So I won an AR-XA turntable... now what?

So I had gotten in my head that I'd try to find a Realistic Lab 44o turntable for my 2nd sytem since I'd always loved the looks and it had been my dream table growing up in the 70's. I started watching ebay and most of what I saw went for too much money, were beat or the shipping was too high but I kept looking.

Well you know how they always have the "you might also be interested in" listings below the auction... on one auction a listing for an AR-XA came up. Here's a few pics from the auction.







I won it! and it arrive a couple weeks ago. It was packed great and just as described. The head shell only had 3 leads and was drilled out so I bought a repro. I want to just get it running before attempting a major resto.

I studied Dave A's tune up videos and read all I could and got into it last weekend.



oops, reached my limit, more to follow...

 

My advice to you, is the same as some of the first words I ever learned to speak. Play records!!!!!

 

The foam in the bearing well was like concrete, took me ages to get it out. The bearing well and the tone arm well were both real clean. You can see where a small weight was attached inside the outer platter. I have the weight. How was it attached? was this to balance the platter? how do I reattach it?

 

all electronics look really good.

The cap array for the voltage selector. I've only seen one pic of this set up.



Motor, it's a Haydon!



on/off switch

 

what's wrong with this picture?



Counteweight



Pivot wasn't properly centered, some damage to the bushings. hope not too much.



Wires appear to be intact.

 

Ball bearing looks good. Groovetracer extraction tool!

Shure M91ED, Stylus looks good under a 30x loup. Looks like a new belt, and pully isn't bent.



repro headshell, not crazy about the texture. Screws too short, trying to find some suitable ones, M2.5 thread 14mm long.



so still not up and running yet but getting there. I'm real happy and excited.

Any and all advice is mucho appreciated!

 

I've heard of people changing out the tonearm to bring it up to "pretty friggin' awesome" level of performance. If you do a google search, you'd come across it.

 

Hey Vern, believe me I've searched about every site I could find for XA mods and resto's. but cuting up the plinth and sub chassis ain't what I'm in for right now. I just want a no frills, old school experience for my 2nd system.

 

So does nobody know about that inner weight? Do I need to put it back where it was? Best what to attach it?

 

Don't do it, you'll probably screw up the tuning of the suspension. The stock arm is better than it looks, it just needs a little work to get there.

My recommendation: Contact Marc Morin at [email protected]. Marc can advise you on how to get the AR-XA up to a modern level of performance, drawn from his own extensive engineering background. He has also fabricated some very affordable upgrade parts, all of which are installed 'under the hood,' and which will raise the performance of your AR to some very lofty heights, no joke. The spin-down time on my Morinified AR platter from 33RPM is about 2.5 minutes with the belt off; most of them spin down in about 45 seconds!

My Morinified c.1963-64 AR-TX:

 

Here's another tip.... The AR-XA plinth is not unlike a guitar body, and with the bottom cover on there is no way for acoustical energy and vibrations to escape. Remove the bottom cover and raise the AR plinth like I did (I used rubber stoppers). Put a piece of carpet scrap or something underneath to absorb soundwave reflections from the motor and platter. You will hear less bass bloat and noise.

 

I've owned about 5 of the AR XA's, did modifications on 2 for very good effect. The arm is the weak part of the design. I've had good luck replacing the tonearm with the Grace 707. It's work but it pays off. However, the best sound I heard from an AR XA was in a rig that otherwise was vintage Dynakit pas-3 and 70, Rodgers LS3 5a. I recall the cartridge was tracking at 2.5 grams, some Rega cartridge. I suspect that the massy XA arm with its near useless bearing needs to use cartridges of lower compliance, higher tracking force to sound its best.

 

By all means get in touch with marcmorin on the AK fourm. He works wonders with the XA, especially on the arm bearings.

 

I disagree. The arm with reconditioned bearings and improved thrust plate is very capable. It looks primitive, but there is some solid engineering behind the design.

The arm is medium mass. With some bearing upgrades and arm spindle/bearing reconditioning it is lithe enough for a Grado to track with no issues. I ran a Grado on mine to great effect, but the hum was problematic so I switched to a Shure M91ED w/ JICO SAS, which is highly compliant.

 

I saw that the Shure M91ED has a recommended VTF of 1gm. That surprised me. What's the bearing upgrade? Zirconia like the Groovetracer?

 

Let 'em play around with it and see what he likes. Jim...take everything on here with a grain of salt. I've no personal experience with it, except knowing Russell Coco in baton rouge LA. he was kinda big in the AR turntable mods back in the day. He's an interesting character.

 

But it's no Grace 707 or SME III—SME anything, to be frank. The best always vanquishes the good.

Which is to say you can't use a Grado on the XA. Again, the arm may be medium mass, but the bearings are not in the same class as those found on a Thorens or a Dual, or any number of other good 'tables of the same vintage. And again, the XA sounded best, stock, with a cartridge that tracked well above 2 grams. If it's not a high mass arm, it sure acts like one.

For a $60 turntable, The AR XA is a freakin' miracle. In absolute terms, not so much.

 

Hear it for yourself on my upgraded/reconditioned AR with the stock arm:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/39332736/cartridges/AR-damp.aiff

 

I think it was .75-1.5 with 1.25 being the recommendation.

I can't remember... check with Marc.

 

Like a few others have mentioned try and contact Marc. He can work miracles with XA.

I've had a few of them (still do) and it is a wonderful TT. It's simplicity makes it a beautiful piece of equipment IMHO.

John

 

John, I've been studying the heck out of your web pages, you've done great work! I just signed up at Audio Karma so I'll be checking there often.

 

John's work is pretty amazing! And AK is a wonderful resource too.

 

Dagonit Jim, your picture taking macro skillz have gone through the roof!
I'm very impressed! Love that table. Had one when I was a teenager and it provided so much vinyl fun.
That table gives a real intimate experience. Everything on that table is manual.
You put the tonearm down with your fingers and lift it up with it. I would slap on an AT440mla or Shure MX97xe.
Congratulations! And have fun with it.

 

Thanks Armstrong! I forgot who it was on the forum that showed me the macro setting on the CoolPix but these are the best shots I've taken. Still trying to find the right cartridge amounting screws.

 

My first turntable was an AR XA, brand new. One of the XA's best design features was the mat, and this is a greatly overlooked point. The original mats deteriorated very quickly, similar to the way foam speaker surrounds deteriorate. (they turn into a gluey mess) You'll find many XA's on ebay with all kinds of stuff on the platter, sometimes rubber mats from other manufacturers which look very out of place. Nobody that I know of, has ever reissued the original mat.

The original mat was soft and compliant, (not springy like foam rubber) which actually molded to the record placed on it. This reduced resonance in the vinyl itself, and this was part of table's ability to resist feedback, and resist mudding up the bass. Yet, the mat maintained an intimate closed loop through the sub-chassis to the stylus tip. The closed loop subchassis is the primary feature that results in tight bass response, and enhanced inner detail. I had read somewhere, maybe in the AR literature, or brochure that the plinth could be rapped with a hammer without causing the stylus to jump a groove.

I may be crazy but I tried it on mine back in 1974. (hit it not too hard) You know what? It didn't jump, and neither could I hear a thud or anything coming from the speakers.

A second overlooked feature is the suspension. The suspension of the original AR was a bit stiff. It was improved at some point in the early 70's to a much softer, lower resonance suspension, so that when bounced, the resonance was at about 2 bounces per second. My current XA is an earlier version, so its suspension is nothing like my 1974 model was.. a far superior suspension. I'd like to add, the correct weight mat (with record) is critical to the suspension resonance. I have not yet thought about the technical "whys' but I can share an amazing ability the AR turntable has, when its suspension is tuned correctly.

I used to throw parties when I was young and stupid, and my system provided the music. My apartment floor moved. It moved a LOT under dancing female hooves. The AR turntable platter just bounced a lot, and never, never did the stylus jump a groove. (1 gram VTF, no antiskate, mind you) My current AR (early two motor model) can not do this, as it is quite sensitive to jarring, or any external movement of the plinth. It needs a suspension upgrade to give it that slow, easy bounce. But again, my 1974 AR-XA demonstrated the amazing ability to track a record with complete immunity to movement of the plinth.

My 1974 XA was one of the finest turntables I have ever owned. Yes the arm bearings are simple, leaving some to be desired, and the platter bearing... simplicity of design is what this table is all about. The arm has no antiskate compensation, not good, but the skating forces are minimal for some reason. If the bearings are not worn, and if the correct oil used, the XA is fully compatible for any med-high compliance cartridge. The Shure M91-ED is a high compliance cartridge. I tracked it at 1 gram, never any distortion on the inner groove, always tight, clean bass response.

I currently own several Dual tables, 1009, 1219, 1229, and CS-701, as well as an AR-XA, and have auditioned and repaired many others, Thorens, Garrard, Kenwood, Rega, etc. The AR is amazing since it defies all its drawbacks, and will perform magnificently as long as it is serviced properly... or upgraded by a reputable AR guru.

thanks for reading, keep 'em spinnin'