BSR turntable

[JUSS10]

so I'm always keeping an eye out for turntables and came across a BSR quanta 400. here is the exact model on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/BSR-QUANTA-400-...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2a035d78ca

the one i found comes with a brand new stylus, though nothing fancy, its an AT91E complete with the guard and adapter to use the cart on a 1/2" mount

now here is the stinger, the tonearm is bent... anyone ever tried to fix that? seems like it would be really tough. anyway, they wanted $15 for it, is it worth it just for the headshell and cart? i figure i could use the table as a base for a RCM

 

[enricosonic]

The one on ebay has been sitting there for several months and in general these tables have a poor reputation. Add to that a bent tonearm? I'd say stay away, personally.

But for $15, used as a RCM with a cart thrown in? That doesn't sound too bad as long as it doesn't require shipping to reach you.

 

[hifi_nut]

I must admitt this is the best looking BSR TT I can remember.

from my experience with BSR, though, this brand is best left alone if you really care about your records.

 

[JUSS10]

i already went and looked at it intending to purchase, then saw the tone arm.

 

[JUSS10]

yeah i really liked how it looked too...though as you both have stated, i haven't heard much good about BSR

 

[Rybeam]

The Audio Technica's worth it. Offer $10 and toss the BSR in a fast food dumpster on the way home.

 

[Divotdog]

I must admitt this is the best looking BSR TT I can remember.

from my experience with BSR, though, this brand is best left alone if you really care about your records.

It doesn't appear to be a run of the mill BSR. :scratch2:

 

[shimniok]

Uhh... what am I missing about the arm? I don't see where it is bent. Well, except for the fact that it's a standard S-arm... :headscrat

Maybe I am being contrary but (aside from actual defects) that gimbal looks at least as decent as a BIC 960/980. I have a feeling it isn't one of their worst... Even the crap brands put out a few good pieces despite reputation to the contrary.

I'd get it and see how it sounds and report back. And I'd expect the AT cart is decent.



Michael

 

[JUSS10]

thats not the actual one, i just posted that for people to see what model it is. i kind of thought the gimbal was nice too. I'll probably jump on it. i have a few tables that could use a decent stylus and the cart is brand new, never used.

 

[Brian]

It looks like a run of the mill Asian arm. If so you may be able to transplant the tube from a donor unit. It is an interesting looking table but it looks like it is from a period when there were a lot of elcheapo tables around and looks similar. It is a late in life BSR not long before they shut it all down. Might be an interesting experiment to see how far you can mod it for improvements.

 

[Nat]

My memory is that the Quantas were very shiny and very plastic. Kind of hard to actually concentrate on how it sounded because it was so painful to look at. And underneath the eyesore exterior, it was the same BSR mechanism, which wasn't terrible, but not great, either.

 

[mhardy6647]

Nat is (as always) exactly correct.

Besides...

It's hard for me to get excited about a product whose name is a plural noun. A single turntable should be a Quantum, not a Quanta.

I had the same feelings about the Mazda Millennia sedan

 

[JUSS10]

one thing i will say is it had some weight to it. which i was surprised about.

 

[Nat]

Whoa -- don't get me started on the Mitsubishi Eclipse, especially the ads for it, as in "Harness the awesome power of the eclipse". Duhhh... an eclipse is the absence of something, usually light -- so "Harness the awesome power of nothing".
Almost as stupid as the original logo for some version of Microsoft works which was three gears intermeshed. Anyone who as ever actually used gears knows that three gears lock. So it was Microsoft Doesn't work. (Not to feed the Apple folks a setup line...)

 

[JUSS10]

I use apple

 

[mhardy6647]

I use Ubuntu (at least at home).

 

[JUSS10]

i run ubuntu on my "PC"s

 

[Beobloke]

It's a BSR, which is all you need to know - leave it well alone!

*sits back and waits for wilkes85 to arrive and give an opposing point of view.....*

 

[mhardy6647]

You can get a look at one of the Quanta tts in its Radio Shack plumage on pg. 25 of http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/catalogs/1979/

 

[Nat]

You know, this is weird, but the table on the next page has a distinctly Micro Seiki vibe about it -- both the large platter extending beyond the mat and the thin pivot piece of the arm -- wouldn't that be an odd sourcing?