Help in identifying history of this Elac Miracord 50H

[VA1DER]

Hello,

I have just ordered an Elac Miracord 50H (original, not mk II) that appears to be in very good condition. I'm still waiting (impatiently of course) for it to arrive. One thing that intrigued me about it is that has a plinth that I hadn't seen before with a power switch on the front. I am wondering if someone can help identify it and its origin. Photos are below.

Before seeing this unit I had never seen this plinth before. And even now searching for 50H photos I can see only one other. The English Benjamin manual that I downloaded mentions an optional power control base, but the (admittedly very poor quality) photo makes that appear to be a base not as wide as this one is. It appears to only be as wide as the turntable with no extra space on the right. There is no Benjamin name plate on this unit anywhere, though.

Also, does anyone know of a source for the 12 µm (5 mil) D444-12 stylus for the STS 444 cartridge? Love to get my hands on a few of those.

 

[Bruno Primas]

Is there a outlet on the back to plug a amplifier or receiver into?

 

[Montycat]

Check out the Radio Shack catalog archive such as here. I have never seen that plinth but they had a lot of Elac/Miracord of that era. https://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/flipbook/1977_radioshack_catalog.html

 

[Hajidub]

I have one 50H with that plinth. The power switch on the front is optional, not sure why, but it'll power on and play without using the switch.

 

[VA1DER]

I have one 50H with that plinth.

Do you know where it came from? It's certainly not a common one. Did Benjamin make it, or did it come from Elac directly? Do you know what kind of wood it is? The grain is a little generic on mine, so it's hard to tell. Any information would be appreciated.

So if it will turn on with the switch off, what exactly does the switch do?

Is there a outlet on the back to plug a amplifier or receiver into?

No outlets, per se. Just the normal cord most 50h's have

 

[Bruno Primas]

Do you know where it came from? It's certainly not a common one. Did Benjamin make it, or did it come from Elac directly? Do you know what kind of wood it is? The grain is a little generic on mine, so it's hard to tell. Any information would be appreciated.

So if it will turn on with the switch off, what exactly does the switch do?


No outlets, per se. Just the normal cord most 50h's have

Some plinths were made to shut off the receiver when it was done playing.

 

[1tumbleweed]

Benjamin was the US importer for ELAC Miracord. They had their own plinths made in the US. Yours is likely factory original, not US-sourced.

Very nice TT, BTW. I owned one for a good while.

 

[VA1DER]

Some plinths were made to shut off the receiver when it was done playing.

Ok, I was having a dumb moment. When you asked about rear outlets I thought you meant like RCA jacks on the back (thinking that was an identifier for the plinth). Here I am asking about the front power switch and ignoring the power outlet on the back.

Benjamin was the US importer for ELAC Miracord. They had their own plinths made in the US. Yours is likely factory original, not US-sourced.

This is exactly what I was wondering - if it was factory original. I didn't know Elac made and shipped directly for/to the US, and there was no Benjamin name on it anywhere, which was confusing me. I will be curious to look at the serial number and dates on it.

Incidentally, I just ran into another interesting beast - a 50H II in a plastic plinth. Looks like I'm running into a lot of things I've never seen before.

Very nice TT, BTW. I owned one for a good while.

It's my first classic turntable purchase, and I'm a bit nervous about it arriving safely.

 

[1tumbleweed]

You might find this interesting:

https://www.stereomanuals.com/man/rep/elac/elac_history.htm

 

[Bruno Primas]

O.K. So you can plug in the amp/receiver to the turntable, stack up a few records, drift off to sleep, and everything will shut off when it's done playing the last record!

 

[VA1DER]

My device isn't in yet (two more days to wait), but I've found out a little more. The consensus in the big "All About Miracords" thread was that, US plugs or no, if it didn't say Benjamin then it was brought into the country someway else. However I found this ad, by Benjamin, in the Feb 1967 High Fidelity showing a Miracord 50H with a powered base that has no Benjamin name plate on it at all. Looks like early Benjamin 50Hs didn't have their name on them.



The above plinth isn't exactly like mine - mine is the wider style with the extra couple inches to the right that I am now beginning to associate with the 50H IIs. The name-plate with power switch is identical to mine, though. I suspect that my base is a later-model base, made around the time when the 50H IIs began to be found, and that even though by this time Benjamin was using their own name plates, they reused the older Miracord name plate because the power switch was intrinsic.

 

[Hajidub]

One of my 50H's has a Benjamin badge and a power switch on the front.

 

[VA1DER]

One of my 50H's has a Benjamin badge and a power switch on the front.

Wow - can I get a photo? BTW, I wasn't trying to suggest that none of the powered plinths had a Benjamin badge. Just propose an explanation why some early Benjamin powered plinths might not say Benjamin.

Incidentally, I've found my exact plinth! In the September 1970 issue of High Fidelity magazine. This is the first appearance the Miracord 770H. This is the first of what I think of as the second gen "H" models (what became the 50H II, etc). It makes sense that my plinth would be for its introduction, since it was this series that introduced the requirement for extra room for the mechanism inside on the right. But it is definitely one Benjamin sold. Whether they made it, or just imported it from Elac, I don't know.


I've been going through issues of High Fidelity one by one looking at the Miracord articles and ads. It's fascinating seeing the models come out. With just a little reading between the lines you can get a good feel for the history of the company in much more detail as they change focus from model to model. I've decided to do a project to document every Miracord ad and article and from all issues of High Fidelity. I think there is an article in this too on the history of the Miracord in the US. The folks at Word Radio History made this easy, btw, in that they have scanned (and OCRed!) copies of every issue of the magazine from its inauguration in 1951 to well past when Miracords stopped being made.

I've also discovered that Benjamin was not the first exclusive Miracord dealer in the US. Before them there was Audiogersh Corporation.

 

[1tumbleweed]

Just to clarify:

Benjamin was not a dealer - they were an importer. During the period they were active, they were the exclusive source for ELAC products in the USA, similar to United Audio for Dual.

What's curious is whatever happened to them; the company seems to have vanished overnight, leaving ELAC without an importer. Around the same time period, Dual, Garrard and ELAC all lost their place in the US market, victims of the Japanese turntable onslaught and the rapid distaste for "changers" (an erstwhile term now discarded for "automatic turntables").

By the '80s, I believe only Technics still made record changers.

 

[Hajidub]

Wow - can I get a photo? BTW, I wasn't trying to suggest that none of the powered plinths had a Benjamin badge. Just propose an explanation why some early Benjamin powered plinths might not say Benjamin.

Incidentally, I've found my exact plinth! In the September 1970 issue of High Fidelity magazine. This is the first appearance the Miracord 770H. This is the first of what I think of as the second gen "H" models (what became the 50H II, etc). It makes sense that my plinth would be for its introduction, since it was this series that introduced the requirement for extra room for the mechanism inside on the right. But it is definitely one Benjamin sold. Whether they made it, or just imported it from Elac, I don't know.
View attachment 2669972

I've been going through issues of High Fidelity one by one looking at the Miracord articles and ads. It's fascinating seeing the models come out. With just a little reading between the lines you can get a good feel for the history of the company in much more detail as they change focus from model to model. I've decided to do a project to document every Miracord ad and article and from all issues of High Fidelity. I think there is an article in this too on the history of the Miracord in the US. The folks at Word Radio History made this easy, btw, in that they have scanned (and OCRed!) copies of every issue of the magazine from its inauguration in 1951 to well past when Miracords stopped being made.

I've also discovered that Benjamin was not the first exclusive Miracord dealer in the US. Before them there was Audiogersh Corporation.

Gave it to my son and I kept the ultra rare 50h studio 3100 model.

 

[Dav3]

Went to an estate sale this weekend and picked up a Benjamin Miracord / Elac 50 H for $30. It's in amazing shape visually though I haven't swapped out the Dual to see how it sounds yet. It has the Benjamin/Miracord badge. This one looks just like the advertisement Va1der posted, but without the power button. From the owners manual and the advert it seems they sold the table separately from the plinth so you could mix and match or "make your own support in a cabinet or drawer". The power control base was listed as PCB-50 WX and the plinth without was the RB-2A. The manual says the turntable should never need lubrication so there are no instructions for that, but I'm not sure they really thought these would still be spinning more than a half century later. The dust cover looks like maybe a later model cover, though it fits perfectly. It
has a rectangle in the center that had a "Benjamin" badge when new, now missing, the only flaw I've found.

 

[RDW]

Went to an estate sale this weekend and picked up a Benjamin Miracord / Elac 50 H for $30. It's in amazing shape visually though I haven't swapped out the Dual to see how it sounds yet. It has the Benjamin/Miracord badge. This one looks just like the advertisement Va1der posted, but without the power button. From the owners manual and the advert it seems they sold the table separately from the plinth so you could mix and match or "make your own support in a cabinet or drawer". The power control base was listed as PCB-50 WX and the plinth without was the RB-2A. The manual says the turntable should never need lubrication so there are no instructions for that, but I'm not sure they really thought these would still be spinning more than a half century later. The dust cover looks like maybe a later model cover, though it fits perfectly. It
has a rectangle in the center that had a "Benjamin" badge when new, now missing, the only flaw I've found.

View attachment 2684675


View attachment 2684645 View attachment 2684646

Great buy! You’re going to love it. Looks almost exactly like my 770H including the dust cover which does go with that base. I still need to do a little more cleaning and lubricating on mine but can’t stop spinning records long enough that do it! The first time I powered it on even before working it I was amazed at how much smoother and quieter it was than the Garrards that I have been used to.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Wow - can I get a photo? BTW, I wasn't trying to suggest that none of the powered plinths had a Benjamin badge. Just propose an explanation why some early Benjamin powered plinths might not say Benjamin.

Incidentally, I've found my exact plinth! In the September 1970 issue of High Fidelity magazine. This is the first appearance the Miracord 770H. This is the first of what I think of as the second gen "H" models (what became the 50H II, etc). It makes sense that my plinth would be for its introduction, since it was this series that introduced the requirement for extra room for the mechanism inside on the right. But it is definitely one Benjamin sold. Whether they made it, or just imported it from Elac, I don't know.

AudioGersh was very early in terms of USA importers. Benjamin took over in the 1960's. All USA import and retailed in the USA were sold by Benjamin. There was a wood base/power switch base available when the 50H was current. But not early on.
View attachment 2669972

I've been going through issues of High Fidelity one by one looking at the Miracord articles and ads. It's fascinating seeing the models come out. With just a little reading between the lines you can get a good feel for the history of the company in much more detail as they change focus from model to model. I've decided to do a project to document every Miracord ad and article and from all issues of High Fidelity. I think there is an article in this too on the history of the Miracord in the US. The folks at Word Radio History made this easy, btw, in that they have scanned (and OCRed!) copies of every issue of the magazine from its inauguration in 1951 to well past when Miracords stopped being made.

I've also discovered that Benjamin was not the first exclusive Miracord dealer in the US. Before them there was Audiogersh Corporation.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

Went to an estate sale this weekend and picked up a Benjamin Miracord / Elac 50 H for $30. It's in amazing shape visually though I haven't swapped out the Dual to see how it sounds yet. It has the Benjamin/Miracord badge. This one looks just like the advertisement Va1der posted, but without the power button. From the owners manual and the advert it seems they sold the table separately from the plinth so you could mix and match or "make your own support in a cabinet or drawer". The power control base was listed as PCB-50 WX and the plinth without was the RB-2A. The manual says the turntable should never need lubrication so there are no instructions for that, but I'm not sure they really thought these would still be spinning more than a half century later. The dust cover looks like maybe a later model cover, though it fits perfectly. It
has a rectangle in the center that had a "Benjamin" badge when new, now missing, the only flaw I've found.

View attachment 2684675


View attachment 2684645 View attachment 2684646

Lubrication instructions are in the service manual. If you're a vinyl engine member, the service manual in English is available. And tells you how if necessary.

 

[Dav3]

Ah, good thinking, when I saw the owners manual was silent on lubrication the service would be too, but it probably is in there. I've been wanting to lube up my Dual, but all the conflicting information in the forums for modern alternatives to the original Dual recommendations have left my head spinning! I've always known lubrication engineering was complex, and never wanted to go there, but now I'm having to go there. It's like industrial fasteners; bolts, nuts, washers, etc, I can't remember how many hundreds of pages of information I've read through about a subject that one would think would be simple.