Picked up a non working Empire as winter project. It is missing cartridge and belt and the seller said that light did not come on but the motor and light work just fine for me. Not exactly sure what is wrong with it but here are some pictures.
(http://i1051.photobucket.com/albums/s428/dvaidya/Empire/P1020872.jpg)
(http://i1051.photobucket.com/albums/s428/dvaidya/Empire/P1020873.jpg)
(http://i1051.photobucket.com/albums/s428/dvaidya/Empire/P1020874.jpg)
Not exactly sure if the belt area is setup correctly, the motor had fallen off.
(http://i1051.photobucket.com/albums/s428/dvaidya/Empire/P1020875.jpg)
(http://i1051.photobucket.com/albums/s428/dvaidya/Empire/P1020876.jpg)
Working power light. Initially I thought something was wrong, until I realized that the light was also the power button :oops:
(http://i1051.photobucket.com/albums/s428/dvaidya/Empire/P1020880.jpg)
Nice find Deepak :thumb:
With a little elbow grease it will look great, and a great entry into vinyl if you decide.
mike
Please keep us posted with plenty of pictures :thumb:
Quote from: topround on November 21, 2012, 02:56:38 AM
Nice find Deepak :thumb:
With a little elbow grease it will look great, and a great entry into vinyl if you decide.
mike
Thanks Mike.
Quote from: pumpkinman on November 21, 2012, 04:48:27 AM
Please keep us posted with plenty of pictures :thumb:
Will do. I either have to find a new tonearm to use or find the cartridge head shell before I will be able to use it. The other thing that it is also going to require is the tonearm to phono amp cable, which looks bit frail.
Good luck with the project Deepak. I had a similar 208 though it fortunately did not have the plug in cartridge holder. Those are VERY difficult to find and of course not made any longer. The belt and rubber grommets for the motor are readily available. I used nitrile belts from McMaster Carr to damp the platter. Mortite would work on the cast plinth and there are plenty of other options on the web. The nitrile belts are a very inexpensive and effective tweak. I posted some pics over on AC if you want to get an idea.
If you get frustrated with the stock arm an inexpensive Rega or an old Linn arm is very easy to mount up. Ralph Karsten at Atma-Sphere uses a Tri-Planar arm ($5k+) on his version of the 208! Check out their cool uber version of the Atma-Sphere 208 on his website.
The motor and bearing on it are top notch and worth the tweaking. Have fun with it.
Tom
Thanks Tom. I am in no hurry, since I also have a Technics Sl1400 coming my way. Will keep looking for a used tonearm or cartridge sled. Reading through the massive thread on audiokarma on empire to see if folks know of place to get them from or if they have any spares. I think someone built some also and might give that a try.
Correction on the turntable it is a 398, which basically is a 208 with 980 tonearm. I might also just look for a 98 tonearm if I do not find the cartridge sled.