Terry Wilker
New Member
Are Empire 598 turntables a good collector turntable? Also are they reliable? Thanks in advance.
Empire
- Thread starter Terry Wilker
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
Terry Wilker
New Member
One coming up for sale soon. Are repair parts avaliable?
Terry Wilker
New Member
Whay would be a good price you pay for an unknown working?
With any old component, the most likely source for many parts is another one, to be canabalized. Which can be expensive. But your attention should be on cosmetics - the Empires were made of aluminum, usually gold colored, and apparently, this color was paint, not anodization. Regardless, pitting of the aluminum and wearing of the gold finish are common issues - they may be cosmetic, but an ugly table has a whole lot less value than a pristine one.
On the postive side, Empires are very simple, with little to break or wear out. They use a Pabst motor, which was/is highly regarded and not prone to issues. The motor grommets are potentially an issue, but you can still buy the exact part from Lorde, though you have to buy an industrial quantity, so usually people get them from someone who did buy a ton of them and is now selling them in small quantities at a steep markup. But you only need three, so its not a big deal. Belts are harder to find. I think the premier source, Esoteric, is no longer in business. There are plenty of people offering belts and perhaps they are less excellent than Esoterics, but they may be just fine. The problem is that there seem to have been several different belt lengths in the history of the turntable, and it isn't easy to tell which is right. Maybe all are usuable - I don't know.
The motor cap may be an issue, but the ones I've seen seem to be paper in oil and don't cause problems.
The arm is better and lower mass than it looks, but the cartridge carrier is hard to find if it is missing. The auto lift is frightening.
One of the most infuriating problems with the 598 is the dust cover hinges. The friction hinge is made of a stack of metal plates all rubbing together. Eventually they wear a bit so the dust cover doesn't stay open. The natural response is to crank down on the screw, but this actually exacerbates the problem - it works for a couple of times and then is worse. I found that backing off the screw and doing some loosening of the plates by twisting a screw driver between the plates got the mechanism back to working order for me, but I take no responsibility for what happens with yours.
We are not supposed to talk about price in forums (fora?) other than Dollars and Sense, but I will say that I offered a functional but tired looking - that gold finish - 598 at one of the recent frankenfests (the New England AK fest) for 300 bucks and got not one query about it. Granted, the AKers who go to fests aleady have tons of stuff, and usually we are all trying to get rid of our vast excesses, so anything at a reasonably price, rather than a fire sale. price doesn't sell.
They are fine tables, but don't be fooled by some of the hype about their value.
On the postive side, Empires are very simple, with little to break or wear out. They use a Pabst motor, which was/is highly regarded and not prone to issues. The motor grommets are potentially an issue, but you can still buy the exact part from Lorde, though you have to buy an industrial quantity, so usually people get them from someone who did buy a ton of them and is now selling them in small quantities at a steep markup. But you only need three, so its not a big deal. Belts are harder to find. I think the premier source, Esoteric, is no longer in business. There are plenty of people offering belts and perhaps they are less excellent than Esoterics, but they may be just fine. The problem is that there seem to have been several different belt lengths in the history of the turntable, and it isn't easy to tell which is right. Maybe all are usuable - I don't know.
The motor cap may be an issue, but the ones I've seen seem to be paper in oil and don't cause problems.
The arm is better and lower mass than it looks, but the cartridge carrier is hard to find if it is missing. The auto lift is frightening.
One of the most infuriating problems with the 598 is the dust cover hinges. The friction hinge is made of a stack of metal plates all rubbing together. Eventually they wear a bit so the dust cover doesn't stay open. The natural response is to crank down on the screw, but this actually exacerbates the problem - it works for a couple of times and then is worse. I found that backing off the screw and doing some loosening of the plates by twisting a screw driver between the plates got the mechanism back to working order for me, but I take no responsibility for what happens with yours.
We are not supposed to talk about price in forums (fora?) other than Dollars and Sense, but I will say that I offered a functional but tired looking - that gold finish - 598 at one of the recent frankenfests (the New England AK fest) for 300 bucks and got not one query about it. Granted, the AKers who go to fests aleady have tons of stuff, and usually we are all trying to get rid of our vast excesses, so anything at a reasonably price, rather than a fire sale. price doesn't sell.
They are fine tables, but don't be fooled by some of the hype about their value.
Terry Wilker
New Member
I appreciate your responce. This one is at an upcoming estate sale. Pic's make it look very good. I know that can be deceiving.
KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
Spare parts are generally only from parts donor turntables.
KentTeffeteller
Gimpus Stereophilus!
However, you can still buy Lord isolation mounts for the motors, and belts. Jico still offers replacement styli for Empire cartridges. Note, an Empire 598 Troubador is on my bucket list.
I don't know if you are bold enough to do the standard adjustments on the Empire yourself, but they aren't that hard, and the chances of them lasting are a lot better if the table isn't moved. If someone can come to your house, that's fine, but if you have to take it to them, there is a chance that the adjustments will be out of whack by the time you get home.
The fact that you asked suggests that your are uneasy about your abilities, and that is to your credit since there are few things more dangerous to a turntable than someone who thinks he knows what he is doing, and doesn't - I've been that person, and it isn't pretty. But apart from the Dynalift end of the record thingy bobber (which is twitchy to adjust, and startling (and not in a good way) in operation, so perhaps it's best left unused, the adjustments are relatively straightforward, and well explained in the manual. You do need to have the correct belt (and there are some confusing variations in size - Empire seems to have changed some dimensions at various points without making it clear). There are all sorts of belts on the internet, all claiming to be the right one, and unfortunately, EAR, which specialized in RekOKut and Empire, seems to have hung up the towel, so you are somewhat in uncharted waters. Perhaps others will wade in with useful information.
I hope there is a knowledgeable and competent AKer locally who can help you, but if there isn't, you probably can handle it yourself. Keep us posted - it is a very nice turntable.
The fact that you asked suggests that your are uneasy about your abilities, and that is to your credit since there are few things more dangerous to a turntable than someone who thinks he knows what he is doing, and doesn't - I've been that person, and it isn't pretty. But apart from the Dynalift end of the record thingy bobber (which is twitchy to adjust, and startling (and not in a good way) in operation, so perhaps it's best left unused, the adjustments are relatively straightforward, and well explained in the manual. You do need to have the correct belt (and there are some confusing variations in size - Empire seems to have changed some dimensions at various points without making it clear). There are all sorts of belts on the internet, all claiming to be the right one, and unfortunately, EAR, which specialized in RekOKut and Empire, seems to have hung up the towel, so you are somewhat in uncharted waters. Perhaps others will wade in with useful information.
I hope there is a knowledgeable and competent AKer locally who can help you, but if there isn't, you probably can handle it yourself. Keep us posted - it is a very nice turntable.
