[iclark]

A big day in the Clark household, not only am I enjoying my Super Pas, but I have a number of new aquisitions,, A pair of Dynaco A 35's, a Dynaco FM 3, but more to the point a Empire 598 II turntable. I notice that you have one. Any hints, you might want to share with me. So far it's been great, Dyna-lift works well, it came with a Empire 2000 E II cartridge, which seems to work well, I was listening to the Who, and it sounds great, though I have to crank up the Pas quite a bit to get any serious volume levels, But it sounds great, no hum or hiss!
I appologizefor hijacking this AVA forum, but I own 3  pieces of AVA equipment so maybe I am entitled. Do you think if I installed an IEC power connector on the Empire that I might see an improvement in performance?
I have not had a chance to listenen to the A 35,s or the FM3, another day!

Ian

By the way, does anyone have a brass FM3 faceplate they might wish to part with? I would really like to match my Super Pas 2.

Ian

[Wayner]

No, the IEC socket will not help the Empire! First, Nice set-up! I hop you are enjoying your AVA/Empire combo. First, I'd like to add a word of caution about the Dyna-lift device. It must be set properly or you may have a ruined stylus. I do not use mine, nor do I trust it. I'll assume you have the owner's manual for the Empire, if not, go find one at the vinylengine. Next, I'll also assume that the cartridge is used and unless you know how many hours are on it, I would put a new one on the list. May I suggest the Audio Technica AT440MLa, tracking at 1.5 grams. I also don't trust the Empire's weight calibration, due to age. You need to get a scale. I suggest the Shure SFG-2. The other things like Slick 50 or Mobil one on the shaft, clean belts (replacing worn, stretched belts) and things of that nature should have you spinning for a long time. As far as a perceived low gain on the preamp, it depends on the MM cartridge's output level. I know that the AT puts out about 5mv. The older Empire may be less. Also, do not over-tighten the removable cartridge plate in the tonearm head as it will bow the plate, changing the rake angle.

Wayner 

[rcag_ils]

If you need new motor isolator grommets, let me know, I have them for sale. The new ones really reduce the noise a lot. The 40 year old worn out isolators should be replaced.

[Wayner]

Yes, I don't know why some of them have completely disintegrated while others including mine, look like new.

Wayner 

[rcag_ils]

Look can be deceiving on these. Most old ones look a bit dusty, but look OK after they've been cleaned up.

Mine looked good, felt nice and soft, but after I replaced them with new one, what a difference. Empire used high quality industrial parts, including the motor isolators.

The motor itself weighs a lot, after 40 years, the isolators tend to lose their anti-vibration property. You can actually hear the vibration when the motor's turning with the old isolators.

[orthobiz]

Since this is a thread about old turntables, how are the arms on the Empire. I saw a thread on stevehoffman.tv where someone advised against the arm, like it would ruin the grooves.

And Wayner, I know you're an AR fan. I keep looking at vinylnirvana.com and right now he has a couple of early ones (an XA and XB) for sale. Back when I had my Dual 1215S, I thought the AR's were super primitive, never considered getting one.

But now I wonder. Are the arms good enough for modern playback?

Paul

[Wayner]

First, I think the Empire 990 arm is pretty good. The older 980 arm, maybe not so good. Tell Steve Hioffman, he's full of shit. I have albums that are 35 years old that were played on the Empire that are in great shape. The arm on the 698 looks like it's got lots of plastic so that one I don't know about. Anyway, the 990, in the mount of an Empire 598 series is in a great spot, spindle to pivot distance wise and is well balanced. Age may have an effect on the anti-skating device and will be tell-tale if it tracks poorly. I have documented a fix for that. Also, I think an AudioQuest PT series tonearm will drop right in, if you want to replace the arm. Doug s. wants me to do that and I really need to, tho I hate tearing down a good set-up.

I have mixed opinions of the AR-XA table. I love the platter, sub-platter and bearing. They are the platter on ARMod, which Frank has heard and likes very much. The arm can be set to perform very well, but it is a pain in the ars to work on because of it's permanent wired tether which just makes working on it tough. I have had 3 at one time and now I gave my last one to Frank and all I have left are a few platters and bearings, which, if I find the right motor, will lead to another table project.

Wayner 

[rcag_ils]

The arm on a never-been-abused, well kept Empire turntable works just fine. Like Wayner, I don't use the Dyna-lift, I had it adjusted correctly, but the magnet lifts the arm in very fast motion and in a slight angle, and I don't think it's good for the stylus.

The weight adjustment mechanism was built with Swiss watch like precision, I checked the adjustment with a Shure gauge, and it came in very close, I'll never sell mine.

One more thing, I just bought a CJ Walker CJ55, without arm, what an awesome table for the price, talk about engineering that make good sense.

[orthobiz]

Tell Steve Hioffman, he's...

Wayner 

It wasn't Steve himself, it was a poster on his website. Just to be clear.

Paul

[srb]

I don't use the Dyna-lift, I had it adjusted correctly, but the magnet lifts the arm in very fast motion and in a slight angle, and I don't think it's good for the stylus.

I had an Empire many years ago, and if I thought that the Dyna-lift was suspect, when it rudely snapped that arm up while still playing music on an extra-long LP that was recorded farther into the center, that awful sound told me everything I needed to know.
 
Disable.
 
Steve

[iclark]

Thanks for all the reply's,
I have to give you a bit of background, back in the early seventies I managed an audio store here in Ottawa, Treble Clef, this back in the vinyle days. We sold mainly prepackaged systems, generally consisting af a mix of what I considered to be good quality components, to fit a person's budget, the best sound you could afford. The anckor was Advent speakers, from small to large. I met Henry Kloss on several occassions and visited his facility in Cambridge Mass. Receivers were Sherwood, Pioneer, Marantz and Yamaha. (Yamaha was just tring to break into the market and were producing some very fine equipment. They paid to fly me to Japan for 2 weeks, so I might be a little bit predudjiced!). Turntables started at the Pionneer PL12 or a Thorens TD? turntable. Cartridges started with the Shure M75, B&O SP12, Ortofon OM10 or the Empire 2000 E II. These were the big sellers, (I forgot the Shure V15). Setting up turntbles was something I really enjoyed. The Empire cartridge was always my favourite and my customers seemed to agree. Evey now and the we would bring in an Empire Trubador as a special order. What a gorgous turntable. I lusted after it, but my (ex) wife nixed it. So here am I,almost 40 years later finally getting an Empire. Bliss and with an Empire cartrige as well.
I looked at the stylus under the microscope at work and it looks good. You can buy new ones from Japan. I might give that a shot, but right know the one I have now looks good. I was first impressed with the Dyna Lift (I don't think Dynaco had any thing to do with it,) but I noticed that near the end of the album the sound became distorted, It was the magnet attempting to pull the arm in!. Goodby Dynalift! I have ordered the new motor mount grommets off ebay, the belt is fine, got a manual from Vinyl Engine, I had to refinish the plinth, it looks great! In fact the whole turntable looks great, the best looking turntable ever made, some thing about the gold finish and the walnut! Amazing. The tone arm, hey I know there are more modern ones available, but I am trying to recreate my youth when viynel was king and this was state of the art then.
How do you spell Vinyle, vinal, viynle, etc? I wish there was a spell checker on AudioCircle.
I have checked the tracking weight, it is spot on, the antiskating seems a bit wonky, Wayner what is your fix? The tonearm cable with its one of a kind 5 pin connector caused me a bit of grief, but I managed to splice in a good quality RCA, There are a few cables available on Ebay, I might give that a shot. I was just kidding about the IEC connector!
I am running out of relestate in my listening room, so I am thinking about wall mounting by turntables, anyone done this?

Thanks Again

Ian

Frank, Thanks for the article about the FM3, re: keeping it alive. I am running it now and it does sound very good and that is stock. I did bring it up on a variac, no smoke, all original tubes. It does sound good, amazing! The inicator works.
I took the bottom plate off and I almost had a heart attack, kit built, 35 year old flux everywere, poor solder joints, solder splashes, a real mess. It's going onto my winter project shelf for some rework before I power it up again.

[turkey]

Empire Trubador as a special order. What a gorgous turntable. I lusted after it, but my (ex) wife nixed it. So here am I,almost 40 years later finally getting an Empire. Bliss and with an Empire cartrige as well.

I've picked up a few components that I lusted after years ago too. Enjoy! 

How do you spell Vinyle, vinal, viynle, etc? I wish there was a spell checker on AudioCircle.

Vinyl.

The FIrefox web browser has a spell checker built in. Have you tried Firefox?

[Wayner]

Well, here is a picture of the "down rigger" that I have fashioned for the Empire. It uses some fishing equipment, including some 2lb fishing line, an inline 1/4 oz. bullet weight and the end eyelet of a bass spinner bait for the wire and loop. Unfortunately, you also need a flat disc to check the anti-skating or you will be guessing for a long time at the correct weight. I also had to file on the weight to do some fine tuning. It also incorporates a small piece of an E (1st, steel) guitar string that is threaded thru the eyelet and the weight to keep the weight from swinging.



and another photo:



And here is my shelf for the turntable out in the garage.



Wayner 

[weirdo]

I fabricated my own wall stand from archetectural hinges, simple box frame and metal rod support. Everything was glued together with gorilla glue, becaue I like the uniform rigidity after it sets.... but I wouldn't fault anyone for spending 150 to buy one.