Goldring 800 cartridge

I recently received a Goldring 800 cartridge included along with a 3009 tonearm (non improved) which I bought. It came with a stylus which still has a tip on it.

Does anyone know anything about this cartridge? I think it may be a similar age to the tonearm.

I don’t expect it to be excellent but may give it a try out of interest.

regards

Kevin

 

https://www.vinylengine.com/cartridge_reviews.php?make=Goldring&model=G-800

 

It's a perfectly competent budget cartridge from the 1970s and certainly turns in a decent enough performance. Something like a modern AT-VM95E should put it in its place, however.

As an aside, some people will try and tell you that it can be upgraded with a spanky new posh stylus and will then outperform high end moving coils but, as I suspect these people are the same ones that think a Rega RB250 can be tweaked to out-perform an SME V, they are best ignored.

 

I wouldn't say it's anything special and its frequency response varied with room temperature! (this was picked up in the reviews of the time)

I mainly used mine for 78s, but an AT95E with 78 stylus was better and the AT-MONO3/SP better still!

 

Used to run a G800 or G850 on my Garrard SP25 in the early 70's

 

If I remember correctly there is a little section of bar magnet above the removable stylus on the G800 - there's a real fashion for re-magnetising Triang and Hornby motor magnets of this age - wonder if anyone considered doing it for vintage MM carts? DGP

 

Yes, moving iron, induced magnet, take your pick. With benefit of hindsight, makes the 2000 series seem a bit ironic.

 

Yes - definitely a budget but quite competent cartridge, very popular back in the early 1970s - most came to market in either a Garrard SP25 mk2/3 or the BSR McDonald MP60.

Quite a few notches lower than the other favourites of the time, such as Shure M55E or the M75 series.

 

The stylus that came with it is red. Not sure what that signifies or what other options were available.

Kevin

 

Assuming original Goldring, red will be a D110H stylus as fitted to 800H, a .7mil spherical. 800H was described as being for inexpensive changers tracking between 2.5 to 4.0g with 3g recommended. The 'H' also indicated high output which was spec'd at 8mV. What was nice at the time is that the body would take D110E, their 0.3 x 0.7mil elliptical and track at 0.75 to 1.75g, essentially making this into 800E.

I do recall reading of the ambient temperature affects upon sound quality, something that Goldring reportedly corrected early on by changing the rubber damping compound.

 

there were four if I remember correctly:

White - the standard conical that tracked at 2.5g
Red - larger conical that tracked at 3g
Grey - elliptical that tracked at 1.5g
Another colour I can’t remember - higher specification elliptical that tracked at 1.25g

There was also a 78rpm stylus IIRC.

 

Top spec 800 was the 800 SE (Super E). Very high compliance stylus that was not compatible with most arms of the day!

https://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=33688.0

 

The most interesting takeaway from this review for me is how the 800 series represented the first successful UK challenge to the American phono cartridge makers.

https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Audio/Hi-Fi-News-UK/IDX/Hi-Fi-News-1969-05-IDX-83.pdf
https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Audio/Hi-Fi-News-UK/IDX/Hi-Fi-News-1969-05-IDX-85.pdf​

 

78 stylus was blue. Goldring already tried to crack the American market in the 50s when their cartridges were imported and badged by Recoton.

 

One of these was fitted in a Garrard AP76 which I purchased new from Comet in 1972. I didn't like it at all, very dull sounding I seem to remember. Mine had the white stylus I think and I soon replaced it with a Shure M44E and a few years later a M75ED. I still have that somewhere, but my Dad had the G800 off me and used it in an SP25/III.

 

I still have a G800 which came originally with a Garrard SP25. A few years ago I bought an aftermarket 78 Stylus for it so I could play 78s That aftermarket stylus is white but definitley 78 you can see visually it is substantially different to a microgroove stylus. So colours are not necessarily consistent.

 

It was commented back in the day, that with Radio One using the lowly G800 cartridge, how did they manage to get such a super sound? Can't remember the reasons given.

 

The genuine Goldring 78 stylus is blue, obviously after market could be any colour.