Garrard 2025TC - Stylus Opinions

My son recently saved an old Garrard 2025TC from a flea market. Everything about it seems to work, but the stylus is in such bad condition I'm afraid to place a record on it.

Would love to get this up & running as a Christmas gift, so I'm hoping someone can offer suggestions on a good replacement stylus.

I don't want to spend too much just in case it's a wasted effort, but by the same token I don't want to put anything too cheap on there and potentially damage a record.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

It depends of what cartridge is installed. That will determine what needle you want.
Check here and select 'Garrard' for phono brand:
Needles / Styli

 

That model often if not always came with a Pickering V-15 cartridge integrated into the arm. If it looks like this


That is a Pickering V-15 cartridge, tracking at 3 to 3.5 grams.

You can get a conical or elliptical stylus at the following link, the 4604-D7T conical or 4604-DEC elliptical. You just pull the grey part, the stylus, straight out, and push in the new one. If the turntable still works otherwise, everything will be fine and sound fine.
Product Detail

The conical will be slightly gentler to records, the elliptical will have a very slight amount of greater detail. This turntable model usually came with the conical, and an upsell version had the elliptical. The conical will be fine for this.

 

Some had it, but only the upper end 4 pole motor equipped versions. Most had 2 pole motors and ceramic cartridges (some Sonotones).

 

Good info. Thank you. I have a picture of the one that came with ours. Not sure if it is the original stylus or not. It is just dangling by 4 wires. On it, is says 221F. I took a picture, but can't figure out how to add it to this post.

 

Go to imgur.com, upload the pic there (click on New Post), right-click in the picture and choose "Copy Image", not "Copy Image Address". Back here in a comment, right-click and choose "Paste", and there's the pic that will display here.

221F doesn't sound like a Pickering, so I would like to see that pic.

 

Thanks for helping me through this. I will set up the IMGUR account later when I have a bit more time. For now, I got tricky, and uploaded the pic as my avatar. . Thanks again for all your help. - Be back later

 

Morse(Electrophonic) 221F ?

 

Yes. I see it now. It says Morse. The turntable is part of a bigger unit that also has an 8-track& radio, and the nameplate says electrophonic. Here is a picture of the stylus.

 

Well I was half right, unfortunately the wrong half for that cartridge. @McLover was more correct, as he always is!! so take note.
Can you show a picture of the underside of the cartridge and the existing needle? If you rub your finger on the needle, do you get a sound? It is possible for carts of that type to go dead with age. If you get a sound we can assume it is still ok.

 

Contact Gary Voice Of Music, V-M Audio Enthusiasts
I am sure that he can tell you exactly which stylus you need.

 

I have attached pics of the underside of the cartridge as well as the underside of the tone arm. Can't for life of me figure out how to snap the cartridge into place. But, yes, I do get a sound when I rub the needle. (along with an annoying low frequency hum on both radio and turntable selections, maybe because it's just a 2 prong power plug?). Thanks again for your guidance.

 

OK, I think the correct replacement would be on this page
Product Detail

either the 864-DS77 which has a needle for 33/45 ("LP") on both sides of the flipover, or the 864-DS73 if you want to play 78s on one side of the flipover.

Send all three photos in an email to Gary at V-M, (as @PhxJohn noted above), he has them all in stock and can visually confirm or could know a better choice. The email address is in "Contact Us" on the front page of his site toward the bottom.

The cartridge will snap into place somehow or if a peg has broken off you might have to use a dot of Elmer's Glue and let it set. The hum you are hearing could be electronic components that have gone bad over the years in the amplifier, requiring a repair. You could try flipping the plug around 180 degrees. For that model of the whole player, a repair may not be worth the cost.

 

Great info. Thank you . I think what I will do is try to fix the hum, then hold existing needle in place in some sort of makeshift way, then test it it, and if all works right I will buy the new cartridge. Thanks again.

 

Wondering ... is it possible the need for a new cartridge could be causing my hum? My unit has a grounding screw on the back of it, but there is no green wire coming out of the box to screw onto it. Only a blue wire, which upon closer inspection seems to be for the antenna hook up. No trace of a dangling green wire on the inside either, so just wondering if a new cartridge might cure my hum. (It hums in all modes. Tape, Radio, Phono)

 

Since it hums from all sources, I think it is the amp, not the cartridge. It's likely a failing capacitor in the amp, which could be 50 years old. That's a simple repair (replacement), once the bad part is tracked down.

 

I hear the hum when no station is tuned in, but when I tune in a radio station, it totally overshadows the hum. Not sure if this is normal or if the unit should be whisper silent. I have replaced capacitors in HVAC units and other appliances because they are obvious to find. Not sure how many are inside a stereo or even where they would be.