Elac 50H II on the way!

Dmannnnn

Up Late
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I thought the whole speaker collector thing was an addiction. That's nothing compared to a turntable addiction. It's easier to end up with 10 turntables and have no idea how you got there. (speakers are a little more noticeable)

It's coming with an ADC cartrdige mounted, but I don't really trust cartridges on very old tables and I have no magnifier to inspect the stylus. Shoud I just not use it? I can try it on some older crap, but will I really be able to tell if it is damaging a record?

The only other cartridges I have are a DL160, an MC10, and an LM30. Would any of these be a good (or just decent) match to the 50H's arm?

I have read here that a shure m97 would be good. Is a DL103 stout enough if I wanted to go the MC route?
 
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Ooooooooh, I hate you, I'm so jealous! :D I've never used the ancient cartridges that came with my vintage TTs. I have Grado DJ cartridges on a Garrard Type A and Lab80 MkII. They have high mass arms as your 50H. The Grados sound awesome. With an old cartridge, you run the risk of shaving off those nice little highs.

Very sweeeeeeet looking unit what with impeccable base and dustcover to boot! Oooooooh, I'm jealous!

Oh, and does it have the umbrella stacking spindle too? Its nice to have all the goodies even if don't plan on stacking records IMO.
 
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.... but I don't really trust cartridges on very old tables and I have no magnifier to inspect the stylus. Shoud I just not use it? I can try it on some older crap, but will I really be able to tell if it is damaging a record?

Congrats....nice table!

If I didn't trust it and had no way of checking it, I wouldn't use it either.
 
wow, sharp deck, bee yootifull. As per the cart, I would try it out on something before i tossed it, if the stylus bites then I would replace the stylus.For such things I have some lps that are good, I just hate them, and at a dollar apiece they make good lab rats. Yeah, you can get a new cart and be done with the whole process, but truthfully Ive acquired some very nice carts through turntable purchase etc, and always seems a shame to toss something that isnt produced any longer just because it needs retip. I shudder to think about how many beautiful sounding carts have been tossed just because. Just a thought, and congrats.
 
Well it only took a couple of months but I finally got time to clean this TT up and give it a try.

Damn this is a cool piece of kit. My first idler. I just love it. The mechanism looks a little delicate, but it runs like a swiss watch. I think this deserves a custom built base to really show it off. The only issue is a little noise coming from the main bearing. It is well lubed so maybe it needs to be replaced? I probably wouldn't have even noticed it but that 2 ton platter really rings. Oh, and is that a braking mechanism that I hear when the platter stops?

Is there a website out there that caters to these turntables? Vinyl engine has the manuals but they are in Dutch. Me no habla Dutch.

I will post a picture soon.
 
Yep, there's a brake that kicks in when the stop mechanism engages. I disabled the one on my 50H, but it's a matter of personal preference. It's under the platter on the upper left side when viewed from the front.

Check the idler wheel and motor for possible rotating noise, too. Without the brake enabled it's easy to hear if the noise goes away as soon as the motor shuts off and the idler retracts, since the platter spins freely for a while.
 
I meant Deutsch not Dutch. The manuals are in German. 4 years of high school German and I have no idea what these things say. I wonder if there is a shareware program or web service that can translate PDF files?

I have the umbrella multi-play spindle but I don't have the standard short spindle. Any ideas who might have one of these?

There is a light in the plinth just below the platter that would seem to be a strobe, but no timing marks on the platter. Is this a strobe and if so, are the marks just worn off my platter?
 
Congrats on your Elac! That thing looks almost new! I have a 50H here that is my secondary TT and I just love it...sounds great with an AudioTechnca AT15S mounted on it.
 
I meant Deutsch not Dutch. The manuals are in German. 4 years of high school German and I have no idea what these things say. I wonder if there is a shareware program or web service that can translate PDF files?

I have the umbrella multi-play spindle but I don't have the standard short spindle. Any ideas who might have one of these?

There is a light in the plinth just below the platter that would seem to be a strobe, but no timing marks on the platter. Is this a strobe and if so, are the marks just worn off my platter?

Can't tell if the 50H-II is same as 50H. Can't see past the cover. If it's on the control side near the buttons, the light illuminates the speed wheel that tells you what speed is set. Just to the left of ELAC under the headshell on the base, is a window that has numbers in it. Rotate the speed lever and the numbers change. This is what lights up from the light.



EDIT: Disregard my last!! The light in the front center is a strobe. You should be able to look straight in and see a stroboscopic effect. I'm not sure how it's set up on this, but there may be a paper ring printed inside the platter or the marks are etched on the inner side. Don't feel bad. My German ain't for sh#% too.

Larry
 
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I've had my 50H since about 2003 works great. I've used Empire A shure M75 pickering and stanton 500 carts on it sounds great and built like a tank.
 
NICE table! Congratulations! :thmbsp:

The only ELAC I found came in a battered plinth, no dustcover and cracked/broken headshell (ironically, neatly cracked across, and when re-glued with superglue, it might even have been improved, as I suspect the thin layer of superglue = constrained layer damping ?! At least I like to tell myself that. :D).


You are right about the turntable addiction. I was in a high-end shop recently, and when I mentioned my GT-2000, the guy told me he used to work for Yamaha in their showroom here. He immediately laughed and said I shouldn't even THINK of buying any of the fancy, expensive belt drives out today, including the ones he was selling in the showroom we were standing in. He said I'd have to go to "silly money" ($50K and up) to get anything even close sonically, so why was I even looking at TTs?

I told him "for fun!" I don't expect to better the sound of my main TT, but I can still enjoy playing around with other ones, just to learn what they sound like! He laughed and understood and agreed.

Recently I picked up a Garrard Zero 100. Yesterday I bought my second Lenco L75, just because it has the better metal idler wheel, whereas my previous one had the inferior plastic one. I have got rid of some, but still have way more than ten TTs... Why? Because they are addictive! Sometimes I wish I only had two or three, but then when I ask myself which one I want to get rid of, the answer isn't easy...

It would be easy if ALL I cared about was sound quality: I'd keep one (the GT-2000), maybe two or three for back-up (definitely including the PL-L1, and probably the TF-124), and sell the rest. But it's not just that. There is the coolness of some designs, the visual beauty of some, the intricacy and the engineering quality and the fun and pride of restoration, the fun of comparing sonics and mat-swapping and tweaking and...

Aw, heck, you said it already: Turntables are addictive! :yes:
 
Hi, I have a virgin 50H-II. The strobe bulb shines through a plastic ring with the strobe marks on that presses onto the bottom of the platter. In the picture I see it's missing on yours. Maybe a member can help you with the spindal. You can use anything that slips in but the record will repeat over and over until stop is pushed unless the original is used.-Deri
 
I told him "for fun!" I don't expect to better the sound of my main TT, but I can still enjoy playing around with other ones, just to learn what they sound like! He laughed and understood and agreed.

You are so right about the nature of this addiction. I thought I'd stop buying TTs after getting my VPI Classic but no, I've bought two more since. Like you, I just love learning about them and hearing the differences.

I have a 50H, it's actually my father's now, but I cleaned it up for him. His gear is mine and vice-versa (this one was a request). Probably the most 'mint' looking piece of gear I've been through. Like everybody here says, it's built like a tank. I simply love watching it go through its motions. One of these was what my father had when I was a kid, so the distinct sound it makes as it cycles through it's changing mechanism really brought me back to when I first heard LPs as a kid in the mid/late '70s. It was probably even old then.

Enjoy it...probably the best of the changers that I've seen. The bearing noise might be rumble from the idler instead. An out-of-round idler or one with a little flat spot can make some racket.
 
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