Empire Turntables New in Box-Worth Anything?

I am puzzled by the way that the spring-suspended table and arm is criticised vs the hard-mounted design. When I bought an Empire 598 it replaced a hard-mounted Rec-O-Cut and pretty good arm (of a brand that I don't remember). The Rec-O-Cut and arm were secured to a massive bluestone base. The improvement with the Empire was very great. I think the reasons were:

1. Suspended design. I could bump the platter/arm assembly so that it bounced up and down, and the LP would play on with no problem, because they moved together.

2. Movement did not affect the arm because it was staticly balanced. Downforce was applied by a clock spring.

3. I think the belt drive was better than the idler wheel.

4. The magnetic device to pick up the arm at the end was neat.

My recollection of Empire tables was that the arm was not as
good as the table. I believe the arms were spring loaded for
dialing in stylus pressures and were somewhat inaccurate and
variable after set. But, they look nice. .... CEM

carl_e_miller@sbcglobal.net...Application of VTF by a spring was one of the BEST features! It meant that the arm was not unbalanced, and so was quite insensitive to vibration. (Will two audiophiles ever agree?)

Eldartford, I would have to agree with you about spring loading. I bet you never thought you would hear that. After abandoning a Garrard 301 in the '70s, I am back with one again. I have an adaptator of the old Ortofon 12" arm which use spring loading.

Since I have never heard such good vinyl sound, I would have to partially attribute it to the spring loading. I did have friends with Empire turntables in the 70s, however, and must say I was never tempted to buy one.

I am interested in an Empire 598 that is being sold by audio junkie that builds his own amps and speakers. He is going through it to make sure that it is working properly. What concerns do I have to be aware of and what would be a good asking price?

Thanks for your help.