BIC Turntables

[timsclips]

I spent a year in the 70's trying to be a campus rep for the different mail order stereo companies. Never any money in it but it was somewhat fun.
Anyways, one of the more popular items that I sold were the 960 and 980 turntables. From what I remember they were well designed but made of plastic for the most part. and thought by some to be lesser in quality because of that,
I was wondering how they are holding up after 40 years compared to the Japanese and Dual turntables that were the biggest sellers.
I was out of the field by 1980 so I have no knowledge of the later BIC models.

 

[rebellovw]

I used to covet them in the 70s as a teenager gearhead - I guess the cool logo caught my eye. But the reality is - I never hear of them today - I'm thinking they just are not very good compared to what is out there.

 

[homebrew]

The 960 and 980 were decent turntables at the time. I used to own a 960 and it was fine. Eventually though I sold it and went to a direct drive Technics. Occasionally see them on eBay and Craigslist and they're pretty cheap. Not especially desirable.

 

[beatcomber]

I have a fully restored 1976 960 and it's a terrific performer, better than one might think.

I have a soft spot for them, because my very first turntable (1977 or '78) was a BIC 960.

 

[stereofisher]

Sold a fair amount of these as a stereo rep in Hays Ks. Made really good money selling stuff. More than my teaching job some weeks!. The BIC 960 and 980 were nice tables. Fast forward to 5 years ago. Fixed up several. Cleaned and regressed, good to go. Would have kept one but I had no room. Have three Duals upstairs and one one the bench with a Garrard Zero 100. Need a bigger house! When I get time I have to pick up a BSR 810. Works, it rare and a little odd. Leave 3 on the bench. It’s the ONLY thing the Mrs leaves me alone with anyway, tuned up BIC 960s are good. Should the test of time.

 

[likebike23]

I have a 960 myself, black plinth unfortunately. It had the typical frozen platter and cam followers when I got it. A little degreasing and fresh lube and it runs perfectly. The belts hold up well, the motor is decent, and they are a breeze to work on.

My Duals were also all frozen up with dried grease, so needed a complete tear down. They are much harder to work on and quite finicky. If it's not the stuerpimple it's the sled contacts, or the idler, or the on/off linkage, or the muting switch, or the speed selector, or the........ I feel you have to really love Duals and troubleshooting to be happy with a Dual. Just the other day I changed the cart on my 1019 and it developed a hum. Off with the platter, flip it over and clean up all the signal grounds. C'est la vie.

 

[Lazerbrains]

BIC fan here. Have both a 940 and a 960 each. Nice little tables with a 32 pole motor. Dead reliable once serviced as the mechanism is so simple, and they sound great, can track very lightly. No more plastic than I have seen in many Duals from the same era.

 

[RedShift42]

Subscribed, if only to see how long this goes before someone comes in just to crap on BIC’s.

 

[Jonny Ramone]

I thought the sound of my thrift 960 was pretty sweet, but the tone-arm dropped like a bomb, the return didn't work, and I was tired of tearing it apart. Also, without a headshell jig, aligning the cart sucked. In hindsight, I should have sent it to a specialist, and got a 3-D printed alignment tool.

 

[Bruno Primas]

I had a 940 and I still have a 960. The only difference I could see between the two of them was the 940 had the anti-skate located on the table itself instead of on the tonearm, which is where it is on the 960. The outside of the platter on the 960 is made of brushed aluminum, (I think), whereas the 940 is just black plastic.
I'm not sure about the difference in weight, if any.

That being said, I really didn't notice a difference in quality of sound between the two.

The tonearm dropped fast on mine as well, but as I continued to use both of the units, they both started to slow down. The dampening fluid must have been dried out, and through use, I figure that it "loosened" it up and maybe spread it evenly back out on the mechanism. This occurred on both the 940 and 960 where they are both slow-dropping enough to be more than acceptable.

I really like the simplicity of the mechanism on the BIC's, and think they are decent turntables with a little work.

If you buy something and it's 30 years old or more, you can't expect it to work perfectly without some maintenance, and the BIC's seem more simple to me than some of the other comparable turntable brands of that era.

 

[Lazerbrains]

That's odd, the platters on my 940 and 960 are identical except for color - neither are plastic. As for the arm drop, it is viscous-dampened, so if it drops too fast you need to add silicone fluid, just as you do with any turntable with this feature. Also, the speed the arm drops is adjustable - a pretty neat feature.

 

[Bruno Primas]

That's odd, the platters on my 940 and 960 are identical except for color - neither are plastic. As for the arm drop, it is viscous-dampened, so if it drops too fast you need to add silicone fluid, just as you do with any turntable with this feature. Also, the speed the arm drops is adjustable - a pretty neat feature.

Maybe the outside of the platter WAS black- painted aluminum.....


I didn't notice a weight difference, so I believe you're right.

 

[Redikilowatt]

A BIC 960 was part of my first big audio purchase in 1978. Thought I was in audio heaven with a Pioneer SX-750 (still have it), the BIC 960 (sold a few years back), Pioneer CT-F500, and Bose 301 speakers

 

[Lazerbrains]

BTW - here is a video of my 940, and you can see the tone arm damping.

My Duals were also all frozen up with dried grease, so needed a complete tear down. They are much harder to work on and quite finicky. If it's not the stuerpimple it's the sled contacts, or the idler, or the on/off linkage, or the muting switch, or the speed selector, or the........ I feel you have to really love Duals and troubleshooting to be happy with a Dual........

So true about the Duals, they are always temperamental. But oddly enough, they get lots of love around here.

 

[jmchrislip]

I always wanted a 960 but it didn't happen. They were high quality at a somewhat reasonable price.

 

[Robint]

I have a 980, was using it in the bedroom system. The problem was using it with an ADC cart tracking at 1.25g every time I moved it skipped. Nice turntable, found at GW with seized platter, BIC used 90 weight gear oil. Cleaned and lubed worked perfectly. Replaced with a Technics SL-L3 found at GW, but still have the 980.

 

[Doug G.]

BIC turntables never had plastic platters, always aluminum. Or, in the case of the 920, stamped steel. The 940's was just painted black but otherwise identical to the 960's and 980's.

The 940 tonearm is quite different from the 960 and 980. There is no VTA/SRA adjustment and the balance/VTF adjustment is static, not dynamic.

Setting up a cartridge without the gauge is simple. Just get the stylus tip directly under the rear edge of the A/M slide in the shell, with the cartridge centered in the shell and parallel to the sides of the shell. Use the adjustment on the shell to get the top of the shell parallel to the record surface. Use a lined card, like a recipe card.

Doug

 

[Old-School]

BIC fan here.
My brother's first nice TT was a BIC 960. I remember it came in 3 boxes new. Dust cover, Plinth, and drive unit all in separate boxes. I remember looking at that thing and thinking it was the most high end thing ever! He used it from brand new (1978 or 9) until the 90's on a regular basis without any major problems. A belt or 2 but that was it.
I bought one used at a flea market in the early1980's and was glowing like the sun bringing it home. It worked well until the late 80's when i put it into storage. And that is one thing BIC's do not like. Sitting in storage. If used on a regular basis not so bad. But mine was a basket case when pulled from 20 years of storage.
Still, when it was working, it sounded very nice. I have a 940, 960, and 980. Here's my 960 running, from a few years back..

 

[Doug G.]

I had a similar reaction when I got my first 980 in three boxes like that from Heathkit (I got an amp at the same time) in March of 1976. In heaven!

And, any mechanical device will deteriorate over time. Susceptible parts will just do that. About the only thing in BIC's is lubricants hardening/drying up and the damping fluid running out of the bore due to gravity. The belt should last decades and the other parts are pretty inert. My original 42-year-old 980 is fine with just routine maintenance (lubrication).

Doug

 

[Nat]

I've always been frightened by the cut outs in the mat, which, if a stylus encountered them, would not end well for the stylus. That said, once you get BICs going, they sound quite good - I haven't sat down and compared one with the normal most admired changers, but I suspect they wouldn't be embarrassed.
The aluminum strap that holds the main bearing isn't strong enough to resist a brute strength approach to getting the platter off if the grease has seized up, which it usually has. Use heat, not muscles.