Luxman PD121A (1979)

Name: Luxman PD121A
Brand: Luxman

The PD121A is the improved follow-up to Luxman's PD121, released in October 1979 at ¥145,000. It's a direct-drive turntable built for Luxman by Micro Seiki - the T-Tag on the rear reads "MITO," for Micro of Tokyo. Luxman was the amplifier maker. Micro was the turntable specialist, and the record shows the former called on the latter for help.

The key change from the original PD121 is mechanical. The PD121A inherited the load-free spindle system from Luxman's more ambitious PD444 and PD441 models and added quartz-locking speed control. The rotor and sub-platter are different too. On the A version they are zinc and carry the Luxman tag, where the original used black anodized aluminum. The chassis is a one-piece, all-aluminum die-cast construction. The arm base is sold separately as an option. Luxman advertised the PD121 with SME 3009 tonearms, and those were the arms most often fitted. A range of optional arm bases (TB-G, TB-GS, TB-GM, TB-F, TB-WG, TB-SA, TB-O, TB-U) was available.

Period commentary describes the 121 line as no sonic masterpiece - not in the class of the PD444 or PD555 - but a good mid-end turntable with striking looks. It welcomes upper-end tonearms and leaves plenty of room for cartridge matching. The 121A's load-free spindle system was said to lift replay quality by a fair push. In Japan it was a minor bestseller in the mid-end segment.

Known specifications:

Wow and flutter: 0.025% WRMS
Signal-to-noise ratio: 63 dB or more (JIS)
Platter: diecast aluminium, 30 cm, 2.4 kg
Dimensions: 472 × 160 × 372 mm (W×H×D)
Weight: 14 kg

No reviews from the period press have surfaced in the archive's records, and no market pricing, common problems, or maintenance information is documented. The production timeline is also uncertain. thevintageknob.org places the PD121A from October 1979 to roughly 1981, but corroborating documentation is thin.