1961 Acoustic Research AR XA Turntable Restoration

[@furyofbongos]

Back in the day I owned 2 of these. I swore by them. I bought a 2nd one used after they stopped making them as a backup. They have the best suspension system. I purchases a Phillips turntable when I was 16 back in 1976 as an "upgrade" to my AR. My bedroom was on the 2nd floor. I could literally jump downstairs and hear it come thru the speakers. If I jumped in my room it would skip horribly. Glad I hadn't got rid of the AR. You can literally rap your knuckles directly on top of on one of these ARs and no skip no sound no nothing. That is what I valued the most about them.

[@mguess]

I agree. I show off by rapping the turntable with a rubber mallet while playing a record, no skips. There's a KZbin video of a guy that hammers a nail into a piece of wood on his AR XA while playing a record. Very impressive. I still love the simplicity of the AR XA

[@AudioElectronicsChicago]

I just got one, solid turntable 👍🏻

[@mguess]

Very simple but sounds great.

[@paulc5358]

I just got one too Plays great.

[@peacetrain3320]

Yup, it’s a treasure. I bought an XB in the ‘70s and will restore it this winter. Your resto approach was very pragmatic, BTW.

[@mguess]

Thanks for commenting on the video. Great little turntable. Good luck on the restoration of your XB.

[@SDsailor7]

@@mguess are there still parts available for the ar xa turntable?

[@SDsailor7]

Good video very entertaining and informative.👍

[@mguess]

Thanks for the comments and I'm glad you found the video useful.

[@drearphones]

The belt will ride at the correct height on the inner platter once you put the main platter on, compressing the suspension.

[@mguess]

Yes, you are correct. I didn't think about that. I've been using the AR-XA turntable regularly and it's working and sounding great.

[@ihrescue]

I like the AR-XA it was my first TT in the early 70s. When I bought it I also purchased a Shure M91E cartridge. Curious if you received it with a dust cover. that appears to be a piece that often gets damaged or lost. Also would love to hear a follow-up if you were able to get all the parts you needed in your restoration. Thanks for your video.

[@mguess]

I made an update video that I think answer your questions. Here is the link. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iH27qpqwlN59f5Y

[@portasystemsound]

Great video, thanks. I am currently looking at purchasing this model, also from an estate auction. I own a Thorens TD-160 so I am familiar with the design of these early suspended belt drive tables, but I am confused by the speed selection design on this turntable. Is there no way to change from 33/45 without removing the slip mat and outer platter? That seems strange to me

[@mguess]

Yep, that's how you change speeds. Believe it or not many of the modern and very expensive turntables use the same technique. The AR XA is a very simple turntable but a great performer.

[@portasystemsound]

@@mguess thanks for the reply. I subscribed to your channel, looks like you have a lot of great gear coming through your shop

[@mguess]

Thanks for the subscription! Hopefully I'll have some interesting stuff to work on soon.

[@SDsailor7]

Did those turntables come with feet? Anyone know? Thanks

[@mguess]

No feet to speak of. I think I added some stick on cushions.

[@stimpacat]

Love the resto. I have one and just was wondering , what stylus would you put on it. Also the mat is cut in 1/2" or so. It was never the full size. also the double kicker motor one I have is older. lol. Love it.

[@mguess]

My turntable didn't come with a platter mat so I bought a generic 12 inch rubber mat that fits well and I think looks good. I didn't have the mat during the video bit it is in the video thumbnail image. I used the original Sure M91E cartridge that came with my turntable. I purchased a new stylus for the Sure and it really sounds good now. The headshell supports standard 1/2 inch mount cartridges so you can install most modern cartridges. If you don't want to spend too much I'd recommend the Audio Technica AT95E.

[@stimpacat]

@@mguess In looking it has the Audio Technica AT214S. I think it a shibata needle. Might just keep that. I have a red Odaphone. Also a Signit tk7lca. but need a new needle.

[@chaserone11]

Hi, thanks for the great video. I'm looking at getting into restoring turntables. Could you help me with knowing the difference between the 3 in 1 oil you use and something like Phonolube? Again, thanks for the helpful video!

[@mguess]

I've never used Phonolube and I believe it is now out of production. It looks like it was a light grease. When I need to use grease I usually use Super Lube. Generally while restoring turntables they will just need cleaning and a little light oil. That's where 3 in 1 oil comes in. It's a 20 weight machine oil without the additives that motor oil would have. I also use 10 weight "Singer" oil for some applications. Turntable spindles usually get the 20W 3 in 1 oil or 30W non-detergent oil. Some turntables (Rega) use gear oil for the spindle bearing. If you are really interested in joining in on the turntable restoration game, I would recommend checking out "The Turntable Guy" on KZbin. He is a wealth of information.

[@chaserone11]

@@mguess Awesome, thanks so much for the quick reply! I did see other Internet threads recommending Super Lube over Phonolube. I'm planning on restoring an old BSR turntable with lots of moving parts (way more complicated mechanisms than the beautiful AR AX!), so I'll be needing some grease for that project. Thanks for the advice!

[@ElectricSorrow]

Found a Roberts R-9090 next to a dumpster at my old apartment. I’ve been wanting to hook it up to see what works. I’ve tried looking everywhere online about this particular turntable but can’t find any information about it. Are you familiar with this make and model?

[@mguess]

You are correct, not much info on that model online. You might wat to try "The Turntable Guy" on youtube. He is a wealth of information.

[@ElectricSorrow]

@@mguess I made a Reddit post about this as well, someone on there was able to help out. I’ll have this junk thing running in no time

[@kevinstrawser5073]

Where did you get theAR. emblem

[@mguess]

I ordered it on eBay. I don't think it is the correct one for the turntable, it's probably off of a speaker. I think it looks good and is in the proper position.

[@peterpallo6313]

Without antskating it works well or not so well Greetings Patrick

[@mguess]

It sounds great to me. I can't really tell the difference between the AR-XA without antiskating and my other turntables with antiskating.

[@markjames007]

Very informative thank you. I'm working on an XB1 atm and there was a deteriorated (rubber?) seal at the top of the bearing well(glued in): did you clean/remove this? It looked like it in the video but it wasn't a focus? Also, thanks for the steel wool advice. Cheers, Mark.

[@mguess]

There was some type of seal at the top of the platter bearing well. Mine was mostly gone when I got the turntable. In the video you can see me removing the last bits of it with a razor knife. I'm not sure why it was there, maybe to keep dust out or oil in. Most turntables of this type do not have a seal so I don't think it needs to be replaced. My turntable is working great as is. Good luck with your restoration, great little turntables!

[@martinmcknight6867]

I bought one in 75 sold it for the convenience of a dual. Still have the dual but bought another AR xa to use instead.

[@mguess]

I'm glad to hear that you got an AR XA again. It's a great and simple little turntable. I'm also a big fan of Duals.

[@flamingroove]

I owned a used one in 1968 until traded it in.

[@mguess]

One of my favorite turntables. I love the simplicity.

[@jogmas12]

Linn copied the suspension as well. Actually they all did. Edgar Villchur was the inventor of this suspension system and he invented it while working at AR. The newer versions from the 80’s did not have the old ‘dedicated’ tonearm but offered a Jelco designed tonearm as an option or you could buy one without the tonearm and install a wide variety of other tonearms such as from SME and of course higher end Jelco’s etc….

[@mguess]

It's one of my favorites. I love the simplicity and it sounds great also.

[@len9518]

NO! You don't use anything abrasive to clean of dirt and belt residue. Use alcohol. Abrasives will change the dimensions. There are several online guides, some very detailed, on how to do this properly. That's definitely a shock hazard, and needs to be corrected. Reversing the plug, is not a good answer.

[@mguess]

Thanks for the comments. The scrubby pad that I used was not very abrasive and I didn't scrub very hard. Just enough to clean up the surface. Although I was seeing AC on the turntable, the current was very low, about 300 micro amps which is safe. I minimized the shock hazard by attaching the ground connection on my preamp to earth ground. I now see zero volts on all my audio equipment.

[@jadney]

Those are great turntables. Their main drawback was that they were cheap, so they didn't play well with the high end audiophile crowd. Just not enough street cred. The drive pulley probably needs to be in the lower position, because that whole platter assembly drops down a bit when you add the weight of the outer platter. The correct counterweight would have been a simple brass cylinder, drilled offset so it would hang down, with no twist adjustment. You just loosen the setscrew on top and slide the weight in or out. AR provided a very simple stylus force gauge with each turntable, to make this easy. Your tone arm pivot is loose and the mechanism inside is out of position. Looking from below, there's a pin on one side of the barrel that needs to stick thru a slot in the left side of the tone arm mounting block. Then you adjust the pivot screws to take out ALMOST all of the pivot play. The original XAs also had a tone arm vertical damping feature that would prevent damage to the stylus if you dropped the tone arm. Yours had it, but I'm not sure if all your parts are still there. If there's a plastic washer on top of the shaft, all you need is a very small O-ring to go between the washer and the top of the shaft. That gives it just a bit of resilience/give. The original part was a foam ring that rotted away in a few years. Sorry, I don't remember the correct O-ring number, but it's a 002, 003, or 004. Best if you can find a softer one, like Shore 50. The mechanism was lubricated with a thick silicone fluid. The tone arm itself is also adjustable in length, so you can put the stylus in the optimum position for the least tracking error. Loosen the set screw on top of the tone arm mounting block and you can adjust the tone arm in or out. Be careful to not damage the cartridge wires that are inside. AR supplied a setting gauge with each turntable to make this easy. When you think you're done, make SURE the front of the cartridge shell is parallel to the record surface. It's easy to do all the adjustments and end up with the tone arm slightly twisted. AR never warned us to watch for that. I learned it the hard way. The original turntable mat was also just foam. They also died, but they lasted a few decades. They were the full diameter of the platter. I found a perfect replacement at Radio Shack when they were closing down, but almost anything that's about 11-9/16" in diameter will do. Don't pay $$$ for a fancy mat. The voltage reading you found is troubling. I'll have to measure mine. ISTR that I can feel "cogging" in my drive motor when the power is off. I wonder if this goes away if I reverse the power plug. If so, the voltage you're seeing is just capacitive coupling from the motor windings to the chassis. Your Fluke has a 10 MOhm input impedance which can fool you on things like this, so it's often useful to make the same measurement again with something of lower impedance.

[@mguess]

Thank you very much for the comments. This is the kind of helpful feedback that I always hope to get. I love the simplicity of the AR XA and use it almost daily. Since I released the video I think I've addressed most of your comments. I did order and install the correct tonearm counterweight. It works great, again very simple. I installed an aftermarket rubber plater mat. It's probably heavier than the original foam mat but seams to work fine. If you look really close at the video thumbnail picture you can see these installed. I also noticed the loose tonearm pivot mechanism. I downloaded some original AR service documentation and got the tonearm adjusted properly. The service documents mentioned that the tonearm damping mechanism was deleted after a certain serial # due to tracking issues. I've left mine installed because I think it's cool and only causes problems when playing warped records. I've got 4 other turntables connected to my system so I can always find one that will play just about any record. The voltage issue was solved by connecting the AR XA to my audio system which has a single point connection to earth ground. By looking at the schematic for the turntable I noticed that the power switch does not remove power from the motor, it just disables the motor from turning. That's why you feel the "cogging" with the power switch off. If you unplug the turntable, I believe the motor will turn freely. Thanks again for the great comments.

[@SDsailor7]

They are not inexpensive.

[@mguess]

You are correct. When I first checked the XA was selling for reasonable prices and I got mine for free. I just checked eBay and they are way overpriced.