Hello all,
Well I thought it was going to be a great day, but it has turned to sh*t
I have been wanting to add an Empire table to my lineup for a long time, I really didn't want to go the route of a 289 table and all the machining and work to add a new tonearm and plinth, so after hearing a 698 perform at an record convention I had been on the hunt.
So, a really outstanding one came up on Ebay even had the original box. seller reported it was in near perfect condition.
It arrived broken down and packed in it's original box so after setting it up and balancing the arm, it was time to play some vinyl. IT has an Empire 4000dII cartridge installed, so I thought this would be fun.
First record on the platter sounded spectacular, but at the same time there was something wrong there was something lacking here, so started adjusting tone controls, still nothing, so I adjusted the balance only to find there was no left channel.

Checked the amp, all cables, cleaned the stylus and could not find i. I thought it out and found that the H shaped mount that house the tonearm to headshell contacts, had one leg of the H contact missing.

I have a call into the seller, but no word back yet. So before I pack up this really beautiful table and file a claim with Pay Pal I want to see if the group here has any suggestions.

Finding a replacement part is probably off the table from the start. I did see a short post on replacing the tonearm attachment with a four point contact that most headshells use.

Any suggestions on doing this or is there someone here that is able to make this swap?
I really don't want to go the new tonearm route if I can avoid it. but as it stands it is unusable for any serious listening.
Heres a couple of photo of the 698 to see how sweet it is.
I would love to keep it as the working condition is near perfect as is the cosmetics but this achilles heal has spoiled all the fun.
Thanks,
Donald

Don't get me wrong as that's not my intention, but don't you think filling a claim at this point with PayPal is a bit excessive. It's not like the table doesn't work at all or was far from described. trust me I've been down that road, file a claim with Paypal so i know what that's all about. in fact I'm waiting now for there ruiling on a stylus i bought that was lets say very far from described.

Hello,
I have been buying on Ebay for 10 years now, and have bought a good number of electronics. I have had to file 4 claims in the past and got a full refund. In this case, even though the TT works, and looks great, it will never play in both channels without either a new tonearm, or a total reworking of the tonearm to use standard headshells. The problem is, the design of this original tonearm. That little copper clip is unrepairable without a replacement part. and they don't exist.
Now no offense, but if you enjoy listening to one channel of stereo then Then this table is for you. But this table was in the hands of the seller for unknown years, they disassembled the TT and removed the headshell and the tonearm from the plinth for shipment. I only attached the headshell once, and there was no sound in the left channel.
Plus in a note to seller of the problem, they gave me a very uninterested note of which the between the lines read, too bad for you it was fine when we owned it.

The last claim I filed was for a "mint" condition Pioneer tape deck That had no belts in it!

Donald

Hello,I guess a better analogy would be that you buy a car on the description that it is in perfect cosmetic and working condition. It gets delivered by trailer at your front door, it looks beautiful, you put the key in and it starts right away, and the engine purrs like a kitten. The radio works, as does the AC. You think Wow! this is great, then you put it in gear, and...nothing, the car doesn't move, not an inch. Come to find out that the transmission case is missing it's gears. That's when you file a claim.
Donald

Please post a photo of the headshell, someone here might be able to assist you with repairing it! Nice turntable! :tresbon:

Hello all,
To make this problem a little clearer, the Headshell is fine, it is the Tonearm with the broken contact. Empire for some strange reason decided to use a propriety way to attach the headshell to the tonearm. In the photo you can see the the black plastic mount. The headshell is grooved inside and slips down over the mount. inside the mount is an H shaped contact plate the makes the left and right contact between cartridge and tonearm. In the photo you can see the left contact and it's missing brother on the right. It is snapped off inside the plastic mount. The mount appears to be either or both glued and held in place by the pin for the headshell attachment screw,

Why they devised this method when the universal mount was used by nearly everyone at the time, can really only mean that you had to go to Empire for additional headshells and parts. and no aftermarket headshells could be used.

So here is my dilema, anyone know either how to fix this or someone that can convert the tonearm to accept a uiversal headshell?
Thanks,
Donald

Empire came up with this design to reduce the effective mass of the tonearm.

Hello,I guess a better analogy would be that you buy a car on the description that it is in perfect cosmetic and working condition. It gets delivered by trailer at your front door, it looks beautiful, you put the key in and it starts right away, and the engine purrs like a kitten. The radio works, as does the AC. You think Wow! this is great, then you put it in gear, and...nothing, the car doesn't move, not an inch. Come to find out that the transmission case is missing it's gears. That's when you file a claim.
Donald

Your abosolutly rite. Or if you buy a turntable as in my case that supposedly powers on, then you find it has no fuses. According to paypal that didn't fall under there Not As Described. I uinderstand your frustration my only point was If you can repair it it seems ashame to go through the trouble of packing it up to ship and find the seller claims it was damaged in shipping when sent back to him.
Good luck I hope it works out for you.

Your abosolutly rite. Or if you buy a turntable as in my case that supposedly powers on, then you find it has no fuses. According to paypal that didn't fall under there Not As Described. I uinderstand your frustration my only point was If you can repair it it seems ashame to go through the trouble of packing it up to ship and find the seller claims it was damaged in shipping when sent back to him.
Good luck I hope it works out for you.

Ah! there's the rub, there is no repair, only replacing the tonearm or finding a wizard somewhere that can chop off the end of the tonearm and fit it with a universal headshell. I can only imagine that price. Since it does not work it can go back as not as described. Pay Pal always comes down on the side of the buyer even scratches on the bottom of something is cause for a refund if it isn't disclosed.
I know I had a claim against me for that reason, and he won.
I hate to send it back, but I paid a premium for this TT as it was described as working perfectly, it isn't, and I am not going to spend another $200.00 to fix something that was supposed to be perfect.
Donald

Donald

Ah! there's the rub, there is no repair, only replacing the tonearm or finding a wizard somewhere that can chop off the end of the tonearm and fit it with a universal headshell. I can only imagine that price. Since it does not work it can go back as not as described. Pay Pal always comes down on the side of the buyer even scratches on the bottom of something is cause for a refund if it isn't disclosed.
I know I had a claim against me for that reason, and he won.
I hate to send it back, but I paid a premium for this TT as it was described as working perfectly, it isn't, and I am not going to spend another $200.00 to fix something that was supposed to be perfect.
Donald

Donald
Well they didn't in my case said it didn't fall under as described. But I replaced the fuses and it's a working turntable now.

The same thing happened to my empire 698 arm. One of the leads broke off. Im actually in the process of putting a standard mount headshell on my arm. I will let you know how it goes. I was speaking with my tech, and he also said it is probably possible to permanently fix the headshell to the arm. We'll see how it goes. If you decide not to go through with the repair, and decide to sell the table. Let me know! I need parts!

Floyd,
Thanks, keep me posted on this repair,
I don't want to sell it as it actually looks new. and you can not hear the motor or the platter move. If not for that contact it would be perfect.

I have thought of drilling a hole through the center of the black plastic mount and installing new tone arm wires with cartridge leads attached and run it back to the the rca cable junction. Makes changing cartridge a pain but it would work in theory.

Any comments on that?
Thanks,
Donald

Mr. Monster,

I still haven't gone through with the repair yet. I am a broke ass college student. I do know where you can get the work for your tonearm done, if you are still looking to get it fixed. PM me and we can talk. Sorry for the delayed response.