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Restore AR turntable or purchase new one?

Here are a couple of my AR's

Please do keep it and get it running correctly. There is something to be said about the charm of the XA and XB's. And the sound is as good as the best out there.


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tube-a-lou said:
I just sold mine, and purchased a Rega Planar 3, no suspension, no plastic headshell
just sit's and play's music. I really like the ar table but it's old.
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As you can see with mine and a few others on here with the full mods that were done it has taken these tables to much higher performance levels , I have a table that is close to the $4k (table alone) retail price and my XA doesn’t give up much to it . It also has upgraded arm that I can choose whatever cart I like , no plastic headshells here. But I’m glad your happy with your Rega :thumbsup:


Audiofreak71
 
NickCastro said:
Hi! I need some general advice about my turntable.

I have an AR XB that was gifted to me from the original owner. It has been really amazing, but now it’s age is starting to show.
  • The RCA cables are super finicky. If I touch them, they may cause a god awful noise to come out of the speakers.
  • When I push the tone arm back in it’s holder, it creates a very slight hum while my finger is on it.
  • The springs seem to need replacing. Any time I release the tone arm or put it back, it causes the entire platter to shake. (Which I don’t think should happen.)
  • It needs a new belt but the belts from Vinyl Nirvana seem to be too small. I purchased one once and had to return it as it kept slipping of from being too tight. (I suspect this could be related to the old springs.)
My question is the following: Should I invest in restoring/upgrading this turntable, or should I get a new one? I don’t really have enough expendable income to purchase all the upgrades/replacements all at once. I also do not have any soldering experience, but I would love to learn how to solder. (I have a Marantz 2240 that I would like to learn how to maintain as well.)

In a perfect world, I would purchase a new turntable and learn how to restore my AR. However, even purchasing an upgraded tone arm is a bit unrealistic for me at the moment. I will be moving to a different state next week and feel that now is the right time for me to make a decision while everything is disassembled.

Any advice or constructive opinions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
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Fixing the cables is a snap. And FWIW, my main turntable (Kenwood KD500 and ADC tonearm) has hummed when I touch it every since I bought it new in 1978. Sounds like the only thing really wrong with it is the finicky cables. I've had to replace those in the past and it just takes a soldering iron.

And like others have mentioned, it holds its own. And besides, turntables are like cars. Just because you got a new Turbo Porsche, doesn't mean you should dump your MGA. The latter is a hoot on country backroads on a nice spring day.
 
Many of us are happy with the AR XA/XB, but some of us have invested quite a lot of money, time and effort to bring them up to the level where they are. I have a friend who recently wanted a better turntable. For him, I suggested a Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB-BK for $279 off of Amazon - it was much better than what he had, and he is perfectly happy with it.


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MisterDK said:
Fix up the AR. If you do it right, it’ll sound as good or better than any new table you can buy for under $500 - maybe more. Besides the sound comparison, you’ll also have a classic wood and metal table, not a new plastic-fantastic job.
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Whenever people whine about anti-skating, I always like to point out that the appropriately revered AR-XA doesn't even have anti-skate. :)
 
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AlphaEcho35 said:
Many of us are happy with the AR XA/XB, but some of us have invested quite a lot of money, time and effort to bring them up to the level where they are. I have a friend who recently wanted a better turntable. For him, I suggested a Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB-BK for $279 off of Amazon - it was much better than what he had, and he is perfectly happy with it.


View attachment 2293864
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Yeah, I'm a huge fan of that AT table. In fact, I bought one used about five years ago for a measley $150. The tonearm lift drops the needle like a rock and the anti-skate doesn't work, But that makes it a peer of the AR-XA. :) I have four turntables and that one gets the most use for 45's, 78's and "less than best" records. I have four headshells for it that allow me to play pretty much anything on it. One is the original AT cartridge with a 78 stylus, one is an old AT15SA, and I have two Stanton cartridges that track at around 4 grams and use conical stylus. That's for the goodwill finds and 45's.
 
I had a Linn then the ARXA and a Thorens TD166MKII and they pretty much sounded
the same to me. I have the Rega now and waiting tomorrow for a Rega P25, they remind
me in the guitar world and the plank (The Telecaster) and the Rega another plank that looks
plain but sounds great.
 
@NickCastro: Marc Morin was most responsible for many of the ARs in this thread and he was so dedicated that prior to his passing he tutored @StuartB and @Hose53 on how to upgrade the mechanical components of these tables. I highly recommend you contact these fine gentlemen to see what can be done to maximize the performance of your XB.

One more example of what these tables can become, my XB:

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AvFan said:
@NickCastro: Marc Morin was most responsible for many of the ARs in this thread and he was so dedicated that prior to his passing he tutored @StuartB and @Hose53 on how to upgrade the mechanical components of these tables. I highly recommend you contact these fine gentlemen to see what can be done to maximize the performance of your XB.

One more example of what these tables can become, my XB:

View attachment 2294122
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Av, your platter appears to be riding a lot higher than where Marc set mine at about 1/8"-3/16" above the edge of the plinth. Am I seeing that correctly?
 
AvFan said:
@NickCastro: Marc Morin was most responsible for many of the ARs in this thread and he was so dedicated that prior to his passing he tutored @StuartB and @Hose53 on how to upgrade the mechanical components of these tables. I highly recommend you contact these fine gentlemen to see what can be done to maximize the performance of your XB.

One more example of what these tables can become, my XB:

View attachment 2294122
Click to expand...
Nice Woodie. Hot in AUBURN?
 
infullview said:
The biggest complaint I had with the AR was the motor; it barely had enough torque to turn the platter let alone allow you to clean a record. As I said it was a very good design - I just think most of these are way overpriced for the features they offer just because it says AR on the plinth. FYI I bought a mid-line Technics belt drive (1976?) when I went to college. My folks were still using the AR table.
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The motor is small for a reason, and it's not price. Having a motor just big enough to keep the platter at speed, even if needing help getting started is a good thing for SQ.

more than one audio reviewer has stated the AR XA was their first taste of "The real high end".

In stock form it outperformed a Technics SL 1200MKII, and a Thorens TD166MKII I have here, not too shabby for a less than entry level belt drive.

The little table that could reigned supreme here for close to 2decades before "The Rock" Kenwood KD500 / Grace G707 knocked it off its throne.
 
After rewiring the arm on my XA and swapping to a Technics wand, I preferred it to my ES-1 which has all of the Merrill mods, and a Jelco 250 arm. As crazy as this seems, the XA throws a wider and deeper soundstage (sorry Ed) and is more engaging to listen through. I tried each with the same cartridges too. The Merrill is now with a friend.
The one with SME arm, Linn springs and mass loaded suspension is better but maybe by only 20%. I’m hanging on to the XA for now.
 
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