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Official AR Turntable Owners Thread

I believe they are $42 plus shipping, you will need to add your own foam inserts as originally done. Dave has not listed them on his site just on the popular selling site. Guess you can email him for info.
 
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They look to be longer than the stock ones but I see no weights, so I’m guess that’s the correct compression. I bought what looks to be the same kit, but didn’t use the springs, about a year ago. The bearings and thumbnuts made adjustment much easier. What I see in the picture, though, doesn’t look the same. The rubber parts, I mean. The pictures I’ve seen of the tables modded with weights have similar rubber grommets , and I’d be interested in knowing more about those. Thanks
 
Notdoc said:
They look to be longer than the stock ones but I see no weights, so I’m guess that’s the correct compression. I bought what looks to be the same kit, but didn’t use the springs, about a year ago. The bearings and thumbnuts made adjustment much easier. What I see in the picture, though, doesn’t look the same. The rubber parts, I mean. The pictures I’ve seen of the tables modded with weights have similar rubber grommets , and I’d be interested in knowing more about those. Thanks
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The length of the spring is not of singular importance, the gauge of the wire used is also important. Agree on the thumbnuts. Note, the studs in this new kit are shorter, so you can reuse the bottom plate if desired. (2" vs 2.5") Regarding grommets, these are the ones used in the mid-80's kit, and they are close in size to the original XA ones, however, without the inner tube that holds the foam insert. If your original grommet and foam are in good shape, can be used with this kit instead. The metal washer definitely makes spring adjustment and orientation easier than the nut on rubber interface of the original. D
 
Thanks for the reply. It might be shadow, but in that pic and other modded tables, I see what looks like a rubber seat where the spring fits to the t bar. I’m most familiar with my XA.
 
tnsmnichols said:
Wish I knew someone living near Richmond, Indiana...

www.ebay.com

Vintage AR Turntable Used | eBay

<p>Good condition might need a new needle</p><p> has been stored for a while</p><p>Offering local pick up only </p><p>Sold as shown </p><br /><br /><br /><p>Loc BS</p>
www.ebay.com
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Yikes! Sorry, you do know someone. I've been in conversation with him to confirm it was a cast T-bar. Once confirmed, purchase was made.
 
I've been eyeing this table for awhile, one province away. It was still available when I flew over to visit my folks. Not a bad deal. It was previously serviced by a shop. However, it still needs a bit of servicing and adjustments. Belt seems new, so that is a plus. I will tear into it when I get a chance.

I am quite excited!

The good:
-condition, not too shabby. Dust cover is pretty good!
-everything works
-RCA cords were replaced

The neutral:
-non original headshell
-came with an Ortofon 2M red
-original felt mat is a tad poor looking
-different colour hinges

The fix:
-motor is noisy on start up but fades away. But, noisy when no load is on the motor. Sounds like oil will fix it.
-suspension was not properly tuned, so I will have to do it.
-tone arm needs fluid, drops like a rock.

When I get it back to BC, I want to see how it sounds against the Ariston. The XB I had to was nice too.
 

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As a random side note, today I stopped by to see Marc Morin's wife Barbara. I had not seen her since we lost Marc. She is doing very well, and was pleased to see a familiar AK face. Her preferred table is exactly like the one above. She really likes the wood plinth. Marc's beutiful AR XA with the rebuilt arm, cream top plate, solid walnut plinth and his full suspension treatment went to his son.

We both shared some good memories, and we both laughed knowing how insulted Marc would be at how she rearranged his listening area.
 
Hi, long time lurker and recent AR XB owner.
Got a great deal on an XB recently. Packed in original box with paperwork, shure M91ED, and two EVG nude stylus.
I replaced RCA cables right off the bat, but still had tonearm hum.
I decided to rewire with a technics wand and cardas 33ga braided.
All is well now.
I’m curious if anyone on AK is still making plinths for sale. Just interested in an exact copy of original in solid walnut.
Any help is much appreciated!IMG_2813.jpeg
 
I think avfan is in the know , a few others all so . I had one built from the a few of the guys here . Can’t remember :(
 
So I need some advice with cartridge matching for my AR-XB with a 17.5g Technics wand. Compliance wise the XB is on the medium to heavy mass side. I have been running an AT95ML and it sounds great, as one would expect with its lower compliance somewhere in the 12-14cu range. But the other day I got my first test record (HiFI News) and curiosity got the best of me: how well would the XB handle the torture tracks with the AT95ML, which is known to be an excellent tracker? The XB could track the first two torture tracks but had significant distortion in the right channel on the 300Hz/+16db track and the last track caused the needle to jump the groove. I know these are not real world listening levels, but on my other table, a Technics SL-1200mk5 with KAB fluid damper, the AT95ML handled the 300Hz/+16db track with zero distortion and played with equal distortion in both channels on the last torture track. The Technics SL-1200mk5 normally has a Nagaoka MP-110 on it, so during the swap, I put the Nagaoka MP-110 on the XB, and you know what? It tracked the 300Hz/+16db track with no distortion and stayed in the groove during the final torture track. Does this mean that the Nagaoka MP-110 is a better match for the XB? For the record, for these tests the Nag tracked at 1.90g (2.0 max) and the AT 2.20g, the tracking limit for the VM95 series. The Nag + headshell weighs in at 16.5g, whereas the AT at 14.5g. In theory, plugging the numbers into the resonance calculator at VE, both carts should be well suited to the XB's arm. Why is the Nagaoka with a .4x7mm elliptical doing better on the torture tracks than the mircoline AT? Any insight would be much appreciated?
 
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