Orpheus Silex turntable Pic's added!

[rusty66]

Hello everyone, im a newbie to this forum, im after some advice on a vintage orpheus silex turntable that i own.

I know these were built in Australia in the sixties & were popular with radio stations & the like, I use mine quite a bit. I was wondering what these tables are worth as I see that a lot of audiophiles like them. Mine is in good condition cosmetically & still has the original rubber platter disc, it is a little slow to get to speed but once there, it doesnt falter at all and is very quiet.

It also has a vintage Ortofon tone arm & cartridge that I want to know more about. Ill post a question about those in the tonearm & cartridge section.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Rusty

[Alec124c41]

Have you cleaned and oiled the bearings recently?

Alec

[rusty66]

It is mounted on a pretty bad & ugly deck, I will be building a new wood deck for it soon & I will probably pull it appart & service the whole thing then. Im a mechanic by trade, so I should be able to grease & lube everything up then.

Are they as collectible as people say??

Cheers'
Rusty

[rusty66]

I must admit im a little dissapointed with the lack of response I have got from this forum.

Im a complete newbie to this forum with good intentions to further my knowledge in this field. I was told that this was the place to go for information, but with nearly 4 days passed since this post and only one reply to both of my posts, It seems Im either pushing the wrong buttons or people are not interested in helping.

I hope this is not one of those "Elite" forums where you have to prove yourself before anyone talks to you.

Anyhow, Ill go on my way now and see what response I get from anyone if at all.

Rusty

[Alec124c41]

Sorry I can't provide any information. I have no experience or knowledge of this turntable. I hope you find someone who has.
I can only guess, from its being a 60's radio station deck, that it is a massive idler wheel machine built like a tank. These tend to be very consistent in speed, and are generally gathering quite a following, with the obvious Garrard and Thorens machines leading the price parade. As a mechanic, you will be able to make some judgement about the quality of its construction. It is probably worth keeping and optimizing, and if the present market value is not very high, it will likely be pulled up as people start looking for something more affordable than the Garrard 301.

Cheers,
Alec

[atavid]

Rusty why dont you post up some pics of it so we can see the unit and make some comments.Lets see its underbelly as well.The ortofon cartridge for example may be very collectable especially if it is one of those SPU series.
I dont think people were ignoring you, i just think that none of us have ever seen,let alone heard one of these units,so its hard to comment.
I occassionaly post questions on this and other forums and get little or no response. It really seems to depend on who is browsing at the time and what the topic is about.
Pose something controversial and see what sort of response you get,tell everyone that its better than a Linn...that ought to get some response.lol

[atavid]

Just did a quick web search on the Orpheus and the pic i saw puts it clearly in the old transcription turntable league such as the Garrard 301,old Lencos etc.There are guys on different forums who do up a lot of these old beasts and do face offs with more modern decks with some interesting results.
http://www.vinylengine.com/library/orpheus/silex.shtml

[daaboss]

Aloha Rusty66-
It is a neat looking deck. The problem I have been told in regard to these decks is that their motors are for 50hz only. If this is true than it can only be used very limited around the world without going to great lengths to make it run. So, in places like Japan or the US it is just not viable. But with the older Garrard's or Thorens you can switch back and forth between 50hz & 60hz which make them very desirable around the world.

So, hopefully you can clean it up a bit and mate it with a good arm and enjoy it there "down under!"
Mahalo!

[rusty66]

A big thank you to all of you. My faith is restored!!

I will take some pic's of the deck & tone arm and try & post them up here for you to see. In Australia we only have 50hertz 240 volt power, so I can understand why it wouldnt be too popular elsewhere.

I also restore old Jukeboxes & have to re-gear them for 50hertz when i get them in Aussie.

Thanks again for the replies, Ill take some pics now & try & post them tonight.

Regards,

Rusty

[rusty66]

Here are some pics













Hope that helps for some info!!

As you can see, it sat dusty for many years before I got it! Sounds great though, straight into the phono input of my amp.

Cheers

Rusty

[delcam1n0]

Hi Rusty,

Have a look here for an original Ortofon
arm ad (ex USA, probably 1950/1960ish)
depicting yours...either a SMG212 or a
RMG212 ??

http://www.vinylengine.com/phpBB2/album ... ic_id=3767
http://www.vinylengine.com/phpBB2/album ... ic_id=3764

Highly desired, mostly in Japan, and carrying top prices.

Check "Ortofon" on the HiFiDo Japan site at:

[YNWAN]

What an intersting design - 3 point sprung suspension and belt drive.

[rusty66]

It is interesting, The motor drives the big idler wheel which in turn drives the belt! The platter is also huge at about 1 inch thick!

Its very quiet!

Rusty

[atavid]

Now thats a beast!. That looks like an eminently 'restorable' turntable.
Actually, it looks like it's in pretty good shape.
How does it bounce on those 3 springs?What sort of condition is the belt and idler wheel in?
I reckon with a custom made and lower profile plinth it would be a very nice looking turntable.
Don't remember much about those old Ortofon arms/cartridges sound wise,but when i did work in radio stations in the late 70's and 80's they were in lots of Station production studios.All i can remember is that they took a beating from lots of careless jocks with no complaints.
Mabye make a plinth that will cater for an additional more modern arm/ cartridge combo mounted at the back or other side of the table.
There is one for sale on Ebay at the moment.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Turntable-ORPHEU ... 240%3A1318