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AR XB headshell/tonearm

I have a good condition AR XB that I am refurbing and am having trouble with the headshell.  The carts that I have either don't fit the headshell or fit poorly such that they aren't alignable.  Is there a reasonable replacement headshell or am I going to have to replace the whole tonearm?  I'd prefer to not drop the coin for a whole tonearm but on the other hand this is a back burner project so I'm not opposed to sitting on it till I put aside a little money for a tonearm if that's how it's gotta be.
thank you
metal_farmer
cd318
2,636 posts
 
I’d stick with that headshell.

It’s a vital part of that turntable’s charm.

I picked up an AR turntable and when I eventually get around to setting it up I’ll do my utmost to use that original headshell.


Some say it’s a vastly underated design.
jasonbourne52's avatar
jasonbourne52
2,863 posts
 
I have a Vinyl Nirvana modded AR XB. It has an arm tube/headshell from a Technics arm. Plus new wiring. The rest of the AR arm remains intact. I suggest you contact Vinyl Nirvana and have your arm modded the same way. It will perform a lot better than the stock arm - plus the cartridge can be aligned correctly - something that is not possible with the stock arm/headshell.
imhififan's avatar
imhififan
2,227 posts
 
Headshell for AR XA/XB 

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/qZ4AAOSwk7xcxHc5/s-l1600.jpg
cd318
2,636 posts
 
@imhififan

Good to see the AR has not been completely forgotten.

That headshell might be well worth the trade in of slight extra weight for extra rigidity.

Either way, the original headshell is far from as bad as some like to claim.
imhififan's avatar
imhififan
2,227 posts
 
@cd318,
AR turntables are highly collectible, I hope OP can keep it as original as possible during refurbishing and use that after market headshell or diy something similar to install his cartridges. 
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