This is an Empire 208 turntable that has been fully reconditioned. The motor was disassembled and cleaned and relubed, the motor bushings were replaced, the belt was replaced and the spindle and bearing well was cleaned and relubed. I also replaced the power lamp. The aluminum top plate was cleaned and polished. It does have some marks in the clear coat, but overall is very presentable. The wood base is original and largely defect free. It has been cleaned and restained with Howard's Restor-A-Finish and #0000 steel wool and treated with Howard's Feed 'N Wax. It has adjustable brass spikes on all corners. It also includes a custom dust cover (shown in last picture).
The original 980 tonearm has been replaced by the excellent Jelco 750D tonearm. It comes with the standard counterweight and azimuth adjustable headshell with Litz tonearm leads (essentially a Sumiko HS-12). This is an excellent arm, with fluid damping and VTA adjustment (not on the fly). This is a highly regarded tonearm and a great bargain performer. Also included is an upgraded Jelco tonearm cable (the red Jelco cable), which sells for $130. The arm is mounted on a custom red oak arm board which is attached from the underside of the top plate through the existing holes. I did not drill additional holes through the top plate, so if you ever wanted to remount a 980 arm you could (but you'll never want to!). The arm is mounted at the Jelco-recommended 214mm spacing. I've enjoyed this table with both MM cartridges (AT150Mlx and Dynavector 10x5) and MC cartridges (Denon DL-103 and DL-103r). All have performed well on this arm, which is flexible enough to accept a wide range of cartridges, I will also include an extra headshell and leads (similar to the Jelco/Sumiko headshell that's shown on it, but black) that was $70 new. I currenlty have my AT150Mlx mounted on one (as shown in the pictures) and my DL-103r mounted on the other, which is convenient as all I have to do is change the VTF when I swap cartridges. No cartridge is included in this sale, however!
There are no issues with this table. The belt is the correct length and width, so the speed is accurate. I'm only selling to move up to a more expensive table. By the way, this table was made in October of 1961, as inscribed on the inside surface of the motor cover. Amazing! I have shipped 4 tables to date (2 AR XA's, a Pioneer PL-50 and a Thorens TD-280 MkII) and have not had one issue with damage during delivery. I've got the packing thing down! I also have a lot more pictures, just let me know if you want to see them and I'll email them to you.
SOLD
I would consider splitting the table and the arm. Contact me if you are interested in doing that and we can work out a deal.
