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AR XA versus LP12.

M

Martyn Miles

pfm Member
My ( long in the tooth ) LP12/Mission 774/Denon DL103 has gone for a service, so I installed my ( very old )
AR XA/Denon DL110.

I never expected the AR to sound so good.

OK, the Linn is superior, especially in the bass.
The imaging is also better than the AR.
It’s also superbly built.

I appreciate the cartridges are different, but there is a Denon ‘family sound.’
The ‘110 is nicely detailed.

I can’t remember what I paid for the Linn combination, but I do know what the AR cost me.
£25.00 on eBay, about 15 years ago.

I spent some time cleaning, refurbishing and lubricating the XA and bought a new belt and felt mat
for just under £25.
The DL110 was £129 from an online seller who was keen to move some cartridges on.

Looking back on the history of suspended turntables, it appears Edgar Villchur really knew his stuff...
 
I can imagine this would be so, my first lp12 was from late 70's and until I bought upgrades it didn't to be sound much superior to an Ariston q40 I had which was less coloured and more accurate but not as enjoyable as the LP12. They knew how to make turntables for sure, Systemdek, Strathclyde, Source, Voyd all had more character than todays offerings which all sound digitally accurate. Back in the day you could buy a definite flavour, they all sounded different ... Mk1 Xerxes was polar opposite of LP12 in mid 80's and still a cracking tt, decades ahead of it's time. the Lp12 has got more expensive and more accurate and now missed the charm it had in the 70's. A well set 70's LP12 is a wonderful sound in todays market of products which sound mostly similar.
 
I once had an early two motor AR (probably made when the US had a president called Kennedy!!!). As you said, uncle Ed obviously knew hat he was doing. Every suspended belt drive since then is a development/rip off of his design, some of them being worse.
 
I had the 774 arm on a Thorens TD160 before it was fitted to the LP12.
I can’t remember exactly what the combination sounded like, as I was using a
different cartridge.
It was good though, and the bass end was superior to the Rega I owned before the
Thorens.
 
there's a guy on the US forums who fettles (or used to at least) them to get their true potential out (or so goes the official line, and I've no reason to doubt it).
They certainly come out looking beautiful - their minimalist style (which I love) polished up, if memory serves.

can't remember his name off hand, don't think it's the Marc Morin guy... the point being that there's a camp which believes it can be as good as you need a t/table to be (I think).
 
RJohan said:
I once had an early two motor AR (probably made when the US had a president called Kennedy!!!). As you said, uncle Ed obviously knew hat he was doing. Every suspended belt drive since then is a development/rip off of his design, some of them being worse.
Click to expand...
Credit should also go to Roy Allison (and possibly to Mitchel A. Cotter, too) who started out at AR.
 
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