....new turntable in house!!!

dee1949
dee1949 Posts: 1,425
edited November 2010 in Electronics
....ain't "she" pretty!!! AR-XA turntable...pre 1970. Got to love the "Classics". Forerunner of the REGA and look a likes.......ULTMite basic. Real wood plinth. God awfull "beige" headshell.
Post edited by dee1949 on
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  • ben62670
    ben62670 Posts: 15,969
    edited October 2010
    Very nice looking. I agree about the headshell.
    Ben
    Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
    Thanks
    Ben
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  • Fongolio
    Fongolio Posts: 3,516
    edited October 2010
    Nice unit. Ebay or perhaps talk to George Grand for a more attractive headshell. Zoiks!!! that one is f'ugly.
    SDA-1C (full mods)
    Carver TFM-55
    NAD 1130 Pre-amp
    Rega Planar 3 TT/Shelter 501 MkII
    The Clamp
    Revox A77 Mk IV Dolby reel to reel
    Thorens TD160/Mission 774 arm/Stanton 881S Shibata
    Nakamichi CR7 Cassette Deck
    Rotel RCD-855 with modified tube output stage
    Cambridge Audio DACmagic Plus
    ADC Soundshaper 3 EQ
    Ben's IC's
    Nitty Gritty 1.5FI RCM
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
    edited October 2010
    The wife and I just got back from buying a beautiful condition AR XA from a nice chap in Arlington. I'm going to use it until I can get my other turntable set up; have to move the air compressor and storage tank upstairs to the new audio only room.
    Enjoy yours!
    Ken
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  • camp21178
    camp21178 Posts: 273
    edited October 2010
    I had that same model. I bought it from my friend in 1975. What a great turntable that was.
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  • apphd
    apphd Posts: 1,514
    edited October 2010
    Enjoy! You certainly find your share of sweet vintage stuff. What was that TT below it?
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  • george daniel
    george daniel Posts: 12,096
    edited October 2010
    ah,, many fond memories with that table,,I still remember the first time I heard "child in time" on that table :cool: have fun.
    JC approves....he told me so. (F-1 nut)
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  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,124
    edited October 2010
    Would you rather have a crappy sounding table with a tres chic headshell?

    BDT
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
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  • 2-tall
    2-tall Posts: 98
    edited October 2010
    I have two of them.Great turntable not so great arm.
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  • dee1949
    dee1949 Posts: 1,425
    edited October 2010
    apphd wrote: »
    Enjoy! You certainly find your share of sweet vintage stuff. What was that TT below it?

    ...Lower TT is an Elac Miracord 50H. Similar to the old Dual's...
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  • Roy Munson
    Roy Munson Posts: 886
    edited October 2010
    If your headshell is original treat it very carefully because they strip out pretty easy. As far as getting a replacement that won't be real easy..they are hard to come by and of course they aren't making replacements. Sometimes they come up on ebay but be careful and ask about the screw holes before purchasing!

    btw..congrats on the table you won't be disappointed once you get it set up.
    2 Channel:
    Amp/Parasound Halo A23
    Pre/Carver C-1
    Tuner/Carver TX-11a
    CDP/Jolida JD 100A
    Turntable/AR XB-Shure V15 III
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
    edited October 2010
    Anyone have a phono cartridge recommendation? The overall choice seems to be the Shure M97XE from what I've read. Any others in use? Shelter 201?
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  • Toolfan66
    Toolfan66 Posts: 17,994
    edited October 2010
    Kenneth Swauger wrote: »
    have to move the air compressor and storage tank upstairs to the new audio only room.
    Ken

    :confused: Why the air compressor?? I'm sure you have a reason, just my courious mind wants to know..:o
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  • dee1949
    dee1949 Posts: 1,425
    edited October 2010
    Kenneth Swauger wrote: »
    Anyone have a phono cartridge recommendation? The overall choice seems to be the Shure M97XE from what I've read. Any others in use? Shelter 201?

    Ciao Ken

    ...best bang for the buck is the Shure. $55.00 delivered....cheaper than a stylus. Can't go wrong at that price. Don't want the cartridge to cost more than the TT!!!! Lot of people recommend a Denon.XXXX??? Of course the better Grado's from what I heard. But the Shure M97ME is a GREAT match for the price.

    http://www.jr.com/shure/pe/SHU_M97XE/

    PS....does your arm go "SLOWLY" down...onto the record? Mine just drops. At my age with shaky hands...its a drawback. Also "LEVEL" seems to be critical.
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
    edited October 2010
    Hey Dee1949,
    Thanks for the link, that's the best price I've seen for the Shure. The AR I bought has the Shure M75e on it and it seems to be in good shape. The guy I bought the table from played a Beatles record for me and it sounded fine. I have sent Shure an email asking if the M97 replacement stylus can fit into the M75 body.
    If my memory is accurate, when I was selling the original AR you could buy it with the M75 already installed by AR. If so it is possible that this is an original cartridge. It is in really excellent shape, just a few mars on the inside of the dust cover where the back of the tonearm has rubbed it. Mine does have the slight damping of tonearm movement and the suspension seems correct. There seems to be quite a "support group" for the AR tables, lots of people who do very extensive mods. Kind of like the Dynaco ST70 of tonearms.
    Right now I'm in the midst of moving my system from the living/dining room to an upstairs front bedroom. This has turned out to be quite a project and like most projects has become more complicated than the original plan. One example is my turntable, which is a Maplenoll Ariedne Signature. This is an air bearing design that uses compressed air to support the 50lb lead platter and air pressure for the linear tracking tonearm. Previously I had the compressor and 12 gallon storage tank in the basement directly below the audio rack. The plan now is to put this gear in the bedroom closet near the rack's new position. But this closet is full of tape recorders now, so I need to get the rest of the system set up so I can move the decks out to be able to put the compressor in.
    So, the AR is the easy to deal with substitute table while I deal with everything else. Such as rebuilding my speaker's crossover since a cable fault caused a problem and thinking of a new power supply for my preamp and using the cold water pipe as a ground plane.
    All part of the fun, right?
    Cheers, Ken
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  • dee1949
    dee1949 Posts: 1,425
    edited October 2010
    ....fyi....some people find Grado's not to be compatible with AR's. So research....I always liked Grado cartridges. I have a spare that I might try. Looked up some of the AR forums.....only thing I "HATE" is the manual operation....my hands shake. Trade offs.
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  • agfrost
    agfrost Posts: 2,464
    edited October 2010
    Hi Ken,

    This is not from my personal experience, but a lot of "peoples on the internet" seem exceptionally fond of the JICO SAS replacement styli. This one is available for your M75:
    LINK

    Good luck and happy listening,

    Jay
    Jay
    SDA 2BTL * McCormack DNA 0.5 amp * Oppo BDP-93 * Modded Adcom GDA-600 DAC * Rythmik F8 (x2)
    Micro Seiki DQ-50 * Hagerman Cornet 2 Phono * A hodgepodge of cabling * Belkin PF60
    Preamp rotation: Krell KSL (SCompRacer recapped) * Manley Shrimp * PS Audio 5.0
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  • dee1949
    dee1949 Posts: 1,425
    edited October 2010
    ...I can't afford it....but maybe you can. Definite improvement in looks.

    http://cgi.ebay.com/AR-XA-XB-Proprietary-Headshell-NICE-/150511149515?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item230b29e1cb
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
    edited October 2010
    Thanks, Agfrost, that is really cool! I had no idea that was available. I sent Shure an email message and got a response within a few hours. Probably the quickest response time I've ever seen.
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
    edited October 2010
    Thanks for the headshell link, I imagine it would allow for overhang adjustments. I've used the Novus products on many occasions and it works fine. Be sure to shake the stuff before using.
    Maybe a shot of Irish whiskey before record play will steady the hand? I believe there are add on tonearm lifters available.
    Enjoy your AR.
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  • dee1949
    dee1949 Posts: 1,425
    edited November 2010
    ....anybody know a cheap substitute for high priced bearing oil? I bought some a couple of years ago for a Rega 3...can't, for the life of me, find it. TT sounds "Awesome"...but needs a nudge on start up and makes a noise for a few minutes and then is dead quiet. The noise is not amplified. Got this from friends that had it stored, so I am sure it needs some bearing lube.
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  • polkfarmboy
    polkfarmboy Posts: 5,703
    edited November 2010
    Kenneth Swauger wrote: »
    . Probably the quickest response time I've ever seen, apart from polk audio customer service.

    I fixed this for you Ken:biggrin:
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
    edited November 2010
    Ah, thanks!
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