Just Added Vintage AR-ETL-1 Turntable

[gostan]

I have been without a turntable for about three months since selling my Music Hall MF-9. I have been lucky enough to pick up a 20 year old Acoustic Research ETL-1 with a Sumiko FT-3 tonearm. The table is one of the few ever produced by AR with an ebony black high gloss base. The entire set-up is in near perfect condition.

I mounted a Benz Micro-Glider low output moving coil cartridge to top off my vinyl upgrade.

Having analog back in my system is simply wonderful. My listening room was filled this weekend with an overall musicality of some great sounding LP's.

Here are some pictures:

[Bob]

Where did you find this beauty?

[gostan]

Where did you find this beauty?

Purchased it from Dave Archambault at Vinyl Nirvana. I just had to have it as I have never seen one with a black base before.

While hunting from this one I also located an AR ES-1 which was purchased new in 1988, used for 4 months and then boxed up and never played again. It is in new condition and likely only requires some lurication and alignment to be ready to go.

[miner]

Stan,
What is your opinion of the MMF-9 you had/sold?

You certainly found a real beauty!

Miner

[gostan]

Stan,
What is your opinion of the MMF-9 you had/sold?

You certainly found a real beauty!

Miner

I found that major weakness of the MMF-9 package to be the cartridge and tonearm. The MMF-9 come with a Goldring high output cartridge. I have learned that a good low ouput moving coil cartridge will out perform a high output moving coil or moving magnet cartridge, but you will have to invest in a better phono preamp in order to be able to increase the gain to move the low-output moving coil, and this will cost more bucks.

I was disappointed in the musicality of the Music Hall TT. The AR is exactly the opposite, very musical. But, that may be due, in part, to the fact that I hand picked a better cartridge to go with it.

The sum of the parts of the MMF-9 just did not add up for me. The MMF-7 is a better value in the Music Hall line.