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ADC p-mount cartridge with no visible model number. Help?!

That's the thing-- the PSX is another manufacturer's body; the model wasn't made by ADC. BSR or dbx or whoever owned ADC by this time was buying from a Japanese OEM and slapping "ADC" on the stylus' black faceplate.

But they also slapped the model number on. Do an image search for <ADC PSX-10> and you'll see what the faceplate is supposed to look like. There are plenty of aftermarket styli out there, and you probably have one.

As for your question about the genuineness of the body, whoever made it didn't seem to make it for anyone else, and I've been looking for such a thing to give me a clue to the identity of the OEM. So as far as I know, there are no doubly-fake ADC PSX bodies out there.

Yes, some photos would be helpful, but I think you simply have an aftermarket stylus.

I've had very good luck with a PSX-30 aftermarket stylus myself, but there are genuine styli out there too. Have a look around.
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Here are a few shots I took before & after pulling the cartridge. No print underneath the ADC letters on the label on the front of the stylus.

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audiofiend said:
Here are a few shots I took before & after pulling the cartridge. No print underneath the ADC letters on the label on the front of the stylus.
Click to expand...

Yep, looks exactly like my new-in-box PSX-10 except, of course for the missing "PSX-10" under the "ADC". The font of the "ADC" is the same as on the genuine styli, so this is a puzzle. Usually the aftermarket versions don't have the faceplate at all.

If you don't have a microscope or one of the more powerful loupes to examine the mystery PSX-10, simply plan on getting a new stylus, the best one you can afford. Put this one aside until you can find out more about it. EDIT/UPDATE: I've since acquired one of these "ADC, but we're not telling you which ADC stylus this is, so there!" styli, and it IS genuine. Going by the yellowing of the stylus grip, my guess is these were early production, but that's only a guess.

The PSX series may not have been made by ADC, but its operating principle and magnetic layout is very similar to ADC's cartridges from the series that preceded the famous XLM. Do a search for the ADC 220XE and you'll see the body magnet sitting right above the cantilever, just like on the PSX. In other words, this is an "induced-magnet" design, just like every ADC designed in-house from 1964 onward.
 
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audiofiend said:
Thoughts on theses two stylus?

http://stylus.export-japan.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=3&products_id=27&osCsid=1dmvg0def5u7j42cvgrib6vp95

http://www.lpgear.com/product/ADC167.html
Click to expand...

The JICO will be a .3 x .7 mil elliptical because all JICO ellipticals are .3 x .7 mil. It should be good but the original equipment one that LP Gear shows will be better, assuming a: that it is a genuine ADC and b: assuming the suspension is still okay.

My inclination would be to try the OEM but I'd get it from Turntableneedles because it's cheaper, because Steve at TTN is a good guy.

Oh, and it may have already been mentioned in this thread but Gary at VOM has OEM RPSX10 styli in stock for a truly silly price.

John
 
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I think this will be the last question. Good enough cartridge body to invest in a genuine PSX-40 stylus? Please take into consideration that this will be going on to one of my two heavyweight Technics linears.
 
Well, I think so, but then it does depend on how much you invest, because your expectations will be proportional.
 
I have 2 intact cartridges with unknown stylus condition, & one that needs a retipping. The 2 intact are the ADC PSX-10 & Technics P28. I was thinking genuine ADC PSX-40 stylus, & a JICO SAS for the Technics. The Technics EPC-P205C MKIII would eventually go to Soundsmith for a retip.
 
My experience with the Technics/SAS combo says you'll like it a lot, though it does have a high-treble boost.
 
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Good! I really like this cartridge with the 30 and 40 styli-- it's one of my favorites-- but I didn't want to prejudice you for or against, because getting people too excited inevitably leads to disappointment one way or the other.

Now, when it comes, take a look at the diamond. It looks like a typical Audio-Technica or Ortofon "tombstone" nude diamond turned 90 degrees so that it looks like it's playing the record sideways, but it isn't. Steve at turntableneedles took the time to make a little movie showing his microscope rolling focus from the base to the tip of the diamond, and even suggested buying the PSX40 from a competitor because at the time he couldn't match their price.
 
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I recently went back to my ADC PSX-40 on my SL-MA1 turntable at work.

It is one of my favorites, along with another induced-magnet p-mount, an Empire 195LT with S485 stylus. That one was probably made by Azden and also sold under the Sonus brand.
 
SA-708 said:
I recently went back to my ADC PSX-40 on my SL-MA1 turntable at work.

It is one of my favorites, along with another induced-magnet p-mount, an Empire 195LT with S485 stylus. That one was probably made by Azden and also sold under the Sonus brand.
Click to expand...

I just acquired a couple ADC carts that I think are "PSX", but I can't tell if they are 10, 20, 30 or 40! Is there a way to determine which are which?

I also have a Empire 195LT, but I thought that was designed for a conical?
 
Conical? Pfft, naw. You're not stuck with that, no way. The 2x7 nude "tombstone" elliptical is Pfanstiehl-code 246-DEX.

PSX-10 is blue, PSX-20 is red, PSX-30 is white and PSX-40 is a translucent smoke color. Genuine styli are labeled at least "ADC" on the front of the stylus, and more often have the "PSX-40" or "SER IV" also.
 
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Vinylmasters said:
I just acquired a couple ADC carts that I think are "PSX", but I can't tell if they are 10, 20, 30 or 40! Is there a way to determine which are which?
Click to expand...

On my two 40 bodies, the metal has a gold tone, while it is aluminium tone on my 20 body. Don't have a 30 nor a 10 to see what they look like. Not sure if there are any internal differences between the models.

All RPSX stylii fit all of the PSX bodies, so just buy the stylus you want. My PSX-40 leaflet gives details on five options (including a RPSX-25 stylus) and says they would all work on the cartridge.

Vinylmasters said:
I also have a Empire 195LT, but I thought that was designed for a conical?
Click to expand...

It originally came with a conical, but can be upgraded to a better stylus. Empire's odd numbering system makes it harder to tell which stylii and cartridges are interchangeable. The 195LT is part of the Pfansteihl "246" group along with the 295LT, 395LT, 485LT, and 1085LT. The S1085 stylus isn't easy to find, but I bought a S485 (0.2 x 0.7 mil elliptical) from an Ebay seller for right around $30, and sounds great on my 195LT body.
 
SA-708 said:
On my two 40 bodies, the metal has a gold tone, while it is aluminium tone on my 20 body. Don't have a 30 nor a 10 to see what they look like. Not sure if there are any internal differences between the models.

All RPSX stylii fit all of the PSX bodies, so just buy the stylus you want. My PSX-40 leaflet gives details on five options (including a RPSX-25 stylus) and says they would all work on the cartridge.



It originally came with a conical, but can be upgraded to a better stylus. Empire's odd numbering system makes it harder to tell which stylii and cartridges are interchangeable. The 195LT is part of the Pfansteihl "246" group along with the 295LT, 395LT, 485LT, and 1085LT. The S1085 stylus isn't easy to find, but I bought a S485 (0.2 x 0.7 mil elliptical) from an Ebay seller for right around $30, and sounds great on my 195LT body.
Click to expand...

Interesting! Finding info on these two companies carts and such isn't easy, so I sincerely appreciate the info, believe me. On the ADC's, I have one silver cart with a red stylus and a gold one with a white stylus. I'm guessing here they are color coded somehow?

On the Empires, I just found a conical replacement out of Canada for 12 bucks. The main use for it is beat up customer albums and 45's, so wasting an expensive stylus on it is pretty crazy. I'll certainly look into these others however because I like to experiment with different carts and styli because you never know when you'll nail a good combo for your setup!
 
Exactly. The PSX (and SER and VPC) bodies are all the same-- well, virtually the same; the difference is so small it's not only inaudible, it's laughable-- so pick one you think's purty and slap a 30 or 40 on it. Pretty sure those were made for ADC by Azden.
The Empire and Sonus (also Marantz and Excel) models that look like this...
1.jpg 19a-E.jpg
..are also very good cartridges. They won't care if you put a bulldozer stylus on them, but they're worthy of much better. I should point out that the Empire and Sonus versions are different: the Empires are all moving-magnet and the Sonus, Marantz and Excel are induced-magnet (ie, moving-iron).

I have the feeling some of the pro things you do would be better served by one of the later DJ p-mounts by Stanton or Pickering. They track heavy-- they weren't bothering with T4P compliance anymore by then-- and they're based on the classic Stanton 500 broadcast cartridge. You can tell them by the little weights they have on top. Just a thought.
 
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Vinylmasters said:
On the ADC's, I have one silver cart with a red stylus and a gold one with a white stylus. I'm guessing here they are color coded somehow?
Click to expand...

Wualta posted the stylus colour code above. Silver/Red is a PSX-20 (also branded as part of a "digital series" as SER-II) and Gold/White is a PSX-30 (SER-III). That makes it look like the top half of the line got the fancier looking gold body. IIRC, the 25 stylus is orange, but they seem to have been a late addition to the line and not nearly as common as the others.
 
wualta said:
I have the feeling some of the things you do would be better served by one of the later DJ p-mounts by Stanton or Pickering. They track heavy-- they weren't bothering with T4P compliance anymore by then-- and they're based on the classic Stanton 500 broadcast cartridge. You can tell them by the little weights they have on top. Just a thought.
Click to expand...

I have a Stanton L680EL I bought from KAB, that is a DJ p-mount based on the 680 body. They seem to have sold out of their stock (this is a new-old-stock cartridge) but Turntableneedles.com still have them, and have the specs listed:

http://www.turntableneedles.com/Stanton-L680EL-special-limited-time_p_1861.html
 
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