P-mount versions of the "Red Ed" (Tonar BE-611 & Pfansteihl MG-29P)

I've been busy lately (work, youth soccer, etc.) and haven't managed to post much, or spin many records for that matter. I bought several p-mount cartridges back in August to add to my collection and have not had a chance to give them all a fair listen yet. There's a like-new Shure V15-LT I bought in Barter Town, and three more from eBay auctions (sealed ADC PSX-20, NOS HOMC Dynavector DV-10P & a NOS Realistic/Shure RXT5). For the most part, they have sat unused since they arrived in the post. I was "accused" of having a p-mount cartridge museum when I bought the V15-LT, and I cannot deny that I do seem to be on a quest to acquire an example of every model ever made.

But the two I've been playing with on my work system (where my Technics SL-MA1 is in for a visit) are both variations on the Fisher/Sanyo MG-29, commonly known as the "Red Ed" cartridge, as sold by Ed Saunders. Typical of p-mount cartridges, these low-end models are still generally available, where the nicer models mentioned above are out of production.

First up in my p-mount "Red Ed" purchases was the Tonar 611-BE. I had been looking at the Turntableneedles.com listing for this cartridge for some time, and when the price was reduced to around $40 I bit. They claim that it is manufactured by Nagaoka. It arrived in a plastic box with a molded insert, indluding an Ortofon p-mount adapter (says "Made in Denmark"), a Digitrac screwdriver (those that bought the JettSales 200NE cartridges will remember these) and a bag of bolts. Nothing on the box about the origin, but the cartridge itself says "Japan" on the back side. Recommended tracking force is 1.5 grams, but the cartridge runs a touch on the heavy side (~6.3 grams with stylus on a cheap scale) so it should track about right on p-mount tables without VTF adjustment.

One of the cartridges that is mentioned when looking at the stylus options/crossreferences for the "Red Ed" family is the Empire 205LT. The specifications for the Empire S205 stylus looked good (1.25g +/- 0.25g VTF for the Empire, vs. 1.5g +/- 0.25g for the Tonar, and even higher values for other stylii) so I bit when I saw one on eBay for about $20.

Before I was able to try out these new purchases, a new buy-it-now listing for a Pfansteihl MG-29P cartridge appeared on eBay, for $20 shipped. I decided to go ahead and get one of them too, to have more to play with. It came with a red spherical stylus, and no indication of tracking force. It does say it takes a Pfanstiehl 740-D7 stylus, which should track between 1 and 3 grams. The box it came in says "Made in China", and there's an uneven patch on the back of the cartridge, like the text "Japan" was removed from the plastic mold. It arrived with no accessories. The cartridge is on the light side for a p-mount (~5.8 grams with stylus) so that would put the VTF at the bottom of the range on p-mount tables without VTF adjustment.

All three stylii interchanged between the two bodies as far as fit, but the Empire S205 produced a very very weak signal (volume at 12 o'clock on my Pioneer SA-608 before I could hear anything) on both bodies. I was unable to get a clear photo, but looking down the shaft from the inside of the stylus, it has a hollow tube in the middle where the other two have a solid pole. This stylus is not as compatible with the other cartridges in this family as various stylus cross-reference lists would have one to believe. Both the Tonar and Pfansteihl appear to be induced magnet designs, with a large magnet hanging off the front of the cartridge; I don't know what the difference is with the Empire. I'll just have to hang on to this stylus until I can get my hands on an Empire 105LT or 205LT body.

Soundwise, the two bodies seem about the same. I am able to adjust VTF on my SL-MA1 so I could adjust for the differing mass of the cartridges, neither of which matched the 6.0 gram T4P standard. Both have seen light usage (and on one LP so far, The Shepard's Dog by Iron & Wine) so I may have more opinions on this in the future. The big hitch was that I was not able to fit the Tonar 611-BE squarely into the tonearm socket on the SL-MA1; it kept leaning out to the right (outside) and I couldn't get the screw through to fasten it in. I had to remove a little bit of excess plastic from the back bottom left corner before I could make it fit right.

Overall, if anyone is looking for an inexpensive p-mount phono cartridge, my recommendation would continue to be the Audiotechnica AT92E-CD cartridge. Nothing I heard was an improvement on the AT, and it has the advantage of more accurately meeting the T4P standards.

Pictures to follow, once I get to a computer with the an SD card reader.

Back of the Tonar box, with specs.




Back of the Pfansteihl box, made in China.





Side by side. Stylus guard from the same mold, but the Tonar is a harder clear plastic.




Tonar on the left says "Japan" on the back.

Empire S205 stylus.




Empire stylus with the two cartridges.




Both cartridges without stylus, showing the magnets.




Trying to use the Tonar, before I got it to fit the SL-MA1 arm.




The Tonar, once I shaved off some plastic to get it to fit.

I have the Tonar 611, but don't use it much, pretty much for the reasons outlined in your comments.

Lini had this to say about them, when I asked a while ago:

"... the 611(BE) rather is a T4P/P-Mount version of the Nagaoka C51/C501 - or one could also say the 611/611BE basically are p-mount siblings of the Goldring Elan/Elektra (and quite a few other OEM incarnations of that cart, e.g. the Tonar Birdie)."

I found it interesting that the cartridges came from two different countries. I wonder if Ed Saunders sources his "Red Ed" OEM cartridges from Japan (Nagaoka) or China.