AR-XB Plinth Woes

[mdye]

I'm the owner of a mostly original (it does have new springs) Acoustic Research AR-XB turntable. The turntable sounds great, and I have no intention of moving to another one anytime soon. That said, the original MDF plinth/base is starting to fall apart. The MDF is chipping away and starting to crumble underneath. If it keeps it up, the plinth won't be usable for much longer. I'm now in the market for a new, real wood one.

As I start to look into my options, a few questions have come up:

• Is the AR-XB top plate the same dimensions as the AR-XA? Basically, could one install an XB on an XA base and vice versa without modification to the base?
• Are there any plans available online that detail all of the exact, required dimensions for new AR-XB base? I guess that would primarily be the inner dimensions for mounting the top plate. I live in an apartment in NYC, and so can't exactly entertain the idea of making one on my own. If I had the exact dimensions (and I'd prefer to not have to disassemble my current unit to get them) I could maybe get some quotes from some local cabinet makers
• Is there anyone out there that specializes in pre-made bases? I don't need anything fancy at all. Google searches haven't turned up much. Only thing I've really seen is a seller on that auction site, but I have no idea if they are any good, if they quality is decent, etc. Anyone have experience with this seller's product?

Thanks for any and all suggestions!

 

[marcmorin]

Hi, the XA top plate sits on the base and bolts down from inside, the XB sits up in the base and is held in place by brackets. It will fit on an XA base, however you will need to do something to hold it in place.

PM sent

 

[Canadianprez]

Is there any way you could post a few pictures of the damage?

 

[mkane]

Easy to make a new base. Especially easy if you're not picky about cosmetics.

 

[marcmorin]

Is there any way you could post a few pictures of the damage?

Imagine MDF that has been soaked in water. That's pretty much what they do. They try to turn into the loose wood chips it used to be, and do a pretty good job of it.

 

[mdye]

Imagine MDF that has been soaked in water. That's pretty much what they do. They try to turn into the loose wood chips it used to be, and do a pretty good job of it.

That's exactly what's going on here.

 

[bob06]

AR is one of the easiest plinths to build just as the Thorens 14X and 16X series TT. It's just a 4 sided box. Use what you have as a template to measure. There are people here on AK that can build you one if you so desire. The guy on Ebay is a AK member I believe.