Elmar Posted July 14, 2010 Posted July 14, 2010 Hi there, a friend of mine has the turntable as shown below. Who can identify this turntable? The platter has a diameter about 43 cm and it is very heavy with 5 Kg. There are two idler wheels and there are two speeds: 33 and 78 rpm. Could this be a "Commonwealth" turntable? Unfortunately, there are no signs to identify this nice thing. Regards, Elmar Attached files
Jon1553552729 Posted July 14, 2010 Posted July 14, 2010 No, I don't believe it is a Commonwealth... It is more likely to be a Sugden Connoisseur. This company made several Idler drives before switching to belt drive in the early 70s.
Nak-Mad Posted July 14, 2010 Posted July 14, 2010 H'mm, Jon, don't think it is a connoissuer, with a platter at nearly 17" diameter, I don't recall Sugden making anything that big.... That chassis pattern certainly reminds me of a Commonwealth.. could be an early one perhaps... Stating the obvious, the 33 and 78 only would indicate that it was a professional 'broadcast' deck rather than one with domestic intentions..
Jon1553552729 Posted July 14, 2010 Posted July 14, 2010 You could be right there! On the other hand Sugden were known to do double idler drive wheel builds. The platter also looked like a Sugden one with its ribbing.
Nak-Mad Posted July 15, 2010 Posted July 15, 2010 Jon, you are right, Connoisseur is much more likely... and an early Connoisseur indeed it would seem... and probably a much more likely 'find' on the continent compared to a Commonwealth..... At a guess I would say late 40's/early 50's vintage, but could be older.. wartime even.. they did make some 33/78 only motor units for sure, I think were called from a Sales POV "Connoisseur Transcription Motor's". I didn't think Sugden made anything larger than 12", but of course this one would be designed to handle the 16" 33's of the time if my age guess is correct I would say it would be the predecessor of this beast, the type B: Attached files
Elmar Posted July 15, 2010 Author Posted July 15, 2010 Great. Thanks for these informations. My friend told me, the turntable came with a M.B.H. 12" tonearm. Is this helpful?
Elmar Posted July 15, 2010 Author Posted July 15, 2010 Elmar;127620 wrote: Great. Thanks for these informations. My friend told me, the turntable came with a M.B.H. 12" tonearm. Is this helpful? ... and here are two pics: Attached files
Jon1553552729 Posted July 15, 2010 Posted July 15, 2010 OK, now I am confused... What is an Australian made tonearm doing there? I think Nak-Mad might be right and it is a Commonwealth
Nak-Mad Posted July 15, 2010 Posted July 15, 2010 That makes 2 of us ... As you say Jon, the Aussy MBH tonearm would suggest Commonwealth again, and they did make some biggie and beefy's for radio stations back around the early 50's..I've heard of Commonwealth 16" er's, but never seen one... Elmar, why not post these piccies over at Aussie Stereonet?, I'm sure one of the guy's over there would recognise it, if "Commonwealth" is the correct identification.
Elmar Posted July 16, 2010 Author Posted July 16, 2010 so why are you confused? I do not know anything about your or aussy hifi stuff. I told you the information i had .... and thanks a lot for your answers.
Jon1553552729 Posted July 17, 2010 Posted July 17, 2010 OK, to summarise: 1) 2 idler drive wheels 2) Platter ribs Indicate it might be a Connoisseur of the 40-50's. 1) SIze of the deck, I am unaware that Conoisseur made 16" decks, whereas Commonwealth are known to have made decks of this size. 2) MBH tonearm. The tonearm is made by an Australian company (MBH) and they are known for making tonearms for the Commonwealth deck. Given all of the above and Nak-Mad's recommendations as well, I would post on Stereonet to find out f they know anything.
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