I've almost committed to buying the Rek-O-Kut B12GH now. Rim/idler drive made in the '60s that was primarily used for radio broadcasts, which uses a Papst three phase hysteresis motor with faking capacitor. The B12H with one phase Ashland hysteresis motor went for $130 without arm or base and was the most expensive TT sold at the time, beating out the Garrard 301 by a whopping $30. The motor on that thing is apparently bigger than the ones on today's washing machines so uh, no thanks.
I'm still trying to figure out if a modern tonearm will fit in the slot on the top plate... if not I'll have to rotate the top plate 90 degrees and make a slot in the plinth. Will probably also need to damp the inside of the plinth.
Seems the output impedance is pretty high and not very consistent which is not good for speakers. Also THD is pretty high in comparison to today's amps but not crazy high. I guess I'll have to just take a listen and a look at the beast myself, if possible.
Veneering on vintage receivers may be old school but you're right, it looks better than the BPCs of today.
He's selling a B-12GH for $150 which seems to be a good deal. It's got a Papst hysteresis motor, idler drive. Comparable to a 301, some people say. Good deal?
That's good to know, thanks. Definitely a good idea to go through and re-cap everything before something blows up. I'm thinking about just disconnecting/removing any circuits I won't need like the tuner and tone controls so I won't need to deal with as many tubes... I hope that works. How much would you say a well-functioning example goes for?
Anyone have any opinions on this vintage receiver as both a headphone amp and a speaker amp? Seems extremely popular even today and people say it mates well with some ESLs like Quads. Problem is it needs an assload of tubes and the p2p rat's nest wiring scares me.
True, which is why I said I wasn't sure. I don't know how many others Garrard made in the '60-'65 period.
I'm going to ask for the price of a Rek-O-Kut I saw FS now.
Yup, I can't wear mine for longer than a few minutes at a time without having the insides of my ears either hurt or feel itchy or both. I think my ER-6i is more comfy but it sounds worse.
Dew eet.
Yeah but apparently everything needs to be replaced except the motor, and I don't know for sure that it was a 301. All the dude wrote in his ad was a Garrard table made in the 1960-65 era so it could have been something else. I'm not familiar with Garrard's history or any turntable history, for that matter.
Edit: I don't mean that particular unit. He said it was in working condition, but people say it needs a complete rehaul to eek out the best performance.
I think I just missed out on a 301 for $50. Thanks for the info though, I'll keep it in mind for the future.
My 505 has been really stable, to my ears at least. Spins up to speed within 2 or 3 revolutions and stays there. DD should be better, but I don't know how big a difference it would make in the sound.