Buying a 2nd hand TT - no arm

[margetti]

Quite often see turntables on ebay with no arm (mainly looking at rega's and systemdek's) - how easy/difficult is it to fit an arm if one were to buy said "arm-less" turntable? (As the very question itself implies, I'm a complete novice and would be relying on google to guide me should I go down such a route).

 

[Anonymous]

The biggest problem in buying from Ebay is getting the TT to you in one piece. All to often they get damaged in the post.

Assuming you are considering using a Rega arm (as your post seems to imply) then the following applies. Fitting an arm in most cases is a pretty painless affair. Rega arms differ in the way they are mounted. Older arms mounted with one large hole (about 24mm) with a nut on it but the newer ones use whats called 3 point mounting. They need the large hole and also 3 holes ( at a 40.2mm PCD) which is used to screw the arm to the plinth. There is no nut as in the older type. Depending on the deck you will need to know what type of arm to fit...or get a mounting plate that suits your choice.

Other arms available will obviously require different fitting methods so you have the choice of either buy a TT and get an arm of the type that was fitted, get a TT and make or buy a new armboard to fit the arm of your chioce or get the arm and then look for a TT that it will fit (or you can obtain a board for)......(the last option is probably not the best way to do it)

choices choices....too many choices.

 

[margetti]

Thanks! Yes, for starters, I am limiting myself to sales that are within reasonable distance to allow collection in person.

What started out as an impulse decision to buy a better TT (although not that impulsive as I haven't got one yet) is turning into a bit of a project! Which got me thinking about not dismissing TT's that have no arm fitted - they seem to go for slightly less (factoring in the need to separately purchase an arm etc of course). The idea of learning a few things along the way (as opposed to thl plug'n'play world of digital) also appeals.

Oh, and yes, a rega arm it would probably be - gotta limit those choices down somehow!

 

[floydlgd]

Hi Margetti,

I'm having dejavue! This is exactly what i'm doing. I have just bought a Systemdek IIX 900 from ebay without an arm and am looking for a rega 250 or 300!

Anyway in my search I may need to get another deck with an arm as there seems to be a few deals out there. If I end up with this I'll let you know as I may have a deck thats surplus to requirement!

Good luck!

 

[margetti]

floydlgd:
Hi Margetti,

I'm having dejavue! This is exactly what i'm doing. I have just bought a Systemdek IIX 900 from ebay without an arm and am looking for a rega 250 or 300!

Anyway in my search I may need to get another deck with an arm as there seems to be a few deals out there. If I end up with this I'll let you know as I may have a deck thats surplus to requirement!

Good luck!

Yes, I've been keeping an eye on ebay and those arms don't seem to come up too often. They are available from various retailers new, but then that kinda defeats the purpose of saving money by buying second-hand. I've come to the conclusion that to go down the route of buying deck and arm separatly, you're going to have to be patient - weeks may elapse between purchase of deck and arm. Which puts you at some risk in that you won't be able to test the deck until long after any option to make a possible claim of "item not as described".

I've done a lot (and I mean a lot - my job doesn't keep me very occupied) of research and if you can get the systemdek up and running I think you'll be very happy. I'm looking forward to owning one myself, but limiting myself to local collection, which may mean it will be a long wait... let us know how you get on.

 

[gpi]

floydlgd:
Hi Margetti,

I'm having dejavue! This is exactly what i'm doing. I have just bought a Systemdek IIX 900 from ebay without an arm and am looking for a rega 250 or 300!

Anyway in my search I may need to get another deck with an arm as there seems to be a few deals out there. If I end up with this I'll let you know as I may have a deck thats surplus to requirement!

Good luck!

Oh, it was you was it? 🙂 Is it the one with the acrylic platter upgrade and lighter veneer finish?