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Sao Win Turntable

136.245.4.245
Posted on April 27, 2015 at 15:01:08
markus18@pacbell.net
Audiophile

Posts: 9
Location: Northern CA
Joined: April 27, 2015



My family has an original Sao Win Turntable, plexiglass case, floating deck, machined billet stainless/aluminum(?) armiture and needle. At some point, the cylindrical plexiglass speed control/pre-amp box had an issue and someone opened it up and messed with it a bit. I believe everything is there but it's not currently operational.

Any idea what this might be worth and how to get it repaired?

My uncle, Jim Woodward (Woody), gave this turntable as a gift to my mom years ago when it was brand new. It's my understanding that Woody was working with the guy who built it (Sao, i presume), who was with him when he delivered it. I remember them putting a record on and playing it, then one of them threw their shoe at the player to demonstrate it's anti-skip ability! It's very cool and i would love to get it working again. My mom recently passed away and we have hundreds of old records to go with her turntable.

I'm attaching a pic found on the web (our turntable is pretty dusty and at my dad's house). Hopefully i'm not violating any forum policies with the found picture.

Thanks,
-Mark

 

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Let me see if i can get Sao's attention, posted on April 27, 2015 at 17:21:41
Penguin
Audiophile

Posts: 7116
Location: Delaware
Joined: August 5, 2001
 He needs to let me know if he wants to fix my preamp anyway.


He is quite old, but there might be someone who he decided to fix his stuff..

dee
;-D
True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.

quote by Kurt Vonnegut

 

RE: Let me see if i can get Sao's attention, posted on April 28, 2015 at 08:40:13
markus18@pacbell.net
Audiophile

Posts: 9
Location: Northern CA
Joined: April 27, 2015
 Sorry for any confusion - not trying to be 'sneaky'. At this point it is not for sale but i am curious what it's value is, what it might cost to have it repaired or what it would take to get it working myself. I'm an engineer, but not electrical and also not an audiophile so I have no experience in this area. That said, as mentioned by another member, without knowing it's value and estimated cost of repairs, we're really not sure what to do with it.

I've always been fascinated by this turntable and would love to get it working again but can't afford to spend thousands of dollars to do so. I found this forum while searching the internet for information on the turntable. As you all probably know, there isn't much info out there - virtually none really! So this seemed like a good place to start.

I'll try to get a better look at the unit this weekend, see if i can determine any obvious damage, and upload some pictures of it. At this point i'm just looking for information.

And of course, if anyone is in contact with Mr. Win and could get his attention, that would be awesome! Thanks Penguin! I believe my uncle Jim knew him personally. Maybe he'd be willing to help :)

Documentation, wiring diagrams, capable repair shops recommendations (Bay Area or Sacramento) would be much appreciated.

Sincerely,
-Mark

 

The Vinyl Engine might be a good place to start., posted on April 28, 2015 at 08:53:31
Travis
Audiophile

Posts: 6170
Location: La Grange, Texas
Joined: November 25, 2001
 .


"If people don't want to come, nothing will stop them" - Sol Hurok

 

RE: Sao Win Turntable, posted on April 28, 2015 at 09:17:41
6bq5
Audiophile

Posts: 4384
Location: SF Bay
Joined: August 16, 2001
 Sao Winn is a very talented designer and the TT is an excellent piece of kit.
The original cartridge is a strain gauge cartridge and so needs the Sao Winn Pre-amp. If Sao is not willing or able to work on the unit, Roger Modjeski may - I know that he is familiar with the design/circuit.

My recommendation would be to get the unit fixed and listen to it before you make any other decisions.

Happy Listening
Happy Listening

 

Seem to recall he used to be somewhere in the San Jose area..., posted on April 28, 2015 at 09:46:15
Ivan303
Audiophile

Posts: 48887
Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM
Joined: February 26, 2001
 now he's in Santa Barbara?

Was he the guy building amps using Citation II iron?

Or am I getting old and confused. :-(


First they came for the dumb-asses
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a dumb-ass

 

RE: Seem to recall he used to be somewhere in the San Jose area..., posted on April 28, 2015 at 10:05:02
6bq5
Audiophile

Posts: 4384
Location: SF Bay
Joined: August 16, 2001
 Roger and Sao used to live in Santa Barbara.
Sao may still-
Roger has moved up to the Bay area, but not San Jose-
I think that you are remembering Messers Moore & Franklin, of MFA fame - they did make some amps from Citation x-formers, and then went on to make their own units from scratch -
which occasionally come up on CL etc...
Happy Listening

 

RE: Sao Win Turntable, posted on April 28, 2015 at 10:13:53
wires
Manufacturer

Posts: 64
Joined: April 12, 2001
 Kavi Alexander of Waterlily Acoustics is friends with Sao and might be able to put you in touch with him. Kavi lives in Santa Barbara, as well.

 

RE: Sao Win Turntable, posted on April 28, 2015 at 10:40:39
markus18@pacbell.net
Audiophile

Posts: 9
Location: Northern CA
Joined: April 27, 2015
 Excellent - Thanks Wires!

 

RE: "Moore & Franklin"..., posted on April 28, 2015 at 15:00:13
Ivan303
Audiophile

Posts: 48887
Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM
Joined: February 26, 2001
 Yep, that would be it.

As the OP claims to be from NorCal that might be a good fit.




First they came for the dumb-asses
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a dumb-ass

 

RE: Sao Win Turntable, posted on April 28, 2015 at 15:51:29
markus18@pacbell.net
Audiophile

Posts: 9
Location: Northern CA
Joined: April 27, 2015
 My dad reports that he found the "Operation Manual" for the turntable today and said it lists all the specs for the turntable but that's about all. It's dated 12/24/1979 and signed by Sao Win. Hopefully it's got some info on all the table and arm adjustments.

 

RE: Sao Win Turntable, posted on April 28, 2015 at 15:55:47
markus18@pacbell.net
Audiophile

Posts: 9
Location: Northern CA
Joined: April 27, 2015
 Wires, I did reach out to Kavi Alexander and he replied that he would try to help. Looking forward to talking with him. Thanks again for the info.
-Mark

 

Dr. Sao Win, posted on April 28, 2015 at 17:56:25
Penguin
Audiophile

Posts: 7116
Location: Delaware
Joined: August 5, 2001
 Is a personable fellow, he actually hand assembled the SMC-10 i own. He is friends with my friend from Chennai. Sao grew up in that city.

I do not care what you do with the table once it is fixed. I was just trying to facilitate it getting fixed for you.


dee
;-D

True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.

quote by Kurt Vonnegut

 

The last address i had from him was from, posted on April 29, 2015 at 12:24:19
Penguin
Audiophile

Posts: 7116
Location: Delaware
Joined: August 5, 2001
 Santa Barbara :)...


dee
;-D
True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.

quote by Kurt Vonnegut

 

RE: Dr. Sao Win, posted on April 30, 2015 at 15:32:34
markus18@pacbell.net
Audiophile

Posts: 9
Location: Northern CA
Joined: April 27, 2015
 I appreciate that Penguin (dee), thanks.

I've always been fascinated by the turntable, mostly for it's design and engineering. It has sentimental value too though, and we have lot's of old vinyl records of my mom's (not to mention my wife's collection) that would be fun to listen to on such a high quality piece of equipment. It stopped working before I was old enough to understand and appreciate its sound quality.

Researching it recently has rekindled my interest in it. Also, in doing so, I've read a lot about Dr. Sao Win and he sounds pretty fascinating too :) I don't know how close my uncle Woody (Jim) was with Mr. Win, but i'm fairly certain he worked with him directly for a time which makes me a little proud, just knowing the company he was keeping.

 

It is worth fixing it, posted on April 30, 2015 at 18:24:01
Penguin
Audiophile

Posts: 7116
Location: Delaware
Joined: August 5, 2001
 Sao knows good sound.

Dee
True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.

quote by Kurt Vonnegut

 

I'd like it in black on acrylic, posted on April 30, 2015 at 19:48:00
jedrider
Audiophile

Posts: 15166
Location: No. California
Joined: December 26, 2003
 When will it be ready?

 

RE: Sao Win Turntable, posted on May 4, 2015 at 09:31:01
markus18@pacbell.net
Audiophile

Posts: 9
Location: Northern CA
Joined: April 27, 2015



Well, I visited my dad this weekend but forgot to get good pictures until just before heading home. This is a poor picture taken with my cell phone in poor lighting just before i had to leave, but here it is! I also got some more info from my dad on its history:

It was actually a gift from Sao Win, who accompanied my uncle on a visit. My uncle designed and built some sort of switch box for Mr. Win to work with the unit. We no longer have that box :( Mr. Win was the one who threw his shoe at the turntable to demonstrate its anti-skip abilities.

My dad said that the reason it "stopped working" is that it sat for quit a while and the belt deteriorated. Otherwise, no equipment failures, and it appears that all that is missing is the cable that connects the speed control to the turntable, the pre-amp, and the belt. This gives me some hope!

It's funny how the Win Labs logo looks SO familiar to me, though i haven't really seen it in decades.

 

RE: Sao Win Turntable, posted on May 4, 2015 at 09:34:44
markus18@pacbell.net
Audiophile

Posts: 9
Location: Northern CA
Joined: April 27, 2015



We used to have a spare cartridge too, provided with the player, but it's been lost over the years - waaaa!

 

RE: Sao Win Turntable, posted on December 18, 2015 at 14:37:07
BigalT
Audiophile

Posts: 1
Location: PNW
Joined: February 11, 2013
 It's also obvious that someone has partially disassembled the SDC-10 Control unit, removing the two toggle switches from the top of the lexan cylinder as well as the red power on LED that fits in the empty hole in the middle. The two cords that connect the control unit to the motor and the power supply ( which is a separate unit and has a power cord that plugs into an A/C outlet ) are'nt pictured and are apparently missing. You would also need a Win Labs SDT-10 Power Source ( power supply ) to power the phono cartridge which is a Win Labs Strain Gauge Transducer. If the only thing wrong with the unit ( if you can reassemble the control unit, find the missing cords and power supply and power source , is the missing belt you can buy a replacement belt.
There are some photos of a Win Labs SDC-10 with the control unit and connecting cords on TopClassAudio.com. Just search for win on their site. It's selling for over 5K plus shipping so it's well worth it to try and repair it.

 

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