If your current receiver doesn't have a phono jack, then you'll need a preamp.
Mansfield 06.28.2008 | Boston 05.17.2010 | Boston 06.19.2011 EV solo | Wrigley Field 07.19.2013 | Worcester 10.15.2013 | Worcester 10.16.2013 | Hartford 10.25.2013
Vancouver 12.04.2013 | Seattle 12.06.2013 | Memphis 10.14.2014 | Quebec City 05.05.2016 | Ottawa 05.08.2016 | Toronto 05.11.2016 | Boston 08.05.2016 | Boston 08.07.2016 | Amsterdam 06.12.2018 | Boston 09.02.2018 | Boston 09.04.2018
This is going to sound super negative. Can I be the first to suggest you dont start collecting records unless you just plan on buying a select few or a particular band. Its too late for me, save yourself. Sell your fresh press for some decent cash to someone (not me) otherwise you will probably never have money again. Buying records is like an addiction, you start with one or two and before you know it youve got rooms full of the stuff, telling yourself its an investment. Starting a collection in 2022 is going to be very difficult and very costly, you have been warned
Hahaha your not wrong. I've been getting the PJ Vaults since the beginning and have a few other recents, No Code Clear, and now the Fresh Earthlings, which I've never heard, so would be super cool to hear first time on a record.
Having said that. I have been a poster guy since 96, and I couldn't disagree more. Yes I have 100s of posters, call them an investment and am completely addicted. That said, I've gotten much better at letting some old stuff go and I did very well on some of those old posters. Kind of crazy.
I dont plan on collecting any additional bands or anything, but I may spin some of dads old Zeppelin or Stones. Gateway drugs...
The RT85 has an integrated preamp that is decent. So no, you can just plug and play and decide later if you want to upgrade anything.
A $25 brush is all you’ll need. Fluance sells a decent one. Might as well get theirs while your at it. After that, it just depends how serious you wanna get and what rabbit hole you want to go down in.
The Fluance tt are beautiful. Im sure your wife would love it.
Another amazing table with auto-stop (auto lift this time) is the Technics sl1500. It’ll cost you more though.
A very solid, more traditional looking tt. I upgraded to this from a Fluance and would never go back. The turntable is of enough quality to invest on a better cartridge or a KAB damper if you ever want to.
Right now my mom is in the basement looking for dads old turn table before I buy anything. He had a 70s something I guess I could get fixed up.
That could be a gem🔥! Or crap lol.
Definitely worth looking into and getting it fixed if it’s worth it. A quick online search will tell you what you have. Tuning and a new cartridge may do the trick. Good luck!
there appears to have been only a few copies released, so do that bad boy justice and spin that black circle!
The RT85 has an integrated preamp that is decent. So no, you can just plug and play and decide later if you want to upgrade anything.
A $25 brush is all you’ll need. Fluance sells a decent one. Might as well get theirs while your at it. After that, it just depends how serious you wanna get and what rabbit hole you want to go down in.
The Fluance tt are beautiful. Im sure your wife would love it.
Another amazing table with auto-stop (auto lift this time) is the Technics sl1500. It’ll cost you more though.
A very solid, more traditional looking tt. I upgraded to this from a Fluance and would never go back. The turntable is of enough quality to invest on a better cartridge or a KAB damper if you ever want to.
And on and on it goes 🤦♂️
I don’t think the RT85 has an integrated preamp. You can get one for pretty cheap and upgrade later.
I have the exact model you linked to (I use an external preamp) and love it. Also had a great CS experience with them as I was getting it set up. Highly recommended.
The RT85 has an integrated preamp that is decent. So no, you can just plug and play and decide later if you want to upgrade anything.
A $25 brush is all you’ll need. Fluance sells a decent one. Might as well get theirs while your at it. After that, it just depends how serious you wanna get and what rabbit hole you want to go down in.
The Fluance tt are beautiful. Im sure your wife would love it.
Another amazing table with auto-stop (auto lift this time) is the Technics sl1500. It’ll cost you more though.
A very solid, more traditional looking tt. I upgraded to this from a Fluance and would never go back. The turntable is of enough quality to invest on a better cartridge or a KAB damper if you ever want to.
And on and on it goes 🤦♂️
I don’t think the RT85 has an integrated preamp. You can get one for pretty cheap and upgrade later.
I have the exact model you linked to (I use an external preamp) and love it. Also had a great CS experience with them as I was getting it set up. Highly recommended.
I believe you are correct on the preamp. Some lower level models of theirs do, but not rt85
So I hovered over the Fluance RT85 all morning yesterday, then realized I needed the preamp, so switched to the RT81, but then wanted to run to moms and see what dads looked like.
From what I can tell, this is a early 70s AR XB - Walnut Finish. Can anyone tell the year? There is a missing foot on the bottom that makes it out of balance. The screw that is attached to the "deck" (idk what its called) under the top is gone. As is the nut and whatever is inserted into those feet. I need to measure and make a little prop for the spring and I think I can get it level. I plugged it in, it spins.
Can anyone tell me if this is worth restoring? I may do it either way since it was dads. Thanks again, you guys are incredibly knowledgeable and I appreciate it. Any links to parts or info would be great, ive done some googling but cant seem much.
Also dad had a new needle and cartridge and some measuring tools pictured below. Any info greatly appreciated!
Nice! Like everyone else said, I would recommend trying to restore it. Up until about a month ago, I used my parents-in-law's old turntable from the late 70s for years. It still works great, but I wanted something new so I got an Audio Technica.
www.RLMcDaniel.com
1996: Ft Lauderdale
1998: Birmingham
2000: Charlotte, Tampa
2003: Tampa, Atlanta, Phoenix
2004: Kissimmee
2008: West Palm Beach, Bonnaroo, Columbia
2010: MSG2
2012: Music Midtown
2014: Memphis
2016: Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Jacksonville, JazzFest 2018: Wrigley 1, Fenway 1 2022: Nashville 2023: Ft. Worth II
From what I can tell, this is a early 70s AR XB - Walnut Finish. Can anyone tell the year? There is a missing foot on the bottom that makes it out of balance. The screw that is attached to the "deck" (idk what its called) under the top is gone. As is the nut and whatever is inserted into those feet. I need to measure and make a little prop for the spring and I think I can get it level. I plugged it in, it spins.
Can anyone tell me if this is worth restoring? I may do it either way since it was dads. Thanks again, you guys are incredibly knowledgeable and I appreciate it. Any links to parts or info would be great, ive done some googling but cant seem much.
Also dad had a new needle and cartridge and some measuring tools pictured below. Any info greatly appreciated!
Yes, I would restore that AR turntable.
From the photos it appears to be missing the outer platter, which would sit on top of the inner platter that the belt goes around. Could that be lying around somewhere?
Belts dryrot and deteriorate over time, you should probably find a new belt.
The measuring tools are for the cartridge alignment and tracking force adjustment.
The owners manual can be downloaded for free from the site below, but you'll need to register for a free account.
THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION! I have the large platter and cover, just the bottom thin wood cover I assume it had is missing. I just bought a new belt which is on the way.
THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION! I have the large platter and cover, just the bottom thin wood cover I assume it had is missing. I just bought a new belt which is on the way.
Nothing against the fine people here on this forum, but if you’re looking for help with the restoration project I’d check out the Needles & Grooves board. Extremely knowledgable folks over there (particularly in the Audio Hardware section) and without the snottiness you can run into in other vinyl communities.
Yeah before I fell off the deep end and dropped 10 grand into my setup, I used a 1970s Dual turntable for years. They don’t make em like they used to. Well, unless you drop cash like I did 🤔
Nothing against the fine people here on this forum, but if you’re looking for help with the restoration project I’d check out the Needles & Grooves board. Extremely knowledgable folks over there (particularly in the Audio Hardware section) and without the snottiness you can run into in other vinyl communities.
I second this. N&G is solid. Also, if you use Reddit, r/turntables is a huge resource. Daily threads about old turntable finds and what needs to be done to restore
Comments
My wife wants something that looks nice. Which makes this difficult.
Right now I am looking at the Fluence RT85 because fuck it why do this twice.
https://www.fluance.com/rt85w-reference-high-fidelity-vinyl-turntable-natural-walnut
Do I need the preamp, cleaning kit and weight?
Vancouver 12.04.2013 | Seattle 12.06.2013 | Memphis 10.14.2014 | Quebec City 05.05.2016 | Ottawa 05.08.2016 | Toronto 05.11.2016 | Boston 08.05.2016 | Boston 08.07.2016 | Amsterdam 06.12.2018 | Boston 09.02.2018 | Boston 09.04.2018
Having said that. I have been a poster guy since 96, and I couldn't disagree more. Yes I have 100s of posters, call them an investment and am completely addicted. That said, I've gotten much better at letting some old stuff go and I did very well on some of those old posters. Kind of crazy.
I dont plan on collecting any additional bands or anything, but I may spin some of dads old Zeppelin or Stones. Gateway drugs...
there appears to have been only a few copies released, so do that bad boy justice and spin that black circle!
From what I can tell, this is a early 70s AR XB - Walnut Finish. Can anyone tell the year? There is a missing foot on the bottom that makes it out of balance. The screw that is attached to the "deck" (idk what its called) under the top is gone. As is the nut and whatever is inserted into those feet. I need to measure and make a little prop for the spring and I think I can get it level. I plugged it in, it spins.
Can anyone tell me if this is worth restoring? I may do it either way since it was dads. Thanks again, you guys are incredibly knowledgeable and I appreciate it. Any links to parts or info would be great, ive done some googling but cant seem much.
Also dad had a new needle and cartridge and some measuring tools pictured below. Any info greatly appreciated!
Will likely cost a little less than buying a new one, and it should last you another 40 years after that with some basic maintenance.
https://vinylnirvana.com/product/upgrade-spring-kit-for-ar-turntables-es-1-eb-101-xa-xb-xe-the-turntable
1996: Ft Lauderdale
1998: Birmingham
2000: Charlotte, Tampa
2003: Tampa, Atlanta, Phoenix
2004: Kissimmee
2008: West Palm Beach, Bonnaroo, Columbia
2010: MSG2
2012: Music Midtown
2014: Memphis
2018: Wrigley 1, Fenway 1
2022: Nashville
2023: Ft. Worth II
From the photos it appears to be missing the outer platter, which would sit on top of the inner platter that the belt goes around. Could that be lying around somewhere?
Belts dryrot and deteriorate over time, you should probably find a new belt.
The measuring tools are for the cartridge alignment and tracking force adjustment.
The owners manual can be downloaded for free from the site below, but you'll need to register for a free account.
https://www.vinylengine.com/library/acoustic-research/xb1.shtml
Here are some other people's opinions of this turntable. The lowest rating is 4.5 stars.
https://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_reviews.php?make=Acoustic+Research&model=XB1
Here's a snippet of the owners manual showing everything that was included and how it was packed.
I have the large platter and cover, just the bottom thin wood cover I assume it had is missing. I just bought a new belt which is on the way.
www.cluthelee.com
www.cluthe.com
MP3 it is
www.cluthelee.com
www.cluthe.com
Next week is still sooner than August, isn't it?
Hartford 10.02.96 | Mansfield 2 09.16.98 | Mansfield 1 08.29.00 | Mansfield 1 07.02.03 | Mansfield 3 07.11.03 | Boston 2 05.25.06 | Tampa 04.11.16 | Fenway 1 08.05.16 | Fenway 2 08.07.16 | Fenway 1 09.02.18 | Fenway 2 09.04.18 | Baltimore 03.28.20 | Hamilton 09.06.22 | Toronto 09.08.22 | Nashville 09.16.22 | St Louis 09.18.22 | Baltimore 09.12.24 | Fenway 1 09.15.24 | Fenway 2 09.17.24
"He made the deal with the devil, we get to play with him.
He goes to hell, of course. We're going to heaven."