FS-AR The Legend TT [Archive] - The Art of Sound Forum

twotone

10-05-2013, 18:32

Hi guys,

I've an AR The Legend/The Turntable for sale serial no 005176.

The label on the back panel says The Turntable however the previous owner say's it's a The Legend.

"hi tony , glad you are enjoying her , yes chaps most definately , a legend and not the earlier "turntable" and yes oiil / belt all new , no pay in the bearing etc , yes the AT arm is a bit "light" but can have a grub screw added (rear of arm 4mm threaded) to balance things out for heavier carts , cable is plug in /repacable , (it has a linn cable fitted , they are hugely upgradeable"

Bought it from Wee Tam of this parish back in Jan.

Orignal thread below with photos.

I paid £250 for it delivered with a cheap AT cart on it.

Looking for what I paid for it but I can either put a well used Denon DL-110 HOMC on the arm for another £25 or a Goldring 900IGC MM cart inc VDH stylus for plus £75.

Tony

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=23051

wee tam

10-05-2013, 18:45

nice deck , what are you replacing her with tony ?

twotone

10-05-2013, 18:49

nice deck , what are you replacing her with tony ?

Just a pure whim Tam.

Just testing the water mate:eyebrows:

wee tam

10-05-2013, 18:49

http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd462/weetamand/Picture002-2.jpg (http://s1221.photobucket.com/user/weetamand/media/Picture002-2.jpg.html)

http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd462/weetamand/Picture001-2.jpg (http://s1221.photobucket.com/user/weetamand/media/Picture001-2.jpg.html)

she looks like this

mad-moon

10-05-2013, 20:59

Erm..I thought that was her in the flesh Tommy..???

wee tam

10-05-2013, 21:00

yes :) thats what i meant
Erm..I thought that was her in the flesh Tommy..???

twotone

11-05-2013, 15:26

Bit of an update courtesy of Vacdac (Chris) on the Wam.

The label on the back of the TT is exactly as he describes.

I'll post up some photos later on.

Tony

"Hi Tony......just as a point of clarification....If yours says AR The Turntable - XE on the rear, that would make it a U.S. made model, which are said to be a little better than the UK built models. I've had one of these meself for many years. If it is indeed a US model, it should say made by Teledyne Acoustic Research, Norwood MA USA.

Mine was actually sold to me as a Legend...& this is how they were marketed in the UK, Henry (Cablemonkey) filled out this history for me in a recent thread."

seoirse2002

11-05-2013, 16:07

twotone

11-05-2013, 16:37

I have one that says on the back label "The AR Turntable" made in USA
Teledyne Acoustic Research
So is mine a Legend or is it The Turntable
Its fitted with a Jelco arm which I believe were made for AR
:cool:

Depends I think on the 'XE' bit before the serial no.

Here's the American brochure from 1983

http://www.vinylnirvana.com/ar-turntable-history/ar-the-turntable-brochure/

seoirse2002

11-05-2013, 17:19

Depends I think on the 'XE' bit before the serial no.

Here's the American brochure from 1983

http://www.vinylnirvana.com/ar-turntable-history/ar-the-turntable-brochure/

Mine says XD

Rare Bird

11-05-2013, 17:57

If it says made in USA it's not a 'Legend'

twotone

11-05-2013, 18:06

If it says made in USA it's not a 'Legend'

God it's pretty confusing trying to pin down what this thing actually is:doh:

The Grand Wazoo

11-05-2013, 18:14

The Legend was made in Dunstable!

myles

11-05-2013, 18:25

The Legend was made in Dunstable!

Not often you'll hear that about Dunstable!

twotone

11-05-2013, 18:32

The Legend was made in Dunstable!

Well just to confuse everyone :eyebrows:

http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag37/Tony_Cosgrove/IMG_2639_zps788fa4a6.jpg (http://s1297.photobucket.com/user/Tony_Cosgrove/media/IMG_2639_zps788fa4a6.jpg.html)

http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag37/Tony_Cosgrove/IMG_2640_zps56090d13.jpg (http://s1297.photobucket.com/user/Tony_Cosgrove/media/IMG_2640_zps56090d13.jpg.html)

Rare Bird

11-05-2013, 18:38

Thats an AR 'XE' it says so..

datawireless

11-05-2013, 18:41

Hi all,

I'm afraid Myles that this time it's true. I had one myself, briefly, and it was made in the UK. And yes, it was marketed as The Legend.

Term 'The Turntable' was never a name I thought, more a product description. Like The AR Turntable, as opposed to the AR some other product.

I worked on mine for weeks trying to get rid of that huge Aluminium platter resonant frequency and move it lower in the frequency spectrum by to little avail. Until I gave up and blatantly copied Mr. Walker and machined the platter out of tuffnol. That did the trick but I had to do more work afterwards on suspension. If I recall correctly, it was so soft that that it made you sea-sick just looking at it and it frequently bottomed out if a record was put on it with more aggression than usual.

Having said that, it played the music rather well and I sold it to a good friend whom I had manged to keep. For the same money I paid for it too.

Rare Bird

11-05-2013, 18:50

That 'XE' was not made in the UK..it may well have been marketed here & maybe sold as a 'Legend' but it was'nt a 'Legend'. The re introduced 'Legend' was made here in the UK as was the 'EB101' (Not the US model 'EB101' )

twotone

11-05-2013, 18:51

Thats an AR 'XE' it says so..

Thanks Andre, finally we're getting somewhere:)

Some more photos

http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag37/Tony_Cosgrove/IMG_2653_zps756b584e.jpg (http://s1297.photobucket.com/user/Tony_Cosgrove/media/IMG_2653_zps756b584e.jpg.html)

http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag37/Tony_Cosgrove/IMG_2654_zps5ef092ab.jpg (http://s1297.photobucket.com/user/Tony_Cosgrove/media/IMG_2654_zps5ef092ab.jpg.html)

http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag37/Tony_Cosgrove/IMG_2651_zpsf3b19579.jpg (http://s1297.photobucket.com/user/Tony_Cosgrove/media/IMG_2651_zpsf3b19579.jpg.html)

http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag37/Tony_Cosgrove/IMG_2643_zps10dbf341.jpg (http://s1297.photobucket.com/user/Tony_Cosgrove/media/IMG_2643_zps10dbf341.jpg.html)

http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag37/Tony_Cosgrove/IMG_2643_zps10dbf341.jpg (http://s1297.photobucket.com/user/Tony_Cosgrove/media/IMG_2643_zps10dbf341.jpg.html)

http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag37/Tony_Cosgrove/IMG_2645_zpsc9a5cedd.jpg (http://s1297.photobucket.com/user/Tony_Cosgrove/media/IMG_2645_zpsc9a5cedd.jpg.html)

twotone

11-05-2013, 19:09

Can a mod tidy up this thread please?

Can you insert the line below in to the subject line and replace the original text with text below, thanks.

Apologies for the mistakes.

Tony

FS-AR XE Turntable with AT1120 Tonearm

Hi guys, I've an AR XE Turntable for sale serial no XE-005176 in very good condition and sounds excellent with any music.

I bought it from Wee Tam of this parish back in Jan on the AOS.

Tommy had the TT serviced with new oil and belt, there is no play in the bearing and the arm can accept carts up to 9gr I believe, it is a light arm but you can add more weight by using a 4mm grub screw and screw that into the end of the arm.

The tonearm currently has a Linn cable which is a plug in cable and easily replaced.

Original thread below.

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=23051

I paid £250 for it delivered with a cheap AT MM cart on it.

Looking for what I paid for it but I'm open to sensible offers and I can either put a well used Denon DL-110 HOMC on the arm for another £25 or a Goldring 900IGC MM cart inc VDH stylus for plus £75.

Payment by BACs preferred or by PPG or cash on pick up from Glasgow with a discount for postage

Price includes delivery to a UK postcode.

Happy to post this abroad but the buyer pays the courier costs any accepts responsibility for any damage caused as a result.

PM for more photos and info etc.

Thanks

Tony

twotone

11-05-2013, 19:22

That 'XE' was not made in the UK..it may well have been marketed here & maybe sold as a 'Legend' but it was'nt a 'Legend'. The re introduced 'Legend' was made in here in the UK as was the 'EB101' (Not the US model 'EB101' )

Hi Andre, looks as though I've found what this TT actually is.

Seems it's an AR ES-1 according to this comment below in the vinylengine thread

" XE is the letter designation for the 1980's "The AR Turntable," aka ES-1 in the UK."

http://www.vinylengine.com/turntable_forum/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=17415

http://www.vinylnirvana.com/ar-models/ar-es-1/

"Notes distinguishing the mid-eighties AR Turntables.
The AR Turntable, that is as a model designation, was introduced in 1984. It is NOT an ES-1, but VERY close to it. This table, which was the reintroduction of the AR TT to the market, hence its nomenclature, came with a removable headshell and arm for $475.00 or without arm for $350. It’s cable capacitance was 82 pF as measured, 85 pF reported by AR. Pivot to stylus distance was 9 inches."

http://www.vinylnirvana.com/ar-models/mid-80s-ar-distinguishing-notes/

seoirse2002

11-05-2013, 19:36

So I guess mine is "The Turntable"?http://theartofsound.net/forum/picture.php?albumid=134&pictureid=1080 ...or not?

Rare Bird

11-05-2013, 19:49

Yes..

The Grand Wazoo

11-05-2013, 20:06

So I guess mine is "The Turntable"?..or not?

Yes, and it came in a big cardboard box with The AR Turntable printed on the side. It's virtually indistinguishable from The Legend.
They were all sold with several arm options. The Linn LVX was one that was put on them by a lot of dealers. It was also available with blank armboards. The same goes for The Legend.

Rare Bird

11-05-2013, 20:10

That's it Chris but they were not 'Legends' :lol: The box you describe was correct, mine had both the US & UK address printed on it..

The Grand Wazoo

11-05-2013, 20:13

That's right - Legend was a bit later and looked identical - that was when Dave Berriman was designing the speakers, which were UK only.

DSJR

11-05-2013, 21:59

Early samples had wobbly main bearings, later UK made bearings were good and sound much better.

Am I right in saying the arm board was different on the two versions?

By the way, the platter on this sample isn't tapered at the perimeter as all the ones I remember are. Is this another sign of vintage?

twotone

16-05-2013, 16:06

Bumpoid

twotone

17-05-2013, 16:25

Sold!

Rare Bird

17-05-2013, 18:17

:yay:

DSJR

17-05-2013, 18:18

Not sure it'll fit into an SME plinth Andr'e :lol:

synsei

17-05-2013, 18:18

Congratulations Tony, I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. Are you planning a replacement?

Rare Bird

17-05-2013, 18:19

Not sure it'll fit into an SME plinth Andr'e :lol:

:lolsign: No but my new CJ Walker '55' modification does ;)

DSJR

17-05-2013, 18:42

All great record playing machines, given a little love and care :)

twotone

17-05-2013, 18:55

:yay:

Don't get too excited Andre, I ain't been paid yet:eek:

twotone

17-05-2013, 18:59

Congratulations Tony, I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. Are you planning a replacement?

The deck was/is fine Dave.

I spotted a lovely looking TT with an SME arm on the Wam last Friday and thought I should sell the AR, a complete whim:doh:

As per usual that TT has since sold but I'm really thinking about getting a Technics SL 1200 mk2:eyebrows:

But I'm pretty open minded now.

I'll start a new thread:eek:

synsei

17-05-2013, 19:04

I know I may be a little biased being a Techie owner but seeing as you are in the same situation as I regarding having a suspended floor I can confidently state that the Techie solved the bounce issues I had previously with my Thorens.

http://i1019.photobucket.com/albums/af316/Sgtgrash/Hifi%20Stuff/AoSComp1-1.jpg (http://s1019.photobucket.com/user/Sgtgrash/media/Hifi%20Stuff/AoSComp1-1.jpg.html)

Rare Bird

17-05-2013, 19:31

Don't get too excited Andre, I ain't been paid yet:eek:

:(

twotone

17-05-2013, 19:54

I know I may be a little biased being a Tachie owner but seeing as you are in the same situation as I regarding having a suspended floor I can confidently state that the Techie solved the bounce issues I had previously with my Thorens.

Funilly enough the TT on the wam was a TD 160 Super Dave with an SME arm and Ortofon cart (I think).

Fantastic looking deck yours and the other one Dave.

twotone

17-05-2013, 19:56

:(

Nah it's cool mate.

The guy's paying tomorrow, he seems really happy with it:D

synsei

17-05-2013, 19:58

T'was a gorgeous looking thing Tony and it was a real wrench to let it go but the simple truth is that the Techie annihilated it in every respect. The SMEIII works better on the Techie too and I like that it is an arm/TT combo that you don't see everyday. It sounds even better now I have a Denon DL160 fitted to it... :D

twotone

17-05-2013, 20:02

Rare Bird

17-05-2013, 20:05

synsei

17-05-2013, 20:06

synsei

17-05-2013, 20:10

I have a 'DL110' which i think is coming to the end of it's life (I bought it pre used in the first place) i was wondering anyone, apart from the technical aspect.. Anyone notice a big tabhole differences between the '110' & '160' ? cos i was thinking about a new Denon..

I've not heard a 110 André so I can't help you with this one. I had heard very good things about both carts and the DL160 lives up to its billing. The 160 is a terrific sounding cart, the best I have owned to date :)

Rare Bird

17-05-2013, 20:17

synsei

17-05-2013, 20:24

News to me Dave the 'Super' uses a 10mm Bearing Shaft. :eyebrows:

It does? Perhaps I am thinking of a different model, maybe the 166? :scratch:

My apologies... :o

DSJR

17-05-2013, 20:28

Very nice. I'll let you into a little secret though Tony, the bearing on the Super is not as substantial a device as on other 160's. I am sure DSJR or André will be along in a moment to put some flesh on those particular bones ;)

I think you'll find that the very worst TD160 (and 125mk2) bearings were from the earliest ones c1972, with wide spindle and sloppy twin sleeves. By the mid 70's, the bearing shaft became thinner and running in a deep brass/bronze sleeve with only a tiny "well" at the bottom for fill with EP80 or similar. Absolutely NO bearing slop or rock at all..

By the time the Super model came out, the bearing shaft had reverted to around 10mm but the sleeves had been tightened up to similar levels of the TD150 and mk1 TD125. The Super sounded fab with a Rega R200 and a fixed head SME sounded clean and precise with good "air and space" when used with a kinder cartridge than the sometimes acidic V15 III. The ADC XLM/Phase IV and even the Linn K9 in the later SME II Improved with more rigid headshell with flat mounting area and fixed finger lift. All being well, I should be in a position to give personal recent experience in rebuilding two gash decks into a Super-grade model and supply pics...