2. analog
  3. 146588-20428

Is the Acoustic Research Ax Ta ecc Really an overrated Poor mans Turntable?

Is the AR turntable the most overrated budget turntable? Because it was cheap basic and had the famous pre thorens/lynn drive? 
vinny55
roberjerman
2,086 posts
 
A great TT to mod! I have one! Can compete with expensive TT's! A sound basic design! Inspired the famous Brit TT's!
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
4,908 posts
 
George Merrill offered a great mod for the original XA. I cut the arm well out of the subchassis on my XA, and mounted a Formula 4 Unipivot. In the 1980’s Acoustic Research reintroduced the table as the ES-1, which included a separate arm mounting board. I had one with a Rega RB300 mounted on it, a good combo.
pryso
1,501 posts
 
bdp, I think the Mayware Formula 4 was a popular replacement for the standard AR arm.  Likely because it was also light weight (no impact on the suspension if done properly) and a good performer.

I changed to that arm too with the help of a buddy with access to a machine shop.  He was able to modify the T-bar for the Mayware arm and punch a larger hole in the steel top plate.  It looked like a factory installation when he finished.
vinny55 OP
162 posts
 
Compared to the beefier made thorens linns garrards its very rudimentary.
People praising it because it was cheap not because it was of great sonics
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
4,908 posts
 

@pryso, I too had a machine shop do the actual cutting of the subchassis, removing the AR arms bearing well and leaving a hole just the right size for the Mayware. I then took a file and enlarged the hole in the tables top plate, to accommodate the different length of the arm. I little dark brown paint on the exposed aluminum of the plate, and it looked factory! The Mayware was a much better arm than the AR, and corrected the only serious flaw in the XA table.

I had earlier had first a Thorens TD-125 MK.2, which I had nothing but trouble with. It’s electronics were too complicated, and trouble-prone. I replaced it with a TD-150, which was about equal with the AR XA, but had a pretty good arm, much better than that of the XA. About then the Linn showed up, then the Oracle, then the VPI. The era of really good turntables had begun (ignoring the now-resurging Thorens TD-124 and Garrard idler-wheel tables, which I am too young to at the time have known about).

More to discover