Putting Together A Vintage Stereo System, Part 1: The Turntable

Putting together a nice yet budget friendly vintage stereo system has been a goal of mine for many years. Being both and avid music listener AND a musician has caused a bit of a conflict of interests though. It seemed like whenever I had the extra cash to get a new piece of stereo gear, I'd also be in the market for a new instrument or piece of recording equipment. The music gear almost always won out, and I never got to put that vintage system together until recently. The first part of that system I got was a vintage turntable.

For me, the turntable was the most important piece to start with. If it wasn't going to work, I would probably reconsider the whole vintage thing. I'd had problems with old gear before (see the "Vintage Guitar" post and read about my Wurlitzer). After some Ebay scouring I found and bought the table I had read so much about and wanted to try so badly- a 1968 or '69  AR-XA. This particular turntable is considered one of the most important of all time; it was, I believe, one of the first suspended chassis turntables on the market when it first came out, and influenced the design of many turntables to follow, like the Thorens line. The suspended chassis, by the way, means that the platter, arm, and motor float on an inner metal chassis that is spring mounted to the wooden base. The reason for this design is to isolate the important stuff from small vibrations from the motor and what may come through the base.

My AR-XA, with a George Van Eps album ready to spin!

As luck would have it, right after getting the turntable, my car needed a very expensive repair. All further vintage audio gear purchases had to be pout on hold for almost a year, so I ended up using the 'table with a $10 flea market amplifier and some $100 Best Buy speakers. Despite the, well, crappy setup, the turntable proved to me without a doubt that there is some absolutely impressive vintage audio gear out there that doesn't have to cost thousands to sound good. This turntable is so basic and simple but works so well, anyone who has never used on will be surprised!

Gear that works well is only part of the equation. How a turntable sounds is really the most important thing, and this turntable sounds fantastic! Its tone is similar to the aforementioned Thorens tables of the 1970s. Words like liquid, rich, warm and sweet came to mind immediately when I first heard this table in action. To me, this type of design just plain sounds better in comparison to the British-style suspension-less planks that I had used before, and which flood the current new turntable market.

The AR-XA sounds great playing any kind of music; my record collection spans jazz to rock to classical to world to folk. They all sound great on this 'table. For the absolute best classic AR turntable experience, get a vintage Shure M97x cartridge when you get the table. I'm glad I did, as I had heard that no current cartridge has such great synergy with this 'table. I believe it! They make a great combo.

A side view showing the very basic tonearm setup. Notice the complete lack of an anti-skating mechanism!

The AR-XA certainly performs well and sounds great, but it does have its flaws. Most notable would be the tone arm. First of all, the headshell (where the cartridge and "needle" go) is made of plastic that is over 40 years old, and no replacements are available that I am aware of, short of buying an expensive old stock one. In other words, be careful when screwing in the cartridge! The other issue with the tonearm is the damping mechanism. When new, this prevented the arm from slamming down to the record surface. 40 years later it causes the arm to hang up and not sit on the record surface as it should. The fix is a little complicated but not difficult. It involves removing the pin that works the mechanism, therefore letting the arm move freely again. For any AR repair info, go to vinylnirvana.com. It is a great resource for all things AR.

Though it has a few issues, the AR-XA is truly a great turntable even today. It out performs any of the current budget tables in the $300-$500 range. This 'table is a true example of "they don't make em like they used to." The sound, the simplicity and the classic look add up to a great table that should get consideration from anyone looking to put together a nice, budget friendly vintage stereo system. Put a classic rock album on the AR, sit back, relax, and let the music transport you back to a different time.