Another AR-XA Upgrade Question

[swcampbell]

Hello Audio Karma,

I'm trying to fix an AR-XA that's having tonearm-related issues. There are 2 problems I'm working with. First, I don't have the original headshell and second, the plastic tip of the tonearm is damaged, so it couldn't hold the headship if I did.

I'd love to hear recommendations for best/cheapest fixes, preferably that I might be able to do myself (or could take to a repair shop for a quick (under one hour) fix. I', currently considering 3 options:

1. Replace the plastic tip and headshell - Related: if you recommend this, where can I find these parts?
2. Replace the tonearm wand (I've also heard this referred to as the tube or S-tube). Related: I'm looking at this one as a replacement. Does anyone know if this would work in place of the original?
3. Full tonearm upgrade - If this is the recommendation, I've found various resources to address best options/processes for replacing.

Thanks to everyone for your time/consideration. Happy New Year!

 

[Lorenzo47]

I suggest a wand replacement off a Technics or similar so you can use a standard SME type headshell. The arm will need to be rewired - which it likely needs badly anyway. I suggest contacting Marc Morin or Steve Frosten to have the work done if you don't have the skills needed to do the job. They are both members of this forum. They can suggest other work you might need to bring this classic table up to snuff. It is an excellent table.

 

[marcmorin]

To replace the socket, you would need to rewire the arm. regarding the armtube shown, what is the OD of it? the length? The offset it will provide for the cart in the 226-230mm EL range ?

 

[cre009]

For DIY you will need to be handy with a soldering iron.

For your option 1 you will need to contact Marc or Steve to see if they have spares. Perhaps someone else may have a spare fixing but they don't appear on ebay much.
For your option 2 the wires in the Numark arm will probably not be long enough so it will require a rewire and soldering the new wires to the bayonet fixing at the headshell end which can be very fiddly but is doable. The other problem with the Numark (and other tubes that accept SME headshells) is they are slightly thinner than the XA tube. This poses problems with fixing them at the arm pivot end. I understand that Marc uses copper tape to get a firm fixing here but again this can be fiddly to get a rigid fix and stop the tube from slopping around.

 

[swcampbell]

Thanks, Marc and Cre009. Based on the feedback, I'll probably go with option 2, but find a Technics armtube. I was concerned about the diameter of the Numark as well, so thanks for confirming this wouldn't be the right fit. Is there a particular model technics that I need to be on the lookout for? Or will any technics fit?

Is this just a matter of scouring eBay, or is there another resource you'd recommend for finding this part?

Thanks!

 

[cre009]

I don't have any experience of trying to fit a Technics tube to advise you on those. I did purchase 2 Technics decks as repair and spares but ended up fixing them so was not able to donate them to the cause.

Marc is questioning the overhang (stylus to pivot) of the Numark arm whilst I was mentioning concern about the tube diameter.

My original stumbling efforts to change the arm tube are covered in a post I started 3 years ago at VE. They involved trying a Numark tube (a bit too light) and a Sony tube (much too heavy). In the end I continued with the different approach I describe in the final post but have since refined that substantially.

https://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=71972