The original Luxman big turntable.
This belongs to Luxman's big push in all directions after the foundation of Luxman America and its 50th anniversary in 1975.
Lineups started to be multiplied, the actual making of the components got spread over more suppliers and contractors and advertising took on more regular and lavish modes.
In other words : this is Luxman's true "golden age", products-wise and sales-wise.
The PD444 and PD441 are based on the same direct-drive engineering, the 441 being the single tonearm version and bestseller of the two.
Center of the spinning is the Load-Free Spindle structure : by opposing two magnets inside the motor structure, the actual load applied to the bearing is lifted to a fifth of its normal value. The motor's name is MDS152C (or MDS-102C [mkI or mkII]).
Magnets aren't added but the motor itself is structured so as to do the above - no leaks or perturbations of the necessary magnetic flux. The platter is however maintained at large and heavy specifications to deal with 5Hz...10Hz faster load variations.
This system allows lightweight yet fully and inherently regulated moving parts.
The chassis and feet mix materials to do away with resonances : two slabs of 3,2mm iron plates sandwiching a high-density chipboard for the base, neoprene rubber, springs, silicon grease, felt and iron rings for the high feet which are 10mm height-adjustable.
Necessary for the two-tonearm PD444 : interchangeable armboards !
These were made not à la Micro but custom engineered for/by Lux with sliding rails and a fixing clutch ; the rails have rulers printed next to them to precisely adjust overhang.
Material is diecast zinc with an added 5mm extruded aluminium top plate for cosmetic coordination.
These boards also fit the 441 but are almost impossible to find nowadays.
Luxman sold PD441s aplenty and quite a few PD444s, too. The 1980 belt-driven PD555 was an attempt at keeping this audiophile success but sold in comparatively dismal amounts.
All three were naturally engineered by Micro Seiki : the PD441 and PD555 bear MITO T-Tags (MIcro TOkyo) on top of the "official" LUX T-Tag while the PD444 has an MTC T-Tag - which is also Micro.
For the armboards, it seems at least one shop in Japan can make near-equivalents.
A full-size real PD444 at hi-fi do's ; same place for the PD441 (sans MITO or MTC T-tags).