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Empire 498

Hi all - I have an Empire 498 turntable I inherited from my grandfather years ago that has been collecting dust in my crawlspace...I've been all digital with no analog for years.

Cleaned out the crawlspace for some home repair and came across it.

It's in great shape, if dusty, and I'm curious as to whether this is they type of turntable to begin collecting vinyl around or if I should just put it up for sale.

I have no clue what to ask for, and thought I'd begin my research with you guys. I read an article online about Empire turntables, and it appears the 498 is the 'rare' model of the bunch, but I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing! :)

Anyway, any knowledge you may have about these turntables would be appreciated. It has sentimental value, but if it's worth a few bucks, I may sell it, particularly since I don't own one LP.

Thanks,

- Dan
dklap
joe_in_seattle
114 posts
 
Well, a contrary view. I've been in the hobby since the early 60's and I drooled over the Empire TT's at the time. My first cartridge was an Empire 2000 EIII.

Restoring one of these is like restoring a 60's sports car; you gotta have a love for it.

I don't think of it as a candidate for starting a record collection. A brief look at Ebay shows values today between $100 and $750 for Empire turntables of various hues in various states of repair - but no 498's. If you can find a local hi fi repair shop of the vintage type and someone to advise you you'll learn if you have a treasure or not.

I wouldn't do anything other than sell it.

Just my two cents.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,948 posts
 
The reason we stay away from the suspension models is that it is very difficult to do anything about the arm. The platter/motor setup is great on all the machines, but IMO the arms always leave a bit to be desired (although the later arms were a lot better).

The big problem on the 498 arm is usually the cartridge clip, which is fragile and rare. If you have that, a cartridge of moderate compliance should work OK. I have seen cases where some people got Jelco arms to work in the machine; the problem is that you are locked into the geometry of the original arm with the suspended models (498 and later).

Now if you decide to stick with the 498 arm, a nice tweak is to get a machinist to make a new counter balance weight- one that puts most of its mass below the arm tube. This improves the bass and traceability of the arm.
kbuzz
214 posts
 
Joe in Seattle. Your candor in the post is admirable. But care to elaborate on you opinion in greater detail. Are you saying maintenance is finnicky? Are you saying the table is too expensive to be repaired etc.
kbuzz
214 posts
 
Ralph -thank you for your post. I have a 598 i am fooling around with. I may have to call upon your service when the some of the issues get too complicated.

Probably makes more sense to consider obtain and perform work on a 208 given the easier arm replacement, but -- heresey to the audio elite --I love the dyn-alift!

Another audio elite heresay, but I also think looking at a 598, if the metal and bulbs are in condition
podeschi
303 posts
 
FYI I bought a modded Empire 208 from Ralph with TriPlanar arm. His restoration and modifications are incredible.
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