• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Anyone know any Pickering History?

knockbill said:
What fun is that? Most of my cartridges are vintage,,, Shure and Empire mostly... they seem to respond well to new stylus... I think I can borrow a stylus from a buddy and try out...
Click to expand...

Ain’t that the truth, I’m with ya;)

The vast majority of my carts are Pickering v15s, have 7 or 8, one 681eee cert, one 881s original.
Really have an affinity for the Stanton “family” of carts....

Also very fond of the Pickering 190 tonearms, very clever design, think they are pre Stanton ownership?

My other useable carts are also vintage....

Only have 2 Shures, xv15III, an M44e (the 15III is excellent)
Empire 108 (another excellent cart)
Sonus Sliver E nos (new to me)
Grado F3+

Have one new AT but it’s a cheap version for testing, does not sound bad though.

Seems that every time I pick up a new cartridge, like the Ortofon Bronze and Blue I had, just wasn’t impressed enough to keep them...


Have purchased some lots of vintage cartridges but still have to sort them out not sure what’s serviceable.


VR
Andy
 
Where are
adnick said:
Have purchased some lots of vintage cartridges but still have to sort them out not sure what’s serviceable.


VR
Andy
Click to expand...
Where are you purchasing Stanton/Pickering stylii? Are they old stock or new?

I would like to convert my vinyl to CD but my 50-yo stylii don't perform very well.
 
Tomguad said:
Where are

Where are you purchasing Stanton/Pickering stylii? Are they old stock or new?

I would like to convert my vinyl to CD but my 50-yo stylii don't perform very well.
Click to expand...

I have an original D3000 stylus retipped by Joseph Long and it performs as good as the OEM. I will be sending him a Stanton 880/D80 shortly for retipping with an FG2. He does good work and his communication in my experience has been exceptional.
 
Andre Garcia said:
The barrel get into the cart snugly the brown tab I made for two reasons. One keep the original deep, otherwise the barrel will go deep in 0.026, second you can adjust the azimuth moving the tab up and down. The tab and barrel are tight adjusted.

Andre.
Click to expand...

Hi Andre,

I wouldn't adjust azimuth by twisting the stylus in the cart body, this will have the magnets unaligned to the coils.

I would adjust the stylus to balance the channels then tilt the whole cartridge to adjust azimuth.

You did get me thinking though. One problem with older MM cartridges is the fingers that hold the stylus in become loose over time. My 881/D81 will fall out and I hold it in with Blu Tack but this still allows the stylus to twist ever so slighlty. The top Technics MM's the stylus assembly is held in by a screw.

I am going disassemble my XSV3000 and see if I can drill and tap the front of the can so I can screw the stylus in. I'll buy a cheap stylus to experiment on before I hack up a good original one.
 
Tomguad said:
Where are

Where are you purchasing Stanton/Pickering stylii? Are they old stock or new?

I would like to convert my vinyl to CD but my 50-yo stylii don't perform very well.
Click to expand...

For the 681EEE and the V15s I’ve used whatever is currently available and they work well. Believe the last 2 purchased came from France and Japan....However the 881S still has the original stylus so I’ll be trying to get it re-tipped when it goes :(


Best Regards,
Andy
 
warrjon said:
Hi Andre,

I wouldn't adjust azimuth by twisting the stylus in the cart body, this will have the magnets unaligned to the coils.

I would adjust the stylus to balance the channels then tilt the whole cartridge to adjust azimuth.

You did get me thinking though. One problem with older MM cartridges is the fingers that hold the stylus in become loose over time. My 881/D81 will fall out and I hold it in with Blu Tack but this still allows the stylus to twist ever so slighlty. The top Technics MM's the stylus assembly is held in by a screw.

I am going disassemble my XSV3000 and see if I can drill and tap the front of the can so I can screw the stylus in. I'll buy a cheap stylus to experiment on before I hack up a good original one.
Click to expand...
Hi,
You are right regarding magnet alignment, but the azimuth adjustment is so minimal. If it was drastically off, even adjusting it, the iron (pickering is a MI) will moving on a different plane anyway.
Do the experiment and keep us posted.
Andre.
 
This is my XSV3000 body with D81 stylus held in with duct tape and balsa on each side held on with Blu Tack.

This mod tightened everything up. Incredible resolution and imaging.

IMG_20210324_115734214.jpg
 
Who came up with the "V15" model designation first, Shure or Pickering? Were there ever trademark problems one way or the other?
 
OMG OMG!! I just picked up a Pickering XLZ-7500S (part of a cartridge lot I purchased on the 'bay). The best part is that it has an original D7500 stylus that appears in good condition, and sounds great. The cartridge was untested by the seller (always a risky proposition). Images showed the stylus, but I honestly didn't have any hopes that it would be in playable condition. Figured that the cantilever would be broken off etc.

It didn't help that everything (all 10 cartridges that I bought) were just individually wrapped with a single layer of cheap, colored "gift" tissue paper (the kind that you add to those birthday bags to fill them up) and tossed into a small box without any means of preventing them from rattling around. What's wrong with some of these sellers? It's an absolute parting-of-the-red-seas miracle that the stylus survived.

As others have mentioned, the stylus appears to have a sticker with "D7500" printed on it, rather than being stamped or embossed. The Pickering logo is present though. Unfortunately, I don't have the means to take a nice closeup picture of it.

I have an XSV3000 and XSV4000, but I'm using aftermarket styli for those. This is the first original stylus I have for any of the samarium-cobalt group of cartridges (outside a D4500Q for the XUV). I'm a super happy camper!

20210426_143114.jpg 20210426_143342.jpg 20210426_143401.jpg Picture 004.jpg
 
Tomguad said:
View attachment 2166191 I worked at Pickering/Stanton in Plainview, NY (Long Island) from 1971-1973. John Kuehn was my boss (Chief Engineer). Much of my work was related to the CD4 4-channel cartridges (XV-15/1200E). CD4 was based on high and base bands. The high band went to 40KHz. Getting a mechanical stylus to vibrate that fast with a flat response was quite difficult. The CD4 project was Walter Stanton's baby and he hovered over me every day waiting for results. In those days all cartridge design was based on progress testing. Build something, test it, make a change and test again. Walter always told me "Only change one thing at a time." I heard that 10+ times a day.

I still have one of the XV-15/1200E CD4 cartridges and 2 of the test records that we used. After frequency response testing successful cartridges were audibly tested with these records with 4 of the electrostatic speakers in each corner of the listening room. We must have played the same 1 or 2 cuts 100's of times. The cartridge in the original box is in the center of the attached photo sitting in our curio cabinet.

The Pickering and Stanton cartridges were built on the same production lines and were very similar in design. The higher quality cartridges were built in Plainview and the lower end in Freeport, NY (about 14 miles away). We also marketed a dynamic headphone and turntable. We did engineering samples of electrostatic speakers and headphones. I still have one of the electrostatic headphones. It operated around 3000V and I am afraid to try it after all those years - the insulation may have broken down.
Click to expand...
Hello…
My father John P. Kuehn of Pickering, Stanton and later Audio Dynamics/BSR passed away at age 98 in 2017.
 
Welcome to AK Eric.

Thanks for this personal bit of info. You came to the right place. People here respect engineers, such as your father, for their contribution to the analog playback domain and the hobby, for sake of history, and for posterity. Best of luck!
 
I read somewhere online, recently, that Mr. Pickering invented mm carts. I think Voiceofmusic.com still has some Pickering conical stylus. I picked up a DACE3 off ebay recently. Suspension is good. DAT2 I bought is good also. There are some pricey NOS Pickering stylus on eBay now. Deals are few and far between.
 
Norman Pickering's many contributions to our world of HiFi were essential.
He was a founder of the AES (Audio Engineering Society) in 1947. Their publication, Audio Engineering was/is a foundation for many sound men and women. It morphed into Audio magazine, which kept the journey alive.

Their first magnetic cartridge was a serious goodie, until the suspension dries out. Some re-grease the suspension innards to bring them back to life.
Let's not forget the many jukebox cartridges that Pickering designed and supplied Seeburg. The later, stereo Seeburgs used a Pickering cartridge, which was the foundation of the venerable Pickering V-15.

There is so much more to divulge. The history of Pickering/Stanton is everlasting for Audio.
 
sberger said:
Richard Steinfeld, who is on the Lenco Forums quite a bit and I think shows up here from time to time, put together this fantastic handbook several years ago on everything Pickering/Stanton. Well worth finding and getting for anybody interested in the history of these companies, and their products. I'm not sure if he he's still putting them together for sale, but you might try contacting him if you're interested.

78GW46zh.jpg
Click to expand...

sberger said:
Richard Steinfeld, who is on the Lenco Forums quite a bit and I think shows up here from time to time, put together this fantastic handbook several years ago on everything Pickering/Stanton. Well worth finding and getting for anybody interested in the history of these companies, and their products. I'm not sure if he he's still putting them together for sale, but you might try contacting him if you're interested.

78GW46zh.jpg
Click to expand...
I was here trying to ID a cartridge I have that only says Pickering on the top (with a Stanton D680 stylus) and I saw this book you posted. I'm going to try to find a copy, thanks for making me aware of it. I see you have Allison Ones! Me too and a pair of Threes.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom