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

[wualta]

Yep, I have a Stanton L500AL. Same design.

 

[audiofiend]

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.

I did the best I could with the party cam I have on hand, even changing the focus setting to center weighted when I shot the needle in the bottom image.

 

[Vinylmasters]

Exactly. The PSX (and SER and VPC) bodies are all the same, so pick one you think's purty and slap a 30 or 40 on it.

The Empire/Sonus/Whatever is also a very good cartridge, probably made by the same people, if the mechanical layout is anything to go by. It won't care if you put a snowplow stylus on it, but it's worthy of better.

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.

LOL! Well, I haven't come across one yet (Stanton 500) is probably the main reason! I have a large variety of carts, but if it's obviously beat up, I'm not going to throw a good stylus away on it. I usually start with an elliptical and work down from there - more by ear than anything (yes, I know that goes against the grain for many here, but those ears have also done quite a few commercial masters as well and they ain't failed me yet anyway). I usually have a pretty good idea on what will match well with it after the first play (some need a brighter cart, some a flatter one, ect.). Try these (all were done with 45's):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfUaHkG9ImA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0_m_kGbKlc

Both of these takes were chosen by the bands from various transfers. Ultimately, the final choice is theirs, not mine (although I can throw my two bits in there if I so desire).

Here's another one I did from the early 60's:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpuMQL6LAxg

All of the above were done with elliptical's (although I'll be damned if I can remember exactly what cart and stylus I used on them).

 

[quigz1968]

Yep, I have a Stanton L500AL. Same design.

Hi Wualta:

How does the Stanton L500AL work in a hi-fi application? Do you have to remove the ballast weight?

And are you using the stock Conical stylus or the Lp Tunes "Improved" stylus Elliptical? I have an L500AL on the way as we speak and I am not sure if I should get the Elliptical replacement or not.

JQ

 

[SA-708]

If the L500AL is like my L680EL, the ballast weight is very firmly attached to the cartridge. It would be hard to use it with a lighter-tracking stylus, but that it also somewhat dependent on the turntable you are using it on. Before I bought my L680EL, I already had a Stanton L737 and several Pickering TL series bodies, so I already had some lighter-body options on hand. The lighter-body p-mount version in the Stanton 500 family would be the L720EE cartridge which is still in production.

Also, LPGear now has the ADC PSX series cartridges listed for sale on their web site on the ADC cartridge page (but not on their p-mount cartridge page).
http://www.lpgear.com/category/ADCCART.html

 

[wualta]

I managed to wrench the weight off, but it wasn't easy. Obviously the weight makes it impossible to use any light-tracking stylus on that body in a typical Technics-type close-n-play. The thing is, the best elliptical you can get for that body turns out to be kinda nothin' special. It was a dead end for me. The PSX has a lot more potential.

 

[quigz1968]

I managed to wrench the weight off, but it wasn't easy. Obviously the weight makes it impossible to use any light-tracking stylus on that body in a typical Technics-type close-n-play. The thing is, the best elliptical you can get for that body turns out to be kinda nothin' special. It was a dead end for me. The PSX has a lot more potential.

So......if I wanted to use the Elliptical stylus from LpGear, I would need to wrench the weight off?? Is that necessary with the stock Conical stylus?

 

[wualta]

Are you using this cartridge in an arm that lets you fully adjust the tracking force? then it doesn't matter; you can leave the weight attached and simply set VTF according to the instructions that come with whatever stylus you buy, whether DJ (the L500AL's original stylus) or hi-fi.

P-mount close-n-plays are different-- the cartridge must weigh 6.0g to reach the design VTF of 1.25g, because adjustments are limited. The L500AL, which thumbs its nose at such conformity, is an outlaw: it weighs about 8g, as I recall.

 

[quigz1968]

Are you using this cartridge in an arm that lets you fully adjust the tracking force? then it doesn't matter; you can leave the weight attached and simply set VTF according to the instructions that come with whatever stylus you buy, whether DJ (the L500AL's original stylus) or hi-fi.

P-mount close-n-plays are different-- the cartridge must weigh 6.0g to reach the design VTF of 1.25g, because adjustments are limited. The L500AL, which thumbs its nose at such conformity, is an outlaw: it weighs about 8g, as I recall.

It's a Technics SL-M3...it apparently does have a VTF adjustment even though it is not documented in either the owners or service manual - I have not messed with it yet. I am currently using a Stanton L680EL with D6800PEL stylus - it sounds great even though it clearly is out of T4P spec. Mine oddly enough did not come with a ballast weight, but the D6800PEL has an extra piece of plastic on it which apparently adds 1/2 a gram.

JQ

 

[wualta]

I am currently using a Stanton L680EL with D6800PEL stylus - it sounds great ... Mine oddly enough did not come with a ballast weight, but the D6800PEL has an extra piece of plastic on it which apparently adds 1/2 a gram.

Since the L680EL photo here shows the U-shaped weight, perhaps an earlier owner removed it.

Have you got a photo of the D6800PEL that shows the extra piece of plastic?

 

[quigz1968]

Since the L680EL photo here shows the U-shaped weight, perhaps an earlier owner removed it.

Have you got a photo of the D6800PEL that shows the extra piece of plastic?

Re: The D6800PEL....Yes - see my avatar!! You can see the plastic...I call it a "hoodie"

Also - my L680El was bought new in 1984 from Crazy Eddie....no one removed the ballast, it didn't come with one - I am the original owner. However, the D6800PEL(which absolutely came stock with it) I think adds the missing weight. So maybe these are two different versions (an earlier and a later) of the same cartridge?? It's a mystery...it's haunted me for years!

Also....my L680EL looks different than the one you linked to.....mine is not as shiny...it has an almost brushed look.

JQ

 

[BrocLuno]

http://www.turntableneedles.com/ADC...X-30-Cartridge--our-Needle-116-DEX_p_876.html More similar fit-ups at the bottom of the page.

 

[wualta]

Re: The D6800PEL....Yes - see my avatar!! You can see the plastic...I call it a "hoodie"

I've never seen anything like that, but since this was originally a p-mount, the "hoodie" probably was meant to bring the total weight to 6g.

I have zero explanation why one L680EL would be so different from another. Maybe some Stanton historians will show up and lend a hand. Horror Thought: Could Stanton actually be as crazy as Empire? Paging Richard Steinfeld! That extra crimp-on weight weighs about 2 grams, so unless the hoodie is metal, it doesn't make up the 'missing' mass.

If you weigh your "hoodie" L680EL and it comes within a tenth of a gram of 6.0g, then it was meant for T4P-compliant styli and tables.

It could very well be that Stanton later decided the DJ market needed something that would track heavier, and didn't bother giving the cart a different model number.