GEKone: This is the working hypothesis so far:
The following is strictly limited to Empire's "metal blob on a clip-mount" style that arrived with the 1973 4000 quad series, and the "octagonal metal tube engulfed by a bulky plastic mount" that hit with the 1980 Dynamic Interface series, the ones I've nicknamed "Chunkies".
1 ) The 4000D series and 440D CD-4 quad carts start off down around 230mH; this value shows up in the later 2000X and its clones. Inductance creep goes up to ~270mH.
2 ) Then come the common slightly-higher-inductance models like my 8000XVE and my 1000AEXIII which start off as low as 270mH but can creep up to beyond 350mH. Electrically distinct, however slightly, from the 4000Ds, but for anything but the most critical uses you can consider them an overlap of the quad group and freely swap their styli. They all spring from a series introduced alongside the 4000D family: the 66 series.
3 ) Then come the 2000Es and their few clones, which are up around 580mH or so. Just because the model begins with a 2 doesn't make it a 2000E-family model; this is where the numbers can be misleading.
3.5 ?) Then there are the special 2000 models, the 2000Z and 2000T near-twins, originally spec'd at 675mH, but sneakily increased, along with some of their clone-descendants (eg the EXL 30) to nearly 800mH. In a way, these latter models are a separate line, since they have tiny mounting shanks not physically interchangeable with the others, different magnetic internals, and the stylus selection is very limited (four styli, all pretty much the same). They can't be considered part of the 2000E family in any way
So call it a three-tier system. Just don't be 'confazed' by the 2000Z/T.
There's also the rare, high-inductance 800mH Broadcast One, meant for... you guessed it.
As for the Chunkies, a rough rule of thumb is that early models with numbers of 50 or 500 and above have inductance around 350mH and take the like-numbered upperclass ellipticals and the line-contacts, while the 40/400 and below models are around 700mH and take the heavier-tracking ellipticals and the conicals. Unfortunately there are exceptions, like the LTD 550 and the 60 ES, because as time went on, Empire changed the rules and made all subsequent models 700mH, helping to insure that they'd form the vast majority of models you'll see.
But you'll never see a 100 LAC model, for example, and you won't get 600 LAC sound if you put a LAC stylus into one of the 700mH bodies [But see later posts that discuss the 1080LT and the socalled Golden Touch styli]. What happens if you do? The tippy-top end will start to roll off starting at around 5kHz, with the midrange unaffected. Reactions to this vary all over the map, though, so experiment-- no harm will come.
It's a complex electromechanical juggling act that makes a stylus require a body with a certain inductance. When a manufacturer doesn't tell you it's using a two-tier inductance system and then abandons that system, also without notice, disappointment and confusion are bound to ensue. This is why we measure.
Does this answer some of your questions, or have I made it a scary mess?
The following is strictly limited to Empire's "metal blob on a clip-mount" style that arrived with the 1973 4000 quad series, and the "octagonal metal tube engulfed by a bulky plastic mount" that hit with the 1980 Dynamic Interface series, the ones I've nicknamed "Chunkies".
1 ) The 4000D series and 440D CD-4 quad carts start off down around 230mH; this value shows up in the later 2000X and its clones. Inductance creep goes up to ~270mH.
2 ) Then come the common slightly-higher-inductance models like my 8000XVE and my 1000AEXIII which start off as low as 270mH but can creep up to beyond 350mH. Electrically distinct, however slightly, from the 4000Ds, but for anything but the most critical uses you can consider them an overlap of the quad group and freely swap their styli. They all spring from a series introduced alongside the 4000D family: the 66 series.
3 ) Then come the 2000Es and their few clones, which are up around 580mH or so. Just because the model begins with a 2 doesn't make it a 2000E-family model; this is where the numbers can be misleading.
3.5 ?) Then there are the special 2000 models, the 2000Z and 2000T near-twins, originally spec'd at 675mH, but sneakily increased, along with some of their clone-descendants (eg the EXL 30) to nearly 800mH. In a way, these latter models are a separate line, since they have tiny mounting shanks not physically interchangeable with the others, different magnetic internals, and the stylus selection is very limited (four styli, all pretty much the same). They can't be considered part of the 2000E family in any way
So call it a three-tier system. Just don't be 'confazed' by the 2000Z/T.
There's also the rare, high-inductance 800mH Broadcast One, meant for... you guessed it.
As for the Chunkies, a rough rule of thumb is that early models with numbers of 50 or 500 and above have inductance around 350mH and take the like-numbered upperclass ellipticals and the line-contacts, while the 40/400 and below models are around 700mH and take the heavier-tracking ellipticals and the conicals. Unfortunately there are exceptions, like the LTD 550 and the 60 ES, because as time went on, Empire changed the rules and made all subsequent models 700mH, helping to insure that they'd form the vast majority of models you'll see.
But you'll never see a 100 LAC model, for example, and you won't get 600 LAC sound if you put a LAC stylus into one of the 700mH bodies [But see later posts that discuss the 1080LT and the socalled Golden Touch styli]. What happens if you do? The tippy-top end will start to roll off starting at around 5kHz, with the midrange unaffected. Reactions to this vary all over the map, though, so experiment-- no harm will come.
It's a complex electromechanical juggling act that makes a stylus require a body with a certain inductance. When a manufacturer doesn't tell you it's using a two-tier inductance system and then abandons that system, also without notice, disappointment and confusion are bound to ensue. This is why we measure.
Does this answer some of your questions, or have I made it a scary mess?
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