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Empire 598 Turntable [message #81451]

Wed, 15 July 2015 21:16

gofar99
Messages: 1902
Registered: May 2010
Location: Southern Arizona

Illuminati (5th Degree)

Hi All, A few weeks back I got a ca 1972 Empire 598. It was in nice shape but had on tone arm. Fine with me as I have a few spares. It was not quite as easy as it could have been as the original arm is mounted on a suspended sub chassis with the platter (all 8 pounds of it). All the arms I have are 9.5 inch and the original Empire was 9.0. A bit of machining and some steel spaces and JB weld and presto the 9.5 inch arm fit. Then there was the problem of drive belt. Lots of places sell ones that are supposed to be correct. Most are not. It took 4 tries to get one that worked like it should. As you might guess an eight pound platter needs some serious muscle to make it turn. The motor is a 24 pole AC synchronous one. it is big enough to run a food processor. Once up to speed nothing will cause it to change. Anyhow I got it all together and running now. Speed is dead on, the turntable is very quiet and the arm works great. I am using an AT33PTG/II cartridge the arm is by Origin Live. Positively amazing sound. For cosmetics the wood case and metal chassis show signs of wear, but not so much that any refinishing is needed. One thing for sure, I'm going to have to stop collecting turntables. I now have 5, the Empire, a seriously modded Dual 701 (with a diy 12 inch uni-pivot arm), a Sota with an Origin Live arm, a Pro-jet with a Rega arm and a Phillips 212. I don't have enough shelves for all of them.

Attachment: Platter.jpg
(Size: 51.19KB, Downloaded 4447 times)
Attachment: 598 Front.jpg
(Size: 56.77KB, Downloaded 4584 times)
Attachment: Empire 4.jpg
(Size: 523.31KB, Downloaded 4610 times)
Attachment: Empire1.jpg
(Size: 374.05KB, Downloaded 4530 times)

Good Listening
Bruce

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Re: Empire 598 Turntable [message #81454 is a reply to message #81451]

Thu, 16 July 2015 10:52

Wayne Parham
Messages: 18677
Registered: January 2001

Illuminati (33rd Degree)

Oh wow, Bruce, that's awesome! Looks to be in great shape!

How do you think it compares to modern audiophile tables?

It's kind of cool that you have several tables. It gets sort of addicting, I know.

Your main thing is amps, like my main thing is speakers. But it "spills over" and one finds themselves having a few "secondary obsessions." Smile

Wonder if we should start 12-Step meetings for audiophiles? Laughing

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Re: Empire 598 Turntable [message #81456 is a reply to message #81454]

Thu, 16 July 2015 14:15

gofar99
Messages: 1902
Registered: May 2010
Location: Southern Arizona

Illuminati (5th Degree)

Hi Wayne, Since the photo, I was able to re-mount the original arm rest so it now resides where the level was. I'm waiting on the special bulbs that go inside it. They send a beam on the platter to illuminate the stylus so you can land it where you desire.

How does it stack up with new stuff.... quite well. Now to be fair it uses a modern arm. My guess is that it will play with ones up to about $2000-2500. The mechanism is very quiet. I measured -65dbv on a test LP at low frequencies (below 200HZ) and an average of over -80dbv above that. The speed adjustment brought it to right on 3150HZ with occasional jumps to 3160. A really solid stable platform. A good match for the Origin Live arm and AT33PTG/II.

Yes there probably needs to be a 12 step for audio folks. With 5 turntables, two tape recorders and a very large but unknown quantity of amps and speakers I probably need it. Rolling Eyes

Good Listening
Bruce

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Re: Empire 598 Turntable [message #81461 is a reply to message #81456]

Thu, 16 July 2015 14:36

Wayne Parham
Messages: 18677
Registered: January 2001

Illuminati (33rd Degree)

That table is definitely drool-worthy. Nice!

"Hi, I'm Wayne and I'm an Audioholic."

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Re: Empire 598 Turntable [message #81466 is a reply to message #81461]

Mon, 20 July 2015 17:25

gofar99
Messages: 1902
Registered: May 2010
Location: Southern Arizona

Illuminati (5th Degree)

Hi, An updated photo. The original arm rest is now in place. I had to bend the brass "U" channel a bit to let the new (fatter) arm fit it. Now I'm waiting on the special bulb that goes inside the post. It shines a light on the LP so you can see where the stylus is going. It is a bi-pin 120 VAC bulb. I considered other ways to illuminate the disk but they all involved adding an additional source of power. I felt that it would probably increase the really low noise floor. Since the bulb is completely enclosed as is the socket it is probably not a source of hum. There is a rotating mirror inside the post that direct the light beam. Pretty clever for 40+ year old stuff.

Attachment: 598 with arm rest.jpg
(Size: 56.54KB, Downloaded 4024 times)

Good Listening
Bruce

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Re: Empire 598 Turntable [message #81469 is a reply to message #81466]

Mon, 20 July 2015 22:13

Wayne Parham
Messages: 18677
Registered: January 2001

Illuminati (33rd Degree)

Man, Bruce, that really is a nice table! Super groovy!

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Re: Empire 598 Turntable [message #81923 is a reply to message #81469]

Fri, 29 January 2016 16:02

gofar99
Messages: 1902
Registered: May 2010
Location: Southern Arizona

Illuminati (5th Degree)

An update. I had the metal parts powder coated. Lovely to see and touch. I removed the original arm rest and now have a better one in its place. The current cartridge is a Grado Reference Platinum. American turntable and cartridge...we won't holler about an arm from the UK as there are really no American sources that are cost effective. For the sharp eye crew...the cartridge in the photo is not the Grado, but an AT33PTG/II. index.php?t=getfile&id=1858&private=0