Akai AP-007 Direct Drive Turntable

I’m not sure if the 007 was tongue in cheek at the time, but one thing I can say is that if 'Q' was to make a turntable for James Bond, it would be this one.
 
Made when ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ was released – 1977 to be precise – the Akai AP-007 represents the absolute pinnacle of Akai’s turntable days. They never made a better one afterwards, and didn’t make a better one before it either. And yes, it beats my Akai AP-006 too
 
Some say it’s because Micro Seiki, or Luxman, had a hand in their design at the time. The Acos Lustre based tonearm, the skeleton headshell, the superb non-resonant base and the sheer genius under the hood certainly point towards a knowledgeable guiding hand behind the design.
 
It is fully automatic – I’m pretty sure there’s a setting somewhere for it to make you coffee in the morning but don’t hold me to that :) It works 100% in every respect – I’ve given it a thorough once over It comes with a new stylus and is fully setup so all you need to do is take it home and let it wrap the music around you
 
You would have to fork out many thousands of dollars to buy a modern turntable with better specs - and among reasonably priced vintage turntables, there aren't many that beat it.
 
Note: As with most things that are almost 50 years old, this one isn't in perfect condition.  The lid does have some light marking and the finger lever for the tonearm lift is missing but it's a rotary knob anyway so works perfectly.
 
Specifications
Type: Fully automatic record player
Drive method: direct drive
Motor: 6-pole outer rotor, AC servo controlled
Speeds: 33 and 45rpm
Wow and flutter: 0.03% wrms
Signal to noise ratio: 73dB
Speed adjustment range: +-5%
Tonearm: S-shaped, statically balanced, stainless steel tubular arm
Effective length: 220mm
Overhang: 15mm
Offset angle: 22 degrees
Cartridge weight range: 4.5 to 14.5g (with sub-weight)
Dimensions: 460 x 135 x 380mm
Weight: 9.5kg