One had a missing magnet (purch'd on ebay with Sanyo 'table, $80). Absolutely no sound . I had the other cart so I finally noticed the missing magnet.Seem to be common issue with ADC. Glue decays and magnet falls out. Found some NeoDym at hobby store. Took a while to shape into that of OEM. Not perfect, and I could not create that stock "trench" channel. But it works almost like the orig. Only issues: low output, and worn stylii. Maybe moving-iron expert Peter Ledermann (Soundsmith) could install a new stylus/canti and suspension.
ADC moving-iron cartridge has "low" output
I have two identical ADC gold-body XLM-III carts from the late 70s. I purch'd them used, as part of two turntables that were each purchased from different parts of the US. Each cart has a different model of stylus (XLM-III and QLN-2) , and styluses can be interchanged.
The MI series from ADC should output 5.5mV, which I have not measured. However, BOTH these carts are challenged wrt output volume. Not only do I have to crank up the vol. more than 1/3 above other carts, but the sonics are a bit "small" and not "full bodied". It might be due to weakening permanent magnetism -- these are both getting close to 50 yrs old .
The perm. magnet in ADC moving iron series is mounted in the removable stylus, just above the stylus/cantilever assemble.
Not sure what else the low volume may be due to??? These are my my only MI carts in my collection. Anyone know more?
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One of my all time favorites. I've had several over the years. Output should be adequate. Interestingly, the "updated" models, while still excellent, were not as good as the original. ADC kept reducing compliance because few tonearms had low enough mass and ended up ruining the cartridges. I still have one. |
lewm, it's different by a factor of 5, or 3.54, or .... I don't fully understand the velocity, but I think Yogi's source got the number from the sensitivity spec, not the output spec. OP's folded model sheet in the box says 5.5mv output strength and, that specimen's specific calibrated data says sensitivity 1.1mv the ADC chart spec I posted above defines various model's output at velocity 5 cm/sec, so using lewm's method (but using 5 rather than 3.54) if you multiply sensitivity/cm 1.1 x 5 you get 5,5mv output strength at 5cm/sec. for lewm's comparison, that unit's sensitivity 1.1 x 3.54 = 3.89, I just checked, found the Shure V15Vxmr output at 5cm/sec is only 3.0 (I would have thought higher) and the AT440ml is a high 5.0mv, also at 5cm/sec (I would have thought lower) the vintage AT160ml's with Beryllium cantilevers I just started using a few months ago are 5.0mv
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Good call on the stiff suspension, as this can be an issue. One of XLM-III stylii had this issue, the other did not. The stiff sus. also leads to DISTORTED sonics. But I was able to mostly restore with a bit of WD40 (see the AK forum for this). About 5.5mV ... I have the orig. box.manual/spec sheet: https://i.postimg.cc/vZ17dbdr/IMG-9864.jpg
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It’s not “different”, it’s just another way of stating output, in this case with respect to stylus velocity. In those days the standard stylus velocity was 3.54 cm/sec. If you multiply that velocity by 0.9, you get around 3.2 mV, which is a bit less than the typical output of an MM and might account for the OP observation. Or it might not. |
bluz bro adc page https://www.adelcom.net/ADCCart1.html xlm mkIII specs, they say output 6.05 mv https://www.adelcom.net/ADC-xlm%20mk3-Page.html
this chart, top row: 'sensitivity' 0.9mv is different spec than other rows 'signal strength' 5.5mv may be the source of confusion
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What yogi said rings a bell. When OP said the XLM has output 5.5 mV, that sounded incorrect based only on my fading memory. So I looked it up and also found 5.5mV at the LP Gear website. Memory says its output is less than that of a typical MM. And I owned several back in the day. I totally agree also that ADC quality control was nonexistent. That is one reason I asked the OP what cartridges he was using as comparator. I’d expect a high output MI to have slightly less output than a typical MM. |
Forgive a bit of time since last working with these cartridges, but I set up several turntables with ADC cartridges back in the mid to late 1970s. They were quite good performers, tracked well, generally had low distortion. If my memory serves if there was a shortfall it was inconsistency in performance occasionally, meaning their QC at the factory was not as high as Shure with their V15 series or Stanton with their 681 series, both excellent. In fact Stanton was easily the industry leader as far as consistent performance from unit to unit went. The guy who frustrated me all to hell was Joe Grado, whose QC as terrible. He could make the best sounding cartridges, but also ones that just wouldn't set up properly at all. And when we would return them as defective he was, well to put it mildly, not well pleased. Anyway, back to ADC, if your cartridges track well, and you can hear if they do with any good test record, use 1.0 gram VTF, then you have good ones. They should sound on the lean side of neutral and track well across any well made record with no distortion. |
Yogiboy, what is your source? LP Gear shows output 5.5mv as OP stated. https://www.lpgear.com/product/ADCXLMMKIII.html This from a discussion on Vinyl Engine: "I have all those ADC carts too, and many more. Not a single one suffers from low output. Unless the stylus is not mounted properly on the cartridge. That covers the Point 4, 10E MKII and IV, XLM MKII, Q36, K6, QLM 30/32/34/36 MKIII and MKII, Integra XLMIII, 220XE, XLM/VLM/ZLM MKIII and Astrion. Something is amiss in your cartridge or system, someplace." lewm I think it is fair to assume OP has other cartridges and knows all else in his system is ok, or you could simply ask him if he is sure that is true. thus, something is wrong with the cartridge output, and only people with experience with ADC cartridges will know that.
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That cartridge has an output of 1.1 mv. Not 5.5 mv! ADC XLM Mk. IIINamespacesPage actionsDataGeneral
Frequency response:
20 - 24,000 Hz (±1.5 dB)
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Others may confirm that they have similar experiences, but, the explanation of the cause will just be guesses. Your guess sounds credible. Another guess would be that the suspension damping rubber donut has hardened and is now restricting the movement of the cantilever. At this age, it could be a combination of causes. |
OVER-information can lead to wild speculation. I gave this forum all that was important. The rest should be assumed as "all else held equal". Perhaps others have more USEFUL responses. |
