I picked up a pretty nice looking Miracord 770H turntable from an estate sale of a well to do lawyer. It looks to be high end, but it is a little older then the units that I have, so I know nothing about it. Is it a decent tt worth keeping? How does it compare to other units and does anyone know the appoximate value of it? It also has a pickering xv 15 cartridge. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

:banana:

MIRACORD
TBL, 770-H

Description:

Manufacture Years: 1970 - 1974


Additional Information:




Click here for a definition of Bluebook prices.
Retail
MSRP: $275.00
USED: $80.00
Wholesale
Mint: $45.00
Average: $26.00

There's one on Ebay,can't get a bid at .99here (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48649&item=5769846473&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW)

Looks like it might not be all that desirable. Let's hope the cart is in nice shape. That would be a nice score then.


Mike

Actually, the early Miracords are nice turmtables. They are German made. The ones that were sold under the name Elac Miracord name, are pretty decent pieces. Most were fully automatic. Idler wheel type drive.

Well constructed, kind of bullet proof design/construction.

Radio Shack started selling them with the Realistic/ Miracord name, I think in the late 70's, early 80s.

Not unlike Duals, IMO. They were designed as changers/automatics, and so probably don't have the 'finesse' most folks look for nowadays. May also have a dynamically-balanced arm (a la the old Duals)... i.e., you can play 'em upside-down! AFAIK they're all rim-drive (idler drive). That's not of necessity a bad thing, but cheaper/poorly implemented idler drive players are often noisy/rumbly in unpleasant ways.

I had one of the slightly newer Miracords like the one in the auction but never actually tried it before giving it away. I actually still have one of the newer Miracords as sold by R/S in the mid-1970's. Decent looking straight arm. Again, I've never actually played a record on it, so I cannot offer any opinion.

I think that the current overwhelming preference for Duals over Miracords (or Perpetuum Ebners for that matter) is not really justifiable. At the time they were actually made, they were viewed more equally. But when high compliance cartridges were all the rage, the daintier Dual arm was probably a better match (and certainly looked lower mass, though if memory serves, in reality the difference was a bit less lopsided than the appearence). But more moderate compliance cartridges are now more typical, and so I doubt if mass is so important a consideration as it seemed then.
Neither arm is exactly rigid -- the cartridge carrier ensures that -- but a lot of people seem to value convenience more than hair shirt audio absolutism, so a lot of people are happy with their Duals, and would probably be very close to equally happy with a Miracord or a PE (Maybe not a Garrard or BSR, but we won't get into that). I am confident, for example, that your 12 inch platter 770 is a better bet than the lower end Duals with 10 inch platters, and I would be surprised if there was a whole lot of difference even with most of the better Duals.
And the thing is, you already own your Miracord, so you might as well try it out. Assuming that the idler is not hardened up, and especially if you properly mount a newer cartridge (both of which would be important regardless of brand of table), you will likely be quite pleased.

Nat knows frighteningly too much about these old workhorses! :-)
I was never a big Dual fan and remain somewhat amused (and bemused) by their current popularity.

Say, Nat, did you ever manage to get that LAB-95 or whatever it was to do anything? Good ol' Afromosia wood in that tonearm!

The Elac 50H for example, is considerably better than the Duals. I've used many of both over the years.

When they were later sold as Realistic models, that's when they lost some of they're former luster.

You'll find many users of the older model in Europe still today

Hmmmm . . . seems to be some hostility against Dual turntables going on here. Why not start a thread to air your grievances.

Not hostile towards Duals... I just think they're built, umm, sort of like Teutonic women... kinda robust :-)

I just prefer my tt's a little more lithe and limber...

No hostility at all towards Duals -- I don't care for the later ULM arm models, but the earlier ones are surprisingly good. It's just that they were not the only people making turntables that have held up much better than might have been expected. When fully developed belt drives and direct drives came onto the market, their better specs led people to largely abandon idler drives, and the popularity of very compliant cartridges made changers problematic. But in retrospect both issues seem less clear cut, and the virtues of well made idler drives (especially if in a heavy plinth) are now much more appreciated. And most cartridges are of more sensible compliance now, so heavier arms are more acceptable.
So the Duals have come back in popularity (and cost), just as the Garrard 301 and 401, and the Lencos (and even Rekokuts). And that's a good thing. But why are Miracords and PEs not also similarly valued? Beats me.

sorry for hi-jacking your thread tomwall. pics of Dual CS 5000 (the robust Teutonic turntable):

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mxblack/DualTurntable.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mxblack/DualTurntableWoodCS50002.jpg

Oh Mark -- there is a lever siezed up in that Lab 95 which is riveted, and so far has not quite loosened up in response to pentrating oil. So its still not up and running, though its closer. But don't get too wound up about that Afromesia tone arm -- its a pot metal arm with an afromesia wood insert, alas.

sorry for hi-jacking your thread tomwall. pics of Dual CS 5000 (the robust Teutonic turntable):

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mxblack/DualTurntable.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mxblack/DualTurntableWoodCS50002.jpg

Dual arms are better. Got several Miracords a few years back. They were built like tanks. They are not a bad table and I like them. I think the tonearm on a 1229 and the 1229Q are better. They are much lighter than the 50H and the 770. While Miracords wont trash a record they wont track as lightly. Gave my 50H to a friend. Would not mind having it back.

Eric

what's all that stuff back at the pivot on that arm? Looks like something out of "Metropolis" ;-)

Actually, that's a pretty cool looking tt... reminds me of the later Denons.

Hi,

I remember them as Benjamin Miracord for some reason. They were sold by the small stereo chain I worked for in the early 70's. They seemed to be a good turntable, just not as popular as the Dual's or Garrard's. I liked the looks of them.