This is worth a try... Trying to ID a 1960's or earlier AR turn table model

[WobblyHand]

This is a long shot. I found an AR (Acoustic Research, Cambridge MA) turntable in a storage area in my mom's house. This turntable was probably purchased in the early 60's by my father. I know for sure it was bought before 1964, as it was shipped to Kwajalein Island in December 1963 where we were stationed from 1964 to 1965. I have a photo from Kwajalein of the stereo system. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find the old tube amp. I also have the speakers, AR3's which are not in bad shape, they sounded rather good, even after 60 years. The AR3 speakers still seem to command a decent price.

Anyways, here are some photos. There's no model number on this turntable at all. No serial number. On the bottom is a card stapled to it, with an inspectors initials and a discussion of warranty. Can anyone identify what model it might be? It has a suspension in it for the platter, and is likely belt driven. There's still a cartridge in it, but I don't know which one. As I said, a long shot. I'm trying to valuate it. But that's hard to do without a model. It's not cabinet grade, in my opinion, but it is an early AR. I don't even know how to flip it over safely due to the suspension, don't want stuff falling apart!

 

[WobblyHand]

Well it seems that this is one of the early turntable releases by AR. It had a sell price at that time (1963) of $58 according to Wikipedia. They sold a whole lot of them. Still don't know it's current value but I know a bit more. The belts were prone to wear but apparently they were easy to replace.

 

[Ulma Doctor]

My father had a turntable just like that!
I know absolutely nothing about them, but I remember dad playing the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack near full volume when I’d be working on some pos car or some other project

 

[WobblyHand]

Found a website vinylnirvana that describes the early AR turntables. https://vinylnirvana.com/ar-turntable-resources/ar-models/ar-xa It looks like this one is relatively old, having two motors in it. Sort of a helper motor. Curious belt drive. Apparently this is the XA model. The belts are old, but they just barely had enough grip to start rotating if I gave it a push. The pictures are without the external aluminum platter on it. The external platter totally hides the belts.

Apparently the AR turntable was the first turntable to get a UL listing. I also read that the motors were really wimpy on purpose, and that was to achieve very low rumble. Unfortunately, due to the shipping (around the world) the label with the serial number fell off. Maybe the SN is inside the bottom, but I have not removed the bottom cover yet. Also, weirdly enough, the AR factory was on the same street that my grandfather had a business. Hurley Street in Cambridge.