Empire 888-te vs AT-2xn

[ozimmerman]

Just bought an Ar-XA. It has an Empire 888-te cartridge, but needs a stylus. I can try to get a NOS or aftermarket stylus or I could swap my AT-2xn from my Dual 1009. Any thoughts on how the quality of the old empire and the new AT compare?


As an aside I think the Dual will get sold, so I also will consider how the AT cartridge might help with that.

 

[wualta]

The ATP2XN is an interesting cartridge, and A-T made lighter-tracking styli (eg, the ATXN5E) that will fit and work in that body.

I'm trying to track down a good stylus for the Empire. I'll let you know.

 

[ozimmerman]

Thanks

 

[wualta]

I don't see any TE styli on the horizon, so here's a strategy that may work for you as it does for me: Second banana to the famous 1000ZE/X was the 999VE/X. Same body as the ZE/X, different stylus, but pretty close to the ZE/X. thevoiceofmusic.com still has new-old-stock S999VE/X styli. They're about $53 shipped, a very good price these days.

Now, the thing you have to know is that this stylus was not meant for the 888TE but for the generation that followed it. Fortunately, Empire didn't change anything important from the 888TE to the 999VE/X, so the VE/X stylus will fit and work properly in the TE body.. but Empire did slightly change the shape of the body such that the VE/X stylus is free to rotate a little in the TE body, so you need to set your azimuth and hold it in place with a dab of poster putty. Then you have something better than any stylus ever made expressly for the 888TE.

But if you ever run into the original white TE stylus, grab it.

The 888TE body is physically the same as the 999VE body. Here's what a 999VE/X stylus looks like on the 999VE (ie, previous-generation) body:

 

[ozimmerman]

Thanks for the info. I had contacted vom and they pointed me to the EVG version of S999VE-ERD. I ordered it and will give it a try.

 

[wualta]

Fingers crossed!