beatcomber
AK Member
Back in the summer of 1977, when I was 13, my parents agreed to finance the purchase of my first "good" stereo. My older brother took me to a hifi store and I walked out with a Pioneer SX-450 receiver, a pair of Pioneer speakers (not sure which ones now), a Teac A170S top-loading cassette deck, and a BIC 960 turntable, and I used these components well into the '80s.
The BIC went on the fritz sometime around '83, so I replaced it with a nice Technics direct drive (it might have been an SL-1600MK2), which seemed very rugged and "serious" at the time - not surprising considering how relatively lightweight the BIC was. Anyway, I've always had a warm place in my heart for BICs and I have lots of happy memories associated with the one I had 40 years ago.
As I've mentioned elsewhere, local AKer @rmoreau61 recently offered me a rebuilt, clean 960 at a price I could not resist. Ray was unaware of it, but the cork friction pad that the arm brake pin comes into contact with while cueing had come loose, causing the arm to glide horizontally while descending.
With kind assistance from resident BIC expert @Doug G. I was able to troubleshoot the issue, and found the cork pad loose inside the mechanism. After making some minor adjustments to the interaction between the brake pin and cue lever, it works as it's supposed to. Doug also hipped me to an easy way to replenish the cueing fluid that he discovered, which doesn't require taking it apart. Using a toothpick, I coated the sides of the lift pin with 500k silicone, and within a day or so it had drizzed down into the chamber, so now the arm drops very gently.
The BIC still had its stacking spindle - which works just fine - but I really wanted a single-play spindle. A casual mention about this on another thread led to a PM from @KRab , offering to send me gratis a single-play BIC spindle. Not only did he brush aside my offer of reimbursement ("it only has value to someone who needs it"), but he also packed it with extraordinary meticulousness.
So, ladies and germs, let me present to you my "new" 1976 BIC 960...
BICs are largely overlooked on the vintage market, probably because they're lightweight and maybe feel kind of cheap, and folks also tend to dismiss record changers. And then there's that needle-destroying mat! My expectations were reserved; it was primarily a nostalgia piece for me.
I replaced the wimpy OEM interconnects with a pair of 1m Audioquest Evergreens, and installed a Shure M91ED with "good" EVG stylus, and it sounds quite good! The first thing I noticed was how quiet backgrounds are, it has no audible rumble. Secondly, for such a "cheap" turntable, it has better-than average bass weight, dynamics, and rhythmic thrust; it's almost idler-like in that respect. This was a real surprise.
Imaging seem good, although it's probably limited by the cartridge and stylus. Using my Amazon points, I just ordered for a few peanuts a brand new Grado Black2; the positive reviews by @needlestein , @Lorenzo47 and others have gotten me very curious about it, especially since some feel that it signals a return to the attributes that I love about my vintage Grado Signature models.
So, where will this BIC fit into my system? Space in my small hifi room is at a premium, so I still need to think about that some, but I could see the BIC serving a few practical purposes:
• Using a table with a $50 stylus makes sense when auditioning thrift store records.
• It makes sense to have something to use for non-critical background listening, to preserve the more pricey stylus on my AR.
• The BIC, being fully-automatic, is the safer option when I'm "getting loose" on Friday or Saturday nights.
Many thanks to the above AKers for all of your help and generosity!
The BIC went on the fritz sometime around '83, so I replaced it with a nice Technics direct drive (it might have been an SL-1600MK2), which seemed very rugged and "serious" at the time - not surprising considering how relatively lightweight the BIC was. Anyway, I've always had a warm place in my heart for BICs and I have lots of happy memories associated with the one I had 40 years ago.
As I've mentioned elsewhere, local AKer @rmoreau61 recently offered me a rebuilt, clean 960 at a price I could not resist. Ray was unaware of it, but the cork friction pad that the arm brake pin comes into contact with while cueing had come loose, causing the arm to glide horizontally while descending.
With kind assistance from resident BIC expert @Doug G. I was able to troubleshoot the issue, and found the cork pad loose inside the mechanism. After making some minor adjustments to the interaction between the brake pin and cue lever, it works as it's supposed to. Doug also hipped me to an easy way to replenish the cueing fluid that he discovered, which doesn't require taking it apart. Using a toothpick, I coated the sides of the lift pin with 500k silicone, and within a day or so it had drizzed down into the chamber, so now the arm drops very gently.
The BIC still had its stacking spindle - which works just fine - but I really wanted a single-play spindle. A casual mention about this on another thread led to a PM from @KRab , offering to send me gratis a single-play BIC spindle. Not only did he brush aside my offer of reimbursement ("it only has value to someone who needs it"), but he also packed it with extraordinary meticulousness.
So, ladies and germs, let me present to you my "new" 1976 BIC 960...
BICs are largely overlooked on the vintage market, probably because they're lightweight and maybe feel kind of cheap, and folks also tend to dismiss record changers. And then there's that needle-destroying mat! My expectations were reserved; it was primarily a nostalgia piece for me.
I replaced the wimpy OEM interconnects with a pair of 1m Audioquest Evergreens, and installed a Shure M91ED with "good" EVG stylus, and it sounds quite good! The first thing I noticed was how quiet backgrounds are, it has no audible rumble. Secondly, for such a "cheap" turntable, it has better-than average bass weight, dynamics, and rhythmic thrust; it's almost idler-like in that respect. This was a real surprise.
Imaging seem good, although it's probably limited by the cartridge and stylus. Using my Amazon points, I just ordered for a few peanuts a brand new Grado Black2; the positive reviews by @needlestein , @Lorenzo47 and others have gotten me very curious about it, especially since some feel that it signals a return to the attributes that I love about my vintage Grado Signature models.
So, where will this BIC fit into my system? Space in my small hifi room is at a premium, so I still need to think about that some, but I could see the BIC serving a few practical purposes:
• Using a table with a $50 stylus makes sense when auditioning thrift store records.
• It makes sense to have something to use for non-critical background listening, to preserve the more pricey stylus on my AR.
• The BIC, being fully-automatic, is the safer option when I'm "getting loose" on Friday or Saturday nights.
Many thanks to the above AKers for all of your help and generosity!
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