BSR 810-X
A record changer that BSR pitched as a Wankel-engined revolution - and a period review that quietly measured the reality.
Overview
BSR's advertising for the 810-X was ambitious. The company ran a full-page campaign in the audio press arguing that the basic record changer mechanism, like the piston engine in an automobile, had served well enough for years but was worn down by its own violent action. The fix, BSR claimed, was the sequential cam shaft drive mechanism used in the 810/X and 710/X Transcription Series Total Turntables. It was an even rotating motion that programmed the automatic functions "smoothly and without noisy and potentially harmful quick starts and stops, without slamming metal against metal." The cam gears, mounted on a carefully machined central shaft, were described as all but impossible to knock out of alignment through rough handling or constant use. The same campaign ran in HiFi-Stereo (September 1973, p.23), High Fidelity (November 1973, p.15), and HiFi-Stereo (March 1974, p.84). It was a marketing push, not an independent verdict.
The 810-X was sold as part of BSR's "Transcription Series," a designation the company applied to its finest automatic turntables. It sat at the top of the pair alongside the 710/X.
The independent press did get its hands on the 810-X, and the results are more interesting than the ad copy. HiFi-Stereo (May 1973, p.44) measured the 810/X and reported that its automatic change cycle ran longer than average - about 17.5 seconds at 33⅓ rpm and 13 seconds at 45 rpm. The vernier speed adjustment covered +2.6, -1.6 per cent at 33⅓ rpm and +3.9, -2 per cent at 45 rpm. The same review noted the unit was unaffected by a.c. line-voltage changes from 95 to 135 volts. The magazine also compared the 810/X directly to the cheaper 710/X. The rumble, wow, and flutter figures were not significantly different between the two, but the 710/X's arm pivots had more friction than the 810/X's. The ad campaign never mentioned that, and it's worth keeping in mind when setting up the arm.
The sequential cam shaft drive is the 810-X's defining engineering claim. BSR argued that the sudden starts and stops of a conventional changer accelerate wear, and the cam-shaft approach was the company's answer. Whether it delivered on "consistent care-free performance" is up to each owner. On any used example, inspect the mechanism. The cam gears and the central shaft are where the design lives or dies, and a unit that has been dropped or forced will show it there first. The vernier speed adjustment and the line-voltage tolerance measured by HiFi-Stereo suggest the electrical side was sorted.
Collectors chasing the 810-X should expect the usual BSR realities. These were mass-market changers, not esoteric audiophile decks, and condition matters more than model. The period classifieds put a sealed example with a Shure M91ED at $180 in early 1974, which is a fair yardstick for a complete, working unit with base and dust cover. The 810-X is the model BSR chose to hang its cam-shaft campaign on, and the automatic mechanism is what most people want from a changer of this vintage. The arm friction noted by HiFi-Stereo is the known weak point to check, and the cam mechanism is the known strong point to verify.
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