Having given up on buying a decent Thorens turntable at a cost less than a used car I now have my eye on a used AR turntable.
So... is anyone using one? Are they any good?
I understand they have a good suspension system which seems to eliminate any vibrations caused by someone walking on the floor or sound as a result of high speaker levels.
So... is anyone using one? Are they any good?
I understand they have a good suspension system which seems to eliminate any vibrations caused by someone walking on the floor or sound as a result of high speaker levels.
I would rather an AR than Thorens personally.
Neither will help with foot falls, they are the worst about it. This is made worse with hardwood floors.
Use a wall mounted turn table shelf, commercial unit or diy wall brackets and piece of mdf. Mount this to a load bearing wall and you can run a locomotive through and playback will be fine
All the AR tables can be modded. I would stick to either the ES-1 or the AR The Turntable later model with ES-1 style arm board.
Apply all the mods by George Merrill. Subchassis, bearing, post inner platter, outer platter, mats, etc. They transformed mine.
Or, what I am doing next, find and recap a SP 10 mk 2 and put in heavy plinth, add arm and cartridge.
Russellc
Neither will help with foot falls, they are the worst about it. This is made worse with hardwood floors.
Use a wall mounted turn table shelf, commercial unit or diy wall brackets and piece of mdf. Mount this to a load bearing wall and you can run a locomotive through and playback will be fine
All the AR tables can be modded. I would stick to either the ES-1 or the AR The Turntable later model with ES-1 style arm board.
Apply all the mods by George Merrill. Subchassis, bearing, post inner platter, outer platter, mats, etc. They transformed mine.
Or, what I am doing next, find and recap a SP 10 mk 2 and put in heavy plinth, add arm and cartridge.
Russellc
Yes, just not the old original from the 60s, with the clunky arm.
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Agreed. The arm on the AR ducks but there are many arms that should be installable.
I have installed a number of Grace (mostly 707), Mayware F4, Hadcock GH212 (that should dat ethe time frame :^)
The AR was the design that was followed by Thorens, Linn, and many others. BTW i am not a fan of the Thorens arms either, i pulled even more of those than ARs.
Here one that looks like it has a Linn Basik arm (i have one on my Rega II).
dave
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My 1961 version was highly sensitive to shock from the wood floor of my Jim Walters home. You could see the woofers bounce in and out an inch. I bought a BIC940 in 1979, which was way superior and coped with the M97HE cartridge fine at 1 1/2 grams. Sold off the AR. Still have the BIC940, after x0000 plays the speed went off last fall. Probably dried up oil on the spindle. BTW BIC940 run about $60 on ebay. Looks like ****, fake plastic wood case. The 920 looks worse, grey plastic. Both work great at 1 1/2 grams , but not at 1 . 920 cost me $25 at a yard sale.
Unfortunately for people like myself wishing to once again play vinyl and having given away their turntables are finding that the prices have gone thru the roof. I do wish I had kept my Stanton 681EEE cartridge I rather liked it. I have however managed to find a Pickering VX-15 which is supposed to be identical from what I have read.
I have found a decent AR XA but the guy is wanting $350 for it and I'm having a hard time getting the money to empty from my pocket when the AR originally sold for less than $100. I guess I am going to have to belly up to the bar grit my teeth and simply buy it and try not to have remorse.
Can't say I wish to mount a shelf to the wall for the turntable and for than matter I don't know if I can justify a tonearm with a price tag around $1000. when the $1000 would almost buy me something for another of my hobbies.
I have found a decent AR XA but the guy is wanting $350 for it and I'm having a hard time getting the money to empty from my pocket when the AR originally sold for less than $100. I guess I am going to have to belly up to the bar grit my teeth and simply buy it and try not to have remorse.
Can't say I wish to mount a shelf to the wall for the turntable and for than matter I don't know if I can justify a tonearm with a price tag around $1000. when the $1000 would almost buy me something for another of my hobbies.
This is a good source of parts for AR turntables: AR Parts - Vinyl Nirvana - Vintage AR and Thorens Turntable Sales, Parts, and Restorations
The first decent table I ever owned was an AR-XA, it was the 4th table I owned. Mine was lightly used, maybe even NIB - open box in the late 1980s. I went through a procession of them, some of them already modified with better arms.
That said if someone were thinking of investing $300 - 400 and up to $1K on an arm there are likely better, more cost effective choices.
I'd look at a Clearaudio Concept turntable new or used. (Retail new about $1600)
clearaudio electronic GmbH - concept, The best concept, Features, Award winning technology, What
Under $500 I would recommend an Orbit from Uturn Audio - built in Woburn, MA. just outside of Boston. (No connection in any form)
Shop – U-Turn Audio
The first decent table I ever owned was an AR-XA, it was the 4th table I owned. Mine was lightly used, maybe even NIB - open box in the late 1980s. I went through a procession of them, some of them already modified with better arms.
That said if someone were thinking of investing $300 - 400 and up to $1K on an arm there are likely better, more cost effective choices.
I'd look at a Clearaudio Concept turntable new or used. (Retail new about $1600)
clearaudio electronic GmbH - concept, The best concept, Features, Award winning technology, What
Under $500 I would recommend an Orbit from Uturn Audio - built in Woburn, MA. just outside of Boston. (No connection in any form)
Shop – U-Turn Audio
I guess I have been thinking along this line. First of all I don't feel like investing enough in a turntable and tonearm that would allow me to buy a used car. I'm thinking properly serviced the original tonearm should work fine. I'm planning on occasional use only.
I've looked over the site that sells AR parts and I guess I am wondering if they would really make that much difference. You have to admit that changing springs and tweaking the tension by what feels good is going to lead to a difference in spring tension. They seem to want a lot of money for 3 springs, washers, and wing nuts. I will admit the piece of CNC machined plastic is interesting but then again its a lot of money for something that gives you that " I think it sounds better with the new part feeling."
I guess a fool is born every minute but I'm trying not to go down that road after all the social security check only goes so far.
Getting back to the lack of the anti-skate causing stylus wear.... isn't the stylus being that its a diamond going to be harder than the vinyl its moving across?
The AR can be made to sound very good with a little chassis and plinth work and a better arm. One of the most important things to do is replace the motor. A 40 year old motor needs to be replaced. If you can get a machine shop to make a pulley with a larger hole for the motor shaft, a higher torque motor (like the Hurst used in the VPI) will transform the table. You can always look into the motors and controls talked about by Pyramid.