I've owned one of these and think it's a great "workhorse" turntable. Sure the new designs are better but this will work fine for casual listening. I'd use a Shure V-15 class of cartridge (my Grado almost wiggled itself out of the grooves). Good Luck!
What quality are Empire 598 turntables?
I'm hoping that some of you audiophiles can offer some opinions on the relative quality of Empire 598 (version III I believe) turntables. After years of concentrating on the cd format, my interest in vinyl has been renewed. The Empire table I bought in the latter 70's is still in excellent shape. How does this compare to moderately priced offerings in contemporary tables? To put in context, it is being used with Maggie 1.6qr's, Belles 150A Hot Rod amp, Cambridge Audio C500 preamp (to be upgraded to something like a Rogue 66 or Blue Circle BC21.)