Extremely successful series of turntables derived from the Exclusive P3 masterpiece.

All versions use the same basic structure: Stable Hanging Rotor, EA-derived tonearm and supreme build-quality for the price. Bar the contemporary Yamaha GT-2000, the Pioneer PL-50L and LII are part of the most sold turntables in Japan, when CD still was nothing but a pressing rumor.

The 50 and 50L were launched together in 1980, the first of which was deprived from tonearm auto-return function ; the 50 and 50L are otherwise identical. The 1981 PL-50LII represented a fairly large mechanical update on the 50L in that it used a motor reduced to half its original size but which kept the exact same specs regarding torque, speed accuracy and signal-to-noise ratio. The PL-50LII also added supreme LP fiddly-ness with its interchangeable carbon-coated aluminium tonearm wands.
The platter is back-coated with a special damping compound and the cabinet is likewise identical on all three versions and made of high-density laminated wood with added ebony veneer. Tonearm leads and contacts are all oxygen-free copper, of course, and critical parts are machined with micron-level tolerances. The EA tonearm itself is a marvel of engineering which I hope to be able to properly bring online separately.

Not a "supreme" LP player -at 95,000¥, it wasn't the goal- but I'm sure the PL-50LII (shown here) would easily bash many of today's "references", especially at the price these can be had for in Japan. Not to mention the bigger and much heavier PL-70LII.
However, it seems the main bearing for this "LII" series of Pioneer SHR turntables does age a bit quicker than what one might have hoped - nobody is perfect. Still, we're talking twenty years of daily use here - that's still ten lifetimes ahead of today's hardware.