Some Empire Turntable History

The tonearm cable plug is crimped in place. It can be removed but putting it back, or substituting another one, is quire a different matter.
 
As I recall and from what I can see, the pin connector at the bottom of the Empire 990 tonearm (598 II) is part of the tonearm and as such, should be a part of a stand alone tonearm. Am I correct in this understanding and, what would you experts think the availability and price of a 990 arm only might be?
Yes, your understanding is correct.
As to availability, they were sold as a separate product so they should be out there independent of a 598.

As to the springs, I don't think you are going to have much luck. The suspension system is a "tuned" one, so you would have to get the exact kind of spring (weight, thickness, length, strength) in order to keep it working properly.
 
Yes, your understanding is correct.
As to availability, they were sold as a separate product so they should be out there independent of a 598.

As to the springs, I don't think you are going to have much luck. The suspension system is a "tuned" one, so you would have to get the exact kind of spring (weight, thickness, length, strength) in order to keep it working properly.

Thanks empirelvr. I've seen some where the suspension seems to look a little "tired" (i.e. sitting low even with the springs adjusted for a higher ride). Even to the point of having some scratches on the plinth where the platter edge obviously has been touching. This is especially true on the tonearm side where there is more weight to be carried. That's why I'm curious as to how difficult it would be to restore/rebuild this component of the suspension. I had a 598 II back in the day and honestly cannot remember how difficult it might have been to achieve the manual suggested 3/16 " platter clearance. I'll keep my search going.
 
Picked up a Fairchild 412 recently, and shortly afterwards a 98 arm, NOS in box. And a few days ago was able to acquire an extra headshell, and a Dyna Lift, both that should be arriving shortly.


412empire.jpg
 
Picked up a Fairchild 412 recently, and shortly afterwards a 98 arm, NOS in box. And a few days ago was able to acquire an extra headshell, and a Dyna Lift, both that should be arriving shortly.


412empire.jpg
I am supremely jealous.
 
Somehow the silver platter and gold arm clash to my eyes... both nice pieces though.

Beggars can't be choosers. Only had the gold arm, and I like the way it looks against the wood plinth.

Today I did acquire a grey/silver headshell. Maybe this will lessen the clash some.:naughty:

silverheadshell.jpg
 
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Hey folks, I’d asked before but nobody answered - have any of you tried changing out the electrical connector in a 98 tonearm, to match up with an SME type headshell? The headshell that came with my 98 arm, while still functional, is missing small chunks of plating. I don’t want to spend a bunch on another 98 headshell (assuming I could even find one), so thought I’d adapt a common SME pattern shell - if possible. Anyone done this?
 
Hey folks, I’d asked before but nobody answered - have any of you tried changing out the electrical connector in a 98 tonearm, to match up with an SME type headshell? The headshell that came with my 98 arm, while still functional, is missing small chunks of plating. I don’t want to spend a bunch on another 98 headshell (assuming I could even find one), so thought I’d adapt a common SME pattern shell - if possible. Anyone done this?
Pretty much impossible. The connector in the 98 arm is press fit in, and is very tight. You would have to somehow push it out from behind to remove it, and trying to do that could damage the bearings. And even if you could, I would be surprised if you could find a similar SME piece to fit in.

Have you tried putting a regular headshell on the 98? Truth is the connector in the 98 arm will accept a SME type headshell. But... (and there's always a but. LOL)

About forty years ago I tried to run a "standard" headshell in a 98 arm once. It did work, but had some hum and could be intermittent due to the pins of the headshell not quite lining up completely with the pins in the arm. (It was also almost impossible to balance because the SME headshell I used was a fraction of the weight of the 98 headshell.)

Put a 98 headshell and a SME headshell pin-to-pin with each other, you'll see that they are almost identical with the 98 connector being just slightly bigger than the SME. (if I am remembering that right) I don't remember if I had to adapt the shell wiring or the arm wires to conform with either wiring scheme but that's really a non-issue to sort out. Bottom line: it did work but was somewhat compromised and it didn't seem worthwhile to try and figure out a fix. But...it also wasn't impossible to find 98 headshells when I tried it, so the motivation wasn't really there either. Maybe you can find a way since now, you do have that motivation I didn't have.
 
Pretty much impossible. The connector in the 98 arm is press fit in, and is very tight. You would have to somehow push it out from behind to remove it, and trying to do that could damage the bearings. And even if you could, I would be surprised if you could find a similar SME piece to fit in.

Have you tried putting a regular headshell on the 98? Truth is the connector in the 98 arm will accept a SME type headshell. But... (and there's always a but. LOL)... Maybe you can find a way since now, you do have that motivation I didn't have.

I will be motivated to try it. Bearings be damned (no, not really) I’ll pull the arm apart and use some .078” piano wire from behind, or Dremel the thing out and then rewire. The worse that could happen is I toss the 98 arm in a drawer, and stick on a 3009 or..? Would like to keep the 98 arm on there, but too cheap to buy a pretty 98 shell. Rest of the arm looks good though.
I’ll post some pics when I get around to modding.. ^_^
.
 
Well - went a slightly different direction and decided to make the 98 headshell I have work, and look a little better. I should have taken a “before” picture, but here’s an “after”. This headshell had some weird fat, mismatched, and wrong color wires hack soldered onto the pins inside (probably with a soldering gun) - thankfully the plastic or bakelite the pins are in wasn’t damaged. I removed the wires and solder-wicked the pins clean. The outer shell had bubbling, corrosion and peeling of the plating in places, mostly around the lift arm. It looked quite ugly. I was going to save and replace the ae badge after polishing the shell, but thought - it may look OK with a nice hole there.. Anyway, here’s how it looks after a few hours (!) of plating removal, then hand sanding and polishing. A nice improvement I think, especially if you had seen how it looked before. Thought I’d try to make this one presentable before modding the arm.

If anyone has a scruffy looking but functional 98 shell that they don’t need and would sell cheaply, I wouldn’t mind doing this to another one - or two.
 

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..and it doesn’t sound bad at all with a NOS 880p at 2.5 Grams. Got a mono copy of Dave Clark 5 - Glad All Over spinning.
BTW - it’s my very first time hearing this early 298!
 

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Just picked up a 398. (As if I needed another table!)

Is the Esoteric belt still the preferred option?

Has anyone used the Lord motor grommets sold by ebayer tdsbill? They're a fair bit cheaper than those sold by Esoteric, though that doesn't mean much if they aren't correct.
 
Well,after lusting after one of these for many years,I finally joined the Empire club several weeks ago.Finding the time needed to install the new motor grommets and belt I ordered from Esoteric is going to be another story though!

What a find; an absolutely beautiful 698:)
 
Well,after lusting after one of these for many years,I finally joined the Empire club several weeks ago.Finding the time needed to install the new motor grommets and belt I ordered from Esoteric is going to be another story though!

What a find; an absolutely beautiful 698:)
Enjoy the adventure!
 
Can someone tell me if I remove the Phillips screws from the hinges on my 598 (the part mounted to the “backsplash”) will the hinges simply come off? Thinking of just resting the dust cover on the unit when not in use and removing when I use it. Figured this might save some where on the plexiglass joints of the dustcover from opening and closing.
 
Rumpy - suggest you leave well enough alone here. My two cents but if it ain't broke... I would be concerned that removing anything is a risk with a table of this vintage.
 
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