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Help identifying cartridge in Yamaha TT

N

nanderson

New Member
I recently picked up my first turntable, a Yamaha P-200, for cheap from goodwill. I already replaced a missing belt and hinge and was planning on replacing either the stylus or the full cartridge depending on condition but I can't find any information about this cartridge. I found the P-220 on Vinylengine but they don't seem to have anything on the P-200. Based on that manual they seem to be very similar machines but any knowledge on the difference between the two is appreciated.

The cartridge doesn't seem to have any markings aside from 'Ortofon Denmark' under the headshell. Maybe from the VMS series? Should I just try to replace the whole cartridge? My budget would be <$80. Attached are some pictures.

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Have you tried to use it? Why so quick to replace? With an $80 budget you should give this one a run first.
 
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Do you have any recommendations for needles or should I just search for compatibility on that cartridge? If this is a good cartridge I'll stick with it, I just wasn't sure what to expect with a goodwill TT.
 
There are so many choices of replacement needles. Look for a 540- or 4540- as these are the universal models which fit a variety of VMS cartridges. Plenty of choices on eBay.
 
Questions about identifying the Ortofon VMS cartridges come up quite often. In fact, the cartridge could have been from the VMS, FF or F range, as they all have similar bodies with the exception of the plug/socket shape for the stylus. I'll quote myself from another thread on this...

There are a range of styli that you could fit to that cartridge, including VMS, F15 and FF15 styli, but make sure you get one with the 'universal' plug shape at the rear - a combination of hour-glass and H shapes. Ortofon still make a couple of styli for these cartridges, one being the VMS3, but the FF15XE MkII may be a better bet - it seems to get very good reports on forums (and it has the universal plug).

https://www.ortofon.com/stylus-nf-15xe-p-389
 
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