So who is a fan or owner of one of the older Empire turntables?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by KT88, Aug 17, 2015.

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  1. KT88

    KT88 Senior Member Thread Starter

    I picked-up one the other day that needed some work and was surprised at how nice it is after restoration. Very interesting looks too.

    [​IMG]

    -Bill
     
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  2. Tullman

    Tullman Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    A Friend of mine has a nice Empire TT. I really like:righton: the look and sound.
     
  3. chosenhandle

    chosenhandle Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis
    I rebuilt one with my son about 7 or 8 years ago. It is running great at my sons home.
     
  4. cjc

    cjc Senior Member

    Love my Empire 598III Troubador.... world's most perfect record playback system.
    Built like a beast and purrsss like a kitten.
     
  5. Jim T

    Jim T Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mars
    Always wanted one of those.
     
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  6. Baby Driver

    Baby Driver Forum Resident

    it looks like they've used an esky for the plinth :D

    [​IMG]
     
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  7. KT88

    KT88 Senior Member Thread Starter

    They thought of everything! How cool is that?!
    :cheers:
    -Bill
     
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  8. Long Live Analog

    Long Live Analog Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Tn. Mid South
  9. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I've owned a 698 model since 1975, bought it brand new.
     
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  10. blakep

    blakep Senior Member

    Harry Weisfeld is a very big Empire fan.
     
  11. Gardo

    Gardo Audio Epistemologist

    Location:
    Virginia
    I've got a buddy here in town with two beautiful Empire TTs. I hope he'll chime in and post some pics.
     
  12. Wes H

    Wes H Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    Since you asked... I took this pic last night of the pair (along with my Thorens in the corner). This is my first time posting pictures, so I hope it comes out okay. My depth-of-focus wasn't too great using the available gooseneck lights I have on each TT.


    [​IMG]

    Both Empires are 598 Troubadours. One on right came from Connecticut in great shape.
    The identical 598 to the left of it was incomplete when I bought it from a guy in Texas. I was going to use it as a "parts" machine, but eventually restored it to working order and put it in service.
    And to the far left is a Thorens 2030 (with gooseneck light hovering over it).
     
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  13. Wes H

    Wes H Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    Here are some close-up pics of one of the Empire 598's...

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  14. Gardo

    Gardo Audio Epistemologist

    Location:
    Virginia
    Wow, @Wes H, those are just as beautiful in the photos as they are in person - and that's saying something. Thanks for sharing those! @Steve Hoffman will love them too, I know. Welcome to the Forum!

    Nice candid of the six-eye in the first photo, by the way. Is that a Glenn Gould recording?

    (Wes and I go back 25 years, and it was Glenn Gould who started it all, on another forum, the old style called a BBS. Remember those?)
     
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  15. Wes H

    Wes H Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    Thanks, Gardner. And thanks for leading me to this place... Oddly enough, it already feels like home here!

    Might have known you would spot that old six-eye Columbia LP. I probably should have pulled out a GG record, but that's a Dave Brubeck album: "Jazz: Red Hot & Cool" (1955) in mono.
    Just like the way it looks on the turntable...

    Next time you're over, I'll play it!
     
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  16. Burt

    Burt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kirkwood, MO
    The Empire was and remains a beautiful machine mechanically but it is definitely a machine with a certain coloration. It was designed with no thought to systemic mechanical resonance.

    It isn't an unpleasant coloration, but it's there.
     
  17. Beattles

    Beattles Senior Member

    Location:
    Florence, SC
    I love the gold tones on your Empires
     
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  18. inperson

    inperson Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    I got an old rek o kut table many years ago and it came with an Empire tonearm and cartridge. Love the arm and cartridge.


    Oh, I forgot it's my profile picture :D
     
  19. Wes H

    Wes H Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    True... and true of most any turntable to some degree. ;)

    Empire's manual mentions the tonearm as having the "lowest fundamental resonance of any arm, an inaudible 6 Hz." So it would appear they were at least trying to engineer more than a pretty face.
     
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  20. Wes H

    Wes H Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    Indeed, the Rek-O-Kut turntables shared some similarities with the Empires of that era.
    Empire's 990 arm, which was newly designed for their 598 turntable, was also available for sale separately.

    And if you look under the hood of your Rek-O-Kut, chances are you'll find the same Pabst (German) motor that drives the Empire.
     
    inperson likes this.
  21. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I think we need a 698 in here!

    [​IMG]
     
  22. Wes H

    Wes H Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    Absolutely, and that's a beautiful 698 specimen!

    The 698 was Empire's last turntable, appearing in 1976. It had essentially the same plinth, heavy platter, and Pabst motor as the 598, but a lower-mass arm, electronic cueing, and a tempered glass dust cover. I believe it stayed in production for at least 4 years.
     
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  23. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I've owned my 698 model since late 1975, bought it brand new. Amazing machine that will most certainly outlast me.
     
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  24. Wes H

    Wes H Forum Resident

    Location:
    Virginia
    So it came out in 1975! Thanks for noting that. I first saw ads for it in '76 and drooled. Glad to meet an original owner.
     
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  25. drh

    drh Talking Machine

    Back around the time I finished college (ca. 1982), I used an Empire cartridge for a while--house branded from the old Pacific Stereo chain, if I remember correctly as a P60RC. Came in a nice little package carved out of a single block of wood. I liked it at the time, but no 78 RPM stylus was available for it, so after a fair number of hours of use ultimately I moved on. I still have it around here somewhere, but I'm guessing a replacement stylus assembly would be either unobtainium or else more $$$ than the cartridge is worth. Never had an Empire table; at the time, it would have been a Dual 1218 that I had picked up much used from the same Pacific Stereo store (or, more properly, its used equipment/tradein annex, "Recycled Stereo", next door), and it's just possible the thing moved over to my first "new" table, a Thorens TD115 Mk II, when I first got it. The Thorens, which had been on long term loan to my father until I reclaimed it when he passed away three years ago or so, just left me for a new home about two weeks ago, when I gave it to one of my wife's piano students as a college graduation gift; still good as a 33/45 table, but no longer will shift into 78.
     
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