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P-mount Cartridges. Enlighten me, please.

The idea behind "P" mount cartridges, were to have a standard so that ANY "P" mount cartridge could be used in any "P" mount tonearm, just plug-n-play without any user adjustment necessary. The standard would apply to cartridge size, overhang, total weight of cartridge and tracking force. If a manufacturer adheres to the published standards then there is truly no end-user adjustments required, just plug it in and play it.
 
I have the LPGATSER05HE REFERENCE SERIES VH phono cartridge, which I'm very pleased. I have other LPGear branded carts which I'm alos pleased with. This cart is an AT of some kind as you can see. I like it a bit better than an OM-10.


Sleep said:
While were talking T4P, Anyone have any experience with the LP Gear branded AT p-mounts? I was thinking of their hyper elliptical or Shibata VH and VS models for a Technics SL-10 I'm getting, but haven't heard much about their sound - they do claim it weighs 6 grams at least...

Ideally I'd like a cart for the SL that sounds somewhat comparable to the DL-160 on my Pioneer TT.

Right now there's an Ortofon OM 10 on the SL-10, so I guess I could just get a new stylus for it, but for the cost of an upgraded stylus, it's not much more for a new cart.
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Sasi:

I love the sound of my Prestige Gold1 P-mount -- but with the Silver1 Stylus. It's just really a great, musical cart that's a lot of fun to listen to. Unfortunately I have upgraded decks, and the new deck has a 1/2" headshell... The p-mount adaptor I have won't fit the Grado! So I can't listen to it, atm! YMMV!

--J.
 
SaSi said:
That's exactly what I am hoping to learn here. I have quite a few T4P TTs ranging from cheap to high end and I'd like to get a top range cart for at least one of them.
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The problem is, there's not much top range currently in production in p-mount cartridges. Here's some things I've tried on my Technics SL-M3 and SL-MA1, both high end p-mount turntables with adjustable tracking weight (and anti-skate, on the pivot arm SL-MA1). Most of these involve combining cartridges (new, used, or new-old-stock) with different stylus than they are currently sold with, if they are still for sale. Again, some of these ideas won't work well unless your table has a way to adjust the tracking force.

Ortofon: The TM and OMP bodies can use the 20, 30 and 40 stylii from the OM series. They also still make the last p-mount moving coil cartridge, the HOMC X1-MCP, which I really like.

Audiotechnica: There are hyperelliptical and Shibata aftermarket stylii for their current range of "boxy" p-mount cartridges. LPGear sells them already assembled (as mentioned above), or you can put one together yourself. There's also a discontinued line of AT p-mounts, the 1x2 series, that have some nice stylii available, or you could use a 120E or 440ML stylus.

Technics: The only SAS stylus that JICO sells for a p-mount cartridge, is for the P22/P23 and related bodies. I have not tried this one yet, but its on my to-do list for when I have some mad money.

Shure: The M92E, their only p-mount in production, as a low-end stylus, but it is upgradable. I've got a NOS N110HE (hyperelliptical), and JICO has several options too. Also be on the lookout for used p-mount bodies of earlier models that may be an improvement on the M92E body.

ADC: I'm a big fan of my used Digital Series IV p-mount cartridge, paired with a NOS RPSX-40 stylus I bought from LPGear.

Pickering/Stanton: The Pickering TL series and the Stanton L7x7 series were the p-mount versions of the Pickering XV-15 and Stanton 680/681. If you can find a used body, there's some great stereohedron stylii available. I've got a pair of Stanton D74S stylii that sound wonderful in these. There's also a website selling old stock Pickerings at pickeringuk.com

Anyway, there's some ideas.
 
xy_rn said:
Sasi:

I love the sound of my Prestige Gold1 P-mount -- but with the Silver1 Stylus. It's just really a great, musical cart that's a lot of fun to listen to. Unfortunately I have upgraded decks, and the new deck has a 1/2" headshell... The p-mount adaptor I have won't fit the Grado! So I can't listen to it, atm! YMMV!

--J.
Click to expand...

A Shure p-mount adaptor is the only one I own that is tall enough to fit my Grado Silver.
 
hakaplan said:
T4P was a standard developed by Technics. The original spec was that the cartridges all weigh 6g and track at 1.25g. Technics made some high end p-mount turntables which have full counterweight adjustability. But most are factory set at 1.25g. Some have a slight adjustability up or down .25g.

You can depend on most p-mount AT, Shure, Stanton, and Pickerings to be in spec (i.e. models without a brush or stylus guard). You cannot depend on Ortofons or Grados. The weight can be off and often the required tracking force is greater than 1.25g. If, for example, the cartridge only weighs 5g, and requires 1.75g tracking force, you are actually tracking 1.5g under what is necessary for optimum play. Some members have claimed that Grados are not as off as their published specs would lead you to believe, but I still believe that for Grado and Ortofon, p-mount is an afterthought and would not consider their specs reliable.

While in the past during the heyday of p-mount there were some top notch cartridges rivaling the best standard mount models, there are still some decent models out there.

When used on a p-mount arm, the cartridge is plugged in and held with a horizontal stabilizing screw. It is easily as rigid as a standard mount. The criticism stems from using a p-mount with an adapter on a standard mount arm. Some adapters (Shure, for example) are very flexy. But AT's is very rigid and works perfectly fine.
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In my experience with P-mount cartridges, I have always had to use a tracking force OTHER THAN 1.25. For me 1.25 is a starting point, and I have always gone heavier for best sound. Also, some P-mounts have a conical/spherical stylus, and those often require heavier tracking forces to sound their best. I generally track P-mounts anywhere between 1.35 and 1.4 grams, but usually never heavier than that...unless the cartridge has a conical stylus, in which I will track it a little bit heavier...but never above 1.5 grams. The tracking force is adjustable on my Technics SL-Q20 via a knurled knob at the back of the arm. My Technics SL-DD2 also has adjustable tracking force via a philips head screw at the back of the arm....just use a screwdriver to turn the screw which moves the counterweight forward or back...depending on whether you want to go lighter or heavier. And of course, always with my trusty tracking force gauge at the ready.
 
iLUVanalog said:
My Technics SL-DD2 also has adjustable tracking force via a philips head screw at the back of the arm....just use a screwdriver to turn the screw which moves the counterweight forward or back...depending on whether you want to go lighter or heavier. And of course, always with my trusty tracking force gauge at the ready.
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To your knowledge, is the philips head screw adjustment true for all "non-adjustable" technics P-mount tonearms? They all look pretty much the same, but I can't be sure. I always wondered if I could tweak it with that screw.
 
I've heard that that screw at the back of the counterweight allows some adjustment of tracking force, but I've not tried it on my SL-BD22. I have also heard that the sticker at the base of the tonearm (saying that the antiskate was set at the factory), covers an adjustment screw for the antiskate. Someone else will need to confirm that.

Personally, I've only used carts that match the T4P standard (and therefore don't need adjustment) on the SL-BD22. I've got a Digitrac 200NE and spare stylii put aside for when it becomes my daughter's first turntable.
 
I have now a few of these Cartridges but none of them have the PMOUNT adaptor to secure to the headshell.I have been trying to buy the adapter by itself but have not found any for sale.
Does anyone have a clue where i can find a universal TP4 adapter(without cart)?
Of these p mount carts whitch ones do you guys think are keepers? They all need stylus so surgestions are most welcome.
Pioneer 295T
Shure RXT5
Audio-technica AT231LP
Technics P23
Realistic mfd Audio-technica
 
Sticklyman said:
To your knowledge, is the philips head screw adjustment true for all "non-adjustable" technics P-mount tonearms? They all look pretty much the same, but I can't be sure. I always wondered if I could tweak it with that screw.
Click to expand...
In my experience:
SL-BD2 is adjustable using Philip screwdriver, as described above.
SL-Q200 has a thumbscrew, so no screwdriver required.
SL-QX200 has the same thumbscrew, plus adjustable antiskate.
 
zeplin43 said:
I have now a few of these Cartridges but none of them have the PMOUNT adaptor to secure to the headshell.I have been trying to buy the adapter by itself but have not found any for sale.
Does anyone have a clue where i can find a universal TP4 adapter(without cart)?
Click to expand...

There's a music store in New Jersey selling them on eBay for about $10 +$2 shipping. I also checked lpgear.com, turntableneedles.com and garage-a-records.com, who all had them for sale at lower prices.

Another good option would be to buy an AT-92ECD cartridge (can be found for less than $25 online) which would include the p-mount adapter and a very nice elliptical stylus for your Pioneer 295T cartridge, for less than they would cost separately.

Of these p mount carts whitch ones do you guys think are keepers? They all need stylus so surgestions are most welcome.
Pioneer 295T
Shure RXT5
Audio-technica AT231LP
Technics P23
Realistic mfd Audio-technica
Click to expand...

Is that Realistic/Audiotechnica cartridge an RX-1500? That's a good cartridge. All five of those could be keepers, with the right stylus. It all depends on how much you want to spend.
 
SPAM said:
In my experience:
SL-BD2 is adjustable using Philip screwdriver, as described above.
SL-Q200 has a thumbscrew, so no screwdriver required.
SL-QX200 has the same thumbscrew, plus adjustable antiskate.
Click to expand...

Neat, I've got an SL-BD2 sitting around. Sure it's probably the least of my turntables, but I've really been jonesing for some semi-automatic operation lately.
 
Hi,The counter weight is adjustable on that table. On the back of the arm is a phillips screw head. turning it out or in moves the spring loaded weight back and forth. I have had some that turn easily and some that need a bit of effort to turn. I see people on amazon complaining that there audio technica cartridges are bottoming out because they believe it to be a plug and play affair, not so on these tables. I have a spare weight and spring I can take a photo of if you give me a e-mail to send it to. Cheers Tim

Just noticed the date on the post better late than never I guess.
 
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Well, it was meant to be plug and play; those turntables say that tracking force and antiskate were set at the factory, and there were no instructions given on how to adjust them.
As my father used to say, "Nothing is fool-proof. Fools can be very ingenious."
 
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