We did this simply for fun. A long time ago we figured out that the old Empire 208 was a pretty good turntable if you got rid of resonance in the platter and put a modern arm on it. Airborne resonance was still a problem, readily solved by a decent equipment stand and platform.

The turntable served us so well that we sold the SOTA turntable (which worked quite well that we had before. But over the years we had always thought "what would it be like if we fixed the plinth of the turntable?" The original turntable was a beautifully built machine with a timeless appearance, but its plinth was made of cast aluminum that was less than 1/4" thick over much of its area, despite it having the appearance of being 3/4" thick. Damping compounds helped it but we thought we could do better. So finally, we had a new plinth made that was actually 3/4" thick, machined out of solid 6061 aluminum and made to accept the original 208 turntable parts. The new plinth features an anodized finish that, while superior to the original finish, also matches it very well.

The resulting machine, while looking all the part of the original Empire 208, is really a new turntable. It is extremely rigid, having superior coupling between the tone arm base and the main bearing (crucial for proper bass and clarity). The new turntable thus lacks most of the loudness cues of the original which are the result of resonance and poor rigidity. In other words it sounds much cleaner. At the same time it rivals any turntable purporting to be state-of-the-art.

When the original Empire was new, it featured wow and flutter specs that were unmeasurable at the time and have remained much so to this day. It is one of the most speed-stable machines ever built. Getting rid of resonance is what brings it into the 21st century.

FEATURES

• AC synchronous Pabst motor
• Solid Machined plinth
• Single piece cast and machined platter
• added damping for resonance control

In order to build a 208, an original Empire model 208 or similar is required; later models with suspensions 498s, 598s and 698s cannot be used. The new plinth has to be machined for the new tone arm to be used with it (we're using a Triplanar right now, an SME V is shown in the picture). The original platter has to be machined to accept a modern platter pad (resulting in a nice spindle ideal for use with a record clamp) and is also treated for resonance. New motor mounts and belt are installed. The total cost for the operation is $2800.00.