Acoustic Research AR-XA 1-Motor 1973 Manual Turntable. All Packaging & Shure M55 - $750 - (Plainfield, VT)
An extraordinary AR-Xa vintage turntable. Obtained from the original owners daughter. He purchased it in 1973 while stationed in Iceland with the US Navy. All original except the tonearm rest, which was snapped off when I obtained it and was replaced with an exact but improved replica. Frankly, I think the tonearm rest was broken soon after original purchase and table was repacked and unused from that point. Shipped from Iceland to Vermont, it has likely never been exposed to high humidity. The original Shure M55e cartridge and stylus are included and appear to have had minimal use - sound is extraordinary. The original AR brass badge was never even attached to the plinth. All the original receipts, manuals, packaging, and spare parts are present. When I obtained the turntable it was packed as if new in box. The exacting AR packing instructions are among the materials and it will be disassembled and repacked accordingly. Please see photos to confirm pristine condition of this table. The biggest issue with the ARxa is the degradation of the textured paint on the top of the plinth - it gets gummy, turns white, and is impossible to clean. Restorers often strip it down and repaint it, but never back to the original textured AR look. Please check the photos of this table's plinth - the paint is pristine and the textured points are like new, with zero wear. I have had several AR tables and never even knew this was what they were supposed to look like. The dust cover is free of cracks and has been polished with Maguers. It is very good but not as mint as the rest of the table. There are light scuffs and would rate an 8.5 out of 10. Table was tested with a Marantz 2275 receiver and DCM Time Window speakers. It performed flawlessly. Needed approx three seconds to achieve full speed. As mentioned, the original Shure M55e sounded amazing. Speed was solid and steady. Of course this is considered to be one of the most ingeniously designed and reliably performing turntables in…
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From ebay.com - 1 month ago