So what the hell is the difference between a 50H II and a 770H?
Besides the cosmetic differences (which there are few).
Elac 770:
-Tonearm shaft is ever-so-slightly wider
-Tonearm shaft is ever-so-slightly wider
-Headshell has deeper side-walls
-Tonearm mount is a different design (much better)
-Counter balance is a different design (not as reliable as the 50H II)
-Stroboscope ring has “33” and “45” instead of dashes
Elac 50H II
My personal favorite. The tonearm seems a little finer, just because the shaft is not as wide (less mass?), the counter balance has a gear inside the shaft for adjustment, and the headshell has the cool waffle-stamp on top. I transferred the tonearm mount (not installed at time of this photo), and transferred the strobo-ring with the "33" and "45" indicators.
The difference is that the 770H has a built in 12-prong jack for mounting an internal phono pre-amplifier in a semi-shielded area toward the back-center of the turntable (underneath). Elac sold this accessory, though I’ve never seen one. Since Elac wasn’t as heavily imported into America as Dual and Garrard and other UK companies, I have a feeling this accessory was used primarily in the UK, if widely used at all.
So there you have it. As far as I can tell everything else is the same. (Except that the fancy, adjustable headshell (the removable part) usually came on a 770H).
