Empire 888P (1965–1966)
Documentation on the Empire 888P is thin. What survives is a burst of advertising from late 1965 and one set of measured test results. The 888P was a phono cartridge, and Empire was confident about it. Ads placed in High Fidelity (November 1965, p.19) and other magazines claimed the lowest distortion of any cartridge. They singled out vertical tracking angle as a distortion factor, and touted an "exclusive magnetic cone stylus" and a sharp attack square wave with virtually straight rising time.
One publication actually put it on the bench. HiFI-Stereo (July 1965, p.49) found the 888P tracked its test records at 1 gram, which put it in the top ranks of tracking ability at the time. Measured output was 5.7 mV. Frequency response held to about +1.25 dB up to 14,000 cps, then rolled off smoothly. Channel separation was 25 dB up to 8,500 cps and better than 30 dB between 1,000 and 5,000 cps. It thinned out above 15,000 cps and disappeared by 20,000 cps, which the reviewer considered of no practical significance. At 1 gram of tracking force, IM distortion was 2.5 percent at a velocity of 8.7 cm/sec, and it climbed rapidly as velocity increased.
Beyond that, the record mostly goes quiet. The 888P's place in Empire's mid-1960s cartridge lineup, its price, and how long it stayed in production aren't well documented.
- Phono cartridge, mid-1960s
- Tested tracking: 1 gram
- Output: 5.7 mV
- Response: ~+1.25 dB to 14 kHz, smooth HF rolloff
- Separation: 25 dB to 8.5 kHz; >30 dB 1–5 kHz; negligible above 15 kHz
- IM distortion: 2.5% at 8.7 cm/sec, 1 gram VTF
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