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Cambridge Audio C100/A100. Scorpio mk1 arm

H

highcut28

pfm Member
Some rain damaged 'junk hifi' was given to me:

AR belt driven turntable, helius Scorpio mkI, ortofon MC20 II - plinth expanded and warped
Marantz CD 5001 - works fine
NAD cassette deck - not worth any effort really
Cambridge audio C100 and A100 tranny pre and power amps

And ... :( .. damaged Impulse H2 big floor standers.
MDF boards seriously expanded and warped, mid range units i think badly damaged. so i left these as unsalvageable sob sob.

Was wondering about the Cambridge amps.
I cant find much info on them so i am assuming they were a non descript pair destined for the heap of mediocre tranny amps of the 90s.
Anyone with any info on these grey boxes?

Scorpio probably only thing salvageable from TT (apart from ortofon perhaps).
Is it worth the effort ?
Would it fit onto a TD 124?
 
They should sound pretty good.

They are a development of the C75/A75, with much better build quality.
 
I liked the c100/a100 combo I had years ago, and really regret letting them go. If you choose to sell them I am interested :)

Thanks, Richard
 
Dowser said:
I liked the c100/a100 combo I had years ago, and really regret letting them go. If you choose to sell them I am interested :)

Thanks, Richard
Click to expand...

I am half way across the world in Kuala Lumpur!
But thanks Richard so the combo may be worth keeping - good.
Havent actually tried it yet for fear the rain may have shorted something but will get someone to check em out tmrrw.

Anyone has anything to say abt the Scorpio arm.
 
He-he - I could come for a second visit; have fond memories of eating flat bread/curry sauce in one of the Indian areas/eateries of KL many years ago, countered by dodging the rats in the drainage under the footpaths.

Pop them open for an inspection before switching them on - you'll be able to see how much water got in and what sort of damage it has caused. If bad, clean it all up and dry it all out before attempting mains connection.

Richard
 
Richard, Ah so you were fond of 'roti canai and curry', finished off with a 'teh tarik' - favourites of the 'Mat Salleh'

The dousing happened a couple years ago. The amps were at the bottom of the rack so i doubt they got the worse of it - AR TT and those big H2 got it bad.
Should know tmrrw how they are. ;)
shahrin
 
Hi,
If you scrap your C100, I would like the boards, or, anyone know how the power supply board works? Diagrams, etc? Thanks
 
kellers said:
Hi,
If you scrap your C100, I would like the boards, or, anyone know how the power supply board works? Diagrams, etc? Thanks
Click to expand...

In fact the C100 is working fine and the phono stage is quite nice.
A100 is blown on one side so will get it fixed and serviced and will probably keep the combo for a second set:)
 
highcut28 said:
Anyone has anything to say abt the Scorpio arm.
Click to expand...

The Scorpio is from the early to mid 80's (I think). It was a popular budget choice for the Pink Triangle and to a lesser extent some others such as your soggy AR.

It was a good value arm which could probably be improved with a rewire (and a service I'm sure). Quite delicate beasties though and the gold coloured finish tended to tarnish. Worth playing around with to see what you think of the sound. Linn type fit by the way so an easy physical match for many decks.

Helius still exist by the way:

http://www.heliusdesigns.co.uk/history.html
 
Pinky said:
The Scorpio is from the early to mid 80's (I think). It was a popular budget choice for the Pink Triangle and to a lesser extent some others such as your soggy AR.

It was a good value arm which could probably be improved with a rewire (and a service I'm sure). Quite delicate beasties though and the gold coloured finish tended to tarnish. Worth playing around with to see what you think of the sound. Linn type fit by the way so an easy physical match for many decks.

Helius still exist by the way:

http://www.heliusdesigns.co.uk/history.html
Click to expand...

I have a Scorpio Mk.2 on my PT (bought new by me in 1985!) and it was a well regarded rival of the RB300; Helius will service it for about £100 (or J7 at Audio Origami for somewhat less). Helius also buy back some of their old arms to break for spares, but that would be a shame unless it is really far gone. I'd be inclined to send it to J7 and get a service and rewire (If you sold it and I bought it I'd do the same!).

-- Tim
 
thanks Pinky and Tim
I have contacted Helius and will consider my options when i know what it would cost for a service and whether they would consider a 'buyback'.
It might not be worth the expense to get this old scorpio mk 1 going again.
I need a 9" arm for a td124. It may be wise to buy a new jelco!
 
I would agree that it's probably not worth spending too much on the old Helius. Selling it and putting the funds towards something better is the way I'd go.

Tim - please let me know if you're ever tempted to part with your PT! :)
 
The A100 has been fixed - afew trannys had blown, so both channels have been redone and properly balanced.
(If i had connected it up earlier it would have sent 50V to the left speaker!)
I am really quite impressed with thems:
They sound wonderful - warm big sound and A100 drives 15 ohm LS3 5A efortlessly.
The phonostage on the C100 is very decent.
I have been pleasantly surprised by these dull gey boxes - they do look awful !
 
Thanks for reminding me how silly I was to have offloaded mine all those years ago :)

If you ever want to shift them on please let me know (even given the shipping costs)!

Richard
 
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