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Pioneer PL-S50 Quartz Direct-Drive Turntable – Fully Automatic - Image 1

Pioneer PL-S50 Quartz Direct-Drive Turntable – Fully Automatic - Image 2

Pioneer PL-S50 Quartz Direct-Drive Turntable – Fully Automatic

Pioneer PL-S50 Quartz Direct-Drive Turntable – Fully Automatic - Image 3

Pioneer

Pioneer PL-S50 Quartz Direct-Drive Turntable – Fully Automatic

Name: Pioneer PL-S50 Quartz Direct-Drive Turntable – Fully Automatic
Brand: Pioneer
SKU: 15136
Price: 345.00 CAD
Availability: OutOfStock

$345.00

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Description

Pioneer PL-S50 — Quartz Direct Drive, Fully Automatic, Cast Platter

A 1983 Pioneer quartz direct-drive table in silver, fully automatic, tested and working properly, with an Audio-Technica cartridge fitted and ready to play.

Quartz PLL Direct Drive

Quartz phase-locked-loop control is the heart of this one. The platter speed is referenced against a quartz crystal and corrected continuously, rather than simply being set and hoped for. The measured result is wow and flutter of 0.025% WRMS and a signal-to-noise ratio of 78 dB — figures that hold up perfectly well against current turntables at several times this price. Direct drive also means no belt to perish, stretch or need replacing, which is the single most common reason a vintage turntable stops working properly.

The Platter

The platter is a 304mm die-cast aluminium alloy piece rather than a stamped or plastic one, and the mass matters: heavier platters hold speed more steadily and are less easily disturbed. The tonearm is a static-balance straight pipe design with a removable headshell.

Full Automation

Fully automatic operation covers start, return and shut-off. Press start and the arm cues itself, plays, lifts at the end of the side and returns. For anyone who has ever fallen asleep with a record playing, or who simply wants to put music on without ceremony, this is the feature that gets a turntable used rather than admired.

The Cartridge

The fitted cartridge is an Audio-Technica from the VM95 series, carrying the blue conical stylus. It is a dual moving magnet design with healthy 4mV output that will work with any phono input, and it plays properly as it sits. What makes it a genuinely good place to start is what comes next: every stylus in the VM95 range shares the same cartridge body, so upgrading is a matter of pulling the blue one off and pushing another on. Elliptical, nude elliptical, MicroLine or Shibata profiles all fit, with no realignment, no tracking force adjustment and no change to VTA. You can improve this turntable’s sound meaningfully, in about ten seconds, whenever you feel like it — and until then it plays records properly.

The Details Usually Wrong on These

Two practical details worth noting because they are the things usually wrong on a table of this age. The dust cover hinges are good and hold the lid where you put it, rather than dropping it or refusing to stay up. And the ground wire terminates in a proper spade connector, so it fastens securely to the ground post on your receiver or phono stage instead of being twisted around it.

One Honest Caveat

One honest caveat: Pioneer used a proprietary straight-arm headshell on this generation, and no generic headshell will fit. In practice this matters little, because the correct headshell is fitted and the cartridge is mounted and aligned. But if you plan to keep several cartridges on interchangeable headshells, be aware that spares are genuinely hard to find. Changing the stylus or cartridge on the existing headshell is entirely straightforward.

Condition

Cosmetically graded Good, with honest wear consistent with its age and nothing affecting performance. Thoroughly inspected and tested in-house and working properly.

Quartz direct drive, a proper cast platter, full automation, a working cartridge and a clear upgrade path — a turntable you can put a record on tonight, from the year Pioneer was building for the changeover.

Pioneer PL-S50 Specifications

Drive system: Quartz PLL direct drive
Motor: Quartz phase-locked-loop Hall motor
Platter: 304mm die-cast aluminium alloy
Speeds: 33 and 45 rpm
Wow and flutter: 0.025% WRMS
Signal to noise ratio: 78dB
Tonearm: Static balance, straight pipe, removable headshell
Operation: Fully automatic – auto start, auto return, auto shut-off
Cartridge: Audio-Technica VM95 series, dual moving magnet, 4.0mV output
Stylus: Blue conical, 0.6 mil bonded – interchangeable with all VM95 series styli
Tracking force: 1.8 to 2.2 grams (2.0 grams nominal)
Ground connection: Spade terminal
Finish: Silver
Year of introduction: 1983
Dimensions: (Width x Height x Depth) 16.54 x 4.65 x 14.37 inches (420 x 118 x 365 mm)
Weight: 11.9 lbs (5.4 kg)

🚚 Curbside Delivery — This Item Ships Differently

We do not ship turntables. Tonearms, suspensions and platters do not survive courier handling reliably, and we would rather not gamble with one. Instead we offer two options: personal curbside delivery by our own vehicle, or collection in person from us in Kanata. Full details, coverage area and rates are on our Curbside Delivery page. 👉

⚠️ Important Information for International Buyers

This unit is configured for North American 110/120V power. Buyers outside North America will require a step-down transformer and appropriate plug adapter.

✅ Buy With Confidence — The Radique Promise

Backed by Radique Audio’s Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and our Perpetual Trade-Back Program. When you’re ready to move on, we’ll take it back. That’s the Radique difference.

📦 Watch how we protect your gear — our unboxing video.

📺 Curious about our business? Check out our YouTube channel for behind-the-scenes videos and more!

📞 Questions? Use the Ask a Question button above, or call us at 613-416-9995.

🚚 Shipping Note for This Item

Turntables do not travel well by courier — the platter, tonearm and suspension are precision-aligned, and a parcel network is no place for them. So we bring it to you instead.

Personal delivery — We deliver in-person anywhere along the Windsor–Québec City corridor, carefully and on your schedule.

Full details are on our Curbside Delivery page. 👈

Ready to make it yours? To hold the item and avoid missing out, go ahead and purchase using Local Pickup at checkout — then contact us to arrange delivery for an additional fee. We’ll take it from there!

Additional information

Drive Type	Direct Drive
Operation	Fully Automatic

About brand

Pioneer at Radique

We service Pioneer, too. Bring us your own Pioneer receivers, amplifiers, tuners, turntables, cassette decks and CD players for repair, servicing or restoration (not reel-to-reel decks), with a 90-day warranty on the work. See our Audio Service page

Pioneer began in Tokyo in January 1938, when Nozomu Matsumoto set up shop around the A-8 speaker he had built the year before. By the late 1970s its SX receivers were at the heart of the hi-fi power race. We carry Pioneer stereo receivers and AV receivers, CD players, cassette decks, tuners and equalizers. We've had more than 240 Pioneer listings so far, covering 140 different models. Every used Pioneer here is inspected, tested and serviced as required, then photographed in-house and covered by our Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and Perpetual Trade-Back Program. Don't see the model you want? Tell us on First Dibs and we'll email you when one arrives.

Pioneer is one of our two top-selling brands of vintage amps and receivers, along with Marantz. Our five best-selling Pioneer models so far: the SX-650, SX-750, SX-580, SX-780 and SX-680, all vintage stereo receivers from the 1976 and 1978 SX families. We also offer our custom cherry cabinets for these vintage Pioneers, hand-made from all-natural Ottawa Valley cherry, and we've upgraded dozens of Pioneers with them so far.

The Pioneer story, 1938 to today

Nozomu Matsumoto developed the A-8 speaker in 1937, and in January 1938 he set up Fukuin Shokai Denki Seisakusho in Tokyo. "Pioneer" was first the name of that speaker. Some histories give 1936 in Osaka as the start, but Pioneer dates itself to January 1938 in Tokyo. The company was incorporated in 1947 and renamed Pioneer Electronic Corporation in 1961.

Stereo and the US. In 1962 Pioneer introduced the PSC-5A, which it calls the first stereo with separate speaker cabinets, and its first PL turntables. Pioneer Electronics U.S.A. was founded in New York in 1966.

The power race. After a 1974 US Federal Trade Commission rule tightened how amplifier power was rated, receiver makers competed on watts. Pioneer's SX-1250 of 1976 was rated at 160 watts per channel, and the SX-1980 of 1978 to 1980 at 270.

CD and Elite. The P-D1 of 1982 was Pioneer's first CD player, and Elite-branded components were on sale by 1985.

Today. Pioneer sold its home audio business to Onkyo in 2015, keeping its car and DJ businesses, and Pioneer-branded home theatre gear was later made under licence. In December 2025 CarUX, part of Taiwan's Innolux, completed its purchase of Pioneer Corporation, which now focuses on in-car products.

Which Pioneer is which?

Early-1970s SX receivers: models such as the SX-424 to SX-828, rated at about 15 to 50 watts per channel.

The 1976 "x50" SX receivers: from the SX-450 at 15 watts per channel up to the SX-1250 at 160. Our best-selling SX-650 and SX-750 come from this family.

The 1978 "x80" SX receivers: including the SX-580, SX-680 and SX-780 we sell most, up to the SX-1980 flagship with quartz-lock tuning, which weighs more than 35 kg.

Spec and Exclusive separates: higher-end amplifiers such as the Spec-1 preamplifier (1976 to 1980) and the Exclusive C3/M3 pair (1974).

Elite: Pioneer's upper line from the mid-1980s, for example the PD-9010X CD player.

PL turntables, CT cassette decks and CD players: PL turntables from 1962, such as the PL-12 and the linear-tracking PL-L1; CT decks such as the three-head CT-F1000; and CD players from the 1982 P-D1 to magazine-loading changers such as the PD-M6.

Buying used Pioneer: what to check

Controls and switches. Crackle when you turn a control or work a switch usually means dirt, and restorers clean every pot and switch.

Capacitors. Electrolytic capacitors in 1970s receivers are often past their best, and full restorations replace them.

Big SX models. Owners and restorers report heat stress on the power-supply board of large receivers such as the SX-1250. Ask what has been done.

Relay, lamps and bias. The protection relay is a common replacement, dial lamps burn out and are often converted to LED, and restorers set the bias and DC offset.

Cassette decks. Check the heads, fast-forward and rewind, Dolby and every button. Belts age even when the deck looks perfect.

Everything we list is inspected, tested and serviced as required here, and comes with our warranty.