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Looking for info on Empire stylus

M

mjhmtl

New Member
Hey there, I just bought a new turntable today. The cartridge is, on the bottom, marked "Empire/Tracker/1" (The slashes indicate new lines). Would anyone have any further info on the exact model of this cartridge or how I might find out for myself. (I'm a noob. Please be gentle.)
 
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Well, sometimes the stylus gives a clue. In this case, it's almost certainly an aftermarket stylus, which doesn't help. Fortunately, there are only three basic bodies of this type (well, three normal ones plus one fairly rare oddball). The only way to tell them apart is by measuring the DC resistance of the coils inside. Got an ohmmeter?
 
I know, old thread. But I acquired an Empire Tracker I and it included the original data sheet so I thought I would pass the information along for anyone who is searching in the future (since this is the only information to be found on it anywhere)
 

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Thank you very much! This supports the usual suppose that any random similar-looking Empire cartridge that shows up with a suspiciously marketingesque name is a clone of the ca.1974 66 series of stereo cartridges, this one being a clone of the 66E/X (q.v.).
 
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I dunno, but is there maybe another newer "Empire" thread that this could have been posted to? :dunno:
 
Heh. The Big Thread is actually older. I did edit the spec sheet into my reply to a 2021 post by russdall asking about the Tracer I. Kudos to GogglesP, by the way, for correctly using the roamin' numeral.
 
wualta said:
Thank you very much! This supports the usual suppose that any random similar-looking Empire cartridge that shows up with a suspiciously marketingesque name is a clone of the ca.1974 66 series of stereo cartridges, this one being a clone of the 66E/X (q.v.).
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was this a case of using up leftover 66 series after they were officially ended or something?
 
I've long suspected that once the 2000E family was loosed upon the public, Empire felt free to join the crowd of mfrs making clone models. Now, whether these were surplus 66es or they kept making them, I dunno. But their name is legion, for they are many.
 
Thanks for the additional information wualta. I had been looking through pictures and spec sheets and had figured it was some form of 2000E.

I have it mounted up on the Dual 1009 in my Grundig console and it is a very nice match for that setup.
 
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