The BSR 810: TT with the most parts ever....
Nat is right on the dot, here. This model was marketed as the most advanced TT in its day due to a completely new mechanism to handle the automatic tonearm movement.
To understand why it is never mentioned much in the vintage circles today, consider when it arrived:
* Things British in the early 70s, seen from US eyes, were that:
- They had to leak oil
- They had to go on strike
- They had to break down - and frequently
- The quality was generally poor and always quirky
- Whatever it was, it had to require *lots* of attention to keep running
British cars were the benchmarks in those days and British hi-fi got lumped in - unfairly, IMHO.
So, along comes this really well-built but complete different from a long-time British manufacturer and they come out of the box DOA - or a surprising number do so. Word gets around quickly among the dealers, too. Then the techs who are called on to fix those DOAs start talking about what a pain they are *and* the BSR warranty reimbursement nowhere covers the costs! BTW, that camshaft design was the most complicated thing I've ever seen. I hated seeing one come in the door and usually refered the owner to another shop just avoid dealing with it - unless he was a customer, of course.
Take that, along with the general reputation of British manufacturing in that day - instant product death.
Now, that's too bad because the 710/810 series was actually modeled after the Benjamin/Miracord/Elac mechanisms that were German-made and, like the many Duals still operating, last a long, long time. Go figure.
Cheers,
David