CD-4 Demodulator for Strain Gauge Technics/Panasonic EPC-460cm4 Cartridge?

[sjaca]

Hi there, new to the forum.

I've just acquired an EPC-460cm4 strain gauge cartridge for its "strain gauge" characteristic rather than its cd-4 capability. I will only be using this cartridge to play my records in stereo. I understand that I require either a Technics SH-400 or Panasonic SE-405 demodulator given the strain gauge & cannot use another demodulator (eg. JVC, Marantz). I also understand that the Technics demodulator is superior in quality to the Panasonic. Is there anyone who could assist me re the above based on their knowledge of or experience with Technics/Panasonic cd-4 strain gauge cartridges & related demodulators as I am a novice in this area?
Any assistance would be very much appreciated.

Further, does anyone know where I might acquire the requisite demodulator & a price I should be looking to pay?

Thank you again

 

[Quadzilla]

You are correct. Other demodulator brands will not work with your strain gauge cartridge, and I have owned most of them over the years. Panasonic units come up from time to time, but I have not seen many Technics units. If you are not in a hurry and you can afford the price, Lou Dorren's new demodulator is supposed to work with strain gauge pickups ... and I expect that this might be the best quality unit you will find in terms of sound quality. Do a search of this site. There is a LOT of information here.

 

[sjaca]

You are correct. Other demodulator brands will not work with your strain gauge cartridge, and I have owned most of them over the years. Panasonic units come up from time to time, but I have not seen many Technics units. If you are not in a hurry and you can afford the price, Lou Dorren's new demodulator is supposed to work with strain gauge pickups ... and I expect that this might be the best quality unit you will find in terms of sound quality. Do a search of this site. There is a LOT of information here.

Thank you so much for your response.

I an interested in the new Lou Dorren demodulator but have had some difficulty locating one online. Is it available as yet? Do you have any idea of where I might look? Will do a site search as you suggest.

 

[vinylguy4]

For a modern version of a phono preamp that can make use of strain guage, would be soundsmith
http://www.sound-smith.com/cartridges/sg.html
This should get you pointed to enough info. That is the only company doing anything with strain guage as far as I know.

The main issue I had with the EPCxxxx cartridge was the higher than normal tracking force, 2.5 gm if I remember correctly.
Not much more than many of the current cartridges, but my preference is for something lower.

For the originals. The SE-405 was the first, should be less than $100.00 on ebay. I once got one for $19.99 on ebay, had a small nick on the faceplate but otherwise
worked just fine.
The SE-405 should show up fairly often on ebay.
The SH-400 was later. There is a chip in the SH-400 that does the CD-4 demodulating that seems to go bad easily.
You are not using the CD-4 capability, so possibly you would be OK with a "non-working" SH-400.
A working SH-400 would probably be $100 on the low end. But you never know about ebay, sometimes you can get one
for a great deal, or get in a bidding war. They come up on ebay less often.

vinylguy4

 

[sjaca]

For a modern version of a phono preamp that can make use of strain guage, would be soundsmith
http://www.sound-smith.com/cartridges/sg.html
This should get you pointed to enough info. That is the only company doing anything with strain guage as far as I know.

The main issue I had with the EPCxxxx cartridge was the higher than normal tracking force, 2.5 gm if I remember correctly.
Not much more than many of the current cartridges, but my preference is for something lower.

For the originals. The SE-405 was the first, should be less than $100.00 on ebay. I once got one for $19.99 on ebay, had a small nick on the faceplate but otherwise
worked just fine.
The SE-405 should show up fairly often on ebay.
The SH-400 was later. There is a chip in the SH-400 that does the CD-4 demodulating that seems to go bad easily.
You are not using the CD-4 capability, so possibly you would be OK with a "non-working" SH-400.
A working SH-400 would probably be $100 on the low end. But you never know about ebay, sometimes you can get one
for a great deal, or get in a bidding war. They come up on ebay less often.

vinylguy4

Great info, thanks vinylguy4

 

[ChristopherLees]

the soundsmith is an amazing cartridge/box setup...of course starting at $6499 upwards to $15000 it's just a little more than finding a second hand SH-400...then again, sound wise to the EPC-460 it's like comparing a top moving coil to a basic moving magnet...the Lou Dorren demodulator has been talked about for about 5 years but it is yet to surface other than in a circuit diagram and chasis photos and one day a prototype might get finished for evaluation...if it is ever made available for consumers this century it may be $500-$600
you'd be better off trying to find a second hand win labs strain gauge, but even then you'd need to rebuild the crummy box that came with it...but the end result if properly achieved would be memorable