Cartridge ideas?

[Gromit]

Richard , how about finding a Technics 205 mk2 or 3 , maybe around £90 + a Jico stylus and this should be a perfect partner for the Techy ?

Hi Chris - funnily enough Richard let me hear one when he popped up a few weeks ago. Was a very sweet'n'smooth performer in the 1210 - very low output though (for an MM).

I'd scour the www - although I'd expect they're quite rare.

[chris@panteg]

Hi Chris - funnily enough Richard let me hear one when he popped up a few weeks ago. Was a very sweet'n'smooth performer in the 1210 - very low output though (for an MM).

I'd scour the www - although I'd expect they're quite rare.

They do come up for sale , one sold last year for £92 , bear in mind the cost of a Jico SAS though ! But a lovely cartridge , glad I persevered with the Precept as I really like it now , he did say it was one of AT's finest mm's .

[Dingdong]

There's a V15 III and a IV on ebay with MR tips. The MR tips are quite good imo.
Or do you fancy a change from Shure?

[DSJR]

There's a V15 III and a IV on ebay with MR tips. The MR tips are quite good imo.
Or do you fancy a change from Shure?

The MR tips are really excellent and the SAS is the only replacement I'd go for.

Of the two models, I'd probably suggest the V15 III (or a II without stylus plus an SAS in Richard's case) as I mentioned before, since the II SAS should be more like a "blue-printed" M75-ED (SAS) model..

I must admit to being a sort of closet ADC XLM fan. The XLM III, ZLM and Phase 4 models are really good, quite sweet toned and generally track well. However, the V15's do have a greater sense of "precision," especially once the diamond is improved to MR or SAS levels...

Taking the ADC's further, good and bad, there seem to be a few Sonus Gold-Blue's left for £86 or so on eBay. Steve (Worrasf) has one and really rates it, but they do exhibit an ultrasonic peak which the phono stage will need to safely handle without further ringing. Excellent mids and clean bass though

One final one, but seemingly no nos ones left, and that's the Ortofon M20 series (not the Dual M20, which is a VMS20 in slight disguise I think). The M20E Super is lively and extremely involving, lacking the bass thickness the M15 and VMS models can have in some systems. I'd personally put the lower compliance M20 FL Super among the classic greats - REALLY excellent diamond, low to medium compliance allowing 1.5g tracking and very neutral sound of the best kind - natural tones without damping all the space and depth out...

[Dingdong]

This is the one I speak of.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1306457795...84.m1423.l2649

Dave may be able to tell you if it is a proper MR tip and not a replacement.

[DSJR]

The HE had a red stylus and this was a clear improvement on the elliptical nail originally fited to the Mk3 (sold and heard a couple of IIIHE's). Unless you try it, it's going to be difficult to know how good the diamond on this is still, so try to keep future funds around for an SAS tip. I'm afraid I never heard the MR tip on a V15 III, so can't confirm the stylus colour, but if it's anything like the end-of-side definition of the V15 VMR, it'll be fantastic.

P.S. The VN35MR was also red colour

[Gromit]

Decisions, decisions...

I'm being too careful now - trying not to buy something like a DL110 or 2M Blue is proving somewhat tricky. For me it's like buying a Ford Focus, realising it's a perfectly good car, but really wanting something like an old Alfa Romeo. Because my turntable's not been delivering the goods very well recently, I'm actually quite fearful of making it sound worse with the wrong choice of cartirdge.

Wondering if I should just bit the bullet, play safe and go for the 2M.

Oh...and Scalford's getting nearer and nearer and I still have no needle in me Tecchy.

[Marco]

Sorry, I'm in a bit of a rush and have just come to this thread, so have just skimmed quickly through it...

Richard, is the 2M you're thinking of buying a black? If not, I don't think you'd like any of the other Ortofon MMs, as they're all rather 'modern sounding', in a bad sense, and lack the effortless musicality and 'meat on the bone' you prefer (as do I).

Before you commit yourself to buying anything, would you like to borrow my Pickering XV15-625E? It suits the stock Techy arm perfectly and has a sound I think you would love!

I could even fit it onto a nice spare headshell I've got, so you could do quick(ish) swaps between it and the other cartridges you've got for comparison.

Just shout 'Yo!' if yer fancies a play (for as long as you like)...

Marco.

[Gromit]

Hey Marco that would be awesome - thank you.

I've umm'd and ahhh'd over this for ages now; if I'd got a new arm (750D) on the horizon I'd just go for something much more serious cartridge-wise (most likely get Dom to re-tip the tired 103R a friend has let me borrow) but I've had to restrict myself to high output/MM types with a sub-£200 budget. It's made making a choice decidedly tricky!

Front runner has probably been the M97XE - not because it's perhaps that great a cartridge out of the box, but that those clever little chaps at Jico do their wonderful tip for it. Still, it's available for under 70 quid (the Shure, not the SAS obviously!) so in some ways what's to lose?

I have had the DL110 working very sweetly before, and when set up carefully it pushed aside some surprisingly expensive cartridges (Audio Note IQ3 being one). It's just that the Denon is a 'been there done that' cartridge for me...and it doesn't really appeal to my left-field way of doing things.

[Marco]

Ok, dude, I'll mount it up in a headshell, over the weekend, and pop it in the post to you on Monday

Marco.