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Mysterious Pickering XV-15

P

P. S.

Active Member
Hi,

I am looking for advice from somebody who knows a bit about different versions and bodies of the XV-15 cartridge. I got the cartridge together with a Dual turntable. Unfortunately I cannot tell which version of XV-15 it is. The body color is grey and the black "pickering" label is the only symbol it has. It had a worn out original D140 dustamatic needle which I replaced with the same model type from Astatic NOS.

The original D140 needle led me to believe it was XV-15/140E version but I am not sure.
A few days ago cartridges that look same as mine showed up on ebay with D400 needle - which belongs to XV-14/400E cartridge.
I am a bit confused if my cartridge is 140E or 400E version in this case.
Please help identify ;-)
Thank you!
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I believe the XV-15 cartridges were all the same internally. Pickering just painted them according to which class of stylus the cartridge originally came with. Gray for an entry-level conical stylus, bronze for a mid-range elliptical stylus, or shiny gold for a high-end stylus.
 
Yes, they are all the same internally AFAIK. Your cartridge will work with any XV-15 stylus, Stanton 6800 series stylus, or aftermarket styli designed for it like the Astatic. A great sounding and very versatile moving-iron cart. Besides the different colors, they made one change at one point: they went from flat ears to bent ears, changing the VTA from 15 degrees (hence the name) to 20 degrees to match current record cutting practices. I would bet yours is a flat ear style (15 degree, older). You should double-check your SRA (stylus rake angle) with the Astatic stylus. Google SRA if necessary.
 
Jeff is probably right. That is 1st gen XV 15. You can tell by the short metal body, the long black tail and the flat to the body ears.I don,t remember exactly when they changed it or why but they lengthed the body and shortened the tail piece. The main change was the mounting ears to approx 20 deg. Industry standard as Jeff said
 
Thank you all for the answers. I was not aware that xv-15 went through the angle modification. Per my visual inspection - the rake angle seems ok but will google more on how to check it.

I am super happy with the sound of the astatic stylus.
A bit concerned about the tracking force of this stylus (3-5g) but well - it sounds so good that I intend to keep it as my main cartridge anyway. Right now tracking at 3.5g.

Unfortunately there's no astatic version with higher compliance on ebay now. I will try to find an appropriate stanton as you are suggesting
 
P. S. said:
Thank you all for the answers. I was not aware that xv-15 went through the angle modification. Per my visual inspection - the rake angle seems ok but will google more on how to check it.

I am super happy with the sound of the astatic stylus.
A bit concerned about the tracking force of this stylus (3-5g) but well - it sounds so good that I intend to keep it as my main cartridge anyway. Right now tracking at 3.5g.

Unfortunately there's no astatic version with higher compliance on ebay now. I will try to find an appropriate stanton as you are suggesting
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I have an XV15 with a D400 conical tracking at 3.5g, nice and sweet! FWIW, I've been an Ortofon SPU (3.5-4g) user since the mid 90s. No signs of wear on my LP collection. :)
 
@setup1 That's great feedback! I am too new to vinyl to actually notice any wear on my collection ;-)
My D140 stylus is ellipitical though - not sure if that makes a difference vs conical.
I see 2 opinions on this forum - that it's simply laws of physics and there's no way to avoid record damage at this tracking force. The other is that - if cartridge is designed for such tracking force - you should be OK. I am still undecided which camp to join. Don't want to learn it the hard way ;-)
 
P. S. said:
@setup1 That's great feedback! I am too new to vinyl to actually notice any wear on my collection ;-)
My D140 stylus is ellipitical though - not sure if that makes a difference vs conical.
I see 2 opinions on this forum - that it's simply laws of physics and there's no way to avoid record damage at this tracking force. The other is that - if cartridge is designed for such tracking force - you should be OK. I am still undecided which camp to join. Don't want to learn it the hard way ;-)
Click to expand...

Although 3.5g is the recommended VTF for my SPU GME-II, that is very unusual for an elliptical. I have no experience with the D140 stylus. Try to back down to the recommended 3g. If it doesn't mis-track, keep it there. Mis-tracking is the major cause of LP groove wear.
 
Maybe it’s not related, but I recently came across one of these (gold) on a Pioneer PL-300. While some may disagree, I found the cartridge to sound fabulous. Rivals a few of my ADC cartridges I’ve used. Nice highs and all around a very full sound. Hoping if you have the gold one you enjoy it :)
 
@Madeline12 I agree with your opinion about this cartridge. My collection is by all means not impressive. I only have at95e with stock needle besides xv-15. I was quite shocked to see that the 40 year old XV-15 was so much better. Not sure how to describe it but the sound is just more engaging to listen to. I just found myself re-going through my favorite records again and rediscovering them with this cartridge.
 
This is the original cartridge and stylus fitted to this 1971 Garrard Zero 100. It’s never been removed, same original stylus.

Grey body. D400 Stylus. Flat ears.
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Have 3 xv-15’s, for the money they are nearly impossible to beat....also have a 681eee & 881s so Stantons are also a favorite of mine, in the family so to speak ;-)

Andy
 
Those cartridges had a great sound. Fantastic IMO. Me and a pal both had XV-15 400E carts back in the early ‘80s. Analog was killer back then and affordable.
 
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