This is the classic late 1960’s Goldring 800 series cartridge based
on the variable reluctance principle often referred to as moving iron.
There is a permanent stationary magnet and a coil in the body of the
cartridge. The stylus block features a diamond attached to a cantilever
which in turn is connected to a small iron tube; all this is suspended
in a rubber mounting. As the diamond traces the groove it causes the
iron tube to perturb the magnetic field around the coil which in turn
induces a current in the coil. This is better explained on our
moving
iron web page where we have the natural successor to the 800 series in
the form of the 2000 series cartridges
The
800 series was defined by the refinement of the diamond tip which
varied between a basic 0.6 mil spherical tip up to a 0.3 mil elliptical
(mil = 1000th of an inch).
The 800E was the elliptical tip version and would have cost £300 in today’s money (see attached 1969 advert).
Unfortunately,
although when new it would have represented the pinnacle of stereo
reproduction (which was why it was OEM fitment on all Garrard record
decks of the time), that rubber suspension will have dried out and be
too stiff after all this time and the diamond will probably have been
worn out already as they have a life of about 1500 hours. As far as we
know, there are no third party replacement styli available and we no
longer provide these - we wouldn't recommend using it as it will likely
cause damage to your vinyl.
Our advice would be to replace it with a new Goldring
E3 or
2100.