Cartridge ID Please

[Killer Fox]

Can somebody ID this Empire cart for me please? And any info on it would be great too. Thanks.

 

[Killer Fox]

888 VE ???

 

[Balifly]

888 VE ???

The cartridge is an Empire OP-2, see the ID on the cartridge in picture #3.

 

[wualta]

Good photo-editing work, Balifly. Yes, it's about 15 years newer than the lovely 888VE, but essentially the same design internally.

The OP 2 was the base model. It came with a heavy-tracking elliptical stylus, the S22E.

 

[boreas]

You may find this hard to believe, but it's an OP 2. It's a nice cartridge, one of those made after Dr. Benz bought Empire.

It originally came with Empire stylus S22E, a.k.a. Pfanstiehl 242-DE. They're a 0.3 x 0.7 mil elliptical that tracks pretty heavily, 2.0 to 4.0 grams. Gary at tVoM has NOS styli quite reasonably priced and also aftermarket EVG styli (4242-DE) that track considerably lighter, are half the price of the original and, according to reports, sound quite good.

John

 

[boreas]

Misses it by THAT much!

You may find this hard to believe, but it's an OP 2. It's a nice cartridge, one of those made after Dr. Benz bought Empire.

It originally came with Empire stylus S22E, a.k.a. Pfanstiehl 242-DE. They're a 0.3 x 0.7 mil elliptical that tracks pretty heavily, 2.0 to 4.0 grams. Gary at tVoM has NOS styli quite reasonably priced and also aftermarket EVG styli (4242-DE) that track considerably lighter, are half the price of the original and, according to reports, sound quite good.

John

 

[Killer Fox]

Sorry for (still) being such a noob. I am going to sell the TT so was just checking on how coveted the cart is/was before I sell this for cheap. The TT is a PS T-22

 

[Killer Fox]

Unfortunately, it might not be worth much to people who don't know it, and I think that means the newest generation to come to TT's. That cart with the 4241-DID will outperform many cartridges today that retail for $200 or better. I think a lot of these end up in the trash so that those new to TT's can buy a new cartridge and feel good about "upgrading."

Best thing is you want to sell it is just put it alone on eBay. Little known fact that I have observed: cartridges sell for about the same amount whether attached to a TT or not. But TT's often sell for more if they've got a "new" cartridge. Theory: people looking for TT's don't know much about TT's generally. They want a decent used one to try vinyl with. If it has a "new" cartridge, they see that as added value. Put a CN5625AL on it.

Sell the cartridge separately. People who want that specific cartridge will pay more for it off a table. Those who are looking for specific cartridges already have TT's and they'll avoid the hassle of buying a turntable just to get a cartridge unless the cartridge is really rare, and this one is not rare.

Stil, it's an excellent cart. Truly excellent.

Funny, that's exactly what I was thinking and why I asked. I have a couple like new CN5625AL carts that came on other TTs that I removed. I can switch one out and sell them separate. TT on CL and cart on some auction site.

 

[Killer Fox]

Actually the headshell might sell for almost as much as the TT by itself too, right?? Isn't this headshell also used on higher end Sonys?