BSR 500 (1966–1978)

Name: BSR 500
Brand: BSR

The BSR 500 name shows up in period sources for two different products, more than a decade apart. The archival record for both is thin. This page sticks to what the magazines actually show.

The earlier model was the BSR McDonald 500, an automatic turntable advertised in 1966-67. Audio (January 1967, p.55) ran a manufacturer's ad claiming the 500 offered "precision crafted British" engineering for $49.50. The ad said you'd normally pay $74.50 for comparable features. It called out a resiliently mounted arm with a coarse and fine vernier adjustable counterweight, an automatic lock that held the pickup arm in the off position, and the ability to cue to the exact band without damaging the record or cartridge. A nearly identical ad appeared in HiFI-Stereo (October 1966, p.171) and Audio-Fan (September 1966, p.33). All of these are advertisements, not editorial reviews, so the claims are BSR's own.

The later model was the BSR Quanta 500, a single-play turntable that High Fidelity (July 1978, p.26) covered in a feature. The magazine called it a good-looking unit with an exclusive feature named "The Final Touch." At the end of a record, the power shut off and the arm silently rose and returned to its rest position automatically. The Quanta line was BSR's attempt at a more upmarket image in the late 1970s. No further details survive in the available documentation - not the price, the wow/flutter, or the cartridge.

It is unclear whether BSR intended a model-number lineage or the two 500s are simply unrelated. No service manuals, schematics, or user reviews have been located for either version. The known specifications are limited to what the ads and the High Fidelity piece chose to publish.

BSR McDonald 500 (1966–67): Automatic turntable; $49.50 list; resiliently mounted tonearm with coarse/fine vernier counterweight; automatic arm lock.
BSR Quanta 500 (c. 1978): Single-play turntable; “The Final Touch” auto arm return and power shut-off at end of record.