Cartridge recs for a budget/vintage table

[oldskoolboarder]

Going to pickup a cheapo Pioneer PL-117D this weekend. It has a Stanton 600 EE, don't know how many hours. I'm just testing the waters to see if I'll get into the vinyl thing.

My system is pretty revealing, so I'd like to make sure I find a cart that's can handle that. I've seen the Shure M97xE, but some reviews say it's a little harsh. I'll be listening mostly to R&B and Jazz on vinyl. I/ve read about the Grado black too. Any recs?

I'm looking to be reasonable, since this isn't a stellar table, but I'd like to make sure I have a cart that doesn't make me give up on vinyl entirely.

[ericl]

wuttup oldskool

I've listened a lot to both the Grado and the Shure, both on a Technics SL-1200. Between the two, I'd pick the Grado. I found it richer and more involving. The Shure is good sounding, accurate, does nothing wrong, but its just not that exciting of a cartridge. Go for the Grado. Its also cheaper.

-Eric

[oldskoolboarder]

Any suggestions for places to find a Grado Black?

[ericl]

AudioAdvisor.com

[oldskoolboarder]

Thanks fellas.

I was looking at the Goldring table at audioadvisor.com, but it's gone now...

[Glen B]

Any suggestions for places to find a Grado Black?

The NeedleDoctor, $40.00.
http://www.needledoctor.com/s.nl/sc....it.A/id.244/.f

[Woochifer]

At the risk of tooting my own horn and getting self-congratulatory on you, I would also look into the Ortofon OM series. It's one of the most versatile cartridges out there because of its upgradability and high compliance. To upgrade the OM series, all you do is buy a higher line replacement stylus. The replacements range in price from $30 for the Stylus 5 to $190 for the Stylus 40. Each step in between gives you a noticeable improvement in audio quality. It's also a very lightweight design and comes with a removeable weight plate and high compliance, so it's very compatible with most tonearms.

LP Gear still has the Ortofon OM series cartridges on sale, and the $110 OM20 Super probably offers the most bang for the buck. It has a highly detailed and listenable sound that's a tad lean in the mids, but nice and tight all the way throughout the frequency range. I recently went back to the OM series with the OM30, and it's brought the life back to my vinyl collection. The cartridge can make a huge difference and make even a cheap turntable sound pretty decent (keep in mind that the vintage Pioneer turntables were well made, and offered decent performance for the price).

The Shures are exceptional trackers, so if you plan on buying a lot of used vinyl, that might be a consideration because they can handle warped and off-center vinyl very well.

The main drawback to the Grados is that they are prone to picking up hum from the motor. It depends on the turntable model, but unfortunately you won't know if that hum's an issue until you install the cartridge. Otherwise, they are also very frequently cited as very good value cartridges. I would have tried out one of the Grados, but I read in several places that the Grado cartridges had hum problems with my particular turntable, so I went with the Ortofon.

[E-Stat]

I would also look into the Ortofon OM series. It's one of the most versatile cartridges out there because of its upgradability and high compliance.

Interesting approach by allowing access to better styli. I've had a couple of Ortofons over the years (first an M15E back in '74) and was very pleased with them. I'ld like to hear a comparison between my current Dynavector and one of the Kontrapunks.

I owned one Grado and never took a liking to it.

rw

[ericl]

I owned one Grado and never took a liking to it.

My first Grado was a Red, used on a music hall mmf-5. i got the hum there, and did not like the cart much at all. I then used it on ariston deck i had for a while, and it was much better. Much later, I tried the black on the Technics, and it was great. Its all compatibility I guess.

[nobody]

At the risk of tooting my own horn and getting self-congratulatory on you, I would also look into the Ortofon OM series. It's one of the most versatile cartridges out there because of its upgradability and high compliance. To upgrade the OM series, all you do is buy a higher line replacement stylus. The replacements range in price from $30 for the Stylus 5 to $190 for the Stylus 40. Each step in between gives you a noticeable improvement in audio quality. It's also a very lightweight design and comes with a removeable weight plate and high compliance, so it's very compatible with most tonearms.

LP Gear still has the Ortofon OM series cartridges on sale, and the $110 OM20 Super probably offers the most bang for the buck. It has a highly detailed and listenable sound that's a tad lean in the mids, but nice and tight all the way throughout the frequency range. I recently went back to the OM series with the OM30, and it's brought the life back to my vinyl collection. The cartridge can make a huge difference and make even a cheap turntable sound pretty decent (keep in mind that the vintage Pioneer turntables were well made, and offered decent performance for the price).

The Shures are exceptional trackers, so if you plan on buying a lot of used vinyl, that might be a consideration because they can handle warped and off-center vinyl very well.

The main drawback to the Grados is that they are prone to picking up hum from the motor. It depends on the turntable model, but unfortunately you won't know if that hum's an issue until you install the cartridge. Otherwise, they are also very frequently cited as very good value cartridges. I would have tried out one of the Grados, but I read in several places that the Grado cartridges had hum problems with my particular turntable, so I went with the Ortofon.

I agree that the Ortofon carts are great. I started with an OM 10 and have upgraded to the stylus 40. The upgradeability of the series is really nice and makes it so much cheaper than getting a whole new cartridge. It's also really easy to switch out the stylus for a 78 one if you even plan on playing 78s.

The only Shure I've used is a M91ED, which is no longer available, but it is a great cartridge for questionable tables as it tracks fantastically, has a strong output, and seems to roll off a lot of surface noise. If you plan on burning a lot of vinyl to CD, the high output and reduced surface noise could make it a great cartridge for the job. From what I've heard others say, the current M97 shares a lot of the same character, but I've not heard one personally.

I did use a Grado Black before, and liked it. I had no hum on my table, but it doesn't trak as well as the Shure or Ortofon. I liked the midrange on it quite a bit, nice rich sound, but it was a bit spitty in the high end. Hard to say really as I was using it on a really old table.

[ericl]

I've been curious about these Ortofons. I'm looking for something new to use with a very light old carbon-fiber tonearm.. I wonder if they would be compatible?

[nobody]

Yup. They came standard on many Duals that had a very light arm, and the OM10 came standard on my Thorens TD 190, which is basically a rebadged Dual with a very light arm.

[oldskoolboarder]

OK, I like the concept of just upgrading the stylus. That'll give me incremental upgrades w/o breaking the bank. Probably works better w/ the WAF factor too..

Suggestions where to purchase the Ortofon?

[dean_martin]

I agree with nobody (the previous poster, not...oh well). I had a Dual with the ULM arm (ultra low mass) that came standard with a cart made by Ortofon. In fact, its body style resembles the current OM series. I'm seriously considering the OM 20 for my Pro-Ject 1.2. I just hope I can still find it for around $110 when I finally pull the trigger.

[Woochifer]

I've been curious about these Ortofons. I'm looking for something new to use with a very light old carbon-fiber tonearm.. I wonder if they would be compatible?

When I was looking around at cartridges recently, I weighted going with a MC cartridge, but the tonearm on my turntable is low mass and if you do the math, the low compliance typical of MC cartridges might not have worke very well. The OM carts are high compliance and have a removable weight plate, so tonearm matching will not be an issue. On a low mass tonearm, you just remove the weight plate and the entire cartridge will weigh less than 2.5 grams -- works very well with a low mass tonearm.

[oldskoolboarder]

1) How would I determine if my tonearm is low mass or not?
2) What steps should I take when installing the cartridge? This is all new to me. Pointers to threads would be awesome.

BTW, any thoughts on this?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1