Audio Reflex MR-140 turntable - anyone know anything about this unit?

[idealist]

I recently picked up from junk, a working Audio Reflex MR-140 turntable. It works sort of okay but needs a new belt. Has quite a nice tonearm, wondering if it's worth cleaning up and restoring with a decent cartridge...?

[djb]

sorry dont know it

do a google search see if it gets more than a mention on any hifi site

if it does not get a mention it may be a hidden gem or more likely not up to much

on other hand a decent cart wont go to waste u can move it to your next find so nothing much to lose

[wolster]

I did a google on this yesterday before the SNA outage and found some pics of Audio Reflex TTs. If yours is anything like the ones I saw then a restoration project would be very worthwhile.

[idealist]

Thanks for info, will check out the pics and see what the associated web pages have to say. Never thought abou doing it that way...

[djb]

Yes there is a very little bit out there

seems like were sold as part of larger systems which usually suggests cheap

saw name clef hifi against the audio reflex name they r/were a lower end but reputable seller in vic

[idealist]

Thanks for that. I was attracted to it by the very nice S-shaped tonearm assembly. There was no headshell (why is there NEVER a headshell???) but I happened to have one from an unrepairable table I'd found previously. It has a fairly solid platter, and a spring-suspended metal base, and now it's cleaned up, it actually looks quite nice. The belt had fallen off, but actually holds up under operation. I will check it out for sound in the next day or so... I've ordered another belt, and it may turn out to be even better than my existing Yamaha P-05 (which is also unheard-of on Google) ...

Edited July 9, 2011 by idealist

[dan_tech]

I used to own an Audio Reflex (MR-109) turntable back in the 1970’s – first turntable I owned, and one of the cheapest available then. It was OK after an initial fault with the tonearm was fixed. Almost all of them that had that tonearm had the same fault, caused by a screw in the horizontal bearing not being tightened properly on the construction line, causing the pivot to drop and drag on the arm base during horizontal movement. The MR-109 and MR-110 were almost identical to the JVC VL-5, which also had the same tonearm, and the same fault, according to someone who repaired and sold JVC equipment in the early ’70’s.

Audio Reflex were a Canadian audio company, owned by AGS, American General Supply of Toronto. I believe the company was taken over by the Korean manufacturer Inkel in about 1981 or 1982, which is why it’s now hard to find info out about them. Inkel also bought Sherwood around the same time, and use that as their export hi-fi brand today, so the Audio Reflex brand was obviously phased out. The Audio Reflex turntables in my copy of Australian Hi-Fi’s Stereo Buyer’s Guide Turntables No. 10 (1981) became Inkel model numbers in Turntables No. 11 (1982). They sold a range of mainly Japanese OEM-made turntables from cheap entry level belt drives like my old MR-109, through to mid-range direct drives, in the mid-70’s to early 80’s. They usually came packaged with cheap (but quite reasonable) AT cartridges tracking at 1.5-3g, which were quite a good compliance match for the medium effective mass of the s-shaped tonearm used on them.

Turntable models I know they sold were the belt drive MR-109 and MR-110, which were similar (but not identical) to the JVC VL-5, the MR-120B and MR-125B, MR-130/140 (not sure if that was two different models – it was listed like that in the 1980 Stereo Buyer’s Guide Directory) as well as two direct drives, DD1979 and SM2000. The MR-130/140 (which may have been one model superseding the other that year) sold in 1980 for $139 including cartridge, and had wow and flutter of 0.12% WRMS, rumble not stated, dimensions 390 x 305 x 135mm, and weight 7.5kg (they were good and solid). This page also shows a user manual for the MR-130/140 http://www.iavscanada.com/sale_manuals.htm , so maybe those models are almost the same, with the same manual, if you want one. Coincidentally the 1980 Stereo Buyer's Guide Directory has a complete Audio Reflex system – DD tt, amp, tuner, cassette deck, graphic equaliser and speakers – pictured on the cover.

Some of their other components I’ve seen tested were much better than their price would suggest – and very competitive with much higher priced Japanese equipment. Electronics Today International found that their 70W/ch amp had “excellent performance at a reasonable price”. I know there was a review in an issue of Electronics Today International (Australian edition) of at least one (if not more) of their turntables – you may be able to find it in your local public library, in the archives. Check the 1980 and 1981 issues and you may find it – I can’t remember which model(s), but think they reviewed both belt and direct drive models around those years. Audio Reflex had a full range of equipment at the budget to mid-price range, all OEM-made by Japanese, Korean and other Asian manufacturers, and it varied from ordinary, to excellent quality for the money.

Much of their equipment seems to have been sold in Canada (as you’d expect), and in Australia, where AGS Electronics Australia, who later changed their name to Audio Reflex Australia, distributed them. In my 1980 Directory, I found they sold an equaliser, dynamic expansion/compression processor, amplifiers, receivers, speakers, cassette deck, headphones, car cassette/radio, and car equaliser/amp, so they certainly sold everything! Because they were such good value, and had a three year warranty, their equipment sold very well in Australia, but it was probably available for less than a decade with the Audio Reflex name.

I’m pretty sure I bought my turntable in 1976, and it was an introductory special to the brand by the hi-fi shop, and if they disappeared around 1982, that’s only about 7 years the equipment was on sale. There was no doubt that whichever company made many of the Audio Reflex turntables also made the JVC VL-5, due to the close similarity, and the exact same tonearm. Have a look at the JVC VL-5 manual here http://www.vinylengine.com/library/jvc/vl-5.shtml , and you are sure to recognise the tonearm!

Don