A TREASURE FOUND IN A PILE OF GIVEAWAYS
In it's day this turntable was touted to be the best thing dollar for dollar to play vinyl recordings (albums) on. I first saw this in a magazine with catered to stereo enthusiasts called "Stereo Review". That was back around 1975 and the magazine has long since been defunct. The magazine was not specifically geared to the high end enthusiast or audiophile but more towards the discerning listener for sure. However, many audiophiles relish this turntable. I was about 16 or 17 years old then, and this baby cost a cool $500.00. Hell, I was a teenager and did not have the means to afford such a machine, but I loved what I saw and fully understood the specs. I was hoping that I could find one on the cheap one day. However, over the years I noticed that it has retained it's full value.
I love to frequent thrift stores, so many discarded treasures can be found at these places. I actually lived a couple blocks from one called AMVETS, short for American Veterans. It was much like a Goodwill store but, the prices were much better. I'd visit this store at least once a week. Some folks even went there to buy things for resale, a lot of the items were new also. It actually helped me become the best dressed man in my neighborhood ... on the cheap. Example: Genuine alligator shoes for $7.49. They looked like they may have been worn about 6 times, good enough for me (smiles). Another: A half length genuine shearling coat for $35.00. It was a little soiled when purchased and it cost me more to get it cleaned than I paid for it. I've been told that it looks new now. They can be found at high end fashion stores for around $500.00+. Additionally, the place worked much like the Goodwill, exclusively by donations. Sometimes people would leave things out for the store when it was closed. I would go by and look what was out, and found old busted computers. I'd collect a couple and breathe life back into them. It's actually how I began to learn how to rebuild computers. Later of course, I took a much more professional approach and downloaded service manuals and rebuilt them by the book (wink).
While visiting one day ... Low and behold I saw the Empire. I knew what it was right away. I could not believe my eyes. It was nearly mint and it had a cartridge. I looked over my shoulder to see if anyone else had noticed, apparently not. Since the advent of CD players, many don't see the value (except DJ's) in turntables. I did not waste any time inspecting it because of the condition and price. I quickly took it to the cashier to purchase it. Total cost: $29.96 plus tax.
One caveat, when I got it home and took the time to inspect it, I found that there was a missing part. It has a head shell mount that attaches the cartridge (needle) to the tonearm head which was missing. It took me over a year to find it on eBay. The head shell mount cost as much as I paid for the turntable, maybe more I forgot exactly how much. It is now complete.
UNDERSTANDING THE PURCHASE
The machine itself is a timeless design of art. If I am not mistaken it has been featured in The American Institute Of Art, designed and manufactured here in the great state of New York hence Empire (The Empire State). It has a genuine rosewood frame. It's counterbalance and other mechanisms are meticulously designed to flawless production. There is a cult following of collectors that can be found in many places on the web. There are even artisans that fabricate custom parts for this machine. Replacing the plexiglass dust cover with real glass for example. It has a 20 pound belt driven platter to ensure a stable speed and eliminate wow and flutter (technical terms for feedback and distortion). You can replace the tonearm with any tone arm you desire. Many don't like it's design and assume it's bulky appearance effects the sound, but that is merely an opinion and has not been scientifically proven through engineering benchmarks. It is still a wonderful machine and a thing of sheer beauty in operation. I believe if not considered to be an antique it is on the edge of being classified as such because it's value is now increasing. Mine is possibly 40 years old and in nearly mint condition.
Below you will find photos (click to enlarge) of my actual machine purchased nearly 7 years ago with the actual price in grease pencil (currently removed). The photo in the header (with the chipped corner on the dust cover's rosewood frame is not mine, but a web photo). I have also included links to three eBay auctions giving you an idea of current value. I could only find 3, 2 for $800.00 and another for $1,500.00. Am I considering selling? HELL NO !!! Well ... Not right now anyway :)
LINKS:
There are 3 different 598 models ... 598, 598 II & 598 III along with other models (298, 398, 498 and 698). They are basically of similar design with minor differences in specs and or placement of mechanisms to give better performance or for esthetic purposes.
