Fifty year old phono cartridges

108!!! LOL.

 

Wiped out EVG's supply. BTW....Pfanstiehl is very much in business. I have a contact there too. I don't know what I posted previously. NO ONE makes new styli for the GE VR stereo cartridges. Pfanstiehl and Grado are the only US manufacturers for styli. EVG buys and resells. Aftermarket styli for popular magnetics come from Japan(usually JICO...yea !) or Switzerland.

 

Now there is another listing on Ebay for a GE VR 1000. $555. But it is the same cartridge as in the other listing. One listing is for the Dual and GE, one for the GE only.

 

Stantons are highly regarded. I only had one and it was one of their lower priced offerings. That got replaced by a Sumiko Pearl(NOT the Black Pearl which is poor). Then the Pearl got replaced by an Ortofon Quintet Blue. My stereo dealer has a box of older cartridges. I would like to grab some and then try some NEW styli from EVG and Pfanstiehl. For $15 a pop...why not ? These days there are no hard and fast rules....but it appears that most EVG's come from Japan and most Pfanstiehl's come from Switzerland.

 

Yes I saw that. I doubt very much that hes going to get anything close to that.

 

A guy from Russia got a $49.99 bid on one stylus. And I have about 180 of them. LOL.

 

And usually people that play 78's use a mono cartridge.

 

This EVG2751DE sounds incredible !!!!!!!

 

Does anyone else have a GE VR stereo cartridge ? I have no idea how many were sold. The VR 1000's were the cheapest of the magnetic cartridges in the 60's. I don't know if that made them popular or dismissed as being too cheap to be any good. I am enjoying mine now that I found very good styli for it. Obviously, this is a futile effort to keep this thread going. LOL.

 

Anybody have a Columbia CD (Constant Displacement) cartridge? Their 1958 "Listening in Depth" stereo LP makes a big deal of it, but I don't think I've ever seen one.

 

With some quick research all I found that it was a ceramic cartridge that didn't 'stress' the groove. (Reasonable compliance ?)

 

They called it "low mass and high compliance" (and maybe it was by 1958 standards), but Columbia specified a recommended tracking force of 5 to 7 grams!

As seen on page 3 of: http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Service-Magazine/50s/Service-1958-10.pdf

 

I read it. Interesting. Thank you. One of the most popular ceramics of that era was the EV 26D. Tracking force 6 grams. One thing that made no sense to me was the GE VR 1000 with the elliptical stylus (VR 1000-3) had a recommended tracking force of 3-7 grams. Above about 4 grams, you are shredding your vinyl with an elliptical.

 

I've posted about the Shure M3D before here.
Came with a Thorens 124.
After checking the stylus for damage, I played it just for fun on an old Columbia House club pressing of The Pretenders.
Was I surprised. Partly due to the table.
But this thing just slammed me back and I couldn't get off of the couch.
Being a conical stylus, it also minimized surface noise.

I was so blown away (again, this was a 124) that I wont be selling it anytime soon.
If you have a solid, dynamic table like the 124, and play rock, it's worth trying out for fun.
But be warned. It's very forward and perfect for rock.
It sounds like you want rock to sound, with less surface noise.
It grabs you and wont let go.

 

This talk of ceramic cartridges has got me wanting to hear one again. There are several on hand, Astatic's mostly, salvaged from long gone changers. Also have a Dual CDS-630 that I think has LP tips on both sides - no 78.

My first Dual turntable in 1968 came with a CDS-630 which I used for a year or more before going magnetic. I can't recall being dissatisfied with how it sounded but thought ceramics were passé by then mostly because they tracked heavier.

 

The Zenith MicroTouch ceramic tracked at only 2 grams. The Shure M3D probably does sound great. I have to wonder if the longer cantilevers and soft suspensions on many more 'modern' cartridges lose some of the detail and dynamics compared to some ceramics, London Decca's, and GE VR 1000's. It seems to me that the closer the signal is generated to the stylus tip, the more information is retrieved. That certainly is the London Decca's claim to fame.

 

I'll try to post the L Pad circuit in case anyone wants to try ceramic cartridges. They're totally worth it.

 

I'm Curious - Where did you get the info that GE made an elliptical stylus for the VR1000? I've never seen any ad literature offering that option. That would have been cool, did I miss a link or post?

I love the Stanton 680EL (.4x.7mil). It can easily run up to 5 grams, and not hurt a thing - I run it on my Dual 1219 at 3.0g for my stereo-era 45's in full auto-mode all the time. Styrene too - all good. That Disco-Duty stylus was high quality.

For tube amps, where I want more output on LP's - I really like the Shure M44E (9.5mv), which can go up to 4 grams VTF. Too bad it's discontinued, but genuine NOS units still pop up once in a blue moon. It has the punch of an M44-7 with more detail. it works great with a modern Shure M44-7/G body.

 

Hi there,
Here is a link with the elliptical version: 1967 Allied Radio Catalog - Electronics For Everyone #260B Low-res page 151 of 526
You can go heavier with a .4 x .7 than a .3 x .7(GE ellip stylus) than a .2 x .7 and 'so on'.
I like high output magnetics too. I am convinced that they are more dynamic sounding. I had a M44-5 when I was a teenager. That was 50 years ago !!

 

Cool !

 

Tony, where you state M44E, do you mean that cart or the N44E stylus ? In any case, here's a nice selection: Product Detail
The EVG's in the link are not NOS AFAIK but probably made by JICO. Pfanstiehl sources from Switzerland AFAIK. This really is a good time for people with Shures, Pickerings, Stantons, etc. as there is quite a selection out there. Good stuff and dirt cheap. I use AFAIK as a 'disclaimer' but I have been in touch with Russell Industries, Pfanstiehl, and some others to take a crash course on what is out there these days.

 

Stylus only. All the M44 bodies are the same internally.
I will only buy a Pfanstiehl if it says Genuine Made by Shure in the USA or Genuine made by Pickering/Stanton in the USA on the back, as some do - The real deal.
You will notice the prices are set accordingly on-line.
The Swiss ones are aftermarket, and I do not trust them.

 

I understand about the Swiss. Have you ever tried a JICO either labeled as JICO or EVG (other than the EVG2751DE) ?

 

No - I like the Shure "house" sound in some cases. I believe a Jico stylus will sound like a Jico - not a Shure.
I like Stanton's too - especially the 680/681 series, as I think they are a little more neutral than the Shure's, when comparing Apples to Apples styli.

 

I just noticed in the description of the GE VR 1000-3 it states 15 degree stylus. Sure !!!!!!
1967 Allied Radio Catalog - Electronics For Everyone #260B Low-res page 151 of 526