Empire 698 - Vinyl bliss for <$500 - a review (pics, long)

I bought this Empire 698 from an ad on craigslist for $400. I believe that the ad was up for a few days and I must have been the first and only caller based on the eagerness of the seller when I called. I already have an Empire 398 and 3 Thorens (TD124mkI, TD124mkII, TD125mkII) so I needed another vintage turntable like my wife needs another pair of shoes. But the craigslist ad said that the table was mint, and the seller agreed to drive it to my home (~1hr drive) to see it if I was willing to pay $20. I thought it was worth a shot since I had never seen a 698 in the “flesh”.

The guy arrived and, much to my surprise, he knew enough to take the table apart for shipping. We reassembled it and it looked great. The only problems were some nicks and notches in the wood plinth and cover. Everything else looked mint as advertised.

Let me start by saying that this is truly a MAGNIFICENT looking piece of machinery. Aesthetically, it’s a combination of modern, classical, and sci-fi. It would look right at home a movie like “Dune” or “The Fifth Element” – if you’ve seen either you probably know what I mean. Given the broad combination of materials used, the result could have been horrendous. Consider that it has a gold-tone metal chassis, platter, and tonearm, a clear plexiglass tonearm rest (illuminated from below with a red LED), clear plastic touch sensitive switches (also illuminated from below with a red LED) for cueing, a black plastic on/off switch, a wood plinth, and a wood and smoked-glass cover.

Unlike my TD124s which required quite a bit of care, restoration (e.g. they both leaked oil and needed a new gasket), and more modern tonearm (SME 3009II), all this Empire required was a little bit of dusting.



Set-up was a breeze. The seller gave me the original instructions, which came in poster form, and were very well written – the best I’ve read for a turntable set-up. I like to use a weight stabilizer so I adjusted the suspension wing-nuts to have the platter float approximately 1/8” off the base with the weight on. Took me five minutes to get it where I wanted it to be. I installed my favorite budget cartridge (AT440mla) on the removable head-shell and used the HiFi News Test LP (HFN TLP) to set overhang, and make sure all the wiring was correct and to find the best VTA, VTF, and anti-skating settings. There is a strobe disk in the center of the platter and, with a portable fluorescent light, setting the correct speed was a piece of cake. All and all, I must have spent 30-40 minutes to get the set-up right – and had fun doing it because everything responded so well and was very intuitive. The only thing that did not work well was the lowering of the tonearm using the cueing button – it looks like it needs some lubrication – but I could not wait to listen so I postponed that task.



As usual, the AT440mla did splendidly in the HFN TLP, passed the tracking torture tests with flying colors (what an amazing cartridge for $89). Both the vertical and horizontal resonance tests on the test LP came in at 9Hz, a bit low, but acceptable.



Enough testing, time to play some real music…
I planned to use this table on my vintage system which consists of a Fisher 600 receiver (from 1960) and a pair of Tannoy Prestige Mini speakers (with dual-concentric drivers). This system gives me at least as much pleasure as my fancy-pants McIntosh/Quad set-up in the living room.



I know that the 440mla has to break in for 40-50 hours (I have two of them already in use), but it sounded darn good from the start – amazing in-fact. It’s probably because my expectations for the 698 were lower than those for the Thorens/SME combos, but I was floored by what I heard – great sound stage, deep bass, crystalline highs, spot-on and rock solid speed. No way this is a $400 table with an $89 cart! I may not have golden ears, but those of you who are familiar with my other postings knows that I am quite picky and not that easy to please (e.g. my recent issues with the 398 speed and modulation problems). This table/cartridge sang to me like no other table I’ve owned (modern or vintage). It sounds the way it looks – warm, rich, golden – the kind of sound I am a sucker for. I played rock, jazz (vocal and instrumental), and classical; all came through vivid and three-dimensional. “Ella at Duke’s Place” sounded better than I’ve ever heard it. Joe Pass’s nylon strings guitar on Joe Pass’s “I Remember Charlie Parker” sounded just like it should – all picking noises, incidental sounds, coming through with great realism. I could go on, but the bottom-line is that whatever I threw at this table/cart sounded great and dragged me in the music. It was very hard to turn it off when I had to go to bed.

Many vintage fans think that Empires are underrated tables – and I fully agree with that. But the common wisdom is also that the earlier non-suspended Empires like the 208 and 398 are better tables than the later suspended models like the 598 and the 698 – and I am not sure I agree with that. It might be possible that with a lot of tweaking (e.g. a massive plinth, new tonearm, etc.) a 208 or 398 might sound better than a 698 but based on my experience with both tables, out of the box, the 698 by far the better performer with rock-solid speed, very low noise floor, and a very good tonearm. I found that with the right cartridge it holds its own against more venerated suspended tables like the Thorens and ARs – and looks tons better than both IMO.

In summary, the Empire 698 surprised the heck out of me. I was prepared to like it and keep it for its looks, but not to love the looks AND the sound as much as I did. It may not be the table for you if you like the cold looks and analytic sound of most modern (plexiglass, plastic, and shiny steel) turntables, but if you dig vintage gear and warm analog/tube sound the Empire is definitely worth considering.

For those people who are looking for a starter table/cart for under $500 to get into vinyl, I can’t imagine a better deal than a 698 with AT440mla – especially since it’s so easy to set-up and requires no restoration (other than a new belt).

I hope you enjoyed this review. It took me a while to write, but I felt an obligation to be thorough and share my finding with other vinyl/vintage enthusiasts since so much has been written about vintage Thorens/Garrards/Lencos and so little about Empires. I believe these tables deserve much more visibility and respects than they’ve been given. The combination of build-quality, features, looks, and sound makes them an AMAZING deal for the prices they are demanding these days.

Alberto

 

Nice. It has a kind of 1930s Art Deco look to it.

 

Nice review and cool looking table...

 

Did that glass cover come with the table (second photo from the top).

I think, aesthetically speaking, it's a beautiful table. Based on what I have learned in the last year and a half, I also think that vintage is the way to go a lot of the time!

Great review!

 

Thanks for the writeup! Glad you found such a mint example. M.

 

Yes, the glass cover came with the table. I take it off when listening though (it comes off completely).

 

Before discovering vintage, I tried budget (i.e. <$1K tables from Pro-Ject and Rega). Even the famous P3 ($700) left me cold and I sold it a few months later (at a considerable $ loss).

In the under $2K budget, I believe vintage tables (the right ones) are the way to go. Especially since they hold their price so well, you can basically own them for free (or even make a profit).

However, until I found the 698, the other vintage tables required restoration, new plinths, new tonearms, etc., that make them great for tweakers, but unsuitable for most people. The 698 is the first table where I felt no need to do anything. Plug, set-up, and enjoy. Perfect for the non-tweakers.

Alberto

 

I always loved the look of the 698. Most of the competition looked flimsy by comparison. I haven't seen one in years. Enjoy.

 

I'm glad you are happy with the vintage turntables. Personally, I'm not crazy about the look.

 

Thanks for the review. It's a mighty purty table, to my eyes. Is it idler drive or belt drive?

 

Gorgeous TT. Thanks for your impressions.

What is that record clamp/weight you are using with this table?

 

Sorry, should have mentioned that somewhere in the review - it's a belt drive.

 

That's a beautiful table. Nice score!

 

Hi,

Nice machine and one of the best out there. Come to Papa, Empire! Nice score!

 

I recently had a chance to check-out an earlier Empire model ..208 I think it was.. For a Forum buddy who obtained it cheaply at a yard sale I think. It was built like a proverbial Battleship. Strong and solid. But when I checked the rumble performance, it was awful.. It could have been needing major refurbishment, it's quite possible. I heard quite loudly, the motor noise being mechanically transmitted into the platter, and of course, into the stylus and speakers. It was quite good at speed control, no audible wow. But it was a cool unit to look at, and solid to handle. I think with some careful motor re-mounting, to isolate the vibes from the table and platter, it might be pretty good. Thanks, very good review of the unit, highly enjoyable reading. Rolf.

 

Hi Rolf, I own a 398 (essentially a 208 with the 980 tonearm already installed) and while it's not nearly as bad as you mention, the 698 is in a different league (they 698 are also 10-15 years younger).

 

Yes, I am sure they improved them with time. I think the motor mouning system could have been damaged, I can't imagine shipping a new table working that way.. My ARxa in 1967 produced negligible rumble or motor noise, and was an "Economy" model.

 

You actually got that for 20 bucks? Nice!! Goes well with the rest of your system...

 

I think he meant that he would drive it to his home for him to deliver it for $20... I'm sure he paid $400 or close to it.

 

Just in case you are'nt joking: It sold for $400.. The $20.00 was for the time/gas to drive it over for the buyer to examine it. Am I correct?

 

Correct. I paid $400 + $20 for the guy to drive it over to my house.

Still a heck of a bargain in my book.

Alberto

 

well, thx for the info....based on this thread I just bought one of these 698's!!


...I pick it up this week sometime, can't wait to try it out

a friend gave me a bunch of old vinyl about a month ago, I didn't want to risk playing it on my cheap sony TT, so have been thinking of an old unit...pulled the trigger on ebay tonight


I plan on using it with an old Fisher 400 I bought off someone here on the forum a while back....should be a great combination, I hope

 

Congratulations!!

Hi Bolero,

You are the second person who bought a 698 based on my review - I hope you guys don't come chasing me if you are not happy . I also hope I haven't started something major and priced myself out of buying another one.

I guess you bought the only one that was on eBay (from Canada with a BIN price of $529 - am I right?). I had my eyes on that one too but I promised my better-half I'd sell some of my other tables before buying another one.

I think it will go well with the Fisher 400 (I have a Fisher 600 that I am using on it) but, now that I know what this table is capable of, I believe that the Fisher might hold it back.

What cartridge are you planning to put on it?

Keep us posted.

Alberto

 

well, I am fairly new to all of this, so it's a bit of an experiment; if I don't like it I'm sure I can get most of my money back if I decide to sell it. but it looks damn cool and if it's halfway decent I'm sure I'll be happy with it.


yup, that's the one....the seller said he put on a red grado prestige cart. I have no idea what implications that has but will surely be digging thru the internet to do some more research.

I bought the Fisher to fix up but haven't had time to do much with it, I'm hoping this kicks me in the *** & gets me going

what would you suggest pairing up with it instead of the Fisher?

cheers

 

By all means fix the Fisher and start with it. I did not mean to belittle the Fisher, but to emphasize how good the Empire can be.

What kind of fixing do you have to do on the Fisher. I know a lot of people talk about recapping, etc., but I just changed power tubes on my Fisher 600 and it sounds great. Does yours light up and play at all?

Alberto

PS You are right about getting the money back (and possibly more) or, at the very least, to lose very little $ when compared to buying new. That's one of the great things about vintage audio gear.