EMT 938 cartridges - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

vonrozen · 21st Nov 2020, 5:35 pm

Hello,

which is the best one to have for a 938 ? Does it have to be an EMT one or do other cartridges work ? Any experiences and comments . Thank you very much

Kind Regards
Alexander

Ted Kendall · 21st Nov 2020, 7:53 pm

The EMT arm is good enough for most cartridges, except possibly the most compliant. EMT's own moving coils are OK but expensive - if you want to keep with MC, perhaps a Denon 103 would fit the bill - which, coincidentally, also has its roots in broadcast practice, being designed for NHK. The BBC used Ortofon Concordes of various types, and these worked well. The EMT headshell, incidentally, is not compatible with the SME type - the socket to mounting distance is shorter, and the contact pins are offset by 45 degrees.

Jonster · 21st Nov 2020, 9:46 pm

During the start of my BBC years they were fitted with Shure SC35 cartridges, in the mid eighties various cartridges were auditioned including the Ortofon OM Pro which eventually became the adopted standard.

The Ortofon Concorde was a cartridge which could replace an SME type headshell and was based on the OM Pro as it had compatible pins.

derekheeps · 22nd Nov 2020, 4:58 pm

Stanton's were quite robust cartridges often used in broadcasting , even the range topping 681 EEE was surprisingly forgiving and could be used in higher mass arms .

21st Nov 2020, 5:35 pm	#1
vonrozen Diode Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Paris, France Posts: 8	EMT 938 cartridges Hello, which is the best one to have for a 938 ? Does it have to be an EMT one or do other cartridges work ? Any experiences and comments . Thank you very much Kind Regards Alexander

21st Nov 2020, 7:53 pm	#2
Ted Kendall Dekatron Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Kington, Herefordshire, UK. Posts: 3,671	Re: EMT 938 cartridges The EMT arm is good enough for most cartridges, except possibly the most compliant. EMT's own moving coils are OK but expensive - if you want to keep with MC, perhaps a Denon 103 would fit the bill - which, coincidentally, also has its roots in broadcast practice, being designed for NHK. The BBC used Ortofon Concordes of various types, and these worked well. The EMT headshell, incidentally, is not compatible with the SME type - the socket to mounting distance is shorter, and the contact pins are offset by 45 degrees.

21st Nov 2020, 9:46 pm	#3
Jonster Heptode Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK. Posts: 671	Re: EMT 938 cartridges During the start of my BBC years they were fitted with Shure SC35 cartridges, in the mid eighties various cartridges were auditioned including the Ortofon OM Pro which eventually became the adopted standard. The Ortofon Concorde was a cartridge which could replace an SME type headshell and was based on the OM Pro as it had compatible pins.

22nd Nov 2020, 4:58 pm	#4
derekheeps Tetrode Join Date: Nov 2020 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. Posts: 89	Re: EMT 938 cartridges Stanton's were quite robust cartridges often used in broadcasting , even the range topping 681 EEE was surprisingly forgiving and could be used in higher mass arms .