BIC 960 turntable

The new BIC programmed Turntables are engineered to do things no other turntables can do. In the face of more demanding cartridge designs and critical new 4-channel discs, the BIC 960 appear at just the right moment.

The mechanism that turns your records and carries your cartridge has become an increasingly critical part of your audio system. More than ever before, today's turntable buyer is faced with a classic dilemma - Should I buy a single-play manual turntable for its playback superiority? Or - Should I buy an automatic for its superior record-handling capabilities?. Until now, he dilemma has remained.

British Industries Co., creator and builder of the new BIC turntables has been the major innovator in this field since 1936. no company has better credentials or greater experience with record plauback equipment in the components field. The best proof of that is the instruments which BIC now introduces; The 960 (and 980) unique turntables, they have been engineered to solve once and for all the "manual vs. automatic" dilemma.

They are belt-drive as opposed to all automatic changers which drive the platter via an intermediate idler wheel.

They are powered by a 24-pole, low speed (330 rpm) motor while most automatics use 4-pole, high rpm motors. In all three areas of function  - platter drive, tone arm system, and multiple play capabilities, the BIC turntables offer refinements and advances which set them apart from everything else in the market. As a matter of fact, several BIC turntable features are not be had on any other instrument at any price.

 

The BIC 960 is identical to its companion,the 980, except for the 980's electronic drive, pitch control, and lighted strobe . You have probaly alredy noticed its low profile. This is not an optical illusion or a styling trick. The 980 (and 960) are indeed as low and trim as they appear. This lack of bulk is your first clue that the BIC turntables are not merely manuals with automatic features added, that they are in fact "originals", designed from the start to be simple, as only sophisticated engineering can make them.

Moving parts found in conventional automatics have been eliminated right and left. In the process, potential sources of malfunction have disappeared. Potential sources of noise and vibration have also been eliminated.

 

Operating controls are grouped in a single program panel on the right side of the unit. To say that this panel brings new logic to the turntable and new refinement and simplicity to its operation, barely does it justice.

The tone arm incorporates several dramatic improvements which set it apart from all others.

And of course you have noticed at the bottom a cutaway drwing of the BIC platter which reveals the belt-drive mechanism. No other turntable which can play morethan a single record offers belt-drive and all its advantages. The drive system alone sets BIC turntables apart. But there's more.

 

The turntable are built entirely in the U.S.A made parts. They are built in BIC's own plant where all aspects of manufacturing are in BIC's hands. They are the first fine turntables of their type built in this country, and they meet come to expect only from imported equipment. Beyond what that means in technical terms, they do not come to you burdend with import duties or fluctuating exchange rates.

They are rugged. They are built of the best materials that can be had.

 

Specifications

Drive System

Motor:  300 rpm 24-pole synchronous , impedance protected

Drive: Long-life, precision ground, elastomer belt

Start-Up Time:  full speed in less than 1/3 of a revolution

Turntable Speeds:  33-1/3 and 45 rpm

Turntable Plater:  12-inch, non-ferrous, one-piece machined die cast, balanced turntable. Weight kinetically matched to motor and drive system

Rumble (DIN):  better than -65 dB

Wow and Flutter: (WRMS):  better than 0,05%

Tone Arm System

Construction:  Tubular aluminum tone arm,in machined gimbals, mounted on die cst platform by means of a machined brass shaft.

Pivot Arrangement: 

Vertical :  Twin needle bearings pivoting in hardened ball bearing races

Horizontal :  precision ground brass shaft moving atp a lateral ball bearing race.

Bearing Friction:  less than 5 mg (horizontal), 5 - 8 mg (vertical)

Pivot to Stylus Length:  216,2 mm

Lateral tracking Erroe (Max):  0,35°/in

Effective Tone Arm mass:  18 RMS

Tone Arm Resonance:  less than 9 Hz

Tone Arm Counterweight:  one piece machined die casting, with machined knurled band and elastomeric compliant resonance/isolation damper

Stylus Overhang:  adjustable with supplied gauge

Initial 15° Vertical Tracking Angle:  user adjustable by means of adjustment screw in cartridge shell to compensate for variation in cartridge height (gauge supplied with unit)

Manual/Auto 15° Compensator:  2-position lever in shell

Stylus Track Force Range:  0 - 4 gms in 0,25 gm , calibrated increments

Tracking Force Accuracy: within 0,1 gm from 1st to 6th record

Anti-Skating Stylus Mode Selector:  lever selector for conical or elliptical types

Anti-skating Adjustment Range:   0 - 4 gms in 0,25 gm , calibrated increments

Cueing System:  Damped both directions

Cueing Rate:  user adjustable approx. 1 - 3 seconds

Cartridge Shell:  male/female 4-pin gold-plated connectors secured by locating pin and knurled locking nut

Finger Lift:  Stainless stell professional type

Minimium Tripping Force:  less than 0,15 gms

Program System

Number of recirds programmable:  1 to 6

Playing Modes:  manual; Automatic; Single; Repeat Single up to 6 times; Multiple Play up to 6 ecords

Cycle Button: feather touch actuation of all automatic modes

Geberal

Record Size:  7 and 12 inches

Tone arm Wiring Capacities:  less than 20 pF/channel

Record Support:  Reliable 2 point system, with safety support platform for automatic record handling

Shock Mounts:  4 elastomeric mounts, computer designed for the turntable

Power Requirements:  105 - 130 VAC 60 Hz , 50 Hz adaptability

Shipping Weight:  12 lbs