Needle on Empire 1000 e/11 or new AT cartridge

[johnny_boy]

Hello Audiokarma,

I have saved from the landfill a quite nice vintage turntable. I played it a few times, sound is quite nice and that's a nice piece, so I decided to keep it in my living room and give it a new needle or cartridge. The current cartridge is an empire 1000 e/11. The whole thing seems a bit beat up (with for instance the white wire is just cut), but I still get decent sound quality overall.

Are Empire 1000 e/11 good cartridges? Should I keep that old cartridge and change the needle only, or should I go for a new cartridge (my budget is not high and the best I could get is the AT VM95E right now...)

 

[Crab33]

I think a lot of people like Empire cartridges but I'll leave others to comment on the 1000E/II. You may find a good replacement stylus difficult to find.

Can you tell us the make and model of your turntable, as a suitable replacement cartridge depends on the type of arm, notably its effective mass. We can then tell you whether the AT-VM95E would be a good match.

 

[Wolfie62]

Replacement styli are easy to find. Not necessarily genuine Empire, but good replacements can be found from LP Gear and Turntable Needles.

What white wire is cut? The headshell wire connecting the cartridge pin? That needs to be replaced. It’s a left channel signal wire.

 

[johnny_boy]

Thanks a lot for the help! The turntable is a Sanyo TP 600 SA. I did not find a specific reference for the arm, it seems to be the stock arm. The while wire I am talking about is indeed the headshell one for the left channel.

I did find replacement styli for that cartridge online (see links below) I am just not sure if I would have a better sound with that than with a brand new AT95e.

https://www.turntableneedles.com/find5.asp?manfg=EMPIRE&modelname=1000E/11&Select=Model

 

[Crab33]

That Japanese-made BLISS stylus from Turntable Needles will probably be of decent quality, but they are not currently in stock. Here is an alternative, although there is no indication of the aftermarket brand:

https://lptunes.com/products/stylus-for-empire-1000-e-ii-1000e-ii-cartridge

The turntable probably has a tonearm of medium-to-high mass and the AT-VM95E should be a good match - it is a fine cartridge for the money and I would buy the newer AT-VM95E rather than the older AT-95E. If you do go for the AT-VM95E, at least you'll know that you have a good supply of genuine styli for future replacements and also the option to upgrade the stylus.

 

[Nashou66]

these will fit even though not listed as 1000 the 2000 should be the same

https://www.thevoiceofmusic.com/cat...ype=MfgNameNeedles&MfgName=Empire&Categories=

Athanasios

 

[Wolfie62]

I have both of the styli shown from Turntable Needles and LPGear. It’s the same stylus as used in the Empire 2000X I have, and others. Both are really good styli. Nice smooth treble, tight bass and really good detail retrieval. The VOM 2000E Stylus is the wrong stylus. It’s made for the 2000E, a cartridge with much higher inductance than the 1000.

So, it’s a subjective decision. Nothing wrong with keeping the Vintage Empire. The price of admission is higher for the AT VM95, and replacement/upgraded styli.

 

[MisterDK]

I have both of the styli shown from Turntable Needles and LPGear. It’s the same stylus as used in the Empire 2000X I have, and others. Both are really good styli. Nice smooth treble, tight bass and really good detail retrieval. The VOM 2000E Stylus is the wrong stylus. It’s made for the 2000E, a cartridge with much higher inductance than the 1000.

So, it’s a subjective decision. Nothing wrong with keeping the Vintage Empire. The price of admission is higher for the AT VM95, and replacement/upgraded styli.

Wolfie, do the those 1000 labeled bodies usually ohm in at around 500? I’ve had to check every unknown Empire body I’ve bought, to see what range it’s in. I’ve even had a couple 2000e/III’s that came in at around 500, instead of the usual 1000 or so..

 

[Wolfie62]

They come in less than 500 ohms. Fact is, they come in near the range of the EDR.9. I’ll have to get out my Empire bodies and recheck. But both of the styli recommended, 239-PDE, (not the 2000E) are also recommended for the 2000X and EDR .9; substantially lower inductance than the 2000E.

The 2000E ohms at 1040, 642 mH. The 2000X measures 455 ohms, 260 mH. The 3000 I measures 500 ohms, 348 mH.

Edit: thought I’d add a few measurements from other Empires I have.

1000S/EX 680 mH 1080 ohms
2001Z/EX. 350 mH 518 ohms

OP 2. 660 mH. 1550 ohms

200E. 650 mH. 1523 ohms

P 40 E. 680 mH. 1525 ohms

So the 1000S/EX that I have is a 2000E Clone, but the 2001Z/EX is not. Confusing if you just go by model names.

 

[Nashou66]

I have read most 2000E/III are around these numbers 1250 ohms/588 mH , Not too far off the 1000s/EX however his is a 1000eII , so I think my choices may work fine if they fit correctly.

But Empire model numbers creaet a real headache for those looking for a new stylus.

Athanasios

 

[Wolfie62]

I have read most 2000E/III are around these numbers 1250 ohms/588 mH , Not too far off the 1000s/EX however his is a 1000eII , so I think my choices may work fine if they fit correctly.

But Empire model numbers creaet a real headache for those looking for a new stylus.

Athanasios

No, your recommendation is incorrect for the VOM link you posted. That stylus is for the high resistance high inductance 2000E series.

The 1000E II is a low resistance, low inductance Empire. With that stylus you link to, you’ll wind up with a stylus that sharply elevates treble and droops the bass.

Empires contain a tuned system; internal coils AND magnets. The stylus armature has to fit within those constraints or the playback response tilts, even if the stylus “fits”.

This is the wrong stylus for the 1000E II:





TTN has a pretty exhaustive cross reference list of model numbers that is mostly correct. This stylus fits, and will have the correct tuning for the 1000E II:

If you look, the 2001Z/EX is also on this list below. Per my measurements above, it’s also a low resistance, low inductance body, virtually a clone of the 1000E II. Both are, in turn, a clone of the 66Q/EX 66E/RD:


Checking my measurements with this list matches well: