Empire 2000 E/III Questions

hamraisin

variable optimist
Recently picked one up and it sounds really, really good to my ears.

Two problems - like my friend who has exactly the same cart, upon dropping the needle there is about 1-2 seconds of popping, like static. I would have thought it was my system had I not heard exactly the same thing at his house - any ideas?

Other problem - this cart rides real low (sorry don't know the terminology), and on slighty warped edges, grinds along the record. You can imagine how good that sounds - what can I do about that? Running it at 1.5 grams - would lighter be better?
 
Other problem - this cart rides real low (sorry don't know the terminology), and on slighty warped edges, grinds along the record. You can imagine how good that sounds - what can I do about that? Running it at 1.5 grams - would lighter be better?

The suspension may have collapsed.

You can replace the stylus. :music:
 
everyones running this cart now it seems. i get some static for a few seconds too slightly more than my other turntables carts, im just starting off with a new stylus since its cheaper than a new cart.
i had to up mine to the top end of the cart at 1.5 to get consistent tracking
 
that is the cage/frame of the cart?

yeah, I gotta get myself a quality magnifying glass - the last thing I need for my toolkit.

This is the original needle.

The part that is supporting the cantilever and keep it at the proper angle, it in part the stylus carrier.

May be time to replace the original stylus. :idea:
 
Does that comment "everyone's running this cartridge now it seems" mean it's become trendy?

There's been a 2000E/1 body only sitting in my cartridge box since 1980. A customer came into the shop (Empire dealer) I was working at wanting a new needle. We were out of stock, I sold him a new, probably Shure, cartridge and he abandoned the Empire. I did not like the look of Empires but took it home anyway and so it sat for 37 years. For the last 10 or so, the thought of getting a new stylus crossed my mind, just to try it out, and I acted on it about 2 months ago. I wound up getting one marketed as being for a 2000E/III (clear plastic grip), made in Japan and came in Tonar packaging.

I've been using it exclusively and like it, especially the bass range. I played bass guitar and seem to notice that first. I do not know what dimensions the actual stylus is, the package did not say neither does Tonar's fitment chart and the vendor was uncertain. I suspect it is .0003 X .0007, not .0002 as was the original but it is fine regardless - tracking @ 1.5.

I've been outfitting a number of orphan cartridge bodies lately just because but cannot entertain the notion of anything other than affordable stylii. For the $25 or $30 this one cost, it was good value.
 
that is the cage/frame of the cart?
yeah, I gotta get myself a quality magnifying glass - the last thing I need for my toolkit. This is the original needle.

I believe there's a thread somewhere on fixing collapsed suspension with a little WD40
 
I wound up getting one marketed as being for a 2000E/III (clear plastic grip), made in Japan and came in Tonar packaging.

I've been using it exclusively and like it, especially the bass range. I played bass guitar and seem to notice that first. I do not know what dimensions the actual stylus is, the package did not say neither does Tonar's fitment chart and the vendor was uncertain. I suspect it is .0003 X .0007, not .0002 as was the original but it is fine regardless - tracking @ 1.5.
Thanks - I just picked this up - fingers crossed! Will check out suspension also when replacing
thanks gents
 
Have you tried tracking lighter, so body doesn't touch the LP? My E/III tracks fine at 1g, even at .75g, and rides higher. But it's NOS — obviously that's a difference, but the suspension is the same age, and age, not use, is the usual cause for degradation of the suspension (because chemicals in the elastomer evaporate, air pollutants degrade it, etc.) You may have tried lighter VTF already, but didn't mention it... It's a superb cart, well worth getting right...
 
Have you tried tracking lighter, so body doesn't touch the LP? My E/III tracks fine at 1g, even at .75g, and rides higher. But it's NOS — obviously that's a difference, but the suspension is the same age, and age, not use, is the usual cause for degradation of the suspension (because chemicals in the elastomer evaporate, air pollutants degrade it, etc.) You may have tried lighter VTF already, but didn't mention it... It's a superb cart, well worth getting right...
I brought it down to 1g and it was still pretty low - I am going to tackle it in total when the new stylus shows up
 
I recently bought a Dual 1009 and it had a very old ADC that has seen its better days and so today I changed to the Empire 2000 X/III and it's a very noticeable improvement.

Very nice depth and imaging.

It took some time to get it balanced and I do hear a bit more noise on older records but the sound offsets this.

IMG_3144.JPG
 
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