Can anybody identify this ADC cartridge

[datawireless]

Hello,

The knowledgeable amongst you, who know your ADC stuff, may be able to help me identify this ADC cartridge :

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Pack-of-1-x-New-ADC-Cartridge-Fits-various-makes-Made-in-USA-/00/s/NDgwWDY0MA==/$(KGrHqF,!o0FCyLJ2j7OBQwy48eyPg~~60_12.JPG

That body looks like stainless steel and is pretty much bullet-proof. Is it an MM or a MC ? What stylus can it take that's worth listening with, if any?

Thanks for your help.

[walpurgis]

It's neither MM or MC. ADCs were induced magnet. They are designed to work into an MM input though and have similar charcteristics. Yours looks like a quite late model, but I can't say which.

[DSJR]

ADC did make an MC type I think for a short while IIRC..


The body you refer to is a generic ADC body, lthough the mounting looks slightly different to me from the later "Phase" models...

The generator in most ADC's, like the Goldring G800/820/850 and others, has a fixed magnet above the cantilever assembly which "magnetises" a metal tube mounted behind the hinge point. This metal was reputed to be lighter than a magnetic material, although the downside on some of these was that the cantilever assembly complete could be pulled from exact-centre by heavy groove modulations due to the higher compliance and lack of tie-wires. The Goldring G820 series did have a tie wire however.

In fairness to ADC, they did loads of work on the hinge material and machined the mounting better in the cantilever, and specs, tracking ability of sibilants and sound improved steadily as the range evolved. Better models went to a tighter plastic material for the stylus assembly too, these later ones (mine is Phase IV) being a very tight fit on the bodies.

[walpurgis]

Not to mention the fact that many ADCs sound superb. My old 10E Mk.II (amongst others) sounds amazing.

By the way, you are right about the MC Dave, I do recall it now, I don't think it was made for long and it did not appear to have a big impact on the market.

[DSJR]

I agree regarding sonics. If you bother to trawl through my posts over the years, you'll have me raving still about my collection. I think the highest compliance ones are a bit flawed now on sssssssssibilantsssssssssss, but the XLM II onwards seemed to get it right and IMO the XLM III, ZLM (if very carefully set up) and later Phase IV are still competitive today as long as the cantilevers are properly set, which many weren't from new - slightly twisted :(

Peter Pritchard went on to design and manufacture the Sonus cartridge range, which were so very good in many areas, but all had a huge hf peak over 20kHz which could upset some preamps. match them right and they were also great in the same way as the ADC's..

[datawireless]

Thank you guys, this is all very valuable stuff. But, if we may steer back to the original question, what ADC body could this be and what sort of stylus would work with it.
Lets assume for the moment that it's not the very rare MC cartridge you mentioned Geoff.

I've noticed that your Avatar has adopted a chameleon like quality, keeps changing. And just when I was shopping for a cheap hat.

Regards,
Mike

[walpurgis]

Thank you guys, this is all very valuable stuff. But, if we may steer back to the original question, what ADC body could this be and what sort of stylus would work with it.
Lets assume for the moment that it's not the very rare MC cartridge you mentioned Geoff.

I've noticed that your Avatar has adopted a chameleon like quality, keeps changing. And just when I was shopping for a cheap hat.

Regards,
Mike

Mike, your ADC body is not the rare MC, it may be an XLM or VLM example, I'm not sure. Your best bet is to trawl the net for images. Be aware that there were some similar looking ADC bodies that had rectangular section pins instead of the normal round ones. They are not usable with any currently available styli as far as I know. You could try sending a picture to styli suppliers and ask them if they can identify it. Needles Lady/Carole's Needles in the US tend to be very helpful and nice to deal with, they also stock older ADC styli.

My avatar goes though phases of not changing or changing a lot. I did set the AOS record for avatar changes a while back.

I'll bung a new (old) one on for your benefit.

Geoff.

[Barry]

The body looks as though it could take any one of the QLM, VLM, XLM or ZLM stylii fittings, plus some other later designs. Whether they would all work well is anybody guess, but I don't see why not.

Apropos Dave's enthusiasm for ADC carts; I have just fitted a 10E Mk IV into a Breuer arm to see (or rather remind me) what the fuss is about. Will fit my ADC 25 in due course.


It's neither MM or MC. ADCs were induced magnet.

You're being just a little pedantic: "MM" is a convenient portmanteau term for any cartidge that has a fixed coil, to distinguish it from those having a moving coil, regardles of whether it is a moving iron, vari-reluctance, induced magnet or moving magnet design. ;)

[walpurgis]

Sorry Barry, I'm just trying to be accurate. MM is exactly that, moving magnet. the ADCs aren't. I know what you're getting at though. (we'll be getting into Decca territory soon, I think you already touched on that)

[datawireless]

And having taken Geoff's advice, I've just received this little beauty:

https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=aee22762c1&view=att&th=13df1235139fc8d4&attid=0.1&disp=inline&realattid=file0&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P9idVANRartdaMH_XqT9pO0&sadet=1365550622489&sads=PCPK53EoFGnQZQCYgmGxXXJugF4&sadssc=1

https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=aee22762c1&view=att&th=13df12219d9024ce&attid=0.3&disp=inline&realattid=file2&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P9idVANRartdaMH_XqT9pO0&sadet=1365550791750&sads=eiLp37LAcBwPuKdmqKnFh7XSJ4A

https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=aee22762c1&view=att&th=13df12219d9024ce&attid=0.2&disp=inline&realattid=file1&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P9idVANRartdaMH_XqT9pO0&sadet=1365550888784&sads=r8Ap3HChsG7DH-JECvsfDYc4ubU

Sorry about the size of these links, never saw anything like it!!!

Regards,
Mike

[DSJR]

The body looks as though it could take any one of the QLM, VLM, XLM or ZLM stylii fittings, plus some other later designs. Whether they would all work well is anybody guess, but I don't see why not.

Apropos Dave's enthusiasm for ADC carts; I have just fitted a 10E Mk IV into a Breuer arm to see (or rather remind me) what the fuss is about. Will fit my ADC 25 in due course.



You're being just a little pedantic: "MM" is a convenient portmanteau term for any cartidge that has a fixed coil, to distinguish it from those having a moving coil, regardles of whether it is a moving iron, vari-reluctance, induced magnet or moving magnet design. ;)

That's why I try to call them "fixed coil" cartridges...

That pictured body looks like a special "BSR?" mount as I can't see the 1/2" holes for conventional mounting - yes, I do know that ADC changed from open lugs to fully enclosed ones but they're not the same as this.

By the way, the inners of this body may well be identical, but ADC used a gold or black finish on their "best" models of this era and only the cheaper QLM, BSR "K" equivalents and lower-caste Phase models had silver bodies as I recall..

[walpurgis]

And having taken Geoff's advice, I've just received this little beauty:

Regards,
Mike

I'm just getting a Xyratex sign in page here.

What did you get?

[datawireless]

Lets try again:

https://plus.google.com/photos/107980871231606380542/albums/5865154889100571345

Please report results. This is the edited version.
https://plus.google.com/photos/107980871231606380542/albums/5865154889100571345

And the image to boot.
Mike

[walpurgis]

Nope! Nuffin! Yer links is dead mate!

[datawireless]

OK, have another look now (at the post above ).

Regards,
Mike:rolleyes:

[walpurgis]

That looks a very nice clean example.

Let us know how you get on with it.

What arm will it be used in? Surprisingly, despite the high compliance, I found the 10E Mk.IV not too arm fussy.

It's an absolute 'Classic' and I don't use the term loosely. Compare it to just about any other non MC type and it will sound better (Grace & Decca excluded). It's also better than many MCs!

[datawireless]

I'll mate it with a Meyware Formula V and a Michell Focus deck. I've got an XLM MkII in pristine condition to compare it with but not the MkIII. :scratch:

Regards,
Mike

[walpurgis]

The 10E Mk.IV and XLM II will have an obvious family likeness when you listen to them.

My money's on the 10E Mk.IV having the edge, as I recall, it sounded pretty close to the XLM III.

[DSJR]

The later XLM's were more stable and were designed for real-world tonearms. The 10E IV may have more bass power though (I love the solid looking body on these), but the extremely high compliance and old age may count against it now, although I sincerely hope not. Just make sure the diamond is correctly aligned as viewed from the front (many ADC's have slightly twisted cantilevers) and the "hinge" point is ok, the cantilever not too far forward or back (you'll see if it is).

[walpurgis]

I doubt there'll be a problem. The compliance of the 10E Mk.IV and the XLM III are near enough to make no odds, I did not find them particularly arm fussy.

The only ADC I ever had any bother with was an XLM, the magnet can fall out if the glue holding it fails. Easy enough to super glue back though.

[DSJR]

Apologies, I thought the 10E IV was an uber high compliance caridge like the 25/26 and mk1 XLM. The compliance of later XLM's did seem to fall as the years went on, although HiFi Choice seemed to get suspect lower models of QLM with compliance all over the place.. I agree the XLM III works just fine in a wide variety of tonearms and the Phase IV even more so :) Still a favourite vintage cartridge range.

[Rare Bird]

I have a review of the 10E IV somewhere

[Barry]

Apologies, I thought the 10E IV was an uber high compliance caridge like the 25/26 and mk1 XLM. The compliance of later XLM's did seem to fall as the years went on, although HiFi Choice seemed to get suspect lower models of QLM with compliance all over the place.. I agree the XLM III works just fine in a wide variety of tonearms and the Phase IV even more so :) Still a favourite vintage cartridge range.

According to vinylengine, the ADCs in question had the following compliance figures:

ADC 10E Mk.II and Mk.IV: 35

ADC 25/26: 50

ADC 27: 40

ADC XLM (Mk.I): 50 - 65(!)

ADC XLM Mk.II: 40

ADC XLM Mk.III: 33



When I have a moment I'll look at the data sheets for my 25 and 10E Mk.IV.

[Stoney Salad]

I just picked up this BSR 0971 (never heard of it before) from a thrift store. Looked like it had never been played and I like to restore/rebuild these old players. Everthing is mint except the wiring inside the cartridge had been damaged beyond my ability to repair it. i was really suprised to see your post looking to ID this so i joined the forum to reply. Here are some pictures of the record player and cartridge. I am wondering if you are using this cartridge and if not would you be willing to sell it to me so I could have all original parts in my rebuild.

Cheers!