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Harmon Kardon ST-7 with Rabco Tonearm

A friend gave me one of these today. It is all brushed aluminum, made in the United states and looks to be from the 70s or 80s. The tone arm is one of those tangential ones where the whole arm moves from outside-in, perpendicular to the record plane. It needs some cleaning and perhaps a new power cord and RCAs. Other than this I do not know too much about it. Was it a good record player in it's time? Is it worth fixing up? Looks pretty solid overall.

Thanks!
bstatmeister
bstatmeister OP
537 posts
 
Maybe that's why he gave it to me!
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,468 posts
 
I never owned one, but a close friend did.....agreed with schubert (above).   The arm is a dog - don't think it was Rabco.
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dj-detroit
1 posts
 
I have four...(2) ST5's and (2) ST7's.  Incredibly frustrating to set the arm up to ride the roller properly...but...once it all comes together, it's audio Nirvana.  I have had over 15 esoteric turntables, from B&O's tangential tracking tables (not so good) to eclectic pivoting tone-arm turntables on some of the best platters out there, and find the HK / Rabco combination to be one of the best sounding.  I don't hear any rumble (as stated by someone above) and have the equipment to play really loud - if I want. The soundstage and depth of field is quite remarkable.  I highly recommend these if you have patience (yes, a lot of that), dexterity and motivation to really get into a piece of gear that will reward you with a wonderful music experience.
celander's avatar
celander
1,503 posts
 
I owned two used HK ST-7 tables with the Rabco arm. Most finicky tonearm to calibrate and consistently maintain. Owned all the relevant repair manuals back in the day. Essential to have them on hand. I junked both tables.
malibupacific
14 posts
 
I purchased mine new in 1977 or so. Other than a couple of new belts I’ve never had a problem with it. Tracking has been spot on. 
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