What cartridge are you using?

[derek92994]

Its great to see a V15 cart on a record changer. Do you have the adapter so you can stack multiple records on there? Handy for playing 45 rpms.

 

[Elite-ist]

Derek: The spindle for record stacking is in the side pocket of the turntable base/plinth shown in the first picture. And the 45 adapter is there, too. I haven't stacked records in a changer since using my parents old Fleetwood console in the 60's - 70's.

I, also, had for a short time, a Garrard Syncro-Lab 72B with a Shure M44-7 cartridge on it. I gifted that changer to the step-daughter a few years back.

Nando.

 

[Lazarus Short]

Technics P34 p-mount - one of the great, cheap T4P carts. This winter, I plan to do some cart rolling with some Shure/Realistic stuff.

 

[ksrigg]

Anybody else heard an Ortofon 540 MKII before? It cam on the turntable I just bought and I think it sounds awesome. Problem is, that cart is no longer being made and the replacement stylus is over $300.00. I'm thinking of putting a Jico SAS on a Shure M97xE I have as my next cart, or seeing how the Audio Technica AT120E sounds. Is the Jico that much of an improvement? Worth the $170 price? Or is there something else out there that is a hidden gem? I've heard some talk about a Dynavector 10X5 or something like that. I have an old Stanton 681EEE body somewhere I think, and maybe another oldie or two. Man I wish I had saved the Shure V15 bodies I have burned through in past years....but back in the day a good cartridge didn't cost a freaking fortune..

 

[speakerlabfan]

Benz Micro Wood Body MC

 

[Northwinds]

Anybody else heard an Ortofon 540 MKII before? It cam on the turntable I just bought and I think it sounds awesome. Problem is, that cart is no longer being made and the replacement stylus is over $300.00. I'm thinking of putting a Jico SAS on a Shure M97xE I have as my next cart, or seeing how the Audio Technica AT120E sounds. Is the Jico that much of an improvement? Worth the $170 price? Or is there something else out there that is a hidden gem? I've heard some talk about a Dynavector 10X5 or something like that. I have an old Stanton 681EEE body somewhere I think, and maybe another oldie or two. Man I wish I had saved the Shure V15 bodies I have burned through in past years....but back in the day a good cartridge didn't cost a freaking fortune..

You might also look into a Audio Technica AT 125 LC vs the AT 120E. Very detailed (almost too detailed) cart that is not very good for really used records at all. It's brighter then my V15 Shure's but it really is a great cart. I finally figured out what was on my Onkyo Integra TT and it's the AT 125 LC. I track at 1gr with it


The Audio-Technica AT125LC is one of the most desirable cartridges. The VM type AT125LC dual magnet vibration and generation systems has been highly regarded all over the world

● LC-OFC wire for high-efficiency, high linearity signal transfer.
- The Audio-Technica AT125LC cartridge is fitted with LC-OFC lead wires. LC-OFC (Linear-Crystal Oxygen-Free Copper) is a highly refined copper material free of oxidizing agents and other impurities. A special process is used to elongate the lattice structure of the material to minimize the number of crystals in a given length of wire. For example, in standard copper there are more than 150,000 crystal boundaries for every meter length of wire. The LC-OFC reduces this number to 20 (less than 1/7500). The result isa startling drop in transmission losses and distortion across these boundaries. Signal transfer efficiency is improved, and linearity is maintained even for extremely low signal levels. The use of LC-OFC wires assures that the fidelity of the signal reproduced by the Audio-Technica AT125LC cartridge is transferred to the amplifier stage without modification. Audio Technica AT125LC Phono Cartridge Specifications
- Output voltage: 5.0 mV
- Frequency response: 10Hz-28kHz
- Channel balance: 1.0dB
- Channel separation @ 1kHz/10kHz: 29/20 dB
- Tracking force: 1.0 - 1.8 g
- Recommended load impedance: 47 ΩΩ
- Load capacitance: 100 - 200 pF
- Stylus shape: Highly polished and shaped Titanium Bonded Linear Contact diamond
- Cantilever: Tapered Tube
- Vertical tracking angle: 20°
- Weight: 6.5g

 

[ksrigg]

I looked through what I do have in the way of older cartridges and I have an Empire and a couple of Audio Technica cartridges. The one I am going to try is an AT130E. I hope it is a little more laid back that the AT120E. It may go well with the Thorens TD-121 as it seems to not be lacking in the bass. Looks like I really preffered Audio Technica after the Shure V15 Type III and Stanton 681EEE became extinct. I do remember not liking the Empire cartridges I tried at all..

Anyone else remember the Blue Book.....a big book where you could order anything from a Heuer watch to a phono cartridge at a huge discount?

 

[Northwinds]

If your interested, I have a V15 type II w/ NOS Super Track Shure stylus available. Probably 40-50 hours on the stylus. I believe the only difference between it and the type III is a dustbrush

 

[62vauxhall]

FWIW, I ran across an Excel ME45 cartridge recently on a rough Elac 750 II changer. I was going to use the deck as a donor but didn't need to so I took it in my head to fix it and give to a a friend. She seems delighted at the prospect of getting something to play her records again. I have a number of vintage cartridges and was going to put on a Shure, ADC or maybe an AKG but I left the Excel in place as I worked on the table. Later I compared it with a Stanton 681EE I have mounted on something else and that Excel sounds damn good especially the bass. I thought it was a generic brand but apparently not so. Jico sell a standard replacement stylus for $56 and I think it's conical plus an SAS for $133. I've been tracking the original stylus at 2 grams and will leave it on the changer when I give it away. There's no advantage to putting on one of the better known brand cartridges I have.

 

[ksrigg]

Bennette's.....I think that was the name of the company. Man, I bought a bunch of cartridges from them in the day. PM me about the Shure, please..

 

[Northwinds]

Headshell not included

EDIT: If you right click properties of each image and paste them to your browser, you can blow them up, the images are HUGE so you can see all details (move your mouse to the bottom right of the image in the new window and you will see a circle with a + sign in it, click it and voila, giant images, sorry about any dust I missed)

 

[nobody]

I had to go and pick up a denon DL 110 to go with the Shure V15xMR and Jico stylus I already had and now I keep switching back and forth deciding which I like best. Both different, both quite good. I think for really pristine vinyl, the extra detail of the Shure/Jico combo may be best, but on records that have a bit of wear on 'em, the denon smooths out the rough edges more. It is really funny how the Shure with original stylus was known as a rolled off cart but now with the Jico is is really detailed. It's still not harsh, but it does show off all the scuffs, grunge and damage in your vinyl. I play enough old vinyl, that the Denon's presentation is nice and can make less than perfect records sound awfully good. And it's no slouch for top vinyl either, especially in the mid range.

It seems that cartridges are like women. Having a bunch of them can be fun, but sometimes more than one just gets confusing.

 

[Elite-ist]

Dave: Being the Denon DL-110 is a high output Moving Coil cartridge, do you run it on the Moving Magnet setting?

Nando.

 

[Bob Boyer]

Still enjoying a Denon DL-304 down here in Tennessee. Very smooth sound.

 

[Pure_Brew]

Made some changes since I've last looked at this.

Put an AT150mlx on my Technics SL-1800. Smoother than the 440, better dynamics than the m97xe/sas. Maybe the best of both. Still, any of these is good but the at440mla is the best deal.

On the Garrard Type AII changer, I'm using a m97xe body, with a m35x stylus for 33/45 & a n78s stylus for 78rpm. Not bad! 3 grams and decent tracking. For whatever reason, Im guessing geometry, the m97xe with these stylus gets the best tracking I've been able to achieve on this beast, even compared to the sc35c at 5g.
Easy swaps with no re-adjust. Only it would've been nice if Shure made a 1mil instead of the .7mil for 78rpm. Duh?

Sold my M3D to some chap in Thailand.

The SOTA moonbeam has sat out for a looong time. No cart. Buyers remorse there....

Sold off the Sutherland PH3D. Couldn't fully appreciate it in my system I guess. Sticking with the Bellari VP-130. I keep going back to it so there it is. (Thanks Larry... =(

 

[MarkWComer]

Only it would've been nice if Shure made a 1mil instead of the .7mil for 78rpm. Duh?

Check that- I don't think you're correct on that point size. The N78, as I recall, was 2.5mil. I found it too narrow for my shellacs and picked up too much noise.

1mil points were for microgroove (pre-stereo) LPs, .7 were for stereo.

 

[Pure_Brew]

Yeah that's wrong lol.

 

[orange]

I looked through what I do have in the way of older cartridges and I have an Empire and a couple of Audio Technica cartridges. The one I am going to try is an AT130E. I hope it is a little more laid back that the AT120E. It may go well with the Thorens TD-121 as it seems to not be lacking in the bass. Looks like I really preffered Audio Technica after the Shure V15 Type III and Stanton 681EEE became extinct. I do remember not liking the Empire cartridges I tried at all..

Anyone else remember the Blue Book.....a big book where you could order anything from a Heuer watch to a phono cartridge at a huge discount?

And I couldn't even tell you why but I just love the Empire 2000 models.

 

[Lance Lawson]

I'm using the AT 554Sa that's been with my turntable since new in the late 70's

 

[Fast Forward]

Heres some pic of mine