for. The YP-B2 Styli will run you around $26.00 plus shipping. As with other tables I restore sometimes it is simply worth buying a new good sounding audio Technica or similar and fit it with the new cartridge. A decent sounding AT Cartridge will only run you $35-45.00 and are readily available everywhere. I too checked several strong sources and couldnt locate your Stylus. Perhapos another reader will and post here for you.

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  7. I have dusted off my YP-B2 that's been out of use for 20 plus years. I need a new belt and stylus. LPGear.com seems to have what I need.
    However, I can't remember how to connect the belt - is it easy? Where can I find instructions?

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  8. OK - I got the new belt and installed it very easily. Seems to be running just fine and the sound is very good. But - it skips very easily. I have ordered a new cartridge with a bit more mass (Shure M97xE) and that may help. Do you know how to increase the pressure on the tone arm so that it is less sessitive and skips less????

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  9. Hi dsgrig

    Glad you found the belt and were able to install it without a problem. Although the Shure cartridge will have more mass it's important to do the adjustments with any cartridge swap. There are guide templates available on-line which can assist you with the cartridge alignment if you require. They come with easy instructions too.
    As for the mass of the tonearm-skipping. Start at the basics. LEt the tonearm float away from the platter and simply turn the counter-weight clockwise(out) until the tonearm floats balanced. That is perpendicular to the record or platter.
    Then holding the weight turn the dial to zero straight up. Then turn the dial and weight together back (counter-clockwise or in) 1.5 on the scale. This is your correct start position. Now set the anti-skate dial (next to the tonearm) on the deck to 1.5 as well. Apply the tonearm and play through some vinyl. If your skip still occurs then slight increments of counter clockwise turns should be applied. Very slight! If you make a complete point adjustment (say to 2.5) then do the same again for the anti-skate setting. You shouldn't need more than that.
    Thanks for reading.

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  10. Hi, I have this TT also, but it is the "YP-B2 (B)" I am not sure what the difference is, seems like a second revision, maybe with minor improvements.

    It's been in storage for many years, when I pulled it out recently I found the belt deteriorated beyond belief, the rubber is now like a 'gel' lol, it looks like a belt until it is handled, it is no longer a solid material. Lucky I was able to find a few sources where I can order a new one.

    Question, if I wanted to upgrade the cartridge, what should I look for? How do I know what will be compatible?

    Any help would be much appreciated.
    Thank you.

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  11. An YP-B2B is a black one in stead of wood, that's the only difference.
    I have one playing with a Pickering XV 15 625e, the sound is almost simulair with my dual cs 5000 with a denon dl 160. This is what I never expected but true it sounds great.Some records sounds even better.
    Be shure that you clean all the gel from the table before you mount a new belt, and alsothe pully from the motor.Then you wil have a realy nice turntable.

    greets Jan ( the Netherlands)

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  12. I'm a happy owner of the black variant since 1979 :) and I've changed the belt once, and now I find I have to do the same fix again. Many years ago I also changed the original (heavy) Yamaha cartridge to a standard Ortofon OM make and it has worked fine for me; just changed the needle when it's worn. The only disappointment is that the cue-down mechanism stopped working quite early on and I've never bothered to fix it (that is, the tone arm won't go down softly but just according to the laws of gravity). Is this possibly a typical feature of this model, as is there a fix that would be worthwhile?

    best Jan (Finland)

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  13. hello!
    wonderful site/source for info and TT lore!! thanks!

    i gifted one a yamaha YP-B2 to my girlfriend and we've been enjoying it tremendously...
    i have noticed that the cueing lever is not lifting the tone arm as high as it used to... i am seeking help in discovering if there's any one who has experience "inside" the YB-B2, to adjust the cueing height... anyone???

    roy

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  14. Hello, I just went back home to my parents house and dug up my dads old player, but I it wasn't spinning and then I saw the belt had broken so i need to cahnge that. But I am unable to lift up the metal platter, it lifts for about a millimeter and then in stops, like there is some sort of saftey mechanism or lever preventing it from going any further. It doesnt feel like it is just stuck but I havn't tried pulling it to hard either in risk of it breaking. I've tried searching for it online and I even found a digital manual, but it only states how to attach it.

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    1. I managed to solve it, found a guy with the same problem and he said to just yank it off with a switch movement and it worked. Should I buy a new needle as well as the belt though? This player hasn't been used for a few years.

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  15. Hi, I have this turntable and have been trying to figure out where to purchase new needle for it. I happen to live in the NYC surroundings...any idea where to start or what exactly I should be looking for? Any assistance is greatly appreciated!

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  16. Hi, I have this turntable and have been trying to figure out where to buy a replacement needle...any idea where to start/shop? I live in the NYC area..or any online site would be great! Have had this turntable for 30+ years, or so it seems...any help would be great!

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  17. I have this same turntable. I got it for a Christmas present in the late 70s. I needed to change the belt a few years ago; found a place that sold sound equipment, that also specialized in turntables, when I lived in Florida. The store was in south Jacksonville. Sorry, don't remember the name. Plays like a charm, still!

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  18. just pulled my B2 out of storage for my son. Put a new belt on it, but the on/off doesn't work correctly....turns on only when the arm gets to 33 position, goes off when the arm retracts but comes on again when is the stored position!
    is there an adjustment somewhere?
    Thanks

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