bobins08
Celebrating Life
I bought my AR XB about a year ago, partly out of curiosity but also for nostalgic reasons. I went to high school in the 70’s and can recall several friends that had them. I always thought they looked a bit primitive, even back then, but they were excellent sounding tables. Since joining AK and immersing myself in the hobby, I really enjoy reading all of the AR XA/XB threads and I am amazed at the following that this table has. I now really appreciate both its looks and the simplicity. When the opportunity to pick up an XB at a great price came my way I jumped on it.
I used my XB sparingly until recently when I set it up as a 2nd table to my TD 160. First I put my V15-III on it, next the Grado GF1+ with a MCZ stylus. I really started to like the sound of the Grado quite a bit. My Stock XB is in picture 1.
Marc Morin was kind enough to build an upgraded XB arm for me to try. He said I had not really heard my Grado yet. This past weekend I set out to replace my stock arm with Marc’s upgraded arm and also do some maintenance on the XB. I replaced the power switch capacitor (it used to produce an audible pop). I serviced the cueing device, added 100K silicon and got it working properly. I cleaned the platter and arm sleeves out and added fresh oil. Pictures 2 shows the cueing device. Picture 3 is the new arm compared to the old one. Note the upgraded wires. The upgraded arm uses sapphire cups and the pivots are polished to a higher standard … I’ll let Mark explain all that ME stuff.
The task of replacing the arm took longer than I thought. My eyes are not great. My bench skills have diminished from my 20’s (which was the last time that I did much of this kind of work) but I am gaining some of it back. Working with 33 gauge wires in Teflon jackets was a first time experience. I had a disconnected wire to deal with (twice), and some scraping of insulation to re-strip a few ends. But I survived it ok.
Pictures 4 and 5 show the old and new wiring. You may know that AR’s are grounded via the left channel RCA shield. At Marc’s request I jumpered the ground to the right RCA shield as well. This did make the table quieter than the stock configuration. I get no hum at all, even with volume maxed.
I feel that the AR arm, which sets in an oil filled sleeve, is tricky to work on at times. Beside the mess of the oil, you have to be careful of the wires. I loosened the suspension spring at the tone arm and shimmed it up to provide room to pull the wires through.
After ringing it out, oiling everything, putting it together it was time for alignment. Mark set the overhang and azimuth when he built the arm. I checked them both and did not touch a thing. I think he knows something about this ... :scratch2:
Time to play it. First I checked for hum and other noise and all theh potential bad stuff was absent. Next I tested the power on/off switch, no more pops. Then I put on a familiar record and I instantly noticed a big, big improvement.
What is better about the sound? Everything.
There is no need for me to toss out all the buzz words, every aspect is better. If you have a stock arm you need too strongly consider this upgrade. I postponed setting up the cueing until the next day … I was tired and its best to not work on a turntable when you’re tired. Instead I played the XB from 6:00 pm to 2:00 AM. I am completely happy with the new arm.
Working with Marc was a pleasure. What a gentleman and an extremely knowledgeable engineer. Thanks again Marc! :yes:
I consider this phase 1 of a 2 stage project and I am going to do more of his upgrades in the future. This project was well worth the time and effort. Consider me an AR/Grado fan. I just love the sound this table is producing. It is a comfortable sound.
Not to wave the flag but I do like having an old and good American product in my collection of turntables. For me, part of the fun of this hobby is reconnecting with a joyful past.
Cheers, Bob
I used my XB sparingly until recently when I set it up as a 2nd table to my TD 160. First I put my V15-III on it, next the Grado GF1+ with a MCZ stylus. I really started to like the sound of the Grado quite a bit. My Stock XB is in picture 1.
Marc Morin was kind enough to build an upgraded XB arm for me to try. He said I had not really heard my Grado yet. This past weekend I set out to replace my stock arm with Marc’s upgraded arm and also do some maintenance on the XB. I replaced the power switch capacitor (it used to produce an audible pop). I serviced the cueing device, added 100K silicon and got it working properly. I cleaned the platter and arm sleeves out and added fresh oil. Pictures 2 shows the cueing device. Picture 3 is the new arm compared to the old one. Note the upgraded wires. The upgraded arm uses sapphire cups and the pivots are polished to a higher standard … I’ll let Mark explain all that ME stuff.
The task of replacing the arm took longer than I thought. My eyes are not great. My bench skills have diminished from my 20’s (which was the last time that I did much of this kind of work) but I am gaining some of it back. Working with 33 gauge wires in Teflon jackets was a first time experience. I had a disconnected wire to deal with (twice), and some scraping of insulation to re-strip a few ends. But I survived it ok.
Pictures 4 and 5 show the old and new wiring. You may know that AR’s are grounded via the left channel RCA shield. At Marc’s request I jumpered the ground to the right RCA shield as well. This did make the table quieter than the stock configuration. I get no hum at all, even with volume maxed.
I feel that the AR arm, which sets in an oil filled sleeve, is tricky to work on at times. Beside the mess of the oil, you have to be careful of the wires. I loosened the suspension spring at the tone arm and shimmed it up to provide room to pull the wires through.
After ringing it out, oiling everything, putting it together it was time for alignment. Mark set the overhang and azimuth when he built the arm. I checked them both and did not touch a thing. I think he knows something about this ... :scratch2:
Time to play it. First I checked for hum and other noise and all theh potential bad stuff was absent. Next I tested the power on/off switch, no more pops. Then I put on a familiar record and I instantly noticed a big, big improvement.
What is better about the sound? Everything.
There is no need for me to toss out all the buzz words, every aspect is better. If you have a stock arm you need too strongly consider this upgrade. I postponed setting up the cueing until the next day … I was tired and its best to not work on a turntable when you’re tired. Instead I played the XB from 6:00 pm to 2:00 AM. I am completely happy with the new arm. Working with Marc was a pleasure. What a gentleman and an extremely knowledgeable engineer. Thanks again Marc! :yes:
I consider this phase 1 of a 2 stage project and I am going to do more of his upgrades in the future. This project was well worth the time and effort. Consider me an AR/Grado fan. I just love the sound this table is producing. It is a comfortable sound.
Not to wave the flag but I do like having an old and good American product in my collection of turntables. For me, part of the fun of this hobby is reconnecting with a joyful past.
Cheers, Bob
Attachments
Last edited:
