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Who's familiar with Audiocraft/Ultracraft AC300?

I found an old Ultracraft AC300 MK2 that my Father in Law left in my basement and am interested in setting it up on my new Lenco L75 turntable. I don't know anything about this discontinued tonearm, is anyone familiar with it? Its interesting because its oil damped and has a dial which seems to compensate for the different compliance of cartridges. Cool! Its missing a headshell though, I'm assuming that I can pick up a used one here on Agon, any recommendations for a headshell to match? Also I'd need a decent (moderately priced) cartridge for it, I already have a Dyna 20XL mounted on my Rega RB300, so I'm thinking of getting a MM, perhaps a Soundsmith Aida, Clearaudio Maesrto/Virtuoso, Ortofon 2MM Black. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
mikeyc8

Showing 4 responses by mikeyc8

mikeyc8 OP
174 posts
 
Updated: I just found an Orsonic headshell, I assume that it was used for this arm. Anyone know anything about this headshell?
mikeyc8 OP
174 posts
 
Hi Raul, yes these pieces are probably 20+ years old so not much info available on the web, I was hoping that experienced vetrans like you could tell me about them. Jean Nantais, who's delivering my new Lenco tomorrow thinks that his Decca Super Gold is a good match and is bringing it along for a demo. Should be interesting.

I downloaded the manual at vinyl engine and it mentions that the damping oil has a useful life of 2-3 years. I'm not sure if they mean 2-3 yrs in the tonearm or in the bottle? The bottle I have is about 20 years old, I wonder if its any good still? If not, do you know wheere I can get some? its AO-20 High purity silicone oil.
mikeyc8 OP
174 posts
 
Thom: I installed it last night and noticed that it was tilting to one side. I just read your post and noticed you mentioned the "outrigger weights". Aha! are these the little weights that screw onto the side of the tonearm to balance it? I noticed a few weights in the box, but wasn't sure what they were for. If this is correct, I'll have to try this when I get home tonight to right the ship.
Thanks
mikeyc8 OP
174 posts
 
Thom, you're right, the outrigger weight solved the problem like a charm. So if I understand correctly, this arm allows you to adjust the damping which allows you to use a wide range of cartridges from low to high compliance, is that correct?
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