Cartridge Replacement Kit Turntable Cartridge/Stylus/Needle Kit for 5-pin Philips headshell
Update cartridge kit for Philips AG1015 decks using AG3002 or AG3005 5-pin plug headshells (may fit others)
TL:DR If you're into retro record players and want to make them low wear on your vinyl then this kit is for you!
Original cartridges and needles (pre-dating 1965) are tough on your vinyl records and are probably ruining them.
The solution is not:
1. buy some modern plastic record player with questionable quality - the BSRs and Garrards and Philips of the era are great and they were built to last; between them they had 90% of the world's market sewn up for decades
2. buy a new stylus - you will still have the limitations of the old cartridge which will have suspension (the rubber bit that holds the stylus) that will have gone hard, effecting sound quality and jumping on your records. Also it's worth noting that the remade stylus available are not as carefully crafted when it comes to the angle of the diamond so they'll work but they won't be optimal for playback
3. Buy a NOS (New Old Stock) cartridge it'll be 50 years old so 99% chance it'll have hardened rubber suspension even if it's NEVER been used
4. Buy a modern cartridge. There are not too many ceramic cartridges around anymore and none of them will be made for your record player so the height and angle and weight will be all wrong for your player
The SOLUTION is to fit a new but totally compatible cartridge/stylus kit. You'll get the great retro look and sound but without the retro damage!
Our all-in-one kit can be used to fully refurbish a Philip AG1015 record player deck or any Philips deck that takes an AG3302 5-pin plugable headshell (see photo. note it is a wide plastic headshell that carries a Philips cartridge that is half red and half green)
We've spent many hours perfecting the fit for our cartridges on multiple examples of this deck. The height and angle/rake is 100% perfect, in fact we'd say it was better than the original. At the correct angle the stylus creates less wear and better sound reproduction and both are improved with the new cartridge set-up
Our kit replaces the old cartridge and stylus with the best quality modern reproduction of the old BSR cartridge available. It comes with a genuine diamond stylus. In addition you get a hifi set-up protractor and mini scales so you can set the cartridge position and cartridge downforce correctly to maximise the quality of the sound reproduction.
After nearly 50 years of use/neglect your record player will also need a service. The cartridge rubber suspension will have hardened and sound quality will be down and/or tinny. Tonearm weight will be greater than it should be as balance springs become tired and that extra weight/downforce will damage your records
As an added bonus we supply a 12+ page photographically illustrated "how-to" document that not only demonstrates the correct way to fit and set-up the cartridge/tonearm but also includes hints how to service and relube the main moving parts of the deck. The kit comes with a tube of the correct grease and the light machine oil required to do the job right. You will be amazed by how well the platter spins when you have used our modern lithium based grease!
With the right tools, advice and components this is a job most people can do in around 30 mins
Please note you will need basic tools like small screwdrivers, q-tips, metholated spirits (for cleaning moving surfaces) and if your deck is really jammed a heatgun/hairdryer! Also you will need suitable glue to fix the half-inch conversion baseplate
The kit contains:
1 x quality reproduction stereo cartridge with 2-sided genuine diamond stylus (stylus is ST/ST)
1 x custom baseplate, that converts the propriety Philips cartridge clip with a plate suitable for standard half cart cartridges
2 x new mounting bolts and washers
1 x 10g tube lithium grease (sealed, pierce to use)
1 x 2ml light machine oil (sealed, pierce to use)
4 x replacement cartridge wires adhering to the modern/standard cartridge colour scheme
2 x Isopropyl wipes
2 x cartridge set-up tools (plastic protractor and scales)
1 x detailed 10+ page how-to document with 12 detailed step-by-step photos (a link to the files will be provided).
Cartridge specs:
type - ceramic
output - 275mV approx
mount - unique to Philips
stylus - flipover ST16 (replacement easy to get on ebay)
stylus tip - diamond (guranteed Swiss or German made)
IMPORTANT NOTES:
#1 please check that your record deck and headshell is the same as the one in the photos, different paint colours are no problem but check yours is the same in other ways. It doesn't really matter if it has a different cartridge fitted, some will have after 50 years of use, so our cartridge will replace pretty much any ceramic cartridge currently in place. If in doubt please send us a photo and we'll confirm it can be replaced by our kit
#2 the AG3302 and AG3305 5-pin plug headshells were used on multiple different Philips record decks, it is highly likely that our cartridge will work perfectly well with these other decks but the vertical tracking angle (rake) is not guaranteed to be as perfect as for the AG1015
#3 an earlier Philips cartridge (AG3301 and AG3304) also used a 5 pin connection, but unlike the AG1015 tonearm that has a socket, the early version had the socket on the headshell (so it fitted ON to the tonearm, whereas the later headshell fitted INTO the tonearm). Once again it is highly likely that our cartridge will work perfectly well with these reversed 'socket headshells' but this is not guaranteed nor covered in the install document (we're happy to help via email though)
#4 some very simple portable record players relied on high-output cartridges to boost their own volume. Unfortunately there are no modern high output ceramic cartridges being made anymore so this means the top volume could be slightly lower with our cartridge. It's really a trade-off between slightly lower volume but safe for records or higher volume and tough on records. If you have any concerns contact us with the record player name/model and original cartridge fitted and we'll check the schematics