That's interesting, Richard. I knew about AKG/Philips' microphone relationship, and it would stand to reason that AKG is a candidate for making Philips-branded cartridges. I don't think Philips had any expertise in cartridge-type manufacturing, but they did make many electrical parts so it's not a stretch to think they could have done it in-house. European hi-fi watchers, please chime in. -- Tom Fine ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard L. Hess" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2013 2:38 PM Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Philips 1980s phono cartridges > Tom, > > No facts here, just some rambling that might get you to look in another direction (or you may > already know these pieces). > > In the later part of the 1970s, AKG introduced a line of reasonably decent phono cartridges. I > have one, though I ultimately went back to my Stanton 681s because they matched CDs better in AB > tests with my RTS preamp. I think I have a P8ES, but that is from 30-year-old-plus memory. > > Philips in the early 1970s had AKG make versions of the C451 that were sold under the Philips name > in a non-modular package. I have a pair of the omnis. > > I do not know the history of Philips' and AKG's relationship, so this is all merely speculation, > but there are potential ties there. Of course, AKG is now part of Harman. > > Cheers, > > Richard > > > > On 2013-02-26 1:52 PM, Tom Fine wrote: >> Question probably best answered by European listmembers ... >> >> In the 1980s, Philips turntables, the line that was belt drive but with a quartz DC servo motor >> driving the belt, were sold in all or most European markets with Philips branded cartridges. Were >> those actually made by Philips? If not, what company was the OEM? I think sometimes the >> turntables were sold in the U.S. with Philips cartridges but most seem to have been sold without >> cartridges. >> >> Thanks in advance for facts/answers! >> >> -- Tom Fine > > -- > Richard L. Hess email: [log in to unmask] > Aurora, Ontario, Canada 647 479 2800 > http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm > Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes. >