Recently purchased a Sumiko Alchemist cartridge and after installing it on my VPI table it turns out it's a high output mc. I have some back issues of the Audio annuals and they list different models of Alchemist cartridges from the early 1980s to the late 1980s. My Alchemist cartridge has a silver body and "Alchemist" in gold letters on the front of the cartridge and a very thin silver color canteliver. The stylus looks good and it plays very well on my HW19 MkIV/FT4. Do you have any idea which Alchemist this one is?
Sumiko Alchemist Cartridge?
- Thread starter majick47
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
Billfort
Addicted Member
The picture below is my old Talisman Alchemist III S, if yours looks the same but a different body color, it’s probably the Alchemist I A.
The spec sheet I have covers both the III S and the I A and says the difference between them is that the S has a sapphire tube cantilever and line contact stylus, the A has an Aluminum-Magnesium Alloy cantilever and elliptical stylus.
They both have 2.0mv output and a recommended load of 47k. The recommended tracking force for the A is 1.8g (plus/minus .3g). There isn’t a lot of info on the spec sheet, mostly sales & marketing propaganda and rudimentary mounting instructions like SRA and VTA should be set so the arm/cartridge is parallel to the record surface.
I used the S for several years and was very happy with it. I've since moved on to low-output MC's but it was nice using the Alchemist and not having to worry about a step-up.
The spec sheet I have covers both the III S and the I A and says the difference between them is that the S has a sapphire tube cantilever and line contact stylus, the A has an Aluminum-Magnesium Alloy cantilever and elliptical stylus.
They both have 2.0mv output and a recommended load of 47k. The recommended tracking force for the A is 1.8g (plus/minus .3g). There isn’t a lot of info on the spec sheet, mostly sales & marketing propaganda and rudimentary mounting instructions like SRA and VTA should be set so the arm/cartridge is parallel to the record surface.
I used the S for several years and was very happy with it. I've since moved on to low-output MC's but it was nice using the Alchemist and not having to worry about a step-up.
Attachments
Sumiko Alchemist Cartridge
Billfort I very much appreciate your reply re my Alchemist cartridge. The previous owner no longer had the box/papers for the cartridge and he hadn't used it in years so it was a guessing game as to which one it was. The attached photo of your gold Alchemist IIIS would also lead me to believe that the Alchemist IA would be silver. My old Audio annual also listed the tracking as 1.8 for the Alchemist IA. So far not a bad sounding cartridge considering its age, it seems to match well with my VPI HW19 MkIV with a Sumiko FT4 arm. Thanks again, Rich.
Billfort I very much appreciate your reply re my Alchemist cartridge. The previous owner no longer had the box/papers for the cartridge and he hadn't used it in years so it was a guessing game as to which one it was. The attached photo of your gold Alchemist IIIS would also lead me to believe that the Alchemist IA would be silver. My old Audio annual also listed the tracking as 1.8 for the Alchemist IA. So far not a bad sounding cartridge considering its age, it seems to match well with my VPI HW19 MkIV with a Sumiko FT4 arm. Thanks again, Rich.