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Empire Cartridge ID

MCM_Fan

MCM_Fan

AK Subscriber
Can anyone ID this Empire Cartridge:

empire_cartridge_zpshzfmfbmw.jpg


Sorry, that's the only pic I have of it.

Assuming it can be identified and is working properly, is it likely to be a decent cartridge for a Pioneer PL-50 or an Elac Miracord 50H?

Thanks in advance for any help/insight.
 
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Looks like a 2000T cartridge. I have a 2000Z with that metallic silver stylus from the 2000T! It's an excellent Empire cartridge the 2000T!!! It's a high compliance stylus and very delicate! Needs a lightweight tonearm. Tracks at 1 gram! That's what I have mine tracking at, listening to it right now, awesome sound!! I'm using mine mounted on a SME 3009 Improved arm which is a perfect match for it's 6.5 gram arm mass.
 
Should be an S915E needle - don't know the exact designation of the corresponding cart, 'cause Empire cart and needle designations confuse me...

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini
 
Ilikevinyl said:
Looks like a 2000T cartridge. I have a 2000Z with that metallic silver stylus from the 2000T! It's an excellent Empire cartridge the 2000T!!! It's a high compliance stylus and very delicate! Needs a lightweight tonearm. Tracks at 1 gram! That's what I have mine tracking at, listening to it right now, awesome sound!! I'm using mine mounted on a SME 3009 Improved arm which is a perfect match for it's 6.5 gram arm mass.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's great info!

Do you know if it would work well with an Elac Mirocord 50H or a Pioneer PL-50? Neither looks to have a lightweight arm, to me, but my only other frame of reference is a Bang & Olufsen Beogram 3400 that has a very lightweight arm. Oddly enough, the Elac has the original Bang & Olufsen SP6 cartridge and the tracking force is set at 1.5g. The Pioneer came without a cartridge.
 
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Yep, looks like the silver S915E stylus, all right. The styli for this cart body all track at 1.25g max, normally around 1.0g, plus the cartridge itself is heavier than average, so you need a light arm with excellent bearings for the S915E to do its best, which is pretty dang good. The 2000Z was, along with the later EDR.9, Empire's best cartridge of the '70s. Don't know the PL-50, and it's been too many decades since I've used a Miracord 50H; maybe a current owner can chip in.
 
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wualta said:
Yep, looks like the silver S915E stylus, all right. The styli for this cart body all track at 1.25g max, normally around 1.0g, plus the cartridge itself is heavier than average, so you need a light arm with excellent bearings for the S915E to do its best, which is pretty dang good. This was technically Empire's best cartridge of the '70s. I have a Pioneer PL-7, and its carbon/graphite arm, which looks to be the same as the PL-5's, is perfect for the job. It's been too many decades since I've used a Miracord 50H; maybe a current owner can chip in.
Click to expand...

I'll probably keep the Bang & Olufsen SP6 on the Elac to keep it stock. It came with an extra stylus. So, I should have that one covered.

This is what my PL-50 looks like (photo from the web):

PL50-3.jpg


Doesn't exactly look like a lightweight are to me, but until recently, the only turntable I've owned in the last 37 years was the Bang & Olufsen Beogram 3400 with a tonearm that looks like this:

Downstairs_Stereo_2_zpsueajjxws.jpg


Of course, that one won't accept the Empire cartridge, but it has the original B&O MMC 20EN cartridge and I have a spare. So, all set there, too.
 
MCM_Fan said:
I'll probably keep the Bang & Olufsen SP6 on the Elac to keep it stock. It came with an extra stylus. So, I should have that one covered.

This is what my PL-50 looks like (photo from the web):

PL50-3.jpg
Click to expand...

Your Pioneer PL-50 has a medium high mass arm, around 18 grams. I wouldn't put the Empire 2000T cartridge on it! A Denon DL-110 or Nagaoka cartridges. With the Nagaoka, you can upgrade the cartridge by changing the stylus from a higher up model! The Nagaoka MP-110 is really good cartridge for the money!

_vyrp11_22NewMP_headshell.jpg
 
Yes, I read your typo of PL-5 in post #5 and was off to the races. I agree with Ilikevinyl-- don't put a heavy cartridge that tracks at a gram on that PL-50. You'll want something meant for at least 1.5g, preferably around 2, like the suggested DL-110 or the Audio-Technica AT95E.

Maybe it's time to do some fun turntable and/or arm shopping.
 
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wualta said:
Yes, I read your typo of PL-5 in post #5 and was off to the races. I agree with Ilikevinyl-- don't put a heavy cartridge that tracks at a gram on that PL-50. You'll want something meant for at least 1.5g, preferably around 2, like the suggested DL-110 or the Audio-Technica AT95E.

Maybe it's time to do some fun turntable and/or arm shopping.
Click to expand...

Oops, sorry. I edited my post to fix the typo.

Yeah, I was originally planning to get an AT95E to test out the Pioneer. I got the PL-50 a while back, it came without a cartridge and needed some other work. It now seems to be mechanically operational. So, time to test it out with a cartridge. I see my local Fries has the AT95E in stock at a very reasonable price (with no sales tax or shipping). I'll probably swing by and pick one up this weekend. It seems to get generally favorable reviews. Probably good to have one on hand.
 
wualta said:
...This was technically Empire's best cartridge of the '70s. Don't know the PL-50, and it's been too many decades since I've used a Miracord 50H; maybe a current owner can chip in.
Click to expand...

I thought the EDR.9 was the best Empire of the 70's? At least that's what all the Empire brochures and flyers stated.
 
Didn't have the laminated core (although early ads imply it did!), had a "pimple" in the otherwise flat response curve due to the inertial damper, and had a higher effective tip mass, if you believe the specs. Nitpicky, I know.

What the EDR.9 has going for it is the LAC stylus and the low body inductance, which makes its sensitivity to off-optimum C loading much less than the 2000Z's and lessens its reliance on mechanical/electrical resonance to produce a flat response. So they're close. I think you'd like either one if you could afford them. Ideally, you'd have both.
 
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Ilikevinyl said:
Looks like a 2000T cartridge. I have a 2000Z with that metallic silver stylus from the 2000T! It's an excellent Empire cartridge the 2000T!!! It's a high compliance stylus and very delicate! Needs a lightweight tonearm. Tracks at 1 gram! That's what I have mine tracking at, listening to it right now, awesome sound!! I'm using mine mounted on a SME 3009 Improved arm which is a perfect match for it's 6.5 gram arm mass.
Click to expand...
I have a 2000T and best I can tell this picture looks like it. I have a new silver stylus and also a pretty new original Blue stylus. My records sound fantastic with either stylus! I track it at just under 1.25g. I played with the tracking weight and the anti-skate with a test record, found these settings to my liking and left it alone. It's on a Technics SL-3300 that I bought new in the late 70's.
Bob
 
I wen't on the big thread and waxed poetic about my mini shank empire with the silver stylus. It is a very nice sounding cart only held back by a lack of an advanced stylus cut. How great would it sound with a micro ridge stylus? :)
 
I wish JICO would start making some higher-level replacement styli for Empires. Not sure why they don't.
 
These are fine, they work well on the low induction "blob on a clip" empires but not as good sounding as original Empire. LP Gear also has Vividline styli for most Empire modals but not for 2000Z & T Modals, (mini shank).
 
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