|   Anyone care to address a cartridge question? | RPM
May 10, 2001 3:42 PM | | I posted a message on the analog board regarding cartridge selection. I'd sure appreciate some ideas/opinions from all you analog gurus:
http://forums.consumerreview.com/crforum?14@@.ee91480 |
| I used alot of cartridges since 1973 | unleasHell
May 10, 2001 5:23 PM | | I've used 1 Shure V-15 which was just OK, I used an Ortofon (don't recall the model) and it was pretty good. But I have used around 7-10 Grados and have always Loved the sound. Years ago (circa 1982) a stereophile showed me an article from a high-end audiophile magazine. It compared various Grados and found very little difference between the $30/$50 range models and the $150/$200 models. Grado just tested the higher end models to higher specifications. But when this lab conducted the same tests of the lower models, they found that they met many of the higher specs, it's just that Grado did not certify them as such. After that I always opted for the lower priced models. Hope that helps. |
| I used alot of cartridges since 1973 | RPM
May 10, 2001 7:08 PM | | Unleash,
Thanks for the input. I'm actually coming off using a Grado ZF3E+ which I purchased in the mid-90's. At that time no one could have convinced me that I'd ever be seriuosly into vinyl again, so I just went for Grado's least expensive model. I've used that cartridge up until last week when it suffered an injury. IMO I've never found any of my LP's to sound especially exciting or inviiting while using that cartridge. Perhaps it was more to blame on the cartridge/table combo (I used an older inexpensive Luxman table). But one thing I do know is I'm looking for and hoping for a MUCH better sound than that Grado ZF3E & Luxman offered. |
| Go buy a Dynavedtor 10X4 MKII | YECH
May 10, 2001 7:22 PM | | Lets take this outta here
I will e-mail you with my thoughts
YECH using Dyna 20X-H currently |
| Will it play anything besides blues :-)? (nt) | RPM
May 10, 2001 7:33 PM | | |
| It plays everything except Prog | YECH
May 10, 2001 7:55 PM | | Didn't ya ever notice there is no prog on vinyl?
Why is that?
Could it be because Prog is inherently metallic/soulless and is made to be played on cds.TURN IT UP LOUD IT SOUNDS GREAT!!!!!
While vinyl breaths life and vibrancy into music.Musical instruments,no synths or beep beeps,sound like real instruments with a panoramic soundstage that can be breathtaking.
YECHY praying for the soulless pagans of prog |
| It plays everything except Prog | YECH
May 10, 2001 7:56 PM | | |
| YECH... | Snowbunny
May 10, 2001 8:05 PM | | you always open your own mail, right? ;o) |
| Uhhhhhh yeah | YECH
May 10, 2001 8:09 PM | | Yer starting to scare me
I usually open the computer in the a.m.
and shut it down at night.Like now..
You have piqued my curiosity
YECH I am curious yellow?? |
| I'm just a little bunny, | Snowbunny
May 10, 2001 8:20 PM | | Tiger. Don't be ascared. But make sure you're the first YECH to get to the mailbox, eh?
Cause I kept asking ya to tell me what I should send you, and you just wouldn't say! |
| What's going on down here? | slowride
May 11, 2001 9:09 AM | | Sounds suspicious! |
| Go buy a Dynavedtor 10X4 MKII | RPM
May 11, 2001 9:59 AM | | Yech,
I'm Looking forward to your comments. I did a search for the Dynavector 10X4 online and came up with all positive info. I'd previously never heard of Dynavector (or maybe I did but just didn't pay attention) but they look like a great company with a solid history in the cartridge field.
My e-mail address is:
mili224@bellatlantic.net
thanks! Rick |
| Be careful | dbi
May 11, 2001 11:26 AM | | Most modern cartridges are designed for the more massive low resonant tonearms that are popular today so they have relatively low compliance (ie stiff) suspensions and don't always work the best with older, low mass tonearms. Make sure the you determine whether your chosen tonearm is designed to work well with the cartridge compliance or you may end up with a resonant frequency that intrudes into the sound spectrum leading to poorly defined, slow sounding and boomy yet thin bass. The advice you have received is good but, as maf suggested before, there are probably many more people that are familiar with your turntable/arm combination over at the Vinyl Asylum and maybe someone has been down your exact path before.
Dave |
| Yech is right | maf
May 11, 2001 10:30 AM | | I think that the 10X4 is probably the best ca. $300 cartridge out there. It marries the relative strengths of the Grado sound (glowing beautiful mid-range) and the BPS sound (Fast, tight, rhythmic) into a very happy medium. Listen to the Yechster, he knows wherof he speaks.
But if you want to go a little higher-end, I just got a Lyra Helikon. All I can say is "WOW"
Mark |
| Depending on your turntable/tonearm | DLD
May 10, 2001 9:32 PM | | If you have a nice setup with a lightweight tonearm, I'd suggest a Shure V-15 Type III or whatever the He** the latest iteration is called. Runs about $300 mail order, cheap for premium cartridges, tracks at .75 grams, low record wear, and extremely flat freq. response. I've owned one for twenty five years. My "new" turntable has a tonearm a bit on the heavy side, and the auto raise/lower mechanism lets it down pretty hard, thus, the current broken stylus situation. Good luck on whatever you end up doing. |
| Sumiko Blue Point Special. NT | J.R.
May 11, 2001 9:47 AM | | NT |
| A couple more things to consider ... | CZ
May 11, 2001 2:51 PM | | Does it matter to you if the stylus is replaceable? Obviously, moving coils, and some MM are not. That is a disadvantage of MC types, and part of the reason I don't use them any more.
That said, moving coils and low inductance moving magnets are much more forgiving of load impedance. (I think I mistakenly said the opposite in a recent post - ooops!). Does your preamp allow you to vary the load R and C?
The hum thing has always scared me away from the Grados. I surely wouldn't buy one unless I could return it if hum was a problem.
Stylus shape is a biggie for me. If you have a bunch of old records that are worn out with an eliptical stylus (most are), then if you get some type of microridge/line contact/van den Hull, you are using parts of the grooves that are untouched. I definitely noticed my older , somewhat worn out records sounding much better when I went to a line contact stylus. Sorta like if your girlfriend's old boyfriend was a bit size challenged, you're charting new territory - ooops - better not go there...
Where I live, there is a real rf problem (near a mountain with repeaters/transmitters). Going to a high output cartridge (5 mV, which is high even for MM), I was able to dramatically reduce the background noise. Had to shelve my expensive MC, but it just didn't work. Don't know if you have that problem or not.
CZ |
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