I had one of those pass through the shop some years ago. Stunning build quality , perhaps a shade blingy in the styling. As I recall it was a first class performer.
Certainly will not wear out on you and pound for pound something of a bargain actually when compared to some of the inflated prices that some turntables command.
One passed thru my hands a while back. You are right about build quality . HEAVY platter.Originally Posted by macaroonie
Many are thrashed and some have a surface crazing on the anodizing. I never got a belt short
enough and the connecting cable under the arm was wrong pins.
Traded the Technics M2 for it and later moved it off on CL. Saw it again for sale (at nearly this ad's price) about a year later (that owner had not got it going either)
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles
Styling (and Direct Drive) may not be for everyone, but build quality is hard to beat
Tonearm is superb and allows for VTA and Bias adjust on the "fly"
SHOULD BE RE-CAPPED if you like and plan on keeping it
My favorite out of the series is the "60"; the convenience of automatic but without all of the ICs and extra "features" of the "70" (you'll never find service parts for a "70" if it breaks down or needs and IC (it has that electric motor controlled tonearm lift that was popular during this period with several manufacturers)
This series of deck, when re-capped properly, should easily see another 35 years of trouble free operation; that is how well they are built
Enough of them still floating around that you can find one for small change if you are vigilant
Guy on the local "craigslist" was having trouble realizing $200 for a nice one here about a month ago (but his problem was his ad, not the deck) Wish I had printed that one out; a "craigslist" ad for all times) I have had absolutely no problems seeing $500 and up for the 3 I have re-capped and sold, with NO cart
Originally supplied with an auxiliary counterweight. "SONY" branded 45 adapter and set down adjustment "key"; these are often lost unfortunately, but I have been lucky and all 3 of mine had theirs! Dutiful owners all taped these bits to the plinth with masking tape?!
The sound quality of this table is VERY good and you can use any catridge you choose and not have to worry about it, the arm is that good:
http://www.thevintageknob.org/sony-PS-X60.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duaH2kHSmlM
I started getting serious about the Empire ...seller replied:
Hi ,
the Empire sold , it was a ADC XLM cart.
Sincerely,
Kara
Like I really needed another TT ?? but would add bling to the LR.
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles
yesterday & today I've been falling into audio deals. Among them was a Dual TT (1268).
On first glance I saw the strobe markings on the platter and speed adjustment ... hmmm , has to be DD
as I've never seen a belt drive with those features. WRONG.
they call it a "vario belt system" who knew ? it's the ULM series (ultra low mass) with Ortofon cart.
Pretty huge & solid. quiet performer. No spots for more, so .....
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles
RARE-MINT!! ACOUSTIC RESEARCH AR-XA TURNTABLE WITH SUPERB REGA RB-300 ARM!! EC!!
RARE LEGENDARY COLLECTORS ITEM!!
ACOUSTIC RESEARCH [UK]......
AR-XA TYPE BELT DRIVE TURNTABLE!!
Time left: 5d 21h
Price:
AU $1,195.00
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/RARE-MINT.../221900347894?
Wow, I've had 5 or 6 of these (but with standard arm) ... added together, they don't total even half of this.
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles
In the last batch of 3 turntables I received, there was one that I did not want to invest any time into. Did checkout the cart.
It's an Empire 880 p .
did some research on it and seems very well liked. Anybody know about it ? Mac ?
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles
Don't think I've encountered that one. Prob give the Shure V15 a run for it's money. Neither Empire or Pickering had strong representation in the UK
Take a macro of the diamond , you should be able to get an idea if it is in good shape
http://www.vinylengine.com/library/empire/880p.shtml
Was and still is a heavy hitter on the right arm (better than the SHURE M3D which is a pretty damn good cart if you've ever heard one) but without the need to tack at 3 and above grams
Heavy cart, weighs in at around 10 grams
The final and finest version was the 880 PE
The "PE" was an elliptical stylus, .0002 x .0009 RD (0.2 x 0.9 Mil), 15 degree vertical tracking
VTF could be set very low (especially for the day)
Could easily track at 1.5-2 grams, Empire claimed an optimistic 1/2 gram was possible
Frequency response published for the conical (first) version was 6 - 30,000 cycles!
I have a brand new, NOS 880PE stylus that's never been installed on a cart if you decide to do anything with it
I did some research on the 880 series some time back but can't locate my notes at the moment
If you decide you DON'T want to use it with anything, throw it up on eprey; the 880s will bring some decent coin
Was and still is a heavy hitter on the right arm (better than the SHURE M3D which is a pretty damn good cart if you've ever heard one) but without the need to tack at 3 and above grams
Heavy cart, weighs in at around 10 grams
There were three versions of the cartridge (achieved with stylus changes by Empire as new models or the end user with a stylus change, same as what SHURE did over time with the M3D, V15s and others)
The first was a heavy tracking conical similar to the SHURE M3D with a white plastic bit
Secondly came the most common 0.6 Mil conical which tracked much lighter as mentioned with a green plastic bit and finally, the 880PE elliptical with a black plastic bit on the shank
The final and finest version was the 880PE
The "PE" was an elliptical stylus, .0002 x .0009 RD (0.2 x 0.9 Mil), 15 degree vertical tracking
VTF could be set very low (especially for the day)
Could easily track at 1.5-2 grams, Empire claimed an optimistic 1/2 gram was possible (same was claimed with the .06 Mil conical, green shank)
Frequency response published for the conical (green) version was 6 - 30,000 cycles!
I have a brand new, NOS 880PE stylus that's never been installed on a cart if you decide to do anything with it
I did some research on the 880 series some time back but can't locate my notes at the moment
If you decide you DON'T want to use it with anything, throw it up on eprey; the 880s will bring some decent coin
I need to do the same with this stylus as all of my Empires disappeared ages ago
Thanx for the detailed info TW. May mount it in a spare shell and give it a go. (sure is pretty)
mine is the green.
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles
You have to actually look at the end inside the cart to be sure which stylus you haveThanx for the detailed info TW. May mount it in a spare shell and give it a go. (sure is pretty
mine is the green.
The plastic you can see on the outside only coincides with whatever model designation it started life as
I understand and appreciate the importance of the AR turntables, the early ones really do represent a milestone product, primarily for consumers (people who wanted to play records and have them sound better than the Grind-O-Matics, Stack-O-Matics that most folks had) And to be able to play them at least a few times before needing another copy!RARE-MINT!! ACOUSTIC RESEARCH AR-XA TURNTABLE WITH SUPERB REGA RB-300 ARM!! EC!!
RARE LEGENDARY COLLECTORS ITEM!!
ACOUSTIC RESEARCH [UK]......
AR-XA TYPE BELT DRIVE TURNTABLE!!
Time left: 5d 21h
Price:
AU $1,195.00
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/RARE-MINT.../221900347894?
Wow, I've had 5 or 6 of these (but with standard arm) ... added together, they don't total even half of this.
That being said, I cannot for the life of me understand the money people pour into those shit decks today and when they are done (the full blown route, a la the "Vinyl Nirvana" and others) they've changed every piece of it. THOUSANDS of dollars can be spent on those things. Even the Teledyne era tables.
I mean, if building's your thing there are easier (and much better to begin with) ways to do it.
To each his own I guess. I had and sold and maybe would like to have again an original, but more for nostalgia than anything else. With a lot of my pressings starting at $40 bucks a pop and upwards, the AR deck and arm just doesn't inspire in me a whole lot of confidence.
NOT knocking "Vinyl Nirvana" or anyone else; just don't see it (or hear it). I've heard one of the late models with handfuls of money thrown at it...................like I said, don't get it.
People still love them though, that's for certain. Personally I think it's a lot to do with the cult of personality. Any of the top drawer Jap DDs will kick it's ass (for under a grand).
The Teledyne ownership did a good job of creating an illusion of high performance (read: "hi-fi") there towards the end (just sell ANY deck without an arm and you'll have legions of fans)
But what's THAT tell ya?
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