Lookie what I brought home!

BaggedLancer

99.9% of you thought I'd never buy one.....and I didn't! Had this beauty donated to me by a friend of mine. Only took a picture from the front because the veneer on the sides and back is in brutal condition. I plan on stripping the veneer, filling in the gouges with wood filler then just giving it a nice coat of spray paint. It's my first turntable so it's just a project.

However, it does need a new cartridge he said. Anyone know where I can get one of those? Right now it says ADC 100Q or something on it.

The table is a Elac Benjamin Miracord. I don't know much about it, the guy who gave it to me said it's very entry level. Here she is, in all her disgusting glory:

beardog03

Bastage !!

Congrats !

You beat me too it...I have been thinking of getting into vinyl myself

Mike Reeter

I don't think she looks too bad,a little TLC,a smooth touch and she'll be whispering sweet nothings in your ear before you know it.

nms

Congrats!

Is it just me, or are we adding the same things to our systems at similar times...

hearingimpared

I've never heard of that name! Way to go little brother . . . once you get bit. . .


EDIT: There are a thousand places on the internet to find cartidges, take a look through all the TT theads, I think you will be inundated with information you need. Of course the PM option is still open!:D

Ricardo

Congrats Mark. Did you keep some of the records you were selling? If you did, you just need to start cleaning and enjoying.

shack

Elac Miracord is an old line German audio company. They made quite a few TTs back in the 60s and 70s. I think they were/are equal to the Duals of the time. The Benjamin Audio Company in the US paired up with them to market the TTs in the US - Thus the Benjamin Miracord name. That looks somewhat like my 50H but I think it is a little more basic. Those were changers as well. They used a tall 3 pronged spindle to allow for the changing of the records without having an arm holding them in place. The changer spindle is virtually impossible to find now and may be worth as much or more than a very nice Elac Miracord table itself. Check with Needle Doctor for a replacement cart and stylus. The platter should be very heavy and removable. There are several bearings that tend to dry out and need to be greased, so check them out as well. Go to Audio Karma to find quite a few folks that may be able to give you some more info on that table. If in good working order you may have a nice table. Good luck.

madmax

Old school, cool!
madmax

audiobliss

Awesome, man. Glad to see you're getting into vinyl!!

dorokusai

I suggest lighter fluid.

danger boy

cool beans. clean that sucker up... get a new cartridge and stylus.. and spin some old skool albums.

RuSsMaN

What a hideous piece of fi.

I wouldn't play anything 'precious' to you or rare on it, that's for sure.

MillerLiteScott

I was just spinning some of my fathers albums that he has had in storage for years. Original Beatles albums bought back in the 60's. They are in really good condition. Some James Taylor albums bought back when James Taylor still had hair on his head. They sound great. I bet with a good cleaning they will sound even better.

Scott

BaggedLancer

Ricardo wrote: »

Congrats Mark. Did you keep some of the records you were selling? If you did, you just need to start cleaning and enjoying.

Of course

I have a very small pile here to get me started.

I stripped all the crap veneer off the table tonight and filled in all the rough spots with wood filler. Going to give it a sand in a bit and primer it.

I'm not really concerned with the value of the table, I just want it to play.

cfrizz

Congrats Mark. Enjoy.

BaggedLancer

I checked out NeedleDoctor, can't seem to find an ADC 100Q replacement Stylus. I definately need the stylus but how would I know if the cartridge is bad as well?

madmax

Maybe just go ahead and replace the complete cartridge and needle? Something fairly cheap, probably used? Lots of stuff on audiogon probably.

Eh, maybe not. $40 was the cheapest I could find. Maybe freecycle or craigslist?

http://buy.audiogon.com/cgia/cls.pl?anlgcart&1202510966

BaggedLancer

madmax wrote: »

Maybe just go ahead and replace the complete cartridge and needle? Something fairly cheap, probably used? Lots of stuff on audiogon probably.

Eh, maybe not. $40 was the cheapest I could find. Maybe freecycle or craigslist?

http://buy.audiogon.com/cgia/cls.pl?anlgcart&1202510966

Interesting, that cartridge doesn't look like it would fit my arm. The cartridge I just pulled out is long and slender. This is it:

madmax

It would probably fit but too expensive. That looks like a standard cartridge though. (the silver part). The rest of it is called the Head Shell and is part of the turntable.

shack

BaggedLancer wrote:

I checked out NeedleDoctor, can't seem to find an ADC 100Q replacement Stylus. I definately need the stylus but how would I know if the cartridge is bad as well?

Assume the cartridge is bad. It is probably 40± years old. Give Needle Doctor a call or send an email and tell them what you have. As I recall they recomended couple of budget Ortofon and Audio-Technica carts and stylus' that were in the $30-$40 range when I was looking for a replacement. I ended up having mine serviced and the guy had a OEM replacement he gave me for free. It is an Empire cart and stylus which I don't think are even made anymore. Here is a picture of it:

Face

That thing is twice your age. And looks it too.

shack

BaggedLancer wrote:

Interesting, that cartridge doesn't look like it would fit my arm. The cartridge I just pulled out is long and slender. This is it:

Most of today's cartridges are one piece with the mounting bracket. The old style had the bracket and cart separate. The are many that don't look like what you have but will work just fine.

RuSsMaN

That Empire is a good budget choice. Second the Ortofon - look at an OM10 ($75~). The Audio Technica AT95E is a little cheaper ($50~), and actually Stereophile recommended - never used it myself.

If you want cheap cheap for basic playback, you can always pick up a new entry level Stanton (500.V3) or Shure (M25C) DJ cart for $25-$30 from your local guitar / pro audio shop.

BaggedLancer

I'll give needledoctor a call on Monday.

I guess this table would qualify as vintage?

shack

RuSsMaN wrote:

That Empire is a good budget choice. Second the Ortofon - look at an OM10 ($75~). The Audio Technica AT95E is a little cheaper ($50~), and actually Stereophile recommended - never used it myself.

If you want cheap cheap for basic playback, you can always pick up a new entry level Stanton (500.V3) or Shure (M25C) DJ cart for $25-$30 from your local guitar / pro audio shop.

I purchased the OM10 for use at a later date if/when the Empire gives it up. IIRC I paid $69 shipped from ND. It will bolt right up on the Elac headshell.

shack

Also if you are looking for another "project" with that TT, those smoked dust covers are hard to comeby in any sort of shape as well. There are several sites (maybe Audio Karma again) that have instructions on how to get most of the scratches out and get it looking presentable.

TroyD

Personally, for a inexpensive cart, the Shure MX97 (or whatever) is where I would look. Ortofon OM10 is good as well.....

Yeah, a cart that old is crap. Go with a new one.

BDT

BaggedLancer

You gotta be kidding me, it was in the garage on my workbench so I could work on it today and my dad definately just threw it on the ground in the christmas trash pile assuming it was junk.....now the wood case is definately trash and who knows if the turntable will ever work.

:mad:

TroyD

Dude, don't sweat it.

Honestly, while I LOVE vintage gear...I don't care a THING for vintage tables.

If you want to listen to vinyl, don't dick around and just buy a new table. By the time you get done buying a new cart and so forth, you'd be just as well served to get an entry level Music Hall/Pro-Ject/Rega table.

With the exception of the guy that restores vintage AR tables, I'd ignore the lot of them.

BDT

jakelm

Nothing like restoring vintage equipment. Have you hooked it up and tryed to play anything on it BL? Is the ground ok? Is it belt driven or direct drive? Is the cartridge the only thing that needs to be replaced?, if so, this should be a great project for you.

Cool find.



Oh... Does it have 5.1 analog outs? Can it decode DD+ and TruHD?:p:p

Face

BaggedLancer wrote: »

You gotta be kidding me, it was in the garage on my workbench so I could work on it today and my dad definately just threw it on the ground in the christmas trash pile assuming it was junk....

I couldn't imagine why.

Part out what you can and use it towards a $200 table on audiogon.