anyone else running vintage Empire carts?

That appears to be a diasa, a diamond bonded to a sapphire. You can see the bond line just beyond where the taper begins. It's sometimes quite hard to tell a nude from a diasa if the bond is done well, especially when the tip is polished afterward. It's my feeling that the difference between a nude and a diasa is so slight that non of us is likely to eve hear a difference.
 
My S888TE-ERD is a diasa as well, clear sapphire stump with an ever so slightly darker diamond attached.
 
Say, Boreas, is your "lively little pinky" (your posting #4762) a nudie? It looks an awful lot like my S999VE-ERD in posting #1377.
 
My pinky (and, as he will confirm, boreas's) has a nude spike that looks suspiciously like the originals from that era. Kinda remarkable. Bangles well (though not perfectly) at 1.5g VTF, the force recommended by Julian Hirsch during his 1969 888VE test, though riding low, as my 888TEs do. Not as clean-sounding as the TE, but much more easily found, and affordable.
 
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Yes, as wualta says, the Pinkies are nude spikes epoxied in place and I noticed the similarity between my generic(?) and your S999VE-ERD. Wualta has speculated that these are "seconds" that Empire rejected and therefore never hot stamped with their logo. I like that idea but wonder whether Empire ever made these with the straight cantilevers that the Pinkies have.

I now have a second Pinky as a spare and can report that Gary's stock of S888VE-ERDs seems to be entirely these unmarked nudes as both of mine and Walt's are of that type. This doesn't mean that his blue S888SE-ERDs are also nude or from the same manufacturer (whoever that may be) but the VEs appear to be a safe bet.

Walt, have you noted any post-Rawn improvement in your Pinky?
 
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Is there any source for NOS s2000z stylus? I thought I was getting one from lp gear but then stumbled upon this thread to find out it wasn’t. I’d like to hear the real deal.

you can still get a replacement from Pickupnalden.com in the Netherlands, and they take credit cards. They have both the genuine S2000Z and S2000T listed as well as generic equals. The originals are pricey and you have to pay the step up difference to convert dollars to Euros in the credit card transaction.
Turntableneedles.com is still listing the OEM stylus for the S2000T which will work fine in your S2000Z, and has the same smaller shank.
 
Anyone?? If you guys with Genuine Empire stylus could just find the position of the magnet with something like a pin that is magnetic, mark with pen the magnet position and measure it from end of shank it really would be helpful also length of magnet too if you can. With this information other will be able to mod easy to obtain Stanton or Jico for Stanton stylus to fit Empire carts. The check is very easy to do.
Thanks
Chris
 
Anyone?? If you guys with Genuine Empire stylus could just find the position of the magnet with something like a pin that is magnetic, mark with pen the magnet position and measure it from end of shank it really would be helpful also length of magnet too if you can. With this information other will be able to mod easy to obtain Stanton or Jico for Stanton stylus to fit Empire carts. The check is very easy to do.
Thanks
Chris
Empires are moving iron cartridges so there is no magnet in the cantilever, similar to the Stanton 681/680 design, There's only a small iron collar that's connected to the end of the cantilever.
 
Empires are moving iron cartridges so there is no magnet in the cantilever, similar to the Stanton 681/680 design, There's only a small iron collar that's connected to the end of the cantilever.
Apparently the 888 is MM it must or it would not work with a MM stylus.
Chris
 
Empires are moving iron cartridges so there is no magnet in the cantilever, similar to the Stanton 681/680 design, There's only a small iron collar that's connected to the end of the cantilever.
Hmm, I just tried my Stanton 681 stylus (original stanton) and my Jico Shibata 681 Stanton stylus and they both work how very odd?? It seems both D71 (MM) and Stanton 881 and 681 MI stylus work in the Empire carts. I read they were MM at least the 888 but if they are they should silent with a MI stylus.. The Shibata sounded great for the quick listen I just had and interestingly it is a better fit than the 881 stylus too. I still need the iron ring position though if it really is MI (must be I suppose) to get the best from this cart with a Stanton stylus. I have a bit of time today so going to mount it in a lighter headshell and try it again with the 681 Shibata it could be very interesting indeed :)
Chris
 
Ok after a listening session with Empire 888 with Jico Stibata 681 stylus fitted my impressions .. Much smoother than before for sure a MI sound now, but more Grado than 681 IMO. Stylus fit was nice and tight too without any very long so wonder if 681 ts a slightly larger shank than an 881..
Chris
 
MM styli will work in MI bodies but not the other way around.

Interesting but how well do they work? Didn’t know that was possible but where’s the iron? Isn’t the reason for the reverse with MI to lower the mass of the cantilever? Defeats the point if so?
 
Interesting but how well do they work? Didn’t know that was possible but where’s the iron? Isn’t the reason for the reverse with MI to lower the mass of the cantilever? Defeats the point if so?
Using a MM stylus in a MI body may not be optimal. It depends on how the magnet is positioned within the coils/poles of the cartridge and a significant change in resistance and inductance must be made to flatten the frequency response. Empire has always used the MI design but Stanton did switch to a MM cartridge with the 881/981 models when rare earth magnets were used. These magnets are much smaller and lighter but generate the same magnetic force as standard magnets. Rare earth magnets in addition to lighter cantilever materials and reduced mass stylus tips and shapes creates a low mass stylus assembly comparable or better to a MI assembly. It also eliminates the need to have permanent magnets in the body of the cartridges reducing the weight of the entire cartridge system.
 
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The MI stylus (Stanton) did sound much smoother and more balanced than the 881. If someone could give me iron position in the shank then it will be possible for anyone to mod easily a Stanton stylus perfectly for an Empire.
Chris
 
If someone could give me iron position in the shank then it will be possible for anyone to mod easily a Stanton stylus perfectly for an Empire.
Chris
I would think a Stanton MI cantilever would be of similar design. On the Empire, the iron collar is at the end of the cantilever which is on the back-side of the suspension block. The iron collar is not inside the cantilever but is like an end cap that fits over the back of the cantilever.
EMPIRE-1.jpg
 
I would think a Stanton MI cantilever would be of similar design. On the Empire, the iron collar is at the end of the cantilever which is on the back-side of the suspension block. The iron collar is not inside the cantilever but is like an end cap that fits over the back of the cantilever.
View attachment 1351265
It seems to be the same, what I need is someone to move a small magnet along the tube from the rear forward towards the stylus end and the moment it sticks to the tube mark it with a pen and measure from the rear forward and from the front of the tube backwards. The Stanton tune protrudes a few mm out of the mount which may or may not be an issue re coil positions. I would be able to cut the rear of the tube if needed to allow the tube to go right into the cart if this is what is needed to align the coils correctly and resoldering tie wire would not be an issue. LP gear do not use tie wire and they still sound great (I use one on my 681) cutting the rear of the tube on lp gear stylus would be really simple with no soldering needed. It is likely the iron is "good enough" position wise but it would be nice to be able to know for sure and this info here will help others try this mod which even without any cutting sounds great.
CHris
 
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