It is an early example and probably came with the steel t bar with delrin wells and 2 motors. AR had problems with this configuration and it was possible to have the table upgraded, probably from a dealer, to the 1 motor, aluminum t bar configuration. The question is whether or not it was totally upgraded or if an owner just converted it to a 1 motor because of problems with the 2 motors and left the t bar in its original steel/delrin configuration.
Not necessarily. I am using an AR TA in the original configuration right now and it's good. The thing is, the delrin wells shrink over time and squeeze the metal sleeve inside. This caused both the tonearm and platter to be frozen in place and not spin freely. I had to basically hog out the sleeves in the wells with sandpaper and a brass brush a few times, making the inside diameter larger. If you are not up to the task of possibly having to revisit the wells than yes go for the aluminum t bar. It doesn't have the problem the delrin does.
