Fifty year old phono cartridges

It is about time for a GE VR 1000 to appear for auction on eBay. To say they are rare is an understatement.

 

Yesterday, while going through a batch of 10 styli for the GE VR 1000 that I had just received, I could not believe my eyes. One the side of one there was the trademark Astatic 'A' with '359-5D'. It sounds amazing as it has a 0.5 mil tip. It is not for sale at any price. An eBay seller from Russia has one for sale at $100. I messaged him to have him change the title for his listing so that more people will see the listing. This stylus is rarer than rare. I have seen two. Mine and the Russian guy's. And I have tested over 200 styli for the VR 1000. The huge difference in sound between the 0.7 mil and 0.5 mil proves that the GE VR 1000 cartridge is a great candidate for some exotic tip profiles.

 

I have a few spare Pickering .5 mil stylii designed specifically for playing ultra microgroove records. What myself and many others have discovered is that they will damage the grooves of a regular stereo or mono record.

 

"Ultra-microgroove" records were the special 16 RPM records for the Chrysler Highway Hi-Fi car record player which used a 0.25 mil stylus.

0.5 mil styli were an attempt to extract more detail from stereo LP grooves before the advent of elliptical styli. The 16 RPM records for the Seeburg background music system were also designed to be played with a 0.5 mil stylus.

 

Thank you for correcting that previous statement. The 0.5 mil was specifically for playing stereo records. And they sound great.

 

You are correct. I didn't realized that about the Chrysler Highway-fi. The problem with the automotive record players was that they tracked at such a high weight that they soon tore up the records that they were playing. On the more common 45 rpm units, a record made of poly-styrene didn't have a chance.
With the special Seeburg and later AMI 9" records with 2" center holes, made of vinyl, they played at 16 2/3 rpm, were the most common ultra microgroove records and were meant to be played by a .5 mil stylus. The machines designed to play these special records were also designed to play continuously 24/7. There was very little record wear and playing problems resulted from dust and handling. Although mono, the cartridges used, known as "redheads" were stereo cartridges used in Seeburg jukeboxes starting in 1959. The special records can be played with a .7 mil conventional stylus satisfactorily. However, using the .5 stylus to play 45 rpm records, stereo or mono, tracking at 3 grams, wear is noticeable. 45's made of poly-styrene wear quickly.
Using a .5 stylus, which was conical, in a conventional phonograph, was meant to ride below surface defects just as a 2-2.7 mil stylus is meant to do on standard wide-groove records, such as the standard 78 rpm records. If playing a traditional mono record, cut with a 1 mil groove, a .5 mil stylus would bottom out in the groove producing worse sound, unless maybe it was a vertically cut record.

 

Thanks to forum member PhxJohn, I am using the 1960 GE VR 1000 cart in both my New Rega P2, and my Not So New Garrard Type A tables.

This cart is about the closest one can get to a London Decca without spending the big $$$$$$.

For the music I play, which is 95% from 1957-1970, this cart is just perfect. I cant say how it would fare with hard heavy rock, but then I dont care because I dont *play* hard heavy rock. For me, this cart was probably the best cart I could have picked regardless of price.
The only issue, as we all know is the styli. 90% of the original styli were manufactured wrong and they distort. You have to be lucky, (or know people) to get a good one.

Any VR 1000 owners needing styli, contact PhxJohn first, he'll hook you up.

 

Also wanted to report that the Burr Brown ICs I installed in the my Jolida J9 have fully broken in, and the thing sounds AMAZING. Anyone looking for a great sounding preamp for under $500 should check it out.

 

I do not know if Jefferson Airplane constitutes heavy rock but it sounds great with the GE VR 1000 !

 

LOL.......I mean like AC DC, Ozzie, all that stuff (that I never listen to). The Jefferson Airplanes early stuff was recorded on tube recorders at RCA, so I'm not surprised they sound great on the VR 1000.

 

And even better with the 0.5 mil Astatic 359-5D stylus. If only they were all that good. It would have probably changed the popularity of the GE VR 1000. Me thinks it would have greatly.

 

I have never heard that stuff either. LOL. I am more the 'When I'm Sixty Four' because I am 64. I am. LOL.

 

Is this the Chrysler highway-fi you have in mind?

 

Yes. That's what Chrysler Corp. used, just like the Desoto in the picture. It played one record at a time and you would have to change records and turn them over manually. The more common aftermarket car phono played regular 45 rpm records. The 45 rpm car phonos were actually record changers. Playing the 45's upside down, you would lift a stack of records up onto the turntable and after playing each record, they would drop into the lower part of the case. When it finished playing all the 45's, you would lift them back up onto the turntable, turn the stack over or put in a different stack. The tone arm was under a lot of pressure so the records wouldn't skip, but it also worn the records out quickly.

 

Major tracking force would need to be applied to keep the stylus in the grooves - a sure way to destroy the records fast ...

 

What's up with the records with two spindle holes?
Picture of that?

 

LOL...forget the record player...check out that HUGE steering wheel and that fantastic instrument panel!!

 

Yes! And no. The record player is the most important thing in this monster of a car.

 

LOL!! HiFi Guy, I'd say the MOST important thing is That Chrysler 300 Screaming Firepower V8 Engine!!!

1957 chrysler engines - Google Search :

 

In 1960, Chrysler offered a RCA Victor built and designed automotive 45 RPM changer, which was later offered aftermarket. They were offered on the larger, heavier Chrysler models as factory, some also got dealer installed. But they played off the shelf records, which could be purchased anywhere. A major improvement, and catered to all tastes. But the tape based replacements which were coming in 4 track and in 1965 on 8 track and cassettes proved to be better, more practical, but more expensive solutions for music in vehicles.

 

only 300 hp? I thought it was 400 hp?

 

The Car itself was the Chrysler 300.

 

I agree! the HiFi press would have picked that up, and I'm sure.

 

I think by that time GE wanted out of the "Hi-Fi" market.

Still could someone make 24/96 needledrops of something recognizable with the VR1000 and some more current cart (or a Pickering or Stanton)? I need to hear what this difference is.

 

The first Chrysler 300 of 1955 was named as such because it was rated at 300 horsepower, coming from 331 cu. in. Eventhough the model name continued the horsepower race was off to a fast start increasing above the original 300 as engine size also increased. In 1956, the Chrysler Hemi increased to 354 cu. in. and for 1957 and 1958, grew to 392 cu. in. For 1956, Desoto got a 340 cu. in. hemi and the most powerful version beat the original Chysler 300 in both horsepower and cu. in.