mdc-800 tone arm

[waynzworld]

Hello Everbody.I'm new to this site ,still sorting My way around.
I have gotten hold of an old Linn Sondeck lp12 and it has a black tone arm marked MDC-800,made in U.S.A. Has anybody got any info on it and how I might get a lighter counterweight??
Any service or owners info would be very helpful. Thanks Wayne

[sreten]

Hi,

apparently made by Sumiko:



apparently much sought after and expensive, ~ $1,200.

(shown with non-standard arm lead)

Edit : possibly get a metal worker to skim a layer of metal off the back of the counterwieght ?
or find someone after the heavy counterweight who has the light counterweight ?

/sreten.

[sreten]

Hi,

I've now remembered I'm actually familiar with the arm when it was sold.

It has not been made for a long time.

Its was hideously expensive, and claimed to be "the best arm in the world".

One feature I remember is the arm tube is filled with granules for damping.

/sreten.

[movingcoilguy]

I not sure this will get posted as the other thread is very old but do you still have the 800 and the heavy weight sreten? as I have an 800 the ARm also and could use the heavy wieght if you havent ground it down? As mine says X on it but I am not sure what wieght that is mdium or light? thanks

[sreten]

Hi,

your asking the wrong person and you can mail WW directly,

/sreten.

[movingcoilguy]

Thanks and I have done so, Regards movingcoilguy

[VivaVee]

This was, and likely still is, a superb tonearm. However, it is not a good choice for the LP12 due to its overall weight. At the time that these were new, a number were fitted locally (NZ) to SOTA Sapphire turntables. These were a four spring suspension turntable that had a little bag of lead shot in the tonearm corner so that the suspension setup/frequency could be maintained constant regardless of the tonearm weight.

When the MDC800 was fitted to the LP12, the suspension sagged precipitously and needed regular maintenance in order to have the approved Linn bounce.

[movingcoilguy]

Thanks Allan , for the added info . I am going to mount it on my Micro Seiki 1500 along with a couple of other arms maybe a Zeta and an HR100 but havent decided as I also have 2 Micro seiki 505 s arms as well as the Lustre 801. I have to play with them a bit to figure out the alignment before I decide on what to mount. I am really use to the vta on the fly so I will have to pick a cartridge that is to be mounted for quite a while on the 800 and the Zeta. Most likely I will never be able to find the extra arm weights for the 800 so I will have to see what arm will take the heaviest cartridges as some of the ones I use have good weight 10 -13g. I havent listened to the Zeta,800 or the HR100 yet but bought them based on old reviews. Cheers Daren