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Idler drive turntables

One sees all sorts of data re Garrard 301/401, Thorens TD 124, and Lenco turntables of the 60's and 70's. These TT's if restored bring lots of $ on the used market! What about the Benjamin Miracords of the same era? My first "serious" hifi system in 1970 consisted of a Miracord 50H with a Shure M91E cartridge, a Fisher 600 receiver and KLH 4 speakers. Sometimes, even now, and thousands of dollars more, I yearn for the sound of that system! Just how does the Miracord stand up to those icons??
boofer
8 responses Add your response
gvasale's avatar
gvasale
99 posts
 
The Miracord is a changer? The others may have a little less rumble & of course not the same limitation as an installed (non changeable) arm might have.
lewm
13,030 posts
 
Miracord does not "stand up" to Garrard 301/401 or Lenco L75, but for its time, it was a decent record changer. If you want to tear one down and build it up for SOTA performance, it might be fun.
boofer OP
86 posts
 
Yes, I did forget that the Miracord was a record changer; it had 2 spindles, one for single play and the other for multiple. I never even put the spindle on which allowed multiple play: I always used it as a single record player only, and as I recall, some of the Duals of the same era were similar.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
My Dual 1229 had that same dual-spindle option. I only used the stacking feature when spinning for frat parties (with other guys' records, lol).
schiss
19 posts
 
If your looking for a great idler that's a "sleeper" so it can be had for a reasonable cost you might look into a Gates CB-77. These are broadcast units that are built like tanks. A unique feature is that the idler drives off of a hub cast into the inner portion of the platter as opposed to the outer rim. This allows the motor and idler wheel to turn slower eliminating much of an idler drives rumble and noise. I've had a 301 and a TD124 in my system and prefer the Gates. Good luck.
jejaudio
110 posts
 
A Benjamin Miracord 50H brought me back to vinyl after a 35 year affair with the CD player. So to say it holds a special place in my heart and mind is an understatement. It allowed me to hear and feel the emotion in my music that was all to lacking with CD's.
boofer OP
86 posts
 
Jejaudio: Very gratifying response; I'm so glad at least one other person appreciates the Miracord line of turntables from the 60's and 70's!
playpen
161 posts
 
I still have my Dual 1019 I bought in the 1960's.I must have 6 Dual TT's.It's really neat to watch my old 1019 cycle a rack of 45's with the fat 45 spindle.Remember how record companies labeled the record sides to work with a changer?I just pulled My Perpetuum Ebner out and put some run time on it along with my Duals' in this horrible PA winter.Great German craftsmanship of the day.
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