They appeared to be essentially rubber washers, but they were probably an extra-soft, gummy rubber. Unfortunately, they've mostly turned to dust over the years. I was thinking of trying o-rings of the right size, but I wonder if they're a bit on the hard side. The giveaway on this one was that you can hear the motor whirring away when the needle first drops. Not like the Duals I've worked on. I think the motor has potential to be quiet if it's really well isolated- that's why I was thinking something really squishy like those gel insoles.
I should add that height will be important on this as the Elac uses a stepped pulley design, not like the sloped pulley on Dual idlers. I must say that while I think this is a neat machine, it really gives me a new appreciation of the Dual engineering. I know some people think they're overly complicated and fussy, but anyone who thinks that should see this one. Duals are pretty straightforward and elegant once you understand them- this mechanism looks pretty fiddly and temperamental.
