Audio Dynamics Corporation

Hello all, deos anyone know anything about this ancient brand? Are they any good? I was looking for a cheap turntable to transfer some vinyl to cd and came across an Audio Dynamics Corporation 1600 Direct Drive with an ALT-1 arm, and Ortofon VMS20E MkII, in a second hand shop, for £10. It was cheap and as it wouldn't get much use so i thought what the hell. I have since seen the ALT-1 arms selling for £300-$400. Is it a bargain? Only the auto-return deos not work, apart from that its in good condition. Any info would be appreciated.

 

The arm is worth £90 ...I sold one on fleabay about six months ago ..the carts ok if in good nick...but the TT I've never heard of sorry.
Its got to be worth £10 regardless !

 

Thanks Zanash. I can't find any info on the deck either. I take it ADC make the arm? Lable on back says "Audio Dynamics Corporation, (A BSR Company) Route 303, Blauvelt, N.Y. 10913 U.S.A. by BSR LTD. Cradley Heath, Warley, West Midlands, England. Made In Great Britain." The arm looks original to the deck, which is similar in appearance to a Technics 1200, right down to the springy feet. It has a strobe and a rotary dial speed control on the left and RPM selector on the right.

 

Sounds like its a rebadged 1200 and yes ADC made the ALT -1 could be an ok combo.

 

The VMS 20E MkII is certainly worth keeping. Nice cart on a lowish mass arm like the ADC. Styli still available.

 

Cool. Can someone explain the best way to set up the counter weight? And what's the point of the anti-skate?

 

You'll find your tonearm manual here (under tonearm manuals):

http://www.vinylengine.com/manuals_adc.shtml

(you may have to register as a user of the Vinyl Engine to get it I'm not sure). It should explain what you need to know incl. setting the downforcw with the counterweight.

Anti skate counteracts the force which pulls the stylus inward toward the centre of the record. It gently pulls in an outward direction so that the stylus sits in the centre of the groove rather than being pushed into the inner groove. General advice is to set it to whatever you set downforce to, but the optimum varies with stylus type. Without a test record, my best advice would be to start with the VTF value and then adjust if you see any "snatch" one way or the other when you drop the needle into the groove.

Hope this helps