opinions on the PL-550 turntable

I just agreed to purchase a PL-550. It is a direct drive manual operation table with quartz lock. Does anyone else own one? I found it on CL for $225. It has a bit of veneer damage on the side but, that can be fixed.

What do you pioneer gurus think about this table? Anyone know the history of it and where it was in the lineup? For those of you that have this model or one similar to this, What cartridges go well with it?

Thanks in advance...

Is there any tricks to tonearm setup on the pioneer tables with the S arm and VTA adjustment?

If you haven't got the Service manual, go to www.vinylengine.com, register(it's free), and download the manual(s). It will show you how to set the tonearm, etc.

IIRC the 550 is from about 1976 to 1979 or so. But don't quote me on that. At the top of the Forum is the PIONEER EQUIPMENT DATABASE. In there are links for Dating your PIONEER gear, price lists, etc.

I have one. It's a great manual table and has a great look and feel to it.

I am not sure how repairable the veneer is as it's more like contact paper than actual wood. It's starting to peel up on the side of mine.

De-oxit the quartz lock and speed control knob and she'll make you happy.

I currently have a Shure M97XE in it.