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BIC Turntables

The "straight" platter mat is earlier, used in 1974 and 1975. They then changed to the spoked mat.

However, the "straight" mat made a reappearance on the "Z" series tables in 1979.

Doug
 
I've never seen the mild mannered platter mat - I much prefer it, even if it lacks the visual appeal (or lack thereof) of the gloriously 70s/80s cut out mat of death.
 
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Redikilowatt said:
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 :)
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My first system was similar, with a BIC 960, Pioneer SA 6500 II integrated amp, and EPI 100 speakers. I didn't end up keeping the BIC 960, or the Garrard GT55 that replaced it, very long, as neither of them proved reliable in their automatic record changing and arm lift functions. They had some fun features, though, and were not at all bad sounding. The Thorens TD 146 I ended up replacing the Garrard with didn't really sound any better, but it's been spinning records somewhere in my family since 1984 (owned by me for about a year before being replaced by an LP12, then used by my older brother for decades, and currently in my nephew's home). I also bought a BIC 920 without a base, and it eventually made its way into the console system that a friend's grandmother owned, replacing the old record changer in it that no longer worked. The 920 worked great and lasted as long as grandma did.
 
I got a BIC 960 in 1976 or 7 as an upgrade of my bottom-of-the-line BSR changer. I don't know what I did with it when I moved up to a Phillips GA-312. I don't recall having any problems with the BIC. I got my mom a BIC 940 that lasted until she passed away. I gave that one to a friend.
 
I bought a bic 960 off of Craigslist when I first returned to vintage hi-fi.
It was cheap and had the vintage look I was after.
I was not impressed at all with the build quality but it functioned as designed and sounded really good. It came with a Shure m91ed cart which made it worth the while.
I upgraded to a pioneer direct drive and never bothered with the bic again.
Two weeks ago I gave the bic to a coworker for his son.
I’m glad it is getting used.
To answer the OPs original question,
inspite of the cheap build quality, the table held up very well over the years.
 
I had the spoked platter on at least one BIC that came through here. I basically ruined the thin plastic backing though, I think with a heat gun while trying to release the stuck platter or maybe it was some cleaner I was using. It's been a while since I had it and at least distorted like it melted anyway. So be careful around that too.
 
Doug G. said:
What was it about the 960 made you think the build quality was cheap? If you compare the build material/quality to a comparable Dual of the day, they are very similar, in my opinion.

Doug
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The bic table is built almost entirely out of vacuum formed plastic.
It gives the appearance of a wood plinth but the wood is really just trim around the plastic body.
It would transmit vibrations very easy and feedback.
Now proper isolation would remedy this but this table requires much more isolation than my pioneer pl540 does.
I don’t mean to say the bic is a bad table, it was engineered very well. The tonearm and head shell were very low mass and the cueing system is great. It also sound really good, no worse than my pioneer. It just was a bit too light-weight and gave an impression of being flimsy, which is not really true but it felt that way.
The duals which have the United audio plinths are much more heavy duty and substantial comparatively.
I grew up listening to my dads dual 1219 and flimsy is not something that you think of when you think of dual.
These are just my opinions.
No intention of bashing bic.
 
Moby Dick said:
The bic table is built almost entirely out of vacuum formed plastic.
It gives the appearance of a wood plinth but the wood is really just trim around the plastic body.
It would transmit vibrations very easy and feedback.
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That is simply untrue. As it so happens, I have my 960 plinth apart to reglue. As you can see, it is entirely made of wood, and sits on four cone-shaped feet. There is a clear plastic dustcover underneath to keep the components clean, but that is all it is - a dustcover. Second photo shows mechanism. Deck and moving parts are metal. Platter is aluminum. Has plastic cam, same as all Duals - but no pesky stuerpimpel thank goodness. .


Resized_20181222_095209_6070.jpeg Resized_20181222_095231_2371.jpeg
 
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I dusted off my 960 with Shure M91ED and AudioQuest Evergreen interconnects, and set it up with my Fisher X-100 and Spendor SP3/1R's. Backgrounds are very quiet and it produces a nicely 3D image. Details are a little smeared, but that could easily be attributed to the $14 EVG stylus.
 
Moby Dick said:
The bic table is built almost entirely out of vacuum formed plastic.
It gives the appearance of a wood plinth but the wood is really just trim around the plastic body.
It would transmit vibrations very easy and feedback.
Now proper isolation would remedy this but this table requires much more isolation than my pioneer pl540 does.
I don’t mean to say the bic is a bad table, it was engineered very well. The tonearm and head shell were very low mass and the cueing system is great. It also sound really good, no worse than my pioneer. It just was a bit too light-weight and gave an impression of being flimsy, which is not really true but it felt that way.
The duals which have the United audio plinths are much more heavy duty and substantial comparatively.
I grew up listening to my dads dual 1219 and flimsy is not something that you think of when you think of dual.
These are just my opinions.
No intention of bashing bic.
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BIC sold a few different bases, one was plastic. The wood one was most definitely solid walnut. I've had 7 or these tables ranging from the 940 up to the 1000. The top plate is steel, the tonearm tube is aluminum. The large red cam and repeat selector underneath are plastic, but almost everything else is metal. The headshell *is* plastic and seems wobbly compared to SME styled knockoff head shells, but works fine.

Maybe your experience is with the later, cheaper models but there is no more plastic on the ones I have than is used in any number of Japanese direct drive decks. The BICs are also much easier to get up and running than the complex Duals that I have had (1229, 1249, 1019)
 
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Lazerbrains said:
That is simply untrue. As it so happens, I have my 960 plinth apart to reglue. As you can see, it is entirely made of wood, and sits on four cone-shaped feet. There is a clear plastic dustcover underneath to keep the components clean, but that is all it is - a dustcover. Second photo shows mechanism. Deck and moving parts are metal. Platter is aluminum. Has plastic cam, same as all Duals - but no pesky stuerpimpel thank goodness. .


View attachment 1363873 View attachment 1363874
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Thanks for the photos,
I stand corrected.
There is a wood base plate for the plinth.
Funny I didn’t notice that when I had mine.

Either way, I do think the table is well engineered and sounds good.
I just appreciate the heavier build of the pioneer pl5xx series.
 
All the BICs had stamped aluminum parts underneath, which aren't as strong as the steel parts of Duals, Miracords, Garrards, BSRs and so on. And the parts above were plastic and aluminum, and the tracking force and antiskating force were applied by long springs anchored to metal posts, rather than coil springs on the better versions of the competition.
Which is not a criticism of the BICs - making a good sounding, durable table using less expensive parts is sensible (to say nothing of being the only way to survive at all if you are manufacturing in the USA). BICs won't stand up to brute force repair techniques like twisting the platter off after the lubricants have dried up, whereas other tables might. But that is really more of an indictment of the technique than it is of the turntable, and it is definitely an indictment of the lubricants BIC used. Most other automatics get sluggish because of lubricants drying over the years, but the BICs completely lock up, making it harder to relube them.
 
Nat said:
All the BICs had stamped aluminum parts underneath, which aren't as strong as the steel parts of Duals, Miracords, Garrards, BSRs and so on. And the parts above were plastic and aluminum, and the tracking force and antiskating force were applied by long springs anchored to metal posts, rather than coil springs on the better versions of the competition.
Which is not a criticism of the BICs - making a good sounding, durable table using less expensive parts is sensible (to say nothing of being the only way to survive at all if you are manufacturing in the USA). BICs won't stand up to brute force repair techniques like twisting the platter off after the lubricants have dried up, whereas other tables might. But that is really more of an indictment of the technique than it is of the turntable, and it is definitely an indictment of the lubricants BIC used. Most other automatics get sluggish because of lubricants drying over the years, but the BICs completely lock up, making it harder to relube them.
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True. However, I noticed I had a much easier time getting my 960 running due to its simplicity, as compared to cleaning off the old grease of my GarrardSL-95B. Less parts and more room to work for 2 turntables that have the same features.

I enjoy and use both, but hands down, for me, the BIC was MUCH easier to get going again.
 
Probably the ones for the VIA and Z series tables. They are wider than the ones for the original 900 series tables.

And, actually the later 960's and 980's, etc. do have vinyl wrapped plastic bases. A cost cutting measure, I'm sure, when BIC began to have. financial problems. They are identified by having the BIC logo on the front whereas the original wood bases don't.

Doug
 
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