Specifications
| Year | 1976 |
|---|---|
| Drive | Belt, new rubber, correct OEM spec |
| Speeds | 33 1/3 and 45 rpm, quartz-checked |
| Tonearm | 9-inch static-balance, aligned with protractor |
| Cartridge | New MM cartridge fitted and aligned |
| Suspension | Re-tuned, level checked on a calibrated bubble |
| Plinth | Original walnut veneer, minor honest wear |
| Dust cover | Original, one small repaired crack at the rear edge |
| Warranty | 90 days, parts and labor, in-store |
On the bench
- Motor rebuilt, bearing repacked, new OEM-spec belt
- Tonearm aligned with a two-point protractor
- New moving-magnet cartridge fitted and set
- Speed checked at 33 1/3 and 45 with a strobe
- Suspension re-tuned and leveled
- RCA grounds replaced; hum verified silent at volume
Reservations hold for five days, no deposit. Phone is faster: (503) 555-0174.
The story
The TT-500 was the receiver of the turntable world: not the most exotic name, but the one that showed up in every decent system between 1975 and 1980 and simply worked. This one spent its first life in a southeast Portland living room and its second in a garage, which is where garage finds usually go to die.
Instead it came to us with a dead motor bearing and twenty-eight years of dust. The motor came apart cleanly, the bearing got repacked, the belt got replaced with the correct profile, and the suspension was re-tuned until the plinth floated the way the factory intended. It now measures wow and flutter inside original spec, which is the kind of sentence that makes Marcus unreasonably happy.
Hear it before you haul it
Every unit stays hooked up in the shop until it leaves with you.