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REVIEW: Pickering XVS-3000 & D-4500Q Phono Cartridge

47.147.56.52
Posted on October 20, 2016 at 15:24:30
mr.bear
Audiophile

Posts: 4167
Joined: November 13, 2001
Model: XVS-3000 & D-4500Q
Category: Phono Cartridge
Suggested Retail Price: $92
Description: Pickering XSV Cartridge Body and Aftermarket D-4500Q Stylus
Manufacturer URL: Pickering
Model Picture: View

Review by mr.bear on October 20, 2016 at 15:24:30
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for the XVS-3000 & D-4500Q

I recently acquired a vintage Pickering XSV cartridge body that contained an old, dead XSV-3000 stylus. It appeared in good shape overall and the DC resistance of the coils was perfectly matched at 564 ohms each. I believe the bodies are universal for Pickerings high-end, "low impedance" cartridge series for that golden era.

I acquired a replacement stylus claimed to be an EVG Games unit, part number 4608-DQX from The Voice of Music in Wisconsin; those folks were very helpful and supportive to say the least. It is noted as an exact replacement for the D-4500Q, meant apparently for the Pickering XUV4500Q quad-compatible cartridge which claimed frequency response to 50kHz using "quadrahedral" tip shape. The tip shape is described in the VoM website as "hyperelleptical" and noted to me in correspondence with VoM as a Shibata profile. Just words!! The list price currently shows as $92, the Jico website lists the replacement D4500Q[e006017] for about twice that.

First I might say that arguments about the metal of the cantilever, the mounting schema, the tip shape, etc. tend to be "angels dancing on the head of a pin" notions. Who is willing to say Boron sounds better than Aluminum

 

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RE: REVIEW: Pickering XVS-3000 & D-4500Q Phono Cartridge, posted on October 20, 2016 at 16:11:50
MWE
Audiophile

Posts: 2202
Location: Burlington, NC
Joined: June 8, 2000
 Mine just arrived today, will be listening to it after supper. It's going on my old just-post-high school 1981 (diamondless) XSV3000. The cantilever is tiny, about like the original D3000 and a fair bit smaller than the (albeit good) Pfanstiehl and EVG aftermarket ellipticals. Will check the stylus for orientation on my 50/100X microscope before use and report back after some listening.

Mark in NC
Mark in NC
"The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains" -Paul Simon

 

Spent some time listening today., posted on October 21, 2016 at 18:59:35
MWE
Audiophile

Posts: 2202
Location: Burlington, NC
Joined: June 8, 2000
 Some very informal (and limited) impressions are as follows- keep in mind the stylus is new and un-broken in. I compared the XSV3000/EVG 4500Q (the stylus, like Mr. Bear's,from Voice of Music, 4608-DQX) to my Shure V15V/SAS and Audio-Technica AT150MLx. The Shure was mounted on the same SL1200 as the Pickering, the AT on a Rega RP6. In general, the Pickering/4500Q seemed moderately less open and extended than the others, not surprising considering the cost difference, but still very good in this respect and with more body and presence and it struck me as very "musical". It WAS more open and extended than an aftermarket elliptical Stanton 881S stylus, as expected. All in all, I was muchly pleased with this stylus and have to agree with Mr. Bear's opinion from a previous post that the EVG 4500Q is a great way to resuscitate a comatose XSV3000. The best? I don't know. NOS is expensive, and retipping a very old stylus assembly is problematic as regards the condition of old suspension elastomers.
Unfortunately, I can't compare this aftermarket stylus to the original D3000. I bought the cartridge in 1981, just after high school, but for some reason didn't use it for very long before it went into a drawer for thirty-some years. Finally, recently, after discovering how good of a cartridge it really was, I tried it briefly- briefly, because that's when the diamond decided to fall off its bushing (NOT nude mounted, sadly).


Mark in NC
Mark in NC
"The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains" -Paul Simon

 

RE: Spent some time listening today., posted on October 22, 2016 at 12:21:13
mr.bear
Audiophile

Posts: 4167
Joined: November 13, 2001
 Thanks for your insight. How was the comparison to the Shure and A-T?

 

Compared to the AT150mlx and Shure..., posted on October 22, 2016 at 16:29:09
MWE
Audiophile

Posts: 2202
Location: Burlington, NC
Joined: June 8, 2000
 V15V/SAS, the XSV3000/EVG 4500Q is less bright, more forward and with more body. The highs aren't quite as refined, but the overall balance is very good and natural-sounding. The Shure and AT do best in my system with as little capacitance as possible, the Pickering a little more (100 pF extra at the phono stage) which boosts the highs just a touch. I looked at the diamond with my microscope at 50 and 100X; I'm no expert and the image is not ideal but the grind looks good and well-aligned, though not a work of art like some of the fancy cuts such as the SAS. Not sure exactly how it compares to the original Quadrahedral. Overall, I'm quite happy with this, especially for the price.

Mark in NC
Mark in NC
"The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains" -Paul Simon

 

I willing to say Boron cantilevers should have an advantage over aluminum..., posted on October 23, 2016 at 17:44:04
EdAInWestOC
Audiophile

Posts: 6828
Location: Glen Burnie, MD USA
Joined: December 18, 2003
 I've tried numerous stylus and cantilever combinations and I have found that boron is my favorite when I have had a chance to compare. The difference is not always day and night but the added stiffness and low mass of the boron cantilever makes the cartridges that I've tried more resolving without adding any negative sonic attributes.

In my experience aluminum cantilevers all seem to lose some information in the groove. I've tried several cantilever/stylus combinations on the same cartridges and there is a reason why boron cantilever's come on so many high end cartridges.

Ed
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof

 

Boron does seem to be ideal; haven't yet tried..., posted on October 23, 2016 at 18:42:27
MWE
Audiophile

Posts: 2202
Location: Burlington, NC
Joined: June 8, 2000
 one of the AT's with their "hardened" Al cantilever like the relatively new AT150Sa. Too bad that boron is apparently being phased out (at least for now).

Mark in NC
Mark in NC
"The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains" -Paul Simon

 

RE: REVIEW: Pickering XVS-3000 & D-4500Q Phono Cartridge, posted on July 20, 2017 at 11:05:09
needlestein
Audiophile

Posts: 1
Location: Old decaying New England city
Joined: July 20, 2017
 Great info here. Thanks for the helpful review. I LOVE these old Pickering cartridges. Can anyone who has the 4608-DQX from The Voice of Music tell me if the design includes a tie wire in the construction? This important element is found only rarely with new production aftermarket styli these days. For the high end Pickering cartridges, the only one that I can think of is the direct-from-Jico Shibata offerings. The LPGear ViVidline and Turntableneedles.com "Jico Shibata" styli are the same and incorporate no tie wire. They are excellent styli, but the direct-from-Jico "genuine" Jico Shibata resolves the high end much more clearly and is more laterally stable with the application of AS. If the 4608-DQX incorporates the tie wire, it would represent the best value available today in new production high end Pickering styli.

Currently, Jico does not offer a Jico Shibata replacement for the D3000 stylus, but I have information that the current Jico Shibata D4500Q stylus would be the exact same thing, thus my interest in the EVG 4608-DQX. I recently tried the Tonar replacement for the Stanton D81 and it's just "okay."

 

RE: Compared to the AT150mlx and Shure..., posted on July 21, 2017 at 01:14:20
flood2
Audiophile

Posts: 2558
Joined: January 11, 2011
 "The Shure and AT do best in my system with as little capacitance as possible, the Pickering a little more (100 pF extra at the phono stage) which boosts the highs just a touch."

I have the V15V/SAS and found it insensitive to capacitance for a total load of between 130 to about 225pF.
The D4500Q (original Pickering) is very uniform in response with a load of about 190pF into a standard 47k load. The inductance of the body is such that you would be looking at an electrical resonance around 19kHz or so depending on the load, so it is surprising if you are hearing that contribution which would be most obvious around 10 to 12kHz if you are hearing a brightening of the sound. This suggests that the mechanical resonance of the VOM stylus is much lower than the Pickering design.

What total capacitance are you using taking into account the cables?

Incidentally, I'm referring to the "original" D4500Q which had a lower VTA (<20°)than the subsequent styli that I bought some years ago which had a much fatter cantilever than the ultra thin cantilever of the original and was set for a higher VTA.

Regards Anthony

"Beauty is Truth, Truth Beauty.." Keats

 

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