Goodwill Hunting

[RoMoMoTo]

Well, I got a new (good used) tonearm for my AR XA (two motor) deck, and a new belt for my ROK K33H with ESL arm. And fabricated a fingerlift for the ESL, since I can't find a replacement headshell.
With a little bit of wiring, both should be serviceable. Meanwhile, and inspired by some of the stories I've read here, I ducked into a Goodwill and walked out with a B&O RX2, an NAD 7220PE and a pair of JBL 2800 speakers, all in working order, for about $35 including the geezer discount.
I plan to keep the NAD, the (crappy) speakers will go into my garage system, but what about the B&O? I bought it Just Because (for $8.50) and since cleaning it up, I've become kind of attached to it. It has the MMC5 cartridge, which I gather is the bottom end of the applicable line. Don't know what shape it's in, though the stylus looks okay through a weak magnifier. A quick check tells me that I don't want to invest the $$$ to upgrade, since I have the two good manual decks. What's the collective wisdom on the B&O and MMC5?

Hope I don't open up a can o' worms here, but I'm an admitted newb.

RoMoMoTo

 

[spartanmanor]

Sounds like you have some nice stuff and nothing wrong with making a little score at the GW.

 

[circlesky73]

Dang it! Why can't I find cool stuff like the rest of you???

However...

One of the coolest things I'd found at a Goodwill/SA-type store was a copy of "The Velvet Underground and Nico". Banana long gone, sleeve and LP both in G, G- condition. It looked cool, and vaguely vulgar, in a frame.

 

[Nat]

The problem with the B&O is that if the stylus is worn, or the suspension dried up, you are looking at a good deal of money to rebuild or replace. B&O no longer makes cartridges, and demand has driven prices up very high. And that's before you get into how they sound. I believe that the general concesus is that they are nice relaxed sounded tables, but that the light construction means that they don't really get out all the detail, and the low end is softer than, for example, your Rek O Kut.
If the cartridge is in good shape, you can easily sell it for dramatically more than you have into it, so you did well regardless of whether you like the table enough to use it yourself.

 

[RoMoMoTo]

Nat, Thanks for your perspective. That's pretty much what I suspected. Since posting my original message, I got busy and wired up both the AR and the ROK. Both are working, but there's a nasty ground hum from the AR, even though I grounded the arm and chassis. I'm running an AT cartridge, which sounds good in the ROK with ESL arm!

 

[arrow 68]

Dang it! Why can't I find cool stuff like the rest of you???

However...

One of the coolest things I'd found at a Goodwill/SA-type store was a copy of "The Velvet Underground and Nico". Banana long gone, sleeve and LP both in G, G- condition. It looked cool, and vaguely vulgar, in a frame.

A Verve Yellow Label Promo of that sold for about $270 recently on that auction site.