AUDIOPHILE Acoustic Research ARXB Turntable - DIY Rebuild with Modifications! 

I really enjoyed this video. It makes a change to see someone doing a restoration that anyone could do with basic tools, rather than needing a state-of-the-art woodworking workshop with CNC machines, table saws, milling machines etc.

The “Philosophers Stone” of turntables. Said by some who know to equal or even out perform modern iterations of the genre in the stratospheric price range. Manufactured before “at the price point” became a thing. You must be very happy! Oh sh*t sorry he removed the original arm??? Omg thats an integral part of it. Its now like drinking a glass of water……. without the water.

That is spectacular. In a blinded test, the AR turntable was indistinguishable from a turntable set up costing over $200,000 US.

Great job! Really enjoyed your creative approach. Turned out great.

Very nice. Thanks for posting.

That is excellent! You did a great job! I need to pull out my AR XB and try some of your mods. Thanks!

That is a beautiful turntable, awesome job

You have outdone yourself by renovating this turntable, it looks great 😄👍🏻

Wow! Dude that looks awesome!

Great restoration

Well done! Really innovative, yet pragmatic solutions.

Really awesome!

Beautiful!

this video is so amazing... wow ❤

Fantastic

Nice vid mate!!

Lovely upgrade I own one of those but a manual.cheers

👍 great job.....

Well done!!! Similar to my restoration!

looking good done w aplomb .. I'm in the process of redoing the Technics SP10 /2 new plinth etc

There is no accounting for tastes ...

I bought mine in 1977 and shill have it in the original box.

so thats where Linn Sondek got their ideas from ...........

❤❤❤

The only drawback to the original AR Turntable is the Tonearm if you build a bigger plinth I would of upgraded the Tonearm to

I just started restoring (thanks for the inspiration) an AR-XA that was given to me by my Uncle a long time ago (my main TT is a B&O Beogram TX 2 with an MMC3 cartridge). Interestingly, the tonearm is missing the original head shell. In its place is a Sansui head shell that fits perfectly. It weighs 8.4 grams, slightly more than the OEM part, but looks way better. I will be using a lightweight cartridge, so the extra mass should not be an issue. The wood part of my plinth is in pretty good shape so I am leaving it alone for now., I am currently working on the top of the plinth to see if I can get it visually nice, otherwise I may do a repaint. BTW, my AR has two motors, one for 33 1/3 and one for 45 RPM. BTW, nice job.

Top plate not to my taste, but an excellent job overall and I enjoyed watching your restoration process.

Interesting video and nicely done work! FWIW, The biggest "improvement" you can make on the PERFORMANCE of an AR XA or XB is to restore it to completely original. No modern suspension springs - which are much too stiff and definitely no arm change. The original arm design AND head shell is far more sophisticated performance-wise than its appearance suggests. Changing the arm to pretty much any of the common "upgrades" reduces the TTs performance capability. Sadly one very important issue is a proper belt. AFAIK, there are no belts available for these turntables that match the originals which were individually ground by AR on both sides to exact specs. No modern belt is made that way/has the same level of precision. As a result, flutter figures may suffer compared to a new AR TT in the 1960's. New motors are unnecessary and will not improve anything over a properly functioning original motor. If you look at the capability of a like-new AR XA/XB as far as PLAYING a record, there is no spec that can be (or needs to be) improved in order to "play a record better." I have an XA and an XB as well as several modern TTs costing multi-thousands of dollars. Using the same Ortofon cartridge, ONLY the ARs (all original) will track the cannon shots at the end of the original Telarc 1812 Overture at 1.7 grams - the recommended cartridge setting. At the same setting, the modern (expensive) TTs with all the fancy bells/whistles, will bounce the cartridge/arm completely off the record at the 1.7 gram setting. It takes 3 grams for them to track the shots and even then, they will mistrack the last (loudest) shot. IOW, that record is essentially unplayable on TTs that cost from 5 to 10x as much as the 2023 inflation-corrected price of an AR XA - $749. That is based on the selling price of $78 in the mid 1960's. The ONLY functional item I would add/change on an ARXA or XB is to purchase a "LITTLE FWEND Automatic Tonearm Lifter." Yeah, hokey name but it works really well and is small/elegant in appearance and doesn't look too out-of-place on the TT. Personally I like the XA's appearance much more than the XB but the XB's tonearm cue is nice thing... ;) So an XB with an XA-type plinth would be great if you want/need the cuing. ;)

Yeh di didn't like the top plate either ' rest of the resto is fine '

where did you get the sapphire cups?

The plinth could have been a bit bigger.

Scott from the Colonies in the north...HOW did you get the pulley off of the motor?

Were AR tt's ever used in broadcasting? I'd love an old Russco or Collins tt.

What exactly was the point of putting on a technics arm wand? I understand that The headshell design on the AR arms wears down but I feel like with an entirely different different arm wand you'd need to entire recalibrate the arm position among other things which I do not believe you have done. Seems like a bit of a weird modification to me. Why not just swap over a different sme connector instead?

Top plate is quite awful sorry

Aaaaaaaaargh! You've messed with the arm! Classic AR restoration mistake! Sorry dude, massive fail. You cannot do that. 👎

Noooooooooooo! That's a FrankenARXB. Shame on you for creating that abomination. 😧👎

Surprised you didn't find an old Shure M91ED cartridge to put on it.