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Braun PS-600 needing to disassemble but not finding much reference

briandhuff

briandhuff

New Member
Had a customer drop off a Braun PS-600 turntable with weak right channel signal.
Seems to be a pretty rare little guy and all service manual / reference material is in German.
It's a fully sprung unit with a sealed underside and uses a groundstrapping method to ground the device where the table itself is tied to the common ground of both single ended RCA cables.

As this is a fully automatic turntable with a lot of adjustments, I'm hoping to find someone who has worked on one before I start the tear down.

Looking specifically to see if anyone has opened one up and serviced the mute switch, as I suspect that is the issue.

The cartridge tones out correctly to the RCA ends, all automatic functions work, just getting the super quiet right channel and somewhat quiet left.
 
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I own one, it's in the thumbnail at the left. I can't help much, Vinyl Engine has the Operation Manual. Mine was reworked prior to my acquisition. I believe that the basis for the turntable is an Elac Miracord 50H. What follows is a quick AI search in Google.

"The Braun PS 600
(often referred to as the P600) is a celebrated piece of German industrial design created by Dieter Rams around 1969–1972. It is highly regarded for its minimalist "Less, but better" aesthetic and its inclusion in the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) collection.

Key Specifications & Features
  • Automatic Record Changer: A standout feature for its era, it can hold and play up to 10 records sequentially.
  • Drive System: It utilizes a belt drive (specifically the "Adler" system) combined with an idler wheel for stable rotation and reduced vibration.
  • Suspension: The platter and tonearm sit on unique hydraulic oil-filled pods (oil cushions) with rubber boots to dampen external vibrations.
  • Speeds: Supports 33 1/3 and 45 RPM with a mirrored strobe window for precise speed tuning.
  • Tonearm: A balanced tonearm featuring an adjustable counterweight and anti-skating function, typically originally fitted with a Shure cartridge.

Design Context
  • Dieter Rams Influence: The PS 600 embodies Rams’ ten principles of good design, featuring a clean, light-gray front panel and intuitive ergonomic controls.
  • Historical Position: It succeeded the famous Braun PS 500 and was positioned above the PS 400/500 models but below the flagship PS 1000. It is reportedly a redesign of the Elac Miracord 50H, customized to fill Braun's need for a fully automatic model.
  • Materials: Constructed primarily from aluminum, plastic, and acrylic, often housed in a wooden plinth.

Purchase & Value (Approximate)
Prices for vintage Braun turntables vary significantly based on condition and location:
  • Average Selling Price: Historically, units have sold for an average of approximately $2,729, with high-end examples exceeding $4,000.
  • Availability: You can find these on specialized marketplaces like Pamono or 1stDibs, and occasionally on eBay for lower prices, though often "as-is" or for parts. "

Chris here again; my understanding is that the hydraulic suspension requires a rebuild and the folks who rebuilt mine followed the basic 50H mechanism finding a few wrinkles along the way. I'm sure you'll need to replace the belt and the o-rings in the suspension if it's been out of service for a long time. Hope this helps. It is a fine TT and I love the system. Mine is running a Denon 103 MC cart and will use the dropping spindles common to the 50H. The 45rpm drop spindle is hard to find but works well, mine is white plastic. Well worth your time to bring back. I wish you the best, and hope some folks here can add value to this summary
 
Hey Chris, thanks for the reply.
I've found a few posts here and there about it, a detailed one where a fella removed the arm, that is a real pain due to the anti-tamper screws on it.
Outside of the weak channel, it's in very good shape, so not planning on doing anything more to it.
Customer has a Shure HA95E on it currently.
 
I'm glad you're going to enjoy your TT. I'd suggest a couple of things. Look out for another Braun Headshell. There was one on the bay that had a quality cart attached. Alternatively swap in a different cart. The MM/MC carts from Grado, Shure, AudioTechnica and Denon are good candidates. If you check continuity between the outputs of the tonearm and the cart. I bet you're still good. Could be oxidation on the connects. I left the interconnects alone, but added a different headshell with cart. Got improved results, then put the old headshell back in place after removing and 'deox' of the pins etc. I do suspect your cart without added data.

Iansaudio: The answer is yes. Here's the best info I have on that.

Braun P600 and Elac Miracord 50H share the same core motor technology, as the Braun model was a redesigned version of the Elac chassis.

Elac Miracord 50H
The "H" in the model name specifically stands for Hysteresis, denoting the type of motor used.
  • Motor Type: Papst Hysteresis Synchronous motor.
  • Design: It features an external rotor (often referred to as an "outer rotor" or "outside-running" motor).
  • Drive System: This motor drives the platter via an idler wheel.
  • Key Benefit: Because it is synchronous, its speed is locked to the frequency of the AC mains power (50Hz or 60Hz), making it highly accurate and resistant to voltage fluctuations.

Braun PS 600
As a variant based on the Elac 50H platform, the
Braun PS 600 uses the same motor setup to provide its fully automatic function
  • Motor Type: Papst Hysteresis Synchronous motor.
  • Drive System: Idler drive.
Note: Modern re-releases, such as the current
Elac Miracord 50
(without the "H"), use a completely different DC servo motor with a belt-drive system.

Chris here: The motor drives the idler wheel with a short belt drive which dampens the rumble. The speed adjustment on my copy works very well using the strobe. I've checked it regularly, turns out that the strobe is accurate when compared to the RPM app on the phone.
Enjoy your table.
 
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