Talisman
Made the Shappire in the 70's.

Technics pickups See --> Matsushita pickups

Tonacord
Made the TM-511 MM DJ pickup in the late 70's/early 80's, original list price was 55 DM, the frequency response is 30Hz~20khz, output is 5mV and tracking force is 1,5 to 2 grams.

Torlai
Made the TORLAI N.003 in and around 2000/2002 which was a modified version of Linn Klyde.

Townshend See --> Elite Electronics Pickups

Van Den Hul
One of the most intriguing older designs from the company were the MM-1 and MM-2 moving magnets, the difference between the 2 models lies purely in the stylus used, the cheaper MM-1 had a VdH II stylus while the MM-2 had a VdH I type stylus, you can use the stylus from an MM2 with the MM-1 and thus get an upgrade to a MM-2 spec unit, the MM line was discontinued sometime around the turn of the millennium. The original DDT model can be differentiated from the later models by the printing on the housing, the "DDT" on the original model is written in cursive rather than the sans sherif font used on newer models, the earlier models were made by Benz Micro AG while later models are made by VdH themselves but utilising housings from Benz. The original MC-10 differs from the current "special model in that the front pole is thinner and there is an extra magnet in the "special" that gives the newer variant a slightly higher output, the specifications are apart from that broadly similar. And BTW if you think that VdH pickups look "suspiciously like" Benz Micro pickups there is nothing suspicious about that at all, he buys some of his housings from the aforementioned company and did in fact design the original line of Benz MC pickups, note that if you are buying a second hand VdH cart that the specifications can vary a bit from the published ones, if you supply him with information on your tonearm before he builds the pickup he will modify them slightly to suit your setup better, so always to get the specification sheet with the cart you are buying, noticeably the pickups modified to suit Graham Engineering tonearms differ significantly from spec.

The MM-1 & MM-2 technical specification are : Mount : Standard. Frequency response : 10Hz~25KHz. Output @ 5,7cm/s : 5,6mV RMS. Channel separation : 30dB @ 1khz or better, 24dB @ 10KHz or better. Channel balance : Less than 1dB @ 1khz. Load capacitance : 300 pF. Recommended load : 47 Kohms. Inductance: 400mH. Static Compliance : 40 Micron/mN. Tracking force : 7,5~12,5 mN. Trackability @ 15 mN / 315 Hz: 70~80 Micron. VTA : 22°. Recommended effective tonearm mass : 8~12 grams. Stylus tip : VdH Type II 7 x 45 Micron (MM-1),VdH Type I 3 x 85 Micron (MM-2),. Equivalent stylus tip mass : 0,45 milligrams Cantilever : Boron. Weight : 6,5 grams.

Varco
Most of their older generic ceramic models appear to be available still or variants thereof anyway, the only rarities are old crystal models such as ST-1X and ST-2V that were designed for 1/2" mounts.

VEB Elektroakustik Leipzig
The MS 17 SD appears to have been a replacement cartridge for a RFT turntable.

Walco
While this company has not made or sold pickups for quite some time, someone in the uSA unearthened a huge supply of a model called ES 30EX around the turn of the century, it's quite reasonable specifications stem from the fact that it is a mid 70's model originally designed for use with 4 channel applications which meant that it had to go up to 48KHz and featured a Shibata line contact stylus (it does go up to 48KHz BTW despite the specifications below, they are slightly conservatively weighted). It was sold by an USA based liquidator to the trade for well under 10 USD a piece which saw it being retailed at prices ranging from USD 16 up to over 80, now that is a very agreeable dealer mark-up and has to rank up there with the 40 USD turndable belts.

The ES 30EX technical specification are : Generator Type : Moving Magnet. Mount : Standard. Magnet : Frequency response : 10Hz~35KHz. Output @ 5cm/s : 2,8mV @ 1khz. Channel separation : 20dB @ 1khz or better, 15dB @ 12KHz or better. Impedance : 3,5KOhms @ 1khz. Tracking force : 0,75 to 1,5 grams. Stylus tip : Shibata Hyper Elliptical Parabolic 75 x 7 microns.

Walton
Had an early moving iron cartridge design that I belive was called just MI, considered an audiophile cart in the 60's, mileage may vary.

Wega
Had at the least 3 pickups on the market in the late 70's or thereabouts, the XL-15S and the XL-25S were basically the same MM cartridge the differences between them being that the 25 had an elliptical stylus while the 15 had a spherical one, sadly the only hard data to be found on these 2 is that their weight is 5,2 grams. The XL-45S is much more interesting however it's a moving coil design integrated into a headshell and sourced from their (then) mother company Sony.

The XL-45S technical specification are : Generator Type : Moving Coil. Mount : Ortofon. Frequency response : 10Hz~30KHz. Output @ 5cm/s : 0,25mV @ 1khz. Channel separation : 25dB @ 1khz or better. Compilance : 20mN. Impedance : 40 ohm. Stylus tip: Elliptical. Weight : 20 grams.

Westrex/Western Electric
About the only pickups found from this manufacturer have been late model electric reproducers such as the 9A Reproducer that will only fit WE arms.

Yamaha
Had a number of worthwhile cartridge designs on the market, while some of their low budget/replacement MM types are believed to have been sourced from an OEM their MC designs were in-house and in particular their late 70's and 80's lightweight models are interesting soundwise. It appears that the carts that the company sold separately had low numbers e.g. MC-7 etc while MC carts that were shipped with turntables had high numbers, such as the MC-705 that was shipped with the Yamaha PX-3. By far the most common model seen on the market is the MC-9 which was something of a best buy in the late 70's/early 80's, it was the company's next cheapest cheapest MC sold at the time but discontinued in 82 or thereabouts at the least in some markets, the cheapest model BTW was the MC-11 but the only info I have on that model is that it had a tapered aluminium cantilever and an elliptical stylus, the more expensive products in the same lineup, the MC-7, MC-5 and MC-1 lived on a little longer. The 9,7 and 5 are all very similarly built up using a Sendust based coils and differing basically in details but the MC-1 is quite different in basic design and was quite a bit more expensive when new, it was also available in 2 versions, the MC-1s which featured a standard mount and the MC-1x that was integrated into a headshell. The MC-100 and MC-1000 were later developments however, introduced in the mid 80's or thereabouts. The reason that even fairly cheap Yamaha carts have Beryllium cantilevers while it is normally only reserved for the most exotic of carts is that the another of the company's division had the facilities to work the stuff (Be is highly toxic, hence expensive to process), so they had a much cheaper supply of it than their competitors.

The MC-1x & MC-1s technical specification are : Generator Type : Moving Coil, laminated silicon plate/air core. Mount : Standard (MC-1s), Ortofon (MC-1x). Magnet : Samarium Cobalt. Frequency response : 10Hz~20khz Weighted, 10Hz~60KHz Un-weighted. Output @ 5cm/s : 0,2mV @ 1khz. Channel separation : 28dB @ 1khz or better. Channel balance : Less than +-1dB @ 1khz. Internal impedance : 30 Ohms (+-20% between channels). Compliance : 11 x 10-6 CM/dyne (Dynamic). Tracking force : 1,5 to 2 grams. Recommended tracking force : 1,8 grams. VTA : 20° +-2°. Stylus tip : Nude Hyper-Elliptical 80x40 Micron. Equivalent stylus tip mass : 0,25 milligrams. Cantilever : Tapered Beryllium. Weight : 18,5 grams (MC-1x), 7,8 grams (MC-1s). Housing : Diecast Aluminium.

The MC-5 technical specification are : Generator Type : Moving Coil, Sendust core. Mount : Standard. Magnet : Samarium Cobalt. Frequency response : 10Hz~20khz Weighted, 10Hz~60KHz Un-weighted. Output @ 5cm/s : 0,3mV @ 1khz. Channel separation : 28dB @ 1khz or better. Channel balance : Less than +-1dB @ 1khz. Internal impedance : 30 Ohms. Compliance : H: 14 x 10-6 CM/dyne (Dynamic). V: 13 x 10-6 CM/dyne (Dynamic). Tracking force : 1 to 1,4 grams. Recommended tracking force : 1,2 grams. VTA : 22° +-2°. Stylus tip : Elliptical 0,14 x 0,07 mm. Cantilever : Tapered Beryllium. Weight : 5,7 grams. Housing : Plastic.

The MC-7 technical specification are : Generator Type : Moving Coil, Sendust core. Mount : Standard. Magnet : Samarium Cobalt. Frequency response : 10Hz~20khz Weighted, 10Hz~60KHz Un-weighted. Output @ 5cm/s : 0,3mV @ 1khz. Channel separation : 28dB @ 1khz or better. Channel balance : Less than +-1dB @ 1khz. Internal impedance : 30 Ohms. Compliance : 15 x 10-6 CM/dyne (Dynamic). 35 x 10-6 CM/dyne (Static). Tracking force : 1,2 to 1,8 grams. Recommended tracking force : 1,5 grams. VTA : 20° +-2°. Stylus tip : Elliptical 0,14 x 0,07 mm. Cantilever : Tapered Aluminium. Weight : 5,7 grams. Housing : Plastic.

The MC-9 technical specification are : Generator Type : Moving Coil. Mount : Standard. Frequency response : 10Hz~50KHz unweighted, 10Hz~20khz +-1dB. Output @ 5cm/s : 0,3mV @ 1khz. Channel separation : 28dB @ 1khz or better. Impedance : 30 ohm. Tracking force : 1,2 to 1,8 grams. Recommended tracking force : 1,5 grams. Stylus tip : Elliptical 8 x 20µm.Weight : 5,3 grams.

The MC-100 technical specification are :Generator Type : Moving Coil. Mount : Standard. Output @ 5cm/s : 0,17mV @ 1khz. Channel separation : 30dB @ 1khz or better. Impedance : 30 Ohm. Tracking force : 1,2 to 1,6 grams. Recommended tracking force : 1,4 grams. Stylus tip : Special Elliptical 8 x 40µm. Weight : 9,6 grams.

The MC-1000 technical specification are :Generator Type : Moving Coil. Mount : Standard. Output @ 5cm/s : 0,2mV @ 1khz. Channel separation : 28dB @ 1khz or better. Impedance : 30 Ohm. Tracking force : 1,2 to 1,6 grams. Recommended tracking force : 1,4 grams. Stylus tip : Special Elliptical 8 x 40µm. Weight : 5,3 grams.

Zenith
The company was never a serious contender in the hi-fi pickup market but since it had a large dealer network in the USA it did capitalise on it by providing replacement pickups and suchlike, these were for mostly budget crystal models, late 50's models used an S prefix ( S-15222, S-68566 etc.) but later models appear all to have used a 142 prefix (142-118, 142-144 etc.), stylii and replacement pickups compatible with those appear readily available from American parts suppliers.

ZYX
The company replaced the RS line and the basic R 100 line of moving coil pickups in 2003 with MkII models, these have more or less the same specifications as the older models but differ a bit in price, also the original R100 has the same clear plastic housing that the dearer models from the company use but the current model has the black housing from the RS line so it should be easy to differentiate between the 2, note also that early RS line carts had a square housing much the same as the Monster Cable Pickups rather than the "triangular" housings that the current range uses (or pyramid style as ZYX refers to them) but it is believed that the introduction of the new housing predates the introduction of the MkII so there may be MkI carts out there in the triangular housing. The R-100T variant was dropped by the company from their lists in 2004 and it shares the exact same specifications as the R 100 but features an improved coil piece and thus slightly better sound. The original Yatra variants of the R 100 namely the R-100 Yatra and the R-100 Yatra H appears to have been dropped at in 2003 and replaced with a Mk II model that was only available in a low output version but that variant appears to have been dropped in late 2004 as well, but this is actually not clear, some distributors claim that the Yatra is still being made, while other distributors claim that it has been dropped. The R-100 FC Fuji was deleted from the catalogue in 2004, it had the same retail price, specification and Model D generator as the current FS and the FX model that replaced it and had a copper based cil winding like the current FX. The original R 1000 line was replaced with a MKII variant in late 2004, like the current models it has an almost unbelievable FR specs of 10Hz~100kHz, the R-1000 Airy-S and R-1000 Airy-X with the X and XH models utilising a copper coil while the S and SH models feature silver wound coils, but do note that the specifications for the 1000 below may not be 100% accurate sinc the specs from 2003 and from 2004 from their main distributor differs in minute details.

The RS 10 and the RS 10H technical specification are : Frequency response: 10Hz~40khz unweighted or 20Hz~20khz at +-1dB. Output @ 3,54cm/s: 0,24mV @ 1khz. or 0,48mV @ 1khz for the H version. Compliance : 15x10-6 cm/dyne horizontal, 12x10-6 cm/dyne vertical. Channel separation : 25dB @ 1khz or better. Channel balance : Less than +-0,5dB @ 1khz. Tracking Force: 1,5 to 2 grams. Recommended tracking force : 1,8 grams. Trackability : >80µm/1,8gm. Stylus tip: Elliptical iµm x 15µm. Cantilever : ALMg5 tube 0,38/0,3mm. Internal impedance : 4 ohms or 8 ohms for the H version. Recommended load : less than 100 ohms. Weight : 4.2 grams.

The RS 20 and the RS 20H technical specification are : Frequency response: 10Hz~55KHz unweighted or 20Hz~20khz at +-1dB. Output @ 3,54cm/s: 0,24mV @ 1khz. or 0,48mV @ 1khz for the H version. Compliance : 15x10-6 cm/dyne horizontal, 12x10-6 cm/dyne vertical. Channel separation : 30dB @ 1khz or better. Channel balance : Less than +-0,5dB @ 1khz. Tracking Force: 1,5 to 2 grams. Recommended tracking force : 1,8 grams. Trackability : >80µm/1,8gm. Stylus tip: Line contact 6µm x 35µm. Cantilever : Sapphire tube 0,33/0,26mm. Internal impedance : 4 ohms or 8 ohms for the H version. Recommended load : less than 100 ohms. Weight : 4.2 grams.

The RS 30 and the RS 30H technical specification are : Frequency response: 10Hz~75KHz unweighted or 20Hz~20khz at +-1dB. Output @ 3,54cm/s: 0,24mV @ 1khz. or 0,48mV @ 1khz for the H version. Compliance : 15x10-6 cm/dyne horizontal, 12x10-6 cm/dyne vertical. Channel separation : 30dB @ 1khz or better. Channel balance : Less than +-0,5dB @ 1khz. Tracking Force: 1,5 to 2 grams. Recommended tracking force : 1,8 grams. Trackability : >80µm/1,8gm. Stylus tip: Microridge line contact 3µm x 60µm. Cantilever : Boron rod 0,3mm. Internal impedance : 4 ohms or 8 ohms for the H version. Recommended load : less than 100 ohms. Weight : 4.2 grams.

The R 100, the R 100H, R 100T, the R 100TH, the R 100 Yatra, R 100 FC,R 100 FCH, R 100 Yatra H and the R 100 Yatra MkII technical specification are : Frequency response: 10Hz~80KHz unweighted or 20Hz~20khz at +-1dB. Output @ 3,54cm/s: 0,24mV @ 1khz. or 0,48mV @ 1khz for the H versions. Compliance : 15x10-6 cm/dyne horizontal, 12x10-6 cm/dyne vertical. Channel separation : 30dB @ 1khz or better. Channel balance : better than +-0,5dB @ 1khz. Tracking Force: 1,7 to 2,5 grams. Recommended tracking force : 2 grams @ 20 to 25° celcius. Trackability : >80µm/2gm. Stylus tip: Microridge solid diamond line contact 3µm square. Cantilever : Boron rod 0,3mm. Internal impedance : 4 ohms or 8 ohms for the H versions. Recommended load : less than 100 ohms. Weight : 4.2 grams (R 100 & R100T) 5 grams (R 100 Yatra & FC).

The R 1000 Airy-S, the R 1000 Airy-SH, R 1000 Airy-X and the R 1000 Airy-XH technical specification are : Frequency response: 10Hz~100KHz unweighted or 20Hz~20khz at +-1dB. Output @ 3,54cm/s: 0,24mV @ 1khz. (0,24mV @ 5cm/s) or 0,48mV @ 1khz for the H versions. Compliance : 15x10-6 cm/dyne horizontal, 12x10-6 cm/dyne vertical. Channel separation : 30dB @ 1khz or better. Channel balance : better than +-0,5dB @ 1khz. Tracking Force: 1,7 to 2,5 grams. Recommended tracking force : 2 grams @ 20 to 25° celcius. Trackability : >80µm/2gm. Stylus tip: Microridge solid diamond line contact 3µm square. Cantilever : Boron rod 0,3mm. Estimated stylus lifetime : 2000 hours at 2g. Internal impedance : 3,5 ohms or 7 ohms for the H versions. Recommended load : less than 100 ohms. Weight : 5 grams.

Next Page : RIAA preamplifiers