Jim Long's Fairchild Hi-Fi Page
Fairchild Hi-Fi
Fairchild Recording Equipment Company, Long Island City, New York, offered a variety of products for playback of disc recordings for
broadcasting and other professional applications, beginning, I believe, in the 1940's.  (The company was founded in 1931.)  Fairchild offered a number of these components, variations and new products to the rapidly growing 1950's consumer market for high-fidelity components.  Consumer products included phono cartridges, turntables, tone arms, preamplifiers and power amplifiers.  Some had styling input from Raymond Loewy, a prominent industrial designer of the 1950's, for a unique, elegant and fascinating appearance.  Fairchild products disappeared in the 1960's.

Link below to a list of the Fairchild (mostly) hi-fi products I know of.
Fairchild 411H 3-speed idler-wheel- and belt-driven turntable, Styled by Raymond Loewy
Fairchild 200-Series Mono Moving-Coil Cartridges
Fairchild manufactured a series of moving-coil phono cartridges in the 1950's, more expensive than most and thought by some at the time to be the finest units manufactured in the US.  The models I know of are the 215 (c. 1955) and the later 220, 225 and 230 (1958).  Each higher number is an improvement in performance over the previous one.  (A 216-A came out with the 215 series, for vertically cut discs.)  I have never seen a 230, only a review of it in a 1958 issue of High Fidelity magazine, where it was described as the production version of the experimental XP-3.  I have a 225-A from my father's "component hi-fi" system circa 1956, which replaced a 215-A in his original system.  In 2001, I decided to put the old 225-A in my current Thorens TD 126 Mk II turntable arm and hear what kind of music it made.   I was surprised by the high quality.

A microscope inspection of the stylus tip revealed moderately high wear.  I was successful in finding two 225-A's with unworn styli, as well as a 220-A, a 220-B (2.5-mil tip for 78's) and a 215-A.  One of the 225-A's has a flat stylus shank and the other has a tubular stylus shank.

In the low-mass Thorens arm, very low bass is quite emphasized due, I believe, to the stylus-compliance-arm-  mass resonance being much higher than the desirable 10 Hz or so.  I have recently obtained both Gray and Shure circa 1955-60 tone arms of higher mass and hope to experiment soon with their performance with a Fairchild 411H turntable.

I have taken a number of digital photographs of Fairchild cartridges in various stages of play, rest and undress.  I have also constructed a spreadsheet of factory specifications which includes all models noted above (see Fairchild 220-Series Cartridge Specs link, below).
Any Information Out There?
I am interested in your experiences in restoring, modifying and use of Fairchild cartridges.  Are there other models besides those listed in link 2, below?  I am interested in information on all Fairchild cartridges, mono or stereo.  Contact me at jjimlong "at" cs.com.
Morning coffee, Fairchild style
Need Help?
Have a Fairchild or other vintage cartridge you would like to try but are concerned about the condition of the stylus tip?  Send your unit to me and I will examine the tip and provide comment on and a sketch of the tip.  (I cannot at this time take photographs of the 'scope views.)  Price is $20 US via PayPal, money orders or bank checks in $US or personal check in $US (must clear before I get the 'scope out).  If you are interested in this service, e-mail me at jjimlong "at" cs.com and we can discuss the details by telephone, including concerns you may have about loosing a valuable item to an Internet stranger.
Additional Fairchild Info
9.  Fairchild 240 preamp  NEW 5-25-03
10.