Pickering's XV-15/750E is the top of-the-line phono cartridge
of the latest XV-15 series of stereo cartridges. It has an elliptical diamond
stylus as well as the traditional "Dustmatic" brush.
MANUFACTURER'S SPECIFICATIONS:
Frequency Response: 10 to 25,000 Hz.
Output: 4.4 mV referred to 5.5 cm/sec record velocity. Channel separation: 25 dB.
Stylus Type: .0002" X .0009" Elliptical.
Tracking Force: 1/2 to 1 gram.
Price: $60.00.
The cartridge is only 5.5 grams in weight, which makes it suitable for use in the lowest-mass tone aims. Its cleverly pivoted, built-in brush acts as a lint- and fuzz-cleaning agent, keeping that nasty dirty stuff away from the stylus during play. Just the right amount of force is automatically applied by the brush's own weight and pivot distance. One extra gram of stylus force set on the tone arm exactly compensates for the brush's force. The brush also acts as an anti skating device of sorts, so that when used with tone arms with built-in anti-skating devices of their own, one should reduce that compensation by about 1 gram to take into account the action of the brush.
The stylus assembly is of a very low mass, too, which results in excellent tracking at forces of 1 gram. In an SME tone arm, set at 1% gram, we could track all our test records without difficulty. The resonant peak, so evident in lesser cartridges, is very much subdued. It's up around 15 kHz in the amount of 2 dB. This accounts the exceptionally smooth sound of the cartridge on good LP records.
Fig. 2--Averaged frequency response and cross-talk of Pickering XV-15/750E.
Figure 2 shows the response of the Pickering XV-15/750 to the sweep band of the CBS Labs STR100 test record, as automatically plotted on a graphic level recorder. From this curve, we get an average response of 40 to 18,000 Hz ± 3dB, which is excellent. Sensitivity was measured at 4.2 mV for a 3.54 cm/sec rms 45-deg. 1-kHz signal, and was within 1 dB between channels, as shown in the response curve. The average separation between channels in the midband frequency region was 25 dB, which is very good, though less than specified. The difference is probably attributable to a different measurement technique and some crosstalk in our test record. The Pickering XV15/75E is well shielded and not at all susceptible to hum pickup. An excellent signal-to-noise ratio of 65 dB through a wideband RIAA preamp was obtained during our tests.
We enjoyed playing records with this cartridge because it brought out the best in them--especially the bright, new releases with high recorded velocities, mid-range peaks and all. A handsome, compact-like gold case ensconces the XV15/75E, matching the promise within.
(Audio magazine, Jan. 1970)
Also see:
Pickering XSV/3000 Stereo Cartridge (Equip. Profile, June 1977)
Pickering XSV/3000 phono cartridge (Dec. 1976),
Pickering phono cartridges (Oct. 1977)
Ortofon MC 2000 Phono Cartridge and T 2000 Transform (Dec. 1984)
Micro Acoustics 630 Phono Cartridge (Mar. 1984)
Phono Equalization Kits--various models (Mar. 1979)
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