Which cart is this, trying to locate the correct stylus.
- Thread starter Dingman
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This is what Google AI told me. Not that $$$.
Ya, that's all I found as well - I was hoping for something less expensive but maybe that's just not going to happen.
And that 15X doesn't appear to be the same cart - mine I think is the 15E. I'm not a TT guy so it's a bit corn-fusing.
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You'd need to email LP Gears (or some outlet) for fit issues. I have no experience with this cartridge.
Good luck!
lini
just me...
Afaik, there never was an F/FF cartridge - instead, the F/FF is a combo replacement needle (bonded, medium-sharp elliptical; tracking force range 1.5 to 3 g, 2 g suggested; primarily intended for all F and FF family models (both initial/"MK nothing" and MKII)), that Ortofon offered for quite a few years. But if you pull it off the body, you'll most probably see, that it'll sport the X-ish shaped coding plug, so that it should also fit on VMS(II) bodies. Whereas it won't fit on M20 bodies, as these have an incompatible coding mask.
Well, and concluding from the look of the output pins, I'd assume, that your Ortofon body exemplar is some sort of MKII body. Further identification might be possible by checking the shape of the coding mask at the front end of the hole for the coding plug.
Greetings from Munich!
Manfred / lini
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
Ortofon has a different shape stylus alignment pins that go into the cartridge for the different models of the VMS and F cartridges so it’s best to pull the stylus off and look at the shape of the opening where the pin goes into the cartridge. Ortofon has made a universal replacement and many of the less expensive styli will work with the different opening shapes.
@lini Thanks Manfred, and greetings from Iowa!
So I think I have a VMS20 MKII version - it came to me installed on a JVC QL-F4, which seems to be a decent table.
Following standard AK budgeting practices, I'll waste a few hours, and your time with posts to find out I should have just bought the $60 stylus in the first place
EDIT - the more I look, the less sure I am.
So I think I have a VMS20 MKII version - it came to me installed on a JVC QL-F4, which seems to be a decent table.
Following standard AK budgeting practices, I'll waste a few hours, and your time with posts to find out I should have just bought the $60 stylus in the first place
EDIT - the more I look, the less sure I am.
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Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
The VMS 20 and higher are very nice cartridges. The QL-F4 will surprise you when you remove the bottom cover. That is most of the weight of the table, light without it. Don’t forget to put 1/3 or less of a drop of oil on each of the shafts for the operating flippers. Gives the table a smooth, quality feel.
Hard to see the shape in the cartridge, but it is obvious it has the top channel. The stylus looks to be a later universal replacement as Ortofon stopped making different styli and moved to a single replacement.
Didn’t read the AI and Manfred posted while I was typing my first reply so I had to up my game and post that pic, but wondering if the AI knows any of what Manfred and I said about your cartridge?
AI did tell me that F\FF was a class of carts, and not a specific cart. I think I've figured out this is an early, non-labeled "MK nothing". But not entirely sure.
And apparently I didn't get the right pic on the hole to show you guys.
I do appreciate your help, maybe I'm making this too complicated? On the JVC QL-F4, LOL I assumed it was a heavy platter! I have not opened it up and hope I don't have to, I just want to get this running for a friend and the TT appears to work mechanically. The stub of the stylus was stuck in the ... hole? and I did carefully extract it. I do remember what the stub looked like if that helps.
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Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
The cart body freed of stylus choice restriction by the shapes is the same for the Fs and the VMS. Better styli make better noise but with limited nails available today anything that works and sounds good is great for a friend.
lini
just me...
Rather not. I.e., if you have a look at the rear end of the output pins, you can probably see, that the pins as such are hollow and have a round splint inside. This technique of clamping the ends of the coil wires between the hollow pins and the splints was introduced with the MKII generation.
Greetings from Munich!
Manfred / lini
You are a professional, I can tell (humor)
Thank you for your help.
TBH, this seems like the best advice. Thank you.
This discrepancy with the coding slot shape was done on purpose by Ortofon to prevent people upgrading cartridges by fitting a better stylus instead of buying a more expensive complete cartridge. Quite a mean sneaky ploy. The VMS series motor units were all the same internally. There are some universal fit stylus offerings available (Ortofon no longer make VMS/FF stylii) with an alignment pin shaped to fit most of the original series. Make sure you have pictures of the pin shape before purchase.
