Philips 242 Turntable Cart and Needle

[Dennisa]

Hello All,

Hoping to get some advise -

I have a Philips 242 Turntable and its needle is broken the cartridge is fine. Please suggest suitable cartridges that I can replace this with and where in Bangalore can I get them.

Soon I will post pictures of the TT.

Thanks,
Dennis

 

[reubensm]

It is very difficult to get a spare stylus for any philips turntable, predominantly as their stylii were usually non-standard. Philips used to do this for most of their electronics and had their very own spare parts outlets selling these spares (back in the 1980s). Your best bet would be to go in for an upgrade of the cartridge itself. The results would definitely be better. The turntable itself is a pretty good one. Philips used to sell them claiming they had "Electronic Brains", back in the day.

 

[Dennisa]

Thank you Reubensm, could you also suggest suitable cartridge model as an upgrade for this turntable.

 

[hkravin]

Shure N25C is almost good for Philips cart..You can check with Shure, Delhi office for availability.

 

[kartick]

Hey there ... Few months ago when i delved into the Vinyl universe, I found one Philips 242 licking dust in a friend's attic. I took the same from him and tried to pump some life into it. During the resurrection, I had to replace the already mounted Classic 700 cartridge and needle on it. That is when I began my hunt to search for a suitable cart/needle for this TT. After a very religious hunt, I found out that there is one shop in Lajpat Rai Market (Near Red Fort) where only one shop sells ceramic cartridges which are universal in their fit and can be put on the Philips 242. The price that the guy quoted was Rs. 500. I am forgetting the shop number right now, but should you decide to buy one from there, let me know, I shall find out the same for you.

The guy also sells MM/MC carts/needles for around the same price. All these carts/needles he told me were imported from Japan.

Hope this helps.

 

[Dennisa]

Thanks hkravin & kartick,

Kartick, I sure appreciate if you can find out the name and shop number for me.

Hkarvin - I am looking out for Shure dealers number or any contact details. Do advise if you have their detail.

 

[Dennisa]

Kartick,

How is the quality? and does this stylus have a brand or a name..? can u post some pics pl..

 

[kartick]

No Dennisa, the cartridges were packed in a plain box. There was no brand on it. Those were imported from Japan. The quality was according to the price, Rs. 500. But was not bad for sure for the buck asked for it. I am guessing those are the OEM sorts carts/needles.

Will sure find out the shop number for you.

 

[reubensm]

My personal opinion would be to dump the existing cartridge, stay away from the Rs.500 ceramic variants, invest a little bit more and go in for an Audio Technica AT91 (around Rs.1500) or a bit higher still, the Shure M44-7 (around Rs.3500). These are fantastic cartridges for their price point and will serve you well. I use the M44-7 and they will play almost any kind of record under the sun (they are superb for tracking older records)

 

[kartick]

I would not consider spending more than what an AT-91 costs at max for a turntable such as a Philips 242. Just my opinion.

 

[reubensm]

The 242 is a pretty decent turntable, great for an introduction to vinyl. Back in the day, they sold in the 1000s. Nice to see some of them pop up every now and then. I've heard them play and thought they were pretty good, except for the fact that they needed some tweeking to reduce rumble. Good point, on not overspending on a cartridge though, but then, to a great extent, what is heard depends on the quality of the cartridge, stylus and the tone arm tracking. If you have someone travelling to the United States and back, not a bad idea to ask him/her to carry one for you. If you go with that approach, you'd get an AT91 for as little as Rs.800/- (aprox).

 

[Dennisa]

Thank you guys,

I am going to try the Audio-Technica stylus for Audio-Technica AT-91 AT91 cartridge, I know its a little expense for a TT like Philips242 but the quality of sound matters..
I will try to get this from US, else I will look from some dealers in india (Bangalore, if any).

Thanks once again. I will keep you all posted on the progress.

 

[sachu888]

Thank you guys,

I am going to try the Audio-Technica stylus for Audio-Technica AT-91 AT91 cartridge, I know its a little expense for a TT like Philips242 but the quality of sound matters..
I will try to get this from US, else I will look from some dealers in india (Bangalore, if any).

Thanks once again. I will keep you all posted on the progress.

You can also buy the stylus from here
Phonograph Stylus : Audio-technica > ATN3601

Regards,
Sachin

 

[wlg]

Hi
Just received an AT-91ECD for $29.99 (approx 1500/) still to try it out

 

[Dennisa]

wlg thats nice,
Share the link with me, post some pics if you can..

 

[Sean de Silva]

Ive recently got the 242 with an original philips cartridge. Does anyone know where i can purchase shure/audio technica cartridges in Mumbai?

 

[Dennisa]

Sean, this is the original 501 cartridge for this turn table, just checking -do you have the same?

Is it possible to get only the sylus / needle?

 

[Dennisa]

Two more Pics

 

[wlg]

wlg thats nice,
Share the link with me, post some pics if you can..

Just received it, hope I have time to try it out this week, will provide comments

 

[reubensm]

The AT91E is a pretty decent cart. I gifted one to my brother some time back and he's very happy with it. Works well on his Technics SLBD20B, with his NAD 3020A.