Phonoland

Curious about something, I am on the search for a deal on either a blackhead or redhead cartridge for my HF100r. Ran across a pretty good deal, at least a price I am will to pay, for a blackhead cartridge but it has what looks like a reproduction Seeburg Hi Fi decal on it, I only thought that decal was on the redheads.

Basically I am trying to make sure this is legit. If it has a repro sticker on it I dont care really just want to validate if the blackheads had the Seeburg Hi Fi sticker or not.

Three points:

R's came with a redhead.

There was no decal (at least not on the two I've owned).

It will need to have the internal damping material replaced if this has not already been done.

FWIW: Now that there are decent replacement styli available for the redhead, you would be better-off going with the red one.

Rob/NYC

Thank you for the confirmation....
I have heard from a bunch of people that the Blackheads had better sound than the Redheads, no matter the needles used for either.

I would like to get other peoples views and experiences.

Currently I have a Thorpe DS but the A side has a faulty metal bracket and it will not hold the needle in properly so I have to tape it in so it does not fall out.

One point in the blackhead's favor is that the stylus does not affect output level. On the redhead, the stylus is actually an armature. that means the quality and type of metal used in the stylus cantilever directly affects the amount and quality of voltage generated.

On the blackhead the stylus is simply attached to the permanent armature. The disadvantage of this setup is that the cart is prone to allowing shavings and dirt from records inside the cart body and the internal rubber and silicone gel damping will need periodic replacement.

I don't personally regard either of these are good cartridges, but with decent new styli for the red one available again, that would be my choice.

Rob

The Thorpe DS I have sounds good I just have electrical tape wrapped around it to keep the needle in on the A side but at some point that will probably become an issue
The aesthetic look of the Redhead looks better but I am looking for a cartridge that first sounds good, easy to get replacement needles so I would forgo aesthetics but want to try and stay true to the originality of the machine too. Just hard to pay $300 for a cartridge that I may not like the sound of.... Thats the only issue I have with the Seeburgs, the cartridges are obscenely priced.

I guess I will keep my eye open for a Redhead for less than $200... I know everyone is laughing, but it could happen . I did see one thats on eBay now for $125 but badly cracked.

Woo Hoo....
I got an original Redhead in almost perfect condition. No scratches, cracks at all for $120 (not via eBay, direct buy). It did not come with needles so I put in a new pair of .7 mil diamond needles, sound great. Plus now I don't have to readjust the A side needle in the Thorpe I have as it falls out after every other play