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Idler drive turntables

One sees all sorts of data re Garrard 301/401, Thorens TD 124, and Lenco turntables of the 60's and 70's. These TT's if restored bring lots of $ on the used market! What about the Benjamin Miracords of the same era? My first "serious" hifi system in 1970 consisted of a Miracord 50H with a Shure M91E cartridge, a Fisher 600 receiver and KLH 4 speakers. Sometimes, even now, and thousands of dollars more, I yearn for the sound of that system! Just how does the Miracord stand up to those icons??
boofer
gvasale's avatar
gvasale
99 posts
 
The Miracord is a changer? The others may have a little less rumble & of course not the same limitation as an installed (non changeable) arm might have.
lewm
6,770 posts
 
Miracord does not "stand up" to Garrard 301/401 or Lenco L75, but for its time, it was a decent record changer. If you want to tear one down and build it up for SOTA performance, it might be fun.
boofer OP
77 posts
 
Yes, I did forget that the Miracord was a record changer; it had 2 spindles, one for single play and the other for multiple. I never even put the spindle on which allowed multiple play: I always used it as a single record player only, and as I recall, some of the Duals of the same era were similar.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
My Dual 1229 had that same dual-spindle option. I only used the stacking feature when spinning for frat parties (with other guys' records, lol).
schiss
18 posts
 
If your looking for a great idler that's a "sleeper" so it can be had for a reasonable cost you might look into a Gates CB-77. These are broadcast units that are built like tanks. A unique feature is that the idler drives off of a hub cast into the inner portion of the platter as opposed to the outer rim. This allows the motor and idler wheel to turn slower eliminating much of an idler drives rumble and noise. I've had a 301 and a TD124 in my system and prefer the Gates. Good luck.
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