Closet Cleaning

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Baumli

Closet Cleaning
« on: 11 Jun 2010, 10:28 pm »
CLOSET CLEANING:

Audio Research manual (new) for EC-22 crossover. They made fewer than 100 units of this model! It was the only solid-state one they made.: ($13 firm).

Audio Research Litz-Line Mark-II speaker wire, 13-foot run, single-wire, original “right-angle” spades on one end, and newly-installed (using silver solder) Furutech 45-degree angle locking bananas (FP-202G) on the other. These bananas were installed by a professional, and I kept the old spades which would be included. Note: This is a very large-diameter 5.5-gauge cable, with amazing bass, and excellent presentation throughout. I was using them on my Janis W-1 subwoofers, but alas, being afflicted with audiophilia, I just had to upgrade.: ($500 firm).
 
Acoustic Research replacement turntable motor for AR-ES-1 (& other AR models)—this is the 120-volt motor manufactured by Merrill as an upgrade with the quieter stainless-steel spindle. Never used: ($75 firm).

Cardas myrtle wood cuboids with Cardas logo. 12 large size for $80. 8 small size for $40. (firm.)

Merrill “Heirloom” turntable subchassis drilled at Merrill with undercut routing for Graham 1.5 tonearm, so it has the “racetrack” hole. Barely used: ($200 firm).

Grado headphone earpads—new, never used. Fit SR-125 through RS-1’s: ($15 firm).

Nagaoka A-MP-11 replacement stylus. Never used: ($40 obo).

Martin Logan speaker spikes, 10 in all, never used. Superb for use on other speakers too. I bought 6 for satellites & 4 for sub, but then machined my own spikes for satellites and scored some Merrill “Elephant Feet” for the sub (eat your heart out, MapleShade owners). These spikes are black, thread size is 1/4” by 20 which is the most common size in the industry; but note: threaded insert length is 3/4” long, which is longer than on most spikes. Spike height, not counting thread, is 1&1/2” total. I presume that if you are looking at this ad then you know what these spikes look like, but be reminded that the entire threaded shaft coupling down to the point extends through a larger housing which is 1&1/4” in diameter. Will not split set of 10 ($200 obo.)
 
2 coffee mugs with piano key design (not identical; one is primarily black, the other primarily white, and one of these is from W. Germany). ($40 firm for both).


Tara Labs “Pandora” 1/2-meter interconnect terminated with Cardas AGMO, never used ($85 firm).

Tara Labs Master “Generation I” 3-foot interconnect terminated with Cardas AGMO ($100 firm).

Apature 10-foot interconnect, terminated with Cardas AGMO—this is the blue/red “linear-synthesized” cable—never used but no box ($300 firm).

Mission 775 turntable, barely used, dustcover etc. in great shape, has original center weight and belt, manual, and original box, no tonearm but original tonearm mount for 774 tonearm remains installed; local pickup only ($150 firm).

AudioQuest locking RCA’s, used, have several dozen ($10 pair obo).

Audio-Technica AT-618 “Disc Stabilizer” turntable center weight—this is the real one made of stainless steel and rubber, not one of the several clones. Weight: 21 oz. or 600 grams. Great shape except for some small dings toward bottom center made by bumping spindle when placing the weight down. ($75 firm.)

AR-ES1 (Merrill “Modem”) turntable:
   The Merrill turntable here described, and for sale, is informally called the Merrill “Modem,” or by some, the Merrill “Mod.” This is because it is based on the Acoustic Research turntable, which involves taking this turntable and modifying it with parts made by Merrill. (The extent to which an AR turntable must be modded before it deserves being called a Merrill “Modem” might be debated; but this turntable has all the modifications Merrill ever offered, along with certain other Merrill modifications which essentially involves using parts for the top-of-the-line Merrill “Heirloom” which normally would not be used for the “Modem.”)
   As to this turntable: It is the best of the Acoustic Research turntables ever made: the AR ES-1. (The AR ETL-1 was an attempt to make a better turntable, but it had major problems with its outboard power supply, its onboard speed control circuitry, its center bearing was fragile, and it could not easily be upgraded.) The present turntable has a walnut-finish, and is blemish-free except for two small dents in the front made by its being bumped with a shelf. The previous owner did this. These were finished over (five coats of tong oil), remain visible, but not very noticeable. The dustcover is not the original; the present one is a “grey-colored” one made by Kennedy Glass in Kansas City out of acrylic. It has some slight “wear” blemishes, but no cracks or major blemishes.
   Feet were replaced with adjustable brass points fitted to brass shelf-protectors.
   The suspension for the platter-assembly is modified. The heavy-duty Merrill springs were installed, these springs are supported by large washers damped with “Dynamat,” new studs were put in, and nylon wing nuts for ease of height adjustment were put on.
   The subchassis is the Merrill acrylic one-piece unit which unites the subchassis and the mounting boss. It has the improved bearing well, and a ground for this bearing well. The subplatter is the Merrill modified one which takes the old subplatter itself and installs a better spindle and bearing. Also this turntable received the new copolymer dual pulley with the crowned centers. The outer platter is the Merrill one made of acrylic with a sheet of lead bonded to it and covered with a PVC coating for better coupling to the vinyl. The periphery ring is not the one made for the AR “Modem,” but is the better one made for the “Heirloom” (very expensive!) and the center weight, likewise, is the one made for the “Heirloom.”
   The stock 120-volt motor was replaced with the Merrill 12-volt motor with outboard power supply, spike protector, and speed-control box which is speed adjustable.
   Note that both the turntable itself, and the separate control box, have the Merrill logo.
   The tonearm is an AudioQuest PT-5 (gold finish) and it has an unusual cartridge—the Grado “Gold” (which I prefer because of the higher output) but with the Grado MCZ stylus. Note that the Grado “Gold” body is identical in quality to the original MCZ body, but has higher output coils. The cartridge and stylus have 247 hours. (I keep careful track: Each LP played all the way through counts as one hour. Most LPs have a bit less than an hour of information. I figure that the rare times I play a single track from a record balance it out to about one hour per LP.) So this cartridge should be good for at least another 600 hours of play (as estimated by my long experience with Grado cartridges). Headshell wires to the cartridge are AudioQuest, internal wiring on the tonearm is original, wiring from the Graham box to the tonearm was changed over to Tara Labs “Black Phantom” which gave a slight improvement. The Graham box is the earlier, and better, model which has the internal trap for RFI, and this box itself was upgraded to gold-rhodium Cardas female RCA’s. There is a ground lug on this box, and note that all three suspension studs (not just one) along with the bearing well ground wire, are grounded via a grounding harness to the Graham box. (I found that the five-point ground worked much better, even though, in theory, it shouldn’t matter. But of course “theory” about grounding never plays out in reality.)
   The original cord which supplied the 120-volt motor, and the original switch, have been left intact; I never removed them, but they could be easily removed. In fact, I would recommend clipping off the cord since it gets in the way when moving the turntable.
   There are other small upgrades—things as small as wrapping the wire where it is suspended inside the turntable with felt, my way of attaching the ground for the bearing housing to the three grounds for the suspension studs, etc.
   Reason for sale: Even though I have had this turntable for over 15 years, and have found it most satisfying, I now have a Merrill “Heirloom” which I spent 7&1/2 years modifying, remachining, and upgrading. (I would make the claim that it probably is the best “Heirloom” in the world, and even is perhaps the best turntable ever made. And no, it is not for sale at any price.)
   Price on this Merrill “Modem,” for local pick-up, is $1900 firm. This includes the Merrill “Modem” along with the tonearm and cartridge. One has to have an interconnect. I have been using an Apature BL-4, solid silver, which is the best I have found for this turntable, given the low capacitance of the wire and the neutrality of sound. I will sell this IC for an additional $150.

All prices firm where noted, and “obo” where noted. However, will consider trades for tweaks or cables as long as you understand that I have the right to politely decline. (Interested especially in all Audio Research wire, all Kubala-Sosna wire, all Magnan Audio wire, Cardas Golden Reference ICs or old Cardas Hexlink PCs.) Please note that all prices above include insured shipping in the 50 States & Canada.

Wire Nut

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Re: Closet Cleaning
« Reply #1 on: 9 Jan 2011, 06:25 pm »
Does the Merrell moter work on a AR XA turntable, if so is it still available?
Thanks, Nut

Baumli

Re: Closet Cleaning
« Reply #2 on: 10 Jan 2011, 06:15 am »
Dear Wire Nut,
The motor is still available. And yes, it should (sic) fit. I've set up many of these, and the reason I say should is because once, only once, there was a factory-installed German-made motor with different mounts. I don't recall the brand, but I have heard other people refer to it. Virtually all of them had the same motor I have, which is the Philips 1&1/2-watt "butterfly" as it is called because of the "wings" that come out from the motor itself and are used for the mounts. If this sounds like the one which you need we can do business. And I would include a diagram (presuming you need it) to help with mounting the motor, and also a diagram to help with setting your pulley at the correct height for mounting it. If you wish to discuss this by phone, I would be glad to. Let me know what you want to do, and if you wish to purchase the motor, then just send payment via PayPal to: sudbaum@sbcglobal.net and I'll ship it right out as soon as I have your postal address.

Thank you for your query and interest.

Francis Baumli, Saint Louis, Missouri