Which is likely to sound better, a Pickering V-15 purchased in 1974 that
appears to be in good condition and has a new stylus, or a new low-end
Audio-Technica cartridge (AT3600 or somesuch)?

That is: Is the Pickering likely to have deteriorated with age, such that a
new one, even if not quite as fancy, would be better?

I know the Pickering V-15 family is still being made (with some shifts in
the model numbers).

mc spake thus:

Which is likely to sound better, a Pickering V-15 purchased in 1974 that
appears to be in good condition and has a new stylus, or a new low-end
Audio-Technica cartridge (AT3600 or somesuch)?

That is: Is the Pickering likely to have deteriorated with age, such that a
new one, even if not quite as fancy, would be better?

The only thing in there to deteriorate would be the damping/suspension
rubber mount around the cantilever. You can probably tell if this is the
case just by (gently!) wiggling it. If it feels nice and resilient, it's
probably OK.

I'd probably take the V-15, which was a top-of-the-line cartridge back
in the day, over the (relatively) el cheapo AT.


--
Pierre, mon ami. Jetez vous une plus de Scientologiste
dans le vat de l'acide.

- from a posting in alt.religion.scientology titled
"France recommends dissolving Scientologists"

mc wrote:
Which is likely to sound better, a Pickering V-15 purchased in 1974
that appears to be in good condition and has a new stylus, or a new
low-end Audio-Technica cartridge (AT3600 or somesuch)?

That is: Is the Pickering likely to have deteriorated with age, such
that a new one, even if not quite as fancy, would be better?

I know the Pickering V-15 family is still being made (with some
shifts in the model numbers).

The AT is probably better sounding, but nowhere near as rugged.

A Grado Prestige Black would blow away either, although once again it's a
more fragile stylus. About 40.00 plus freight over the internet.

Mark Z.

"mc" wrote in message


Which is likely to sound better, a Pickering V-15
purchased in 1974 that appears to be in good condition
and has a new stylus, or a new low-end Audio-Technica
cartridge (AT3600 or somesuch)?

A friend gave me his Pickering collection from the days of. There was at
least one brand new stylus assembly - a spare.

Nothing worked well. It seemed like the moving magnets had lost much or all
of their magnetism.

The same turntable, arm, and preamp worked well with some new Shure and
Grado cartridges.

Well, the answer is that the new one has a lot more treble and the same
amount of bass. I recorded the same passage from the same record with both
and spectrum-analyzed it with Audition.

I'm not sure if this means the old one was deteriorating or if they're
inherently different.

Now I need to compare my good turntable and cartridge to both...


"mc" wrote in message
...
Which is likely to sound better, a Pickering V-15 purchased in 1974 that
appears to be in good condition and has a new stylus, or a new low-end
Audio-Technica cartridge (AT3600 or somesuch)?

That is: Is the Pickering likely to have deteriorated with age, such that
a new one, even if not quite as fancy, would be better?

I know the Pickering V-15 family is still being made (with some shifts in
the model numbers).